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?