Black Nerd Problems Internship

Charlie Centinaro II

Kean University

COMM 4955 Spring 16 Mirrer

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At the beginning of this semester, I made it a goal of mine to get one internship under my

belt while I am a student here at Kean University. I was always taught how important it was to

get an internship while in college, not just to learn, but also to get experience within the field that

I am currently studying for. Luckily for me, my goal became a reality and I was able to get an

internship with an amazing website called BlackNerdProblems.com (BNP). Black Nerd

Problems is a Pop Culture website that sheds a brighter light on colored characters of movies,

televisions, and comic books.

I was very excited to get this internship and the process was very smooth. I was advised

by a good friend of mine that the website had an opening for a new intern, and I jumped at the

opportunity. Within the hour, I had brushed up on my resume and sent an application for the

position. I was very nervous because this was my first stab at trying to get an internship; I was

worried that I might not get the position.

To my surprise, I received an email from Black Nerd Problems faster than I thought and

they wanted to schedule for a Skype interview. I felt very confident that the interview was going

to be through Skype; I find myself to be a very friendly and fun person to interact with. And

given the content of the website, I felt even more confident because I was going to have a

conversation with someone who had the same interests as myself. During the interview, I was

calm and energetic. Carrie, who would later become my supervisor, conducted the interview.

At the conclusion of the interview, I was told that I would receive an email back from

them confirming whether or not I got the position, and they thanked me for my time. I extended a

thank you for the interview. The next day I was offered the position and I felt very good about

myself; but that same moment is when my fear kicked in.

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I had never done work for a website before, let alone work outside of retail. I was about

to enter a whole new area. I was not sure at all what I would even do for them. Would I write

editorials for them? Would I manage their online social media? It turns out that my position was

to manage their social media Instagram account.

My Public Relations class taught me that Social Media jobs pertain to dealing with the

public directly. But the only way I ever dealt with the public was in retail. So what was social

media to Black Nerd Problems and how does it pertain to my Communications degree. Well,

social media is already prevalent in our lives whether we like it or not. And many people who

run companies or small businesses use some form of social media. The impact social media has

made on society, is not something that can be ignored.

“As of 2015 the world’s largest social networking company, Facebook, has 1.49 billion

active users, and the number of users is increasing every year. One of the most interesting things

to look at is the increasing number of student users on such social networking sites. As per the

survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 72 percent of high school and 78 percent of college

students spend time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. These numbers indicate how much the

student community is involved in this virtual world of social networking… many reasons exist

that explain why students love to spend time socializing. Firstly, social networks provide them

the freedom to do whatever they want — to upload what they want and talk to whom they want.

They like to make new friends and comment on the lives of different people. Students can create

other online identities that the real world does not allow. The freedom it gives them to act just by

sitting in front of a computer enthralls them, and they then demand for more freedom. Never

before has it been so easy for young minds to create a digital image of their actions through such

a spontaneous medium” (Karadkar, 2015).

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After a few welcoming emails from the new staff that I was a part of, my job was duties

were given to me and I was off to the races. I was to run the BNP Instagram account. I was sent a

manual on what I can post, and how to post it. I was also taught what to avoid putting on the site.

Instagram was a little tricky to learn, but I learned it nonetheless and ran with it.

“Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and launched in October

2010 as a free mobile app. The service rapidly gained popularity, with over 100 million active

users as of April 2012 and over 300 million as of December 2014. Instagram is distributed

through the Apple App Store and Google Play” (Wikipedia, 2016).

However, I was not using social media for a personal site, this was very different. Each

post made had to be for a specific purpose. It was not until this internship that I learned how

important social media is within the workforce.

“Social media have transformed corporate communication practices: Tools such as

Twitter and Facebook allow organizations to speak directly to and solicit responses from the

public quickly and affordably” (Weigel, 2013).

For a short time, and by short I mean three days, I was tasked to work on the Black Nerd

Problems Twitter account. I did not last long there because I was much better at Instagram and

my supervisor was kind and understanding of where my strengths are and are not. From then on,

Carrie tasked me with assignments on the Instagram account.

One of the reasons I chose to apply to Black Nerd Problems was because they focused on

Pop Culture and comic books. I adore comic books. I am a huge fan collector of comic books. I

had always wanted to be a part of the industry in some way shape or form, instead of just a

customer. I wanted to reach out to thousands of comic book fans such as myself. Luckily, at the

time I was offered a position, the Black Nerd Problems Instagram account had over one-

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thousand-five-hundred followers; and all of those people would see and comment on what I post.

That was very exciting to me.

Comic books have become more popular due to recent cinematic movies that have

accumulated billions of dollars. But these billions of dollars sparked from the ideas of a short

packet of paper that cost only ten cents.

“Some argue that superheroes are integral to American society. This claim comes from

the reflection of American social change in many superhero comics since 1938, also assisting in

the increased popularity and renown of comics and superheroes. World War II prompted

Marvel’s famous Hitler-punching Captain America, and with the coming of The War on Terror

following September 11, Captain America dealt with government oversight, akin to current

issues of government surveillance or US foreign policy. DC’s Superman educated children about

unaccounted landmines in former Yugoslavia, and technological changes in the 21st century

manifested most noticeably in the current development of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies

and TV series… we read comics or try to understand superheroes, particularly as children, we

develop our emotions, reading ability, and morals. Just as we idolize celebrities, we idolize

superheroes. This is best mirrored by Tony Stark – he is a celebrity, and one who seems to bask

in the glow of his self-made fame. The comics, however, also reveal him to be particularly fond

of drowning his insecurities and fears in alcohol, while suffering from anxiety, panic attacks, and

bouts of paranoia: effects that are not uncommon in celebrities. Furthermore, based on theories

of social psychology, comics likely impact our levels of aggression, prosaically behavior,

leadership ability and attitudes… Children can use superheroes and villains to take various

perspectives on a situation and test the consequences of actions, while reading comics can assist

with developing their emotional vocabulary. Comics provide the exaggerated opportunity to play

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out moralistic and ethical dilemmas for both children (in an effort to increase their understanding

of the world around them) and adults (to critique and analyze the status quo)” (Kraska, 2015).

The focus of Black Nerd Problems is as I stated before, shining a brighter light on

characters of color in comic books and other entertainment outlets (movies, television, etc.). The

beginning of comics started off with Superman, aka Clark Kent, who we all know is Caucasian.

Other popular superheroes such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Spider-man, and

Ironman were all Caucasian. Even today, the majority of comic book heroes are Caucasian.

While there were some black characters and heroes that could stand up to the likes of these other

famous heroes, it was unsettling to the creators of Black Nerd Problems because they felt that

these characters were not just as strong as Superman and Captain America, but that these

characters symbolized something that none of these other characters could not. While Batman

and Superman dealt with common struggles like depression, difficult choices, interpersonal

relationships, and conflict, they never dealt with racism or oppression. People of color were

limited in being able to connect with characters like Superman and Wonder Woman. There was a

great need for strong and powerful Black, Muslim, and Latino heroes.

“The most important lesson is that everyone has a right to dream their own dreams and

that dreaming for others must be done with great caution - if at all. Black people are human

beings. We have the right to lay claim to everything that this means - including a diversity of

experiences” (Akili, 2013).

During the internship, we used email to communicate one-on-one, between Carrie and

myself, and we used Google Hangouts, that is a messaging app that we used to communicate as a

whole group. Google Hangouts included everyone from other interns, to other head supervisors;

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we spoke about upcoming events, status on group tasks, and friendly messages of

encouragement.

Carrie, my supervisor was spectacular. I expressed to her early on how nervous I was,

and she was very patient and understanding of the fact that I was swimming in new waters.

Anytime I had a question or concern, I would email Carrie and she would walk me through step

by step. Carrie would also send me monthly emails on my progress; I was very pleased with

those emails and reading Carrie tell me how I offer a great deal of help and that I am doing a

good job. Those emails gave me a greater boost of confidence that I needed to get through all

those hours of working. I started the internship a about a week late into the semester so I had to

make up for those hours lost.

My main assignments would include posting photos on the Instagram account, keeping

track of live tweets and posting, reading weekly articles on the Black Nerd Problems main

website, and reposting other accounts.

Keeping track of live tweets was probably my weak point. Carrie would have to remind

me to post something that was live tweeted. I think the reason I had trouble with live tweeting

was because I was never watching the show as the live tweeting was going on.

My strong points were definitely posting screen shots on time and finding great

photographs for Cosplay Wednesday. Cosplay Wednesday was a weekly assignment in which I

had to find people dressed up as their favorite fictional characters. I was able to find and share

great talent with our followers and help get other more followers. Carrie assigned Cosplay

Wednesday to me and after the trial runs, she eventually gave me the task permanently.

There were a few times when I was unable to post anything from Black Nerd Problems.

The website crashed two separate times during the semester. I was informed that the reason for

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the crash was due to trolling. Trolling is when a bunch of people comment so many negative

comments on our site that we have to restart to block those individuals from turning people away

from the site. We want to encourage a fun and inviting atmosphere on the site; not a site that is

full of fights and negativity.

Black Nerd Problems gave me wonderful experience in a field that is rapidly growing

within the workforce. “Almost nine in 10 companies in the United States are using social media

for marketing purposes, reveals a new study. eMarketer surveyed organizations with 100 or more

employees across the U.S. and found that 88 percent are using social media in some capacity for

marketing purposes, including: social networks, social games, blogs, micro blogging, photo and

video sharing, podcasting, ratings and reviews, virtual worlds, widgets, and apps. This figure is

expected to rise slightly to 89 percent next year and 89.5 percent in 2016 (Bennett, 2014).

Working with Black Nerd Problems was such a fun and fulfilling experience. I was able

to learn what it is like working with people in the work industry. I was able to complete task on a

timely manner, and deal with a large number of individuals. This gave me good practice at what

is and is not appropriate to post for a large group of people. I held great responsibility for many

tasks and challenges for a website that I did not think I could have ever done. After this

experience with Black Nerd Problems, I could in fact see myself working for a living in this type

of job. It gave me practice at learning to material. I learned to manage multiple tasks at the same

time, while also maintaining my schoolwork. Plus I gained knowledge and experience in

working directly on social media, which was not for personal use. I feel very accomplished and

proud of the work that I did in this internship.

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Sources

Akili, Yolo. "The History of the Black Male Superhero in Comic Books: An Interview With Dr. Jonathan Gayles." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Jan. 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.

Bennett, Shea. "88% of Companies Are Using Social Media for Marketing [STUDY]." SocialTimes. N.p., 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 09 May 2016.

"Instagram." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 May 2016.

Karadkar, Abhishek. "The Impact of Social Media on Student Life."Technician. N.p., 13 Sept. 2015. Web. 09 May 2016.

Kraska, Jake. "The Psychology of Comic Books: Why We Worship Superheroes." RSS. N.p., 3 Aug. 2015. Web. 09 May 2016.

Weigel, Margaret. "Social Media in the Workplace: Research Roundup - Journalist's Resource." Journalists Resource. N.p., 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.