by Willy Franzen on February 23, 2010
Apparently my parents and sister have engaged in a never-ending series of online Scrabble games played via iPhone. I’m with my parents in Florida right now, and every five minutes they’re bugging each other to make the next move. It’s crazy. Free online gaming has hit the masses, and it isn’t pretty. There are tons of new online gaming companies, and while some are focusing on bringing new gamers to the market, others are more focused on gaining ground with serious gamers. Culver City, CA based Riot Games is a perfect example of the latter. They are behind League of Legends, a free online role-playing game that is set in an imaginative world. The game has been downloaded more than a million times, and Riot Games has received $20 million in venture capital investment based on the game. $8 million of that investment came from a Chinese gaming company that has a huge user base, so this is very much an international play.
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by Willy Franzen on January 3, 2010
I may not be into jazz, but I will readily admit that people who like jazz have better taste in music than I do. I don’t know why I feel that way, but jazz gives off an aura of being ultimately cool. You just can’t tell a jazz lover that he has bad taste in music. If you’re one of those people who is cooler than me, then I hope that you know about Jazz at Lincoln Center. It’s a New York City based non-profit arts organization that aims “to enrich the artistic substance and perpetuate the democratic spirit of America’s music.” Their mission is accomplished through four key strategies: Curatorial, Educational, Archival, and Ceremonial. Whether it’s producing and presenting performances or maintaining “a comprehensive library of original scores, transcriptions, arrangements, books and artifacts important to jazz,” Jazz at Lincoln Center is doing its best to promote the art.
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by Willy Franzen on December 22, 2009
One of my earliest memories is from Detroit’s Thanksgiving parade. I think that I was about 2 years old at the time, and I saw Oscar the Grouch on some sort of float. I don’t remember much more about the parade, but I remember that. I guess that I’m an experiential marketers dream since I managed to remember that over all of the other cool things that happened when I was two years old (another early memory was getting my head stuck between the bars on a McDonald’s playground—another branded memory). I think that the people at VEE Corporation would be especially happy to hear about my early memory since they’re the company behind Sesame Street Live. They’re a Minneapolis based firm that provides “live entertainment, promotion and event marketing services for America’s most respected brands, properties and agencies.” They’re big on full-body costumes and mascots as well as merging marketing and entertainment.
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by Willy Franzen on December 20, 2009
Last night I went to an event for National Coaching Fellows (I’m on their board). It was held at an art gallery, and it went extremely well. For the past few years, the organization has been struggling to feel legitimate (that’s a common problem with startups, non-profit or for-profit). Holding an event at a place with expensive art on the walls made a drastic difference—it felt real. Even though I’m not all that interested in art, there was no doubt in my mind that the art on the walls played a huge role in the mood of the event. RxArt is a New York City based non-profit that is taking advantage of this effect in a very different way. They curate contemporary art exhibitions in healthcare facilities to “relieve stress and anxiety, while increasing appreciation for contemporary art” for patients and staff. Considering how cold hospitals and doctor’s offices usually feel, I think this is an amazing idea.
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by Willy Franzen on December 19, 2009
I think that I take pretty decent photographs. I even won a fishing photography contest once—ok my friend submitted the picture that I took with his camera and took the prize for himself. My expertise may end with a point and shoot camera, but I’m ok with that. If I ever want to advance my skills, I’ll be sure to check out the International Center of Photography. They are a New York City based non-profit that runs “a world-class museum and school dedicated to exploring the possibilities of the photographic medium through dynamic exhibitions and educational programs.” They were founded in 1974 by photographer Cornell Capa, and since then they’ve been moving forward the art (and science) of photography.
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by Willy Franzen on December 13, 2009
When did Brooklyn become the cool place to live? It’s definitely trendy, and I think a big part of that has to be the borough’s unique culture. It’s pretty artsy, which is why it makes sense that it’s the home of “America’s oldest continuously operating performing arts center,” Brooklyn Academy of Music. BAM was founded in 1861 and is still going strong—they had an attendance of more than half a million people last year. Although they have the word academy in their name, BAM’s mission is “to be the preeminent progressive performing and cinema arts center of the twenty-first century, engaging both global and local communities.” That’s not exactly what I think of when I hear academy, but maybe that’s why they usually go by BAM.
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by Willy Franzen on December 11, 2009
Want to get $30 off your first Bonobos purchase? They have an awesome referral program, so if you want a Bonobos invite, just leave a comment below with your real e-mail address in the proper field (it won’t be displayed). We’ll send you a referral coupon code for $30 off.
Pants are important. Especially when you’re trying to land a job. Going to a job interview without pants is the kind of disaster that only happens in nightmares. Showing up with wrinkled pants is a more likely problem for most recent grads—it makes you look sloppy and careless. Wearing ill fitting pants is almost as bad, even if you have demonstrated to your potential employer that you know how to properly use an iron. The problem is that there aren’t a lot of non-jean pants out there that fit men well. At least that’s what Bonobos, a New York City based fashion startup, thinks. They kind of have a Web 2.0 feel to them, even though they’re in a business that is hundreds of years old. They pride themselves on making great fitting men’s pants (they do suggest a pants hack for women who want Bonobos), offering unbeatable customer service, and providing an overall wonderful shopping experience. I just bought my first pair of pants from Bonobos last night, and I’m excited to see if they live up to the hype. If they don’t, I can take advantage of their free two-way shipping and “any pant, any time, any reason” return policy.
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by Willy Franzen on December 9, 2009
Want a crappy job? You’re in luck. Today I came across WhatACrappyJob.com, which is actually the internship site for Bozell, a Omaha, NE based full-service public relations and advertising agency. There’s nothing extraordinarily special about the site beyond the domain name, but it’s well designed and informative, which is rare when it comes to Careers websites. I guess that’s what you should expect from the agency behind the “Got Milk?” mustache campaign and the “Pork. The Other White Meat.” slogan. Bozell’s history includes quite a few mergers, acquisitions, and buybacks. As of 2001 Bozell has moved away from Wall Street and returned to it roots as “an independent, client-focused, employee-owned agency.” They have an impressive portfolio of work and seem like a pretty cool place to work.
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by Willy Franzen on December 4, 2009
As a kid I wasn’t a total video/computer game junkie, but I certainly spent my fair share of time sitting in front of a screen playing games. One of my favorites was a game that I played on my Mac called The Secret of Monkey Island. I figured that the game series had been discontinued long ago, but it appears that a relatively new company called Telltale Games has resurrected the series while also developing some new story-based games. Telltale Games is based in San Rafael, CA, and, as they put it, they are “the first and only studio to release interactive episodic content on a monthly schedule.” They seem to have found an interesting niche in the gaming industry, and they’re having success across platforms that include Wii, Xbox360, and the PC.
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by Willy Franzen on October 23, 2009
Since we’re going to talk about art today, I have to give my little sister a shout out for her Vernissage benefitting Artists for Charity tomorrow. If you’re in the Fairfield, CT area and enjoy art, you need to check it out. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I’m not all that into art. With a painter for a sister, a graphic designer for a mom, and an architect for a dad, I’m the black sheep of my family. Designing this site is about as far as my artistic talent goes. With that said, when you combine art with a cool web based business idea, my ears perk up. That’s exactly what happened when I saw a friend post an article about 20×200 (a part of Jen Bekman Projects) on Facebook. 20×200 is an online art and photography gallery based out of New York City, and they just closed a first round of $800,00 in venture capital funding. Now, you don’t typically see art galleries getting VC funding, but you also don’t typically see art galleries using the power of the Internet to make affordable art available to the masses either.
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by Willy Franzen on August 13, 2009
After a second company used the term “rockstar” in their job postings, it became clichéd. I know that I’ve said this before, but no matter how good your coding skills (or whatever other rockstar skills employers look for) are, you’re never going to be a rockstar. Unless, of course, you land a job at Rockstar Games. If you work there, at least you’ll be a rockstar in name. You may not have a guitar, but you’ll be working for the company behind video game series like Grand Theft Auto, Max Payne, and Manhunt. And for those of you who have a different taste in games, they’ve got Table Tennis for the Wii. I keep harping on the fact that the video game industry is doing well, but it’s just so impressive. Other content producers like newspapers, magazines, record labels, and move producers are struggling with changes in how we consume content, but video game companies keep humming along—and Rockstar Games is no exception.
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by Willy Franzen on August 3, 2009
Sometimes I don’t completely get advertising. Take McDonald’s for example. How many people in the US have never heard of McDonald’s? Not many. So what’s the point in advertising? Maybe you can convince some more people to come in to buy off of the Dollar Menu or get more kids to beg their parents to buy them a happy meal, but it seems like McDonald’s would be just fine without any advertising at all. That’s something that the folks at Dallas’ Moroch will disagree with strongly because they are an ad agency that happens to do a lot of work with McDonald’s. And since Moroch’s About page says that they’re really all about helping their clients make more money (usually through advertising), I’m going to take a wager that all of the Mickey D’s advertising that you see has a significant effect on the bottom line. Beyond McDonald’s, Moroch also works with huge brands like Verizon, Walt Disney Pictures, Monster (yuck), and Make-A-Wish. That may sound cushy, but that means that there’s always a constant pressure to deliver spectacular results.
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by Willy Franzen on July 28, 2009
Yeserday we talked about jobs at Vann’s, which made me think that we should talk about with jobs at Vans today. The two companies don’t have much in common beyond being homophones of each other, so let’s start talking about shoes. Cypress, CA based Vans was founded in 1966 as the Van Doren Rubber Company. They started out by producing shoes for sports like baseball, basketball, and wrestling, but that didn’t end up working out too well for them; in fact, it led to bankruptcy. They eventually came out of bankruptcy, and then Sean Penn’s character wore a pair of Vans checkerboard slip-ons in Fast Times at Ridgemont High
. That changed everything.
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by Willy Franzen on July 16, 2009
Take a second and think of your favorite toy growing up. Was it a Barbie? Matchbox Car? American Girl Doll? View-Master? Magic 8 Ball? Rock’em Sock’em Robots? Hot Wheels? Polly Pocket? Even if it wasn’t one of those, there’s a good chance that it was made by Mattel. I’m sure that you’ve heard of the El Segundo, CA headquartered toy company before, but I bet you never realized just how many toys they actually make. Not only do they have some of the biggest toy names in the world, but they’re also behind all of Fisher-Price’s toys. If you always wanted to be like Tom Hanks in Big
and work for a toy company, Mattel is your chance to live every child’s dream.
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by Willy Franzen on June 12, 2009
Considering that I do this nearly every day, I see a lot of companies and a lot of jobs, but today I came across something that I’ve never seen before. It’s called Agency Nil, and it’s an full-service advertising agency, except it’s nothing like any ad agency that you’ve ever seen. They don’t have a physical location, they don’t have a salaried staff, and they don’t have set fees. It’s almost as they don’t exist (I think that’s where the “nil” comes in), but they do. As PSFK puts it, Agency Nil “hopes to channelize the skills of experienced but laid-off talents from the advertising industry, as well as that of graduate students from advertising programs – people who just can’t seem to lay their hands on that elusive job.” In other words, they’re trying to put the glut of available talent to good use. It’s brilliant.
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by Willy Franzen on June 5, 2009
I’ve done it. I’ve found the most ridiculous looking corporate website on the web. It has an animated moving background and multiple bouncing balloon/blimp logos that make it look like it’s straight out of the Imagination Land episode of South Park. It may be a little hokey, but it works for Niles, IL (right outside of Chicago) based The Bradford Group because they’re in the collectibles industry. Their customers aren’t concerned with flash and edginess, they’re all about sentimentality. When you’ve been doing direct marketing of collector plates, music boxes, and all kinds of commemorative items for 36 years, you probably know your audience. So, even though The Bradford Group’s web design leaves me laughing out loud, I’m not going to sell them short based on my taste as a non-collector. (And if you totally disagree with me and love the design, you can make it your computer’s background.)
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by Willy Franzen on May 12, 2009
I love simplicity. I also appreciate singularity. You know… One Day, One Job. There’s so much clutter these days that it can become really hard to focus. I’m sure that you’re seeing it in your job search, and you’re probably wondering why companies just keep layering on more complexity to what they do. If so, then you’re in good company. Mono is a Minneapolis, MN based branding, advertising, and design agency that is all about simplicity. They think that putting smart, innovative people on client projects is the key to great branding. That’s it. I like it. And so do their clients (it’s an impressive list).
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by Willy Franzen on April 28, 2009
It’s been almost 6 months since I first started talking about how the video game industry is a good place to find a job during a recession, yet I continue to be amazed by how aggressively some gaming companies are hiring. I don’t know if it’s a result of the fact that people buy video games when they’re unemployed or it’s that hard to find people to fill these jobs, but I’m shocked to see a company like Bungie with 21 job openings – many of which appear to be suitable for new grads. Now, Bungie and I go way back. I’ve been using Macs since the early 90s, and Bungie was one of the premier game creators for Macs. Although I was never a serious gamer, I definitely have fond memories of Bungie’s first huge success – Marathon. Then they hit it big with Halo. Microsoft bought them out, and they picked up shop and moved (all of their employees chose to follow the company) to Kirkland, WA.
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by Willy Franzen on April 16, 2009
I’m about as far away from the world of crocheting, beading, knitting, jewelry making, quilting, spinning, and needle working as you can possibly be. The closest that I’ve come to the world of crafts is having my Mom knit me a scarf and meeting someone who may or may not (she was very secretive) be a part of a group of Chicago Crochet Graffiti Artists. Still, I know that this world of crafts exists – and it’s huge. That’s why it’s no surprise that Interweave Press, a craft media company with “businesses in magazine and book publishing, interactive media, broadcast programming, and events for craft enthusiasts,” still seems to be thriving after almost 35 years in the business. Although I don’t know for sure, I’d imagine that Interweave Press, which is headquartered in Loveland, Colorado and has other offices in Malvern, Pennsylvania and Stow, Massachusetts, is somewhat insulated from all of the trouble that most other media companies are seeing because of the niche that they work in.
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by Willy Franzen on March 22, 2009
A lot of companies use the term “rock star” to describe the people that they’d like to hire. I don’t understand why “all star” never caught on – it’s more appropriate. Rock stars come with all kinds of problems and aren’t necessarily the most desirable employees, but all stars are the best at what they do. The All Stars Project is a non-profit organization based in New York City that is “dedicated to promoting human development through the use of an innovative performance-based model.” Even though their logo kind of looks like Rock Bands, they’re all about creating all stars. They do this by “sponsoring community and experimental theatre, developing leadership training and pursuing volunteer initiatives that build and strengthen communities.” They offer a wide range of programs that are centered around theatre and the performing arts.
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by Willy Franzen on January 26, 2009
This weekend my Dad e-mailed me about a company that had just moved to Connecticut (where I’m originally from). Connecticut has been working hard to attract the movie industry to the state – they even have what is called a “Hollywood East Task Force” in Hartford – so it’s big news when a company like Blue Sky Studios makes a move to Connecticut because they’ve been bribed by tax credits. It certainly brings a lot of jobs to Connecticut (even though New York loses just as many.) As interesting as it is that Connecticut is trying to become “Hollywood East,” it’s not nearly as interesting as what Blue Sky Studios does. They “pioneer creatively superior photo-realistic, high-resolution, computer-generated character animation for the feature film, television and entertainment industries.” Put more simply, they’re behind feature films like Ice Age, Horton Hears a Who, and Robots, and some pretty cool shorts too.
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by Willy Franzen on December 7, 2008
As I’ve been expressing in my posts about our upcoming job search training course and the HP Magic Giveaway, there’s nothing better than the feeling of sharing your skills and knowledge with someone who can use the help. CoachArt is a Los Angeles based non-profit that allows every day people to share what they’re good at with underprivileged children and adolescents who are dealing with chronic and life-threatening illnesses. CoachArt’s coaches offer free, personal lessons in arts and athletics – including art, music, photography, yoga, creative writing, acting, dancing and more – to improve the lives of kids who are facing serious, adult issues. They’ve already served thousands of children in just 8 years of operation. CoachArt sounds like an amazing program that would be well worth working or volunteering for.
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by Willy Franzen on November 20, 2008
Some people seem to think that this financial crisis is a sign that the end of the world is coming. Well, I can assure you that it is not going to lead to the end of the World… of Warcraft. Why’s that? Because video game sales were up 18% from last October to this October. I guess when you can’t find a job, a new video game seems like a smart investment (you have a lot of time on your hands). I’d recommend that you invest in our job search training course instead, but that’s just my opinion. So, even if you’re frustrated by your job search, don’t give up on the World… of Warcraft. Not only can video games give you a way to blow off your steam while you’re getting pwned by your job search, they can also provide you ideas for new employers to look into. For instance, Irvine, CA based Blizzard Entertainment, the company behind World of Warcraft seems to be on a hiring binge. Maybe your 1337 gaming skills aren’t useless (and don’t tell me that you don’t need a job because you’re mining cybergold). Oh yeah, and if you’re playing Hello Kitty Island Adventure, you’re doing it wrong, n00b.
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by Willy Franzen on November 15, 2008
Usually when we feature non-profit entry level jobs on the weekends, we like to go with well established organizations that we can find a lot of information about. Today, I came across a non-profit that I can’t find much background on, but I’m impressed by how cool what they’re doing is. GreenWood is a non-profit organization that “trains artisans to make high-quality wood products, adding value to forest resources and creating incentives to protect biodiversity.” I know firsthand how cool artisan crafted wood products from the rainforest can be, because my parents recently received a huge wooden table that they bought in El Salvador. It’s absolutely beautiful. There is a huge market for these types of products, and GreenWood is doing its best to “foster self-sufficiency by promoting good forest management, the use of lesser-known species, inspired designs, skilled hand-tool production and access to good markets.”
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by Willy Franzen on October 25, 2008
Did your Kindergarten class have a special name? Something beyond the teacher’s name? If it did, you probably don’t remember it, but kids at Harlem Success Academy are going to remember the names of their classes for a long time. Not only are their classes named by the colleges that their teachers went to, but the classes are identified by the year that they will be graduating from college (if my math is right, then this year’s Kindergarteners are the Class of 2025). I think that’s pretty inspirational, and that’s the point. Harlem Success Academy is a charter elementary school that is exactly what its name says it is.
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by Willy Franzen on August 27, 2008
Ok, I’ll admit it. I bought 10 Facebook gifts for $5 back when Facebook gifts were new. I don’t know why I did it, but I did it, ok? Why would anyone in his or her right mind give a digital gift that has no practical value? I don’t know, but I’ve done it, and you probably have too. The only redeeming quality that I can see in these gifts is that they don’t take up space, as in they don’t add to the mountain of crap that you’ve accumulated in your short life. If I think that digital gifts are stupid, when why am I writing about Viximo and their entry-level jobs today? Because digital gifts aren’t stupid at all. They’re becoming a big business, and Viximo is banking on being a major player in the digital gifting economy. Birthday cards are pretty useless, but Hallmark has had a pretty good run. It’s time for the next step in showing people that you care, and Viximo is ready.
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by Willy Franzen on August 17, 2008
I am the black sheep of my family. My mom is a graphic designer, my dad is an architect, and my sister is a painter (although she doesn’t want to be labeled). I have no artistic talent whatsoever, and I barely have the ability to appreciate good art. That means that I’m probably not the best person to tell you about the The Museum of Modern Art, but they do have some great entry-level job opportunities, so I’m going to tell you about them anyway.
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by Willy Franzen on July 6, 2008
Continuing with our patriotic weekend, we’re going to take a look at Arena Stage, a non-profit theater company that produces “huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit.” They put out all types of productions “from vast epics to charged dramas to robust musicals.” Located in Washington, DC, Arena Stage has been around 6 decades and was one of the first non-profit theater companies. They reach an annual audience of over 200,000 people (we reach more here!) and strive “to instill in the public a life-long love of and participation in the theater arts through [their] education programs.”
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by Willy Franzen on June 28, 2008
by Willy Franzen on June 3, 2008
People don’t typically associate technology and innovation with Detroit and the auto industry. Whether it’s deserved or not, American car manufacturers have a pretty weak reputation these days. It’s unfortunate because the decline of the Big Three has seriously hurt the entire Michigan economy. That’s why you see these commercials with Jeff Daniels that try to sell businesses on a Michigan location. Armstrong White is exactly the type of company that is going to bring jobs back to Michigan. They have built a business in Bloomfield Hills, MI that directly serves the auto industry, but is also high tech and extremely innovative. No, they haven’t developed some sort of alternative energy technology. They specialize “in rendering reality out of automotive 2D and 3D assets and digital landscapes for print, broadcast and interactive mediums.”
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