There is a certain addiction to being online and in touch that can be cured by nothing but the Internet. This summer I decided to get involved in this portal of communication and technology and I decided to get involved beyond the average Facebook and YouTube obsessed teen. I met Josh Lewis at the Roaring Fork High School job fair near the end of the school year and grabbed a card from his table just in case. About a month into the summer I decided to shoot Josh an email regarding an internship position at Blue Tent marketing in hopes of becoming a computer savvy individual.

Internet marketing interests me for many reasons. Foremost, is my generation's obsession with the Internet and technology. There is almost never a time when I go to a friend’s house and we don’t use some form of technology. Whether watching TV, playing Wii, texting on cell phones or using the Internet, we are conforming to the technologically dependent reputation of our generation. Out of all these technologies we are exposed to, the Internet is by far the biggest player in this social networking world of staying updated and connected. I use the Internet everyday because it connects me not only to the people around me, but also to my friends around the world. Facebook is the most popular site among teens because we can share pictures, videos and always be in contact with each other. We need to know what is happening socially–and because Facebook doesn’t leave much room for privacy, the rule of thumb is:

If you don’t want it on Facebook, don’t let it happen.

Not only do we want to know what other teens are up to but we like to tell everybody what we are doing, who we are with, how we feel and what trip we are about to take. For example, last night I went on Facebook and chatted with my friends about how excited I was for my first day at Blue Tent. Whether you want to see other people’s conversations or not, if you log into Facebook they will pop up on the homepage. This automatic update of other people’s conversations covers up the fact that anyone who has a Facebook secretly wants to see those conversations without feeling like they are going out of their way to invade someone’s privacy.

Sometimes I feel like the Internet, and technology overall controls me in a way. I want to be behind what is happening technologically and I want to feel like more of an insider than I already do when I log into Facebook. Unfortunately I don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore and I know that things don’t just happen magically overnight. I want to know how the Internet works and dissect the magic of it all. My end of the year research papers would have been much easier if our teachers had let us use the Internet and the Internet only. However my teachers informed me that using the Internet was “too easy” and if we never learned how to use books in the library what would happen when we didn’t have computers. Of course we didn’t and still don’t understand why we wouldn’t have computers. Technology has become teens' lives and there is no going back so I may as well tap in to the vast opportunities.

Overall I know that wherever this internship takes me will be beneficial. I have a feeling I am going to really like this job because it is in an area that I find engaging. I feel like I will greatly expand my knowledge and learn about business and working in a real office. As one of my good friends told me, “Wow! That sounds like a big person job.” I am truly excited to see what happens and take things step by step. Stay tuned!

– Adrienne Ackerman
Marketing Intern