Strands of Genius : Nicole D'Alonzo + Journalism Media & Technology Predictions 2023
featuring: an interview with our guest editor and a research report
Welcome to the Bonus edition of Strands of Genius! On Fridays, we’ll be publishing interviews from our guest editors, and sharing a research report. Thanks for being along for the ride. Oh and by the way, you look great today :)
:: STEAL THIS THINKING | RESEARCH REPORT ::
Extraordinary advances in artificial intelligence (AI) in 2022 have laid bare more immediate opportunities – and challenges – for journalism. AI offers the chance for publishers (finally) to deliver more personal information and formats, to help deal with channel fragmentation and information overload. But these new technologies will also bring existential and ethical questions – along with more deep fakes and other synthetic media. Buckle up for the ride.
:: DIVE IN | THE INTERVIEW ::
NICOLE D’ALONZO COFOUNDER, SOCIAL FRESH
>> Nicole guest curated Strands of Genius on April 13, 2023. Read it here.
Tell us a little bit about yourself and what keeps you busy. How did you end up doing what you’re doing today?
As an entrepreneur and consultant, I spend a lot of time managing client relationships and projects, but more recently I've started leaning into building my own platform again. Spending the earlier part of my career gaining big brand client experience has given me the freedom I have today. Creating content has always been a central theme in the work I've done--even when I was in a role that didn't directly expect content production, I ended up producing videos or articles.
What excites you most about what you do?
The best part of content creation for me is creating content that connects people around a shared mission.
What beliefs define your approach to work? How would you define your leadership style?
I like to give people ownership over projects and tasks and I deeply value emotional intelligence and investing in those conversations.
What has been the most rewarding project you’ve worked on and why?
The connects we've fostered for Social Fresh conference attendees over the last 14 years has been pretty incredible--people have met at our event and gone on to write books together, launch agencies, secured dream jobs, and gotten married.
We are big believers in diversity -- Not only because we believe in equality, but because we also think it’s better for business. The Black Lives Matter movement has shaped industry conversations around both global injustice, and also lack of representation in our industry. How do you frame these kinds of conversations, both internally and with clients? Is there an emphasis on action, or are the conversations really more about communication?
We are one of the few conferences that has had a majority woman-led speaker roster and always prioritizes under-represented groups being featured on stage. This is not by accident. The problem is that big and small companies--as well as many family structures--are not supporting women's opportunities to speak, so we've seen 60-70% cancellations.
Switching gears a bit, how do you find time to balance personal interests with your career? Do you believe work/life balance is possible? Anything you’ve implemented that you recommend that others try?
Honestly, I'm working on finding a new balance right now. I'm not doing so great at it these days and trying to find a new normal. Over the last year, I wasn't able to practice my own yoga classes due to being sick, so I just started getting back into it (slowly) and I'm practicing a lot of Louise Hay affirmations to try and prioritize my mental health and generally trying to do less.
What’s your media diet? Where do you find inspiration?
I've stepped back from the steady news diet I had been on and I've been going a bit retro and even reading hard copy magazines (I still get a Vanity Fair subscription! :)). I've been trying to read more of my friends content. They are very smart!
What’s the best piece of advice/knowledge you’ve stolen, and who/where’d you steal it from?
My mom said, "Love is not a feeling, it's a behavior."
You can keep in touch with Nicole on IG, Twitter or LinkedIn.
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faris & rosie & ashley | your friends over at geniussteals.co
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It's called Genius Steals because we believe ideas are new combinations and that nothing can come from nothing. But copying is lazy. We believe the best way to innovate is to look at the best of that which came before and combine those elements into new solutions.
Co-Founders Faris & Rosie are award-winning strategists and creative directors, writers, consultants and public speakers who have been living on the road/runway since March 2013, working with companies all over the world. Our Director of Operations is nomadic like us, our accounting team is based in Tennessee where our company is registered, our admin extraordinaire is based in Playa del Carmen, and our collaborators are all over the world. Being nomadic allows us to go wherever clients need us to be, and to be inspired by the world in between.
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