We hear all the time why we need to be on every social website there is. But why? What is the big reason behind it? Well, follow me and I will give you 10 reasons why you, a student should use social media to your advantage and most important how to use it.
If you are a student most likely your goal is to get your work out there for possible employers to see your work and hire you. So follow this easy 10 steps and I guarantee you will be on the eyes of a few employers.
WARNING: Social Media takes work and you must put work and time into it in order to get the exposure you desire. But believe me, at the end of the day it will be worth it.
1.    Get  a website
The first thing you need to do is create a home in the internet world. In order to do this you must create a website.  It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, full of flash but you must have the following.
a.    A welcome page
b.    A section for your portfolio pieces
c.    A contact page

2.    Show you work
This is probably one of the most important items you need to do. Showing your work will give you the exposure that you need for future employers to see a sneak peak of what you are capable of.  There are many websites out there that offer this services, flash albums, music, etc but the simplest one to use is flickr and the best part is that is free. Make sure you have a link from your website to all websites where you have posted your work.

3.    Show your site to the world
It is useless to have your work on a website if no one can find your website and your work. In order to do this you must promote your site.  There are many ways you can do this and we can spend hours and hours talking about it. If you want more information you can read about SEO. But here are 3 mayor things you need to make sure your site has.
1.    Your website should have a meta tags. These are a  title page, keywords, and a description. This all needs to be written in the header section  of the page. Work with your web designer in order to add these items to the code of each page.
2.    Once you have your website ready and it has the meta tags added, submit your website to google and yahoo. All other search engines grab the content from these search engines so there is no need to spend time or money submitting your website to other search engines.

4.    Promote your work
Well, we took care of the technical stuff, now is time for the good stuff; Promotion. This is where your personality needs to come out. Share your website with everyone; put it on your email tag, business card, etc… everywhere you go you need to start sharing you website. Ahh very important put it on your resume.

5.    Get a twitter account
Twitter is the simplest way to get started to promote your work, you don’t have to get a blog, you don’t have to tell them what you did for the day but just do this 3 things and you will get started with twitter in no time.
1.    Every time you create a new design, upload it to your website and share the link with your twitter followers. Don’t have any followers? Visit my website and learn how to start building your list.
2.    Follow other designers, learn about new techniques they share and comment on other people’s designs.
3.    Share anything related to your field with your twitter followers, it doesn’t always have to be about what you create but if you find a good resource, article or image, go ahead, share it.

6.    Network with other artists
By being involved with twitter you automatically will start networking with other designer. You can get great business connections through there and possibly, very possibly get a few freelance jobs there.

7.    Comment on other blogs and forums
Visit your favorite blogs and start commenting on posts. But more important than posting is to make sure you leave a signature. A signature is your website, your blog, anything where they can get more information about you and your work.

8.    Subscribe to contests
Another way to start spreading your art is to participate in contest. You don’t have to start with the first prize $50, 000 all expenses paid trip around the world type of contests, but you can start with small contests, some don’t event have first cash prizes but what you are looking for is to say “I participated”, or even better “I won” and during your contest, invite your twitter followers and facebook friends to participate in the voting. This way you are sharing your art with friends and others. The more exposure you get the better people will remember you which could bring more opportunities and even a dream job.

9.    Join other Social Networks
You have been working with twitter for a while now, so browse around and subscribe to other social networks, a few of my favorites are Stumble upon, Reddit and linked in.
10.    Contact Job Recruiters
After a while that you have been working on promoting your work you are ready to start looking for a job. find a few recruiters that are online, contact them through twitter, send them your website and show them your portfolio. Request an interview and just network around, I guaranteed you something will show up.

So as you notice, amcoli.com has a new look. Yes people, I’ve moved from Godaddy Smart Space to a grown ups blog from WordPress called Thesis. still with a little code issues that can’t figure out (argh…) so if you are a web designer, know some code or has any idea how to help me with my issues I would reaaaaally appreciated.

Ok so back to business…

Amecoli.com will still have cool photography, graphic design, art thoughts and finds and everything else in between, but with a little add on twist that I think all of you will enjoy. I will use my online marketing knowledge and help you; all my creative people out there, how to promote your work and make a brand of yourself. I will help you build a strong online presence that will not only help you promote your work online but will also help you offline, meet and network with others in the industry, get freelance jobs, etc….

Did you know that 30% of employees Google your name before they call you for an interview? did you know they also want to find out pieces of your portfolio online and how you promote yourself? well… worry not! as I will help you do the best I can… Promote yoursel online and ofline.

So are you ready to put your career online and get the exposure you deserve? well, come’ on in and grab a chair, here at amecoli.com will travel together on this journey.

No, I don’t know it all, and yes! I will teach you everything I learn along the way so you can apply it as well.

any thoughts? you like the change? stick to the old stuff?

Well this past Saturday (June 13, 2009)  I headed to downtown Miami with my friend Angela to Art Walk Miami. She mentioned it was a good place to go and look at different galleries and a good plan to do for FREE!. Some of the galleries  served wine and cheese while you look at their art. Hey, with paintings going for $5,000 or more, they’d better give me some wine! At the galleries most art pieces are for sale but who has a minimum of $1,600 to get an original piece? 

It seems like unique art is only available for the rich. I mean, if you have $1,600 to spend on a painting 5 x 7 then I consider you rich.  Don’t get me wrong, the pieces are fantastic, I mean these people are just truly amazing, but me? a middle class girl could only ever hope to own a piece like that. Well I didn’t have to dream for long, because while walking down the streets of art walk, I met a man who is a true inspiration and has a true love for art.  He is not a gallery owner but a graduate from FIU who took the initiative to grab a few of his paintings, head down to the art walk, place them on the side walk and offer them to the public.

His paintings were really good. I specially liked the one with the cats and he said his inspiration was the Mardi Gras. Oh my, what a wonderful painting it is!

I was very curious to know more about the painting and about him as an artist, so I decided to sit with him for a few minutes and what I discovered was amazing.

He told me the story of this rich guy who buys his art for very cheap. I mean this guy even asks for  discounts. Then turns around, puts it on the gallery and sell them for at least $7,000. I mean, I know his art is worth that, but why is it that the artist that does all the work, creates a masterpiece and is the one that gets a few dollars for his creation? I mean he is doesn’t even sell it to the gallery for half the prize!

With that in mind, he asked a few other artists friends to come and join him and show their art on one of the sidewalks of the Art Walk Miami. Like he said ” it is freedom of expression” and we all should be able to express art and enjoy it.

He was asking only $300 a piece, I mean, if you know something about art or if you don’t you can definitely guess that 300 bucks barely covers the cost of the  canvas, the painting and who knows how many hours he spent creating it. The paintings are big, so they must’ve taken a long time.

I’m the #1 supporter of local Art, local artists and this guy and his love for art was just truly an inspiration. Not only the rich and famous should be able to afford unique art, anyone can. And with guys like this little by little society will change that way of thinking and soon we will all be able to afford unique pieces and not settle for just poster copies.

here is a short video we took of him explaining his pieces and the inspiration behind them.

If you are interested in any of his pieces or would like to contact him to see more of his art,  you can reach him at: 305-542-7259 or email him at inkakeystone@yahoo.com 

Please post your comments and show your support.

To learn more about Art Walk which happens the second Saturday of every month, please visit 

Want to see a few other pictures we took at the Art Walk? head over to my Flickr account and enjoy!