Månedens Medlem: Greg McQueen [april]

[Jacob 'Jobbe' Høegh]

I Headstart vil vi gerne bidrage til, at vi lærer hinanden bedre at kende. Derfor udvælger vi hver måned et medlem, som vi stiller nogle spørgsmål. I denne måned sætter vi fokus på Headstart-medlem Greg McQueen!

Læs endelig videre og lær ham at kende :)

Name: Greg McQueen

Occupation: Video Producer - REDWEB, Aarhus.

Education: Aarhus Business Academy, Multimedia Design and Communication.

Favourite App:

Right now, I am really loving Adobe Premiere, both the Pro version and Premiere Elements. I use Premiere Pro for post production on videos that need, of course, the professional touch. It really is a reliable work horse for getting the job done. Premiere Elements is great for editing on the go. Recently I did a whole day of filming in Copenhagen, I video blogged throughout the day, and, edited the footage using Premiere Elements on my Macbook Air on the train home.

Favourite Social Media and how you use it:

I love Twitter. It's an awesome stream of information that I can jump in and out of whenever I pick up my phone or open my web browser. I also think it is a brilliant way of sharing what you are doing. A way of sharing moments, via quick videos and photos, and, longer form stuff like YouTube videos and blog posts.

A week after the Haiti earthquake back in 2010 I woke up one morning and decided it was enough with passively watching the news, it was time to do something. I wrote a tweet, asking writers to send me their short stories, I wanted to publish an ebook to help raise money for the Red Cross.

Within 24 hours I had well over 100 stories from writers around the globe. Within 48 hours I was fielding calls from publishers wanting to publish the book. Within 72 hours the project appeared in websites like the Huffington Post and Wired Magazine. Within a week, I was talking to BBC Audio Books America, they wanted to make an audio version of the book to sell in iTunes (Stories for Haiti).

Six weeks and four days later the book was published, 100 Stories for Haiti. The project raised thousands of pounds for the British Red Cross, and, more importantly, their work for the people of Haiti.

This all happened thanks to Twitter. Ideas can spread on Twitter at light speed. 100 Stories for Haiti really taught me the power of writing 140 characters … A tweet can open up possibilities way beyond your expectations.

Most interesting trend in regards of Media:

Video. Video. Video. I think most people are aware how much video is flying around the web right now. I mean, putting a video on a web page is as easy as putting up a photo. And the technology to actually make videos for the web is so accessible these days.

On a professional level I use a Canon EOS 600D to shoot video for clients. For blogging I use a small Sony Bloggie camera. The Bloggie is no bigger than a mobile phone and can shoot hours of video if needed. Transferring the footage from both cameras is as easy as dragging and dropping the files… I remember spending hours not so many years ago batching tapes at the BBC and Danmark's Radio!

Video has become so quick and simple to produce without spending a fortune on equipment. With the Canon camera I can ensure the results look totally professional for clients. With the Bloggie I can just let loose and film more casually. There is a huge difference between the cameras, but, the accessibility of the Bloggie makes it perfect for keeping in my pocket and capturing thoughts or situations instantly, which I can share on my blog as soon as I hit a Wifi connection.

What are you looking for at Headstart?

It was actually my wife who pointed me towards the Headstart website. I signed up right way and, once my membership was accepted, I logged in and thought, "Cool! A Social Media site for people in my industry around Aarhus."

The events are great. But. I really see Headstart as a Social Media site. And, with any Social Media site, you need to be prepared to put time into it. I meet a lot of people who are reluctant to use Social Media. I mean, in this day and age, if you are running any sort of business, you are missing out if you aren't using Social Media.

I often find that the people who can't quite figure out Social Media sites -- people who sign up and never really use them -- are approaching with the view, "What can I get from this?" If you want to use any Social Media site fully, including the Headstart site, then you have to switch thinking -- think, "What can I contribute?"

Everyone, no matter what you do, has something to contribute to Social Media. Be it expertise in a certain field, be it an outlook on life, or, just something as simple as a great cooking recipe. Figure out what you can contribute. Then start contributing … TODAY!

I see Headstart as a chance to contribute whatever knowledge I have to a Social Media site made up of people in the same field as me. I also see it as a valuable resource where those people can also share their knowledge with me.