Aug 20 2008
Imagining My Dream Job (Naked City No More)
I’m not going to post my round up of Naked City links this evening, because as of a few hours ago, I am no longer writing the blog. At the moment, it’s still live, but my login has been disabled, it’s not branded Village Voice anymore, and the RSS feed has been deleted from villagevoice.com/sex. I’m not really sure what’s going to happen to the site, but I was told that in a recent budget meeting they decided that it wasn’t getting enough traffic to justify the expense, so they had to drop me.
I’m (obviously) pretty bummed about losing the job and the abrupt and slightly passive aggressive manner in which it happened. I was really enjoying doing the blog and its video show. So now that I’ve gotten and lost two sweet sex + internet dream jobs (The Peeq and Naked City) in less than a year, I’m feeling a bit discouraged, and I’m trying to figure out a better and more stable future for myself.
I have been thinking a lot recently about my dream job and what that might look like - and while editing Naked City has been nothing short of awesome and amazing, I also know that I can’t picture blog writing being my main livelihood in five to ten years. However, thinking long term when you’re working freelance at the frenetic pace of the internet is pretty tough stuff.
As much as I have been burned by working for start ups and making stuff with slightly amorphous web projects, I do really love that entrepreneurial thrill of organizing something from scratch - I can’t help it. But at the same time, I have started to think that maybe it might do me well to work with a more established organization (not just because I want something safe - please, safe is for baby boomers). Though freelance stuff has been my bread and butter for many years, I think I could learn a lot from working within a larger organization, and that the right organization could learn a lot from me.
So here’s the thing, dear reader - I’m open to suggestions about what you see me being capable of and any ideas you might have about possible folks to work with, both in terms of freelance work and bigger-picture full time jobs. I’m very interested in doing non-profit work around the sex industry, reproductive & sexual health, media activism, and feminist issues. I’m also open to working with adult businesses, and either way I’m looking for something intellectually engaging, with problem-solving fun, integration of media and human interaction, with occasional bouts of trying new and interesting things.
Over the last seven years I’ve been curator, blogger, writer, magazine editor, adjunct professor, public speaker, video producer and video editor. I’m comfortable on a lot of different content management and blogging systems; I’m a videographer with my own equipment and can edit with Final Cut Pro and iMovie; I’m becoming ever more adept at audio recording and editing with Digidesign Pro Tools; I have basic understanding of HTML; I’ve got basic competence with the Adobe Creative Suite; and I know a whole damn lot about the web and social media. Also, my brain is a steel trap. So, I’ve got skills, I just need to figure out how to use them all to my advantage.
I am also, as I’ve mentioned to some folks in person and hinted at/whined about on Twitter, very much looking to leave New York for the right opportunity. I’ve lived in this city for nine years and grew up in upstate New York, and though I very much consider it my home, I do really want to give something else a try. Because, why not - I’m nothing if not a risk taker, and why not do that with my living arrangements? I’m not limiting this to the US either - have laptop, will spontaneously uproot life for interesting adventures.
In addition to Waking Vixen, I have a slightly more portfolio-like and to-the-point website at AudaciaRay.com with a clickable resume and all that good stuff. So, that’s my sales pitch. If you have any interesting ideas for me, drop me a line at dacia[at]wakingvixen[dot]com.
I know I’ll land on my feet, I just feel like I need to get more proactive about where I land, what that looks like, and what it spells for my future.
August 21st, 2008 at 3:15 am
[...] crazy announcement in my circle: Audacia Ray is no longer writing The Naked City. I know?! What the hell are they thinking? Sometimes I [...]