Digital Technology and Culture

A blog for students and friends of Washington State University Vancouver's Digital Technology and Culture Program

Job Postings

Web Programmer (Information Technology Specialist 4)

Information Technology Services Division

(1) Full-time position

Salary:

Salary range 62 ($53,436 - $70,092 annually DOQ)

Recruitment number:

F1708ITS40180JK

Location:

Olympia, Wash.

Opening date:

June 20, 2008

Closing date:

July 6, 2008

Join the high-performance team at Employment Security! 

The Family Leave Insurance Project is seeking a Web Programmer to support the Family Leave Insurance Benefits System. 




http://www.esd.wa.gov/newsandinformation/aboutesd/esdjobs/information-technology-specialist-4-0180.php





Web Programmer (Information Technology Specialist 4)

Information Technology Services Division

(3) Full-time, project positions 
Expected Duration: August 16, 2008 - December 31, 2009

Salary:

Salary range 62 ($53,436 - $70,092 annually DOQ)

Recruitment number:

F1708ITS43JK

Location:

Olympia, Wash.

Opening date:

June 20, 2008

Closing date:

July 20, 2008

Join the high-performance team at Employment Security! 

The Family Leave Insurance Project is looking for three Web Programmers to support the Family Leave Insurance Benefits System.



http://www.esd.wa.gov/newsandinformation/aboutesd/esdjobs/information-technology-specialist-4-aet12-aet13-aet14.php

posted by: grigar at 04:06 | link | comments |

ABout Job Interviews

From Career Builder
http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/06/23/cb.interview.tips/index.html


When talking with a potential employer, sounding like you're following a script can prevent a good conversation.

Interviews are nothing if not opportunities to drive yourself crazy.

Just remind yourself to look good, appear confident, say all the right things and don't say any of the wrong ones.

It shouldn't be so hard to follow these guidelines except you'll be on the receiving end of an endless line of questions. Factor in your nerves and you'll be lucky to remember your own name.

Don't fret.

If you walk into the interview prepared, you can make sure you know what right things to say, and you can stop yourself from saying the following wrong things.

1. "I hated my last boss." Your last boss was a miserable person whose main concern was making your life miserable. Of course you don't have a lot of nice things to say; however, don't mistake honesty, which is admirable, for trash-talking, which is despicable.

"If you truly did hate your last boss, I would be prepared to articulate why your last organization and relationship was not right for you," says Greg Moran, director of industry sales and partnerships for Talent Technology Corp. "Then be prepared to explain what type of organization is right for you and what type of management style you best respond to."


2. "I don't know anything about the company." Chances are the interviewer will ask what you know about the company. If you say you don't know anything about it, the interviewer will wonder why you're applying for the job and will probably conclude you're after money, not a career.

"With today's technology," Moran says, "there is no excuse for having no knowledge of a company except laziness and/or poor planning -- neither of which are attributes [of potential employees] sought by many organizations."


3. "No, I don't have any questions for you." Much like telling the interviewer that you don't know anything about the company, saying you don't have any questions to ask also signals a lack of interest. Perhaps the interviewer answered every question or concern you had about the position, but if you're interested in a future with this employer, you can probably think of a few things to ask.

"Research the company before you show up," Moran advises. "Understand the business strategy, goals and people. Having this type of knowledge will give you some questions to keep in your pocket if the conversation is not flowing naturally."


4. "I'm going to need to take these days off." "We all have lives and commitments and any employer that you would even consider working for understands this. If you progress to an offer stage, this is the time for a discussion regarding personal obligations," Moran suggests. "Just don't bring it up prior to the salary negotiation/offer stage."

Why? By mentioning the days you need off too early in the interview, you risk coming off presumptuous as if you know you'll get the job.


5. "How long until I get a promotion?" While you want to show that you're goal-oriented, be certain you don't come off as entitled or ready to leave behind a job you don't even have yet.

"There are many tactful ways to ask this question that will show an employer that you are ambitious and looking at the big picture," Moran offers. "For example, asking the interviewer to explain the typical career path for the position is fine."

Another option is to ask the interviewer why the position is open, Moran adds. You might find out it's due to a promotion and can use that information to learn more about career opportunities.


6. "Are you an active member in your church?" As you attempt to make small talk with an interviewer, don't cross the line into inappropriate chitchat. Avoid topics that are controversial or that veer too much from work.

"This sounds obvious but many times I have been interviewing candidates and been asked about my personal hobbies, family obligations, et cetera," Moran says. "Attempting to develop a rapport is essential but taking it too far can bring you into some uncomfortable territory."


7. "As Lady Macbeth so eloquently put it..." Scripted answers, although accurate, don't impress interviewers. Not only do they make you sound rehearsed and stiff, they also prevent you from engaging in a dialogue.

"This is a conversation between a couple humans that are trying to get a good understanding of one another. Act accordingly," Moran reminds.


8. "And another thing I hate..." Save your rants for your blog. When you're angry, you don't sway anybody's opinion about a topic, but you do make them like you less. For one thing, they might disagree with you. They also won't take kindly to your bad attitude.

"If you are bitter, keep it inside and show optimism. Start complaining and you will be rejected immediately," Moran warns. "Do you like working with a complainer? Neither will the interviewer."

posted by: grigar at 13:46 | link | comments |

Cool Internship

Animators, graphic designers, etc.- Be part of a new OMSI exhibit!

Reply to: gigs-718593575@craigslist.org
Date: 2008-06-13, 10:05AM

We are looking for a creative professional who can tell the story of four historical inventors for an upcoming exhibit. Monty-python style animation is what we've been envisioning, but we're open to your creative ideas and styles as well. Each story is no longer than 60 seconds, and may be in the format of an animation, slideshow, multi-media display - we're open to just about anything, the only thing is that it has to be engaging.

We will provide an audio track for each inventor, and a few historic photographs as well. You will likely need to collect images, generate artwork, and put the stories together. Our timeline is from now until August, and we have $5,000 budgeted for this gig.

Please contact me with further questions or to submit samples of your work by 6/17/08

Location: SE Portland
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests
Compensation: $5,000
Original URL: http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/crg/718593575.html

posted by: grigar at 02:43 | link | comments |

Time Magazine's 50 Best Web Sites

From Time Magazine, June 16:

"Some are as useful as a GPS device, others aren't that useful but give you something to do when you had nothing planned for the day. Put them all together and they become TIME.com's 2008 picks for the best the Web has to offer"

http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/1,28757,1809858,00.html

posted by: grigar at 14:04 | link | comments |

Images from the ELO 2008

Those of you who attended and worked on Visionary Landscapes: The Electronic Literature Organization 2008 Conference will enjoy seeing these images, video, and comments. And even if you could not join us, check this out!

The Post Conference Page on the ELO 2008 Website that John made:
http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/dtc/elo08/postconference.html
(there are two really cool videos from the conference posted)

Here is some of the publicity we generated:

1. The Columbian (Print and electronic articles)
Print copies of the article have been delivered to offices.
Electronic version:
http://www.columbian.com/lifehome/lifeHomeNews/2008/05/05302008_Works-of-art-a-click-away.cf
m

2. YouTube
“Exploding, Plastic, Inevitable” Performance at North Bank Artists Gallery by Drs. Steve Gibson
and Stefan Mueller Arisona
Posted by S. A. Atkinson, U if Brighton, UK; June 7, 2008
http://www.telebody.ws/Exploding/Movies/EPI_ELO_Original.mov

3. Blogs

“ELO Friday.” Kooneiform: Writing + Text + Games. June 5, 2008
http://kooneiform.wordpress.com/

CultureNet:
http://capculturenet.blogspot.com/2008/06/electronic-literature-conference.html

Grand Text Auto
http://grandtextauto.org/

“Envisioning the Visionary.” Professor VJ: art / remixology / politics / cinema / fiction / the-
ory / performance / writing. May 28, 2008.
http://professorvj.blogspot.com/2008/05/envisioning-visionary.html

“Loose Transcript of my Keynote at ELO 2008.” Professor VJ: art / remixology / politics /
cinema / fiction / theory / performance / writing. June 4, 2008.
http://professorvj.blogspot.com/2008/06/loose-transcript-of-my-keynote-at-elo.html

WRT: Writer Response Theory: a blog and podcast dedicated to discussing text arts forms
http://writerresponsetheory.org/wordpress/

“Games that Matter.” Zone of Influence: A game studies blog (mostly tabletop) by Matthew
Kirschenbaum
http://www.zoi.wordherders.net/?p=107

“Mouse Button or Cursor.” MetaBlog: French Theory and Hypertext (France)
http://metabole.blogspot.com/2008/06/mouse-button-or-cursor.html


4. Twitter
Sue Thomas
http://twitter.com/suethomas

5. Flickr

ELO 2008
http://www.flickr.com/groups/elo2008/

Tim Menzies
http://www.flickr.com/photos/timmenzies/

posted by: grigar at 03:09 | link | comments |

Wonderful Success

Above you see a photo of some of the pioneers of electronic literature. . .

From the right: Stuart Moulthrop, David Kolb, MJ (Deena's partner), Deena Larsen, and Sue Thomas.

This image takes me to the exhibit that students in the Electronic Literature course created for the conference--and to the contributions of all the students who helped to make Visionary Landscapes: The Electronic Literature Organization 2008 Conference a success.

Here is a list of students and their contributions. Thank you is not enough. As many of you who attended the event realized, it was an important event and one that took a lot of work.

Greg Zschomler, who designed and physically produced the exhibit "The Early Authors of Electronic Literature Exhibit" and Greg, Ryan, and Bryce Van Hoosen who developed the exhibit during the Electronic Literature course in spring 2008

Nikki Farland, who photographed the many events over the course of 4 days

Nina Westerburg, who worked the Registration table and took photos of the events

Danny Mulvihill, who worked with artists Steve Gibson and Stefan Mueller Arisona to order, set up, and break down the equipement at North Bank Artists Gallery for the Saturday night performance

Ryan Hicks, Ben Hook, Mckenzie Lowery, and Ben Hansel who worked the Registration table for many days at the Hilton and the Firstenberg Student Commons

Zach Jepson, who acted as docent at North Bank Artists Gallery at the Saturday night Artists Talk

Those of you reading this post keep in mind that these are undergraduates who take on duties and responsibilties that grad students normally do. I am truly blessed.

posted by: grigar at 05:13 | link | comments |