Hi everyone! Hopefully all of you are enjoying your summer and internship as I am.
The past 4 weeks have been more about learning and observing the new workplace and technology. I am becoming increasingly comfortable with my co-workers; we spend more time together, and have longer conversations. Because I am better able to understand our technology, I have the ability to ask more interesting questions, which create substantial conversations. This differs from the beginning, because then, I used to almost always ask descriptive questions, such as, what does this mean? and how does this work?. That didn’t allow for much conversation.
Through the daily work I am doing here I am improving my research, presentation, and networking skills, which will certainly be helpful in school, and future activities. I know I improving because my research is more specific to the needs of the staff. After 4 weeks I had plenty of opportunities to learn what they look for and care about, so I am able to tailor my research reports accordingly. I am learning how to filter the information and decide what is most important spending time on. I am becoming more fluent when speaking about most online video technology. Also, I am able to better understand the industry news, and as proof, I am becoming very good at writing weekly reports, based on the industry news.
Though doing all these tasks may sound boring, it’s actually very exciting because I have the opportunity to make the blueprint. For example, there wasn’t an official weekly report, so I took the initiative to create a template, with a front-page cover. It’s motivating when you know everyone in the company, and outside the company (partners, allies) will see your work. It makes you feel part of the company.
However, I think the most important skill I am improving is being comfortable learning a completely new business/industry than the ones I have been taught in college. I consider myself lucky that I have the opportunity to study and work within the industry of big data analytics, and the online video players, because I am learning it will become one of the most important industries that will power all businesses.
While doing work for IRIS.TV, I often read technology news articles who advise all media and entertainment companies that the 2 most necessary things they need to do are 1) to acquire more content, and 2) work on improving the viewers’ experience, which is exactly what IRIS.TV does through its analytics and recommendation programs. It’s very exciting to be part of a company that is one of the leading forces of an industry that is only now starting to mature. It makes me feel like the opportunities are endless.
In conclusion, if the first 4 weeks have been about observing and learning, I plan to make the next 4-5 weeks about taking the initiative and creating. I am most proud of my progress in studying and understanding the technologies employed by our company, and that of our competitors. I can finally begin to understand our company’s strategy and why our CEO takes certain decisions. I believe that in time, if I keep observing, I will also be able to make viable strategies that will lead to our company’s success. It’s time to be more proactive and create!
Paul Vancea ’14
