This week, we invade the life of EMAC graduate student Nico Martini (@drnicomartini).

Q: What do you do when you’re not teaching or taking classes?

A: I own a digital marketing consultancy called Hypeworthy. We specialize in social media/digital marketing for arts related businesses. I have had clients that include CBS Radio, Daryl Roth (Broadway producer), Michael Urie (ABC’s Ugly Betty), etc. The newest client is a concert series happening the week before the Superbowl in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Q: How has EMAC influenced you?

A: I graduate in December. I feel like the most influential classes were all of the theory classes… Anyone can go online, enter the right searches and teach themselves about the tools of the internet, but the value in being a program like EMAC is that you are learning WHY and HOW not just WHAT. Why does the internet work the way it does? How will it look in the future? Why is mobile gaining in usage? Etc.

If you understand things like network theory, you have a greater picture of what is going to happen in the future, what technologies are going to stick and what will ultimately be useful. If you are just some hack who thinks they know what social media is… as soon as the tools you know upgrade or become obsolete, you’re not able to transition nearly as well. There are a lot of people making their living online who are simply touting tools and arbitrary techniques that may not even exist or matter in 2 years, 1 year, 3 months… understand the base of technology and what the genesis of it is the key to being educated. It’s easy to steal and use some cookie cutter process for interacting online… it’s a whole different ballgame when you are actually creating process.

Q: What advice would you give to students working their way through EMAC?

A: My advice to undergrads is two things… pay attention to the theory and realize that you have to know a little bit about business if you ever want to be successful. There are a lot of designers, animators, modelers out there… the difference that you can establish between yourself and them is the ability to market yourself. If you are the designer that pops up on Google when it’s time for me to hire a designer… guess what? You’ve got a GREAT chance of being hired (assuming you do good work). If you are no where to be found when its time for me to hire a designer… then I don’t know you exist. Period. If you can market yourself, you’ll be successful. Look online… there are TONS of examples of under qualified hacks who are making a great living simply because they know how to put themselves in a good position to be found and subsequently hired.

As for those of you who are lost and have no idea what all of this is about… think of it this way… EMAC is the study of why the internet exists, how it works, and how to use it. We don’t make the internet in EMAC, we make the stuff that makes the internet cool. This is going to become the greatest degree ever, simply because of the scope of the internet… have you ever in your lifetime seen something increase in usage like the internet? It’s not going to stop. Everything is moving online… ANYTHING you want to do… if you can train yourself to do it online, you’ve got a chance to be very successful… Film making, journalism, art, heck even jewelry making, or giving out tax advice… The internet isn’t the future, it’s the now… you just have to figure out what direction you want to take with it and plan accordingly.

Next week, we take a look at a group in Dave Parry’s class on privacy — do you know who’s watching you?

In the future, we will be highlighting the efforts of some of our EMAC students  – everything from those who are out in the world doing big things to those who are in the classroom, changing the way people think about emerging media and communication.  This week’s pick: Lacy Mahone.

Lacy (@LaceofBase) is an EMAC M.A. student gearing up to graduate in 2011.  Lacy’s time is spent doing three things: homework, filming Dallas cyclists and editing the footage, and running her newly established business, DiveBomb Media.

A short film, tentatively titled “Urban Cycling” has been in the works for about a year now and is set to be finished by her graduation date.  The chaos started when Dean Terry (@therefore) challenged his beginning film students to go film something… anything.  Lacy picked a community of cyclists in Dallas.  They were urban cyclists – not one square inch of spandex to be found – and they were all loose-knit friends with group rides all through the week organized through social media.

In the summer of 2010, Lacy founded a social media advising and training company called DiveBomb Media, LLC (@DiveBombMedia).  DiveBomb Media’s operations are guided by the EMAC way of thinking.  What’s everyone doing with new media?  What will they be doing in two months?  One year?  The idea is to be ahead of the curve in the new media game.  By asking the questions often posed to EMAC students, DiveBomb Media creates custom strategies to suit individual companies’ needs, then offers training on how to skillfully execute the strategy in-house.

The challenging and ever-evolving curriculum within the EMAC program prepared Lacy for the challenges of operating a business specializing in identity management in uncharted territory.  EMAC taught her not to simply accept new media, but to own it and use it as a tool.

Know of someone doing noteworthy things within the program?  We want to know!  Contact either Julie Larsen (@EMACAdvise) or @emacUTD and share it with us!