Some weeks back the call went out for media workers of all stripes to stick up a hand and volunteer to help get the ball rolling for the forthcoming Mediaville All-Media Mixer.
I talked with Mediaville Montreal’s founder, Giancarlo La Giorgia, to narrow in on the organization’s focus, get the inside on the upcoming event and find out where it might all be heading.
Dan: The June 17 date is almost here. What else does Mediaville have in store for the year?
Giancarlo: Possibly, another networking event in the winter. Given the success of our inaugural Mediaville Montreal professional development event last fall, we plan to stage another, even better one this October.
Online, there are preparations to really launch the blog and also to set up directory of local freelancers.
Ultimately, we want to expand and create an organization that beyond its current media association partnerships.
D: And this is for freelancers in media industries?
G: Right. Montreal’s community of freelance media professionals: writers, editors, translators, web and graphic designers, photographers, videographers, filmmakers, and so on.
D: What are the longer-term objectives?
G: To create a space where freelancers can develop strategic partnerships through networking, promote themselves by marketing, and improve their skills with professional development. My long-term goal — my dream, really — is to develop a freelancer agency owned and operated by its members that can connect freelancers with clients.
D: What separates your ambitions with other blog hopefuls out in the ether?
G: The Mediaville brand is not yet established, but the associations that are behind it, and the people behind those associations, are reputable in their respective fields.
At the organizational level, that includes the leaders and executive members of Mediaville’s partner associations: AMWA, AELAQ, EAC, ELAN, PWAC and the STC. We’re also looking into partnering with the QWF and IABC-Montreal, to name just two. And that’s just in the print field. There are lots of other associations for broadcast, digital and other media.
At the event level, it’s members of the aforementioned, as well as freelancers in my own network.
D: Who would you like to see engaging with Mediaville in future?
G: Freelance media professionals of various disciplines, and at various stages in their careers. Emphasis on freelance and media.
D: How would collaboration, in your opinion, benefit these professionals?
G: Learning from each other, sharing resources, opening up new business possibilities, allowing groups of freelancers to work on larger projects than a single freelancer could take on, and leveraging the various, diverse creative abilities within the group.
The most important benefit is making money one wouldn’t have earned otherwise, while continuing their individual work in their respective field.
D: What, in your opinion, are things that would hold them back from collaborating?
G: Often, and quite understandably, it’s because they don’t want to share money or contracts. The other is that freelancers aren’t used to working in partnerships, although, in reality, they work in a sort of partnership with clients all the time. There’s also the worry of other people “banking” on your reputation.
So, in dry business terms, while there may be lower margin per job, there’s theoretically more work and revenue streams in diversifying clients over several industries. Obviously trust is an issue in such arrangements.
A big problem is that there are no written rules, though a group such as ours could change this. Collaborating requires people knowing each other enough to trust each other, which is why it’s important to create a space for people to meet and mingle.
Mediaville itself needs to build up its industry credibility and visibility — networking events like the one in June will help with the former, and the blog the latter.
Find out more here on the Mediaville blog, or inquire about the All-Media Mixer. At the time of writing, the event was almost at capacity — register soon to nab the remaining spaces!
