Technically Speaking: De-Teched
By Sydney Amling, Julia Sherrill, and Tara Anastasoff
Let’s Talk: Project Pitch
Take a moment to imagine a young woman, let’s call her Jane. Jane is a bright 22-year-old about to graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting. She can’t bring herself to apply to any jobs; every time she pulls the application up, she is overwhelmed by a sense of wrongness, a voice whispering that this is not what she is meant to do. The whisper only ever ceases when she paints. At her core, Jane is an artist. Despite a lifetime of trying to be traditional and let art just be a hobby, she is realizing that she won’t be satisfied with any life unless her art is at the center point. Jane has thought about trying to make a living selling her art, but has no clue where to even start. Jane needs someone to break down how to establish her business online. Jane needs Technically Speaking.
Technically Speaking, is an open-source, educational resource hosted on TikTok aimed at teaching people like Jane everything they need to know to establish their business’s digital presence. Content will be broken down into mini series that will go progressively more in depth on a topic. Potential series include establishing brand basics, crafting a style guide, social media content creation and strategy, and building a website.
Above all else, Technically Speaking will bring an approachable, fun, and relatable voice to traditionally intimidating digital topics. We believe that young and up-and-coming small business owners deserve a fighting chance at the prosperity a successful digital presence can foster. Technically Speaking’s TikTok page and accompanying website will serve as a lasting resource for anyone trying to launch, expand or even restructure their small business.
TikTok has taken over social media over the last two years. While the platform’s rapid rise to prominence can be attributed to several factors, one of the most critical is the short form video content that makes up a user’s feed. The bite-sized nature of content of TikTok allows users to view content in a convenient, easily digestible way. Additionally, TikTok’s advanced AI algorithms to learn user preferences and then provide customized video feeds to users means that if we can find and engage our target audience, our videos will continue to reach them. Technically Speaking intends to harness the factors that draw users to the platform in order to reach young business owners and educate them on what it takes to build a digital presence.
Let’s Talk: The Problem
According to data from WP Engine and the center for Generational Kinetics, almost two-thirds (62%) of Gen Z indicated they have started or intend to start their own business. While the wealth of entrepreneurial spirt speaks to the potential of Gen Z, it is critical to remember just starting a small business does not guarantee success. In fact, only 78.5% of small businesses survive their first year. Moreover, the failure rate for online only businesses is significantly worse with 90% of ecommerce businesses failing within the first 2 months. The outlook is even worse for Gen Z business owners, many of whom exist in the ecommerce realm, as research by MIT Sloan found business owners under 30 years of age are more likely to fail.
While there are undoubtedly a plethora of factors that contribute to the success or failure of a small business, there is no doubt that digital presence is an important one. Why a business digital presence is so critical becomes clear when you consider that as of 2021, the average internet user in the U.S spends 7 hours and 5 minutes online daily with that number expected to grow by roughly 4 minutes in 2022. Unfortunately for Gen Z, there is a lack of comprehensive, free resources on how to build their business digital presence available. When looking for where to start when wanting to build a brand, you’re either met with dozens of specialized accounts that you need to mold to your own experience or met with the realization that you will need to get paid professional advice.
In order to alleviate the barrier to the success of Gen Z businesses that a lack of digital presence presents, Technically Speaking is aimed at providing these small business owners the knowledge they need in a way tailored to them. In the U.S, Gen Z comprises 60% of TikTok’s 80 million monthly active users making it the ideal platform for reaching our audience. Furthermore, the short form video format of TikTok allows content to be structured into bite-sized segments preferred by Gen Z learners. Additionally, Technically Speaking aims to make videos that teach these young entrepreneurs in an engaging and entertaining way.
What we set out to do is create a brand in front of an audience that simultaneously answers questions about graphic design, coding, and the human digital experience when it comes to digital presence. Just as our average user is wanting to see how to create a brand guideline, they can see how we created one for Technically Speaking.
Let’s Talk: Our Solution
As previously detailed, Technically Speaking will be hosted on TikTok. Because TikTok isn’t a social network in the pure sense: users don’t open the app to simply see updates from friends. TikTok is designed to constantly show users fresh content that will interest them, from any account on the platform. This makes it the perfect learning tool to expose users to relevant educational content. Furthermore, TikTok’s short-form video format caters perfectly to capturing the interest of Gen Z because of their 8-second attention span. It’s also ideal for users who don’t want to dedicate hours to traditional, sit-down learning.
In addition to the TikTok channel, Technically Speaking’s content can also be accessed via our website. This website will contain a well-organized archive of all Technically Speaking’s videos as well as supplemental resources such as templates, worksheets, code, etc. The website serves to provide a point of access to our content that Technically Speaking has complete control over outside of TikTok.
Here’s a breakdown of our topics and subtopics.
Let’s Talk: Impact
In the digital space, it comes as no surprise that creators from all avenues of the Internet have been creating educational content since essentially the Internet’s conception. Thinking about TikTok’s predecessor, YouTube, there are hundreds of thousands of videos that appear in search when “how to build a website” is looked up. About 1,320,000,000; to be exact. In the past, consumers have used YouTube to learn anything from how to change a tire to how to crochet a winter hat. But it’s no secret that YouTube has been on its decline, and many creators have moved from YouTube to other social media platforms, like TikTok to build their brands. YouTube currently has 2.1 billion users on the site, but this number is expected to greatly decline in 2023.
Additionally, other digital learning platforms exist in the space, such as Skillshare and LinkedIn Learning. Skillshare has the benefit of offering classes on niche topics, like how to use the Pomodoro technique and how to use the “Warp” tool to its fullest potential. A huge caveat to this platform, though, is the paywall: $32/month or $168 annually. Having a paywall limits the accessibility of information, but it also acts as a deterrent for users without a steady income — like small business owners. While Skillshare currently has over 12 million users, this pales in comparison to LinkedIn Learning’s 27 million users. LinkedIn Learning, previously known as Lynda, has the benefit of offering courses only taught by experts in the field. Additionally, the user’s LinkedIn Learning completions appear on their profile, which can be appealing for future employers.
Looking at how Technically Speaking’s TikTok series differs from creators on YouTube, Skillshare, and LinkedIn Learning, our content is created for the shortened attention span of our generation. The similarities between all four platforms is that content is created in a series format, but the difference between Technically Speaking on TikTok is that no video will exceed three minutes. Some courses on LinkedIn Learning do have short bite-sized lessons, but these short lessons are often part of a much larger course. For example, the Photoshop Basics lesson has multiple videos between 5–10 minutes, but the entire course is over 9 hours long — this is an overwhelming amount of time for a small business owner to commit to a project when they are only trying to figure out how to enhance their product photography. The same argument can be applied for Skillshare — with the addition of a substantial paywall.
Additionally, while content created by “professionals” does have the benefit of being taken seriously and seen as legit, this professional, high-production style of content often feels boring, stale, and something that a user just does not want to watch for 9 hours. Technically Speaking aims to create eye-catching, relevant content that is hyper-focused on the information that small business owners are looking for, without any of the unnecessary information (is rasterizing a Smart Object really that important?) or a need to watch the video on 2x speed to avoid death from monotone-voice-induced boredom.
Let’s Talk: Technology
For creating videos, we filmed using the cameras on our phones. Some videos were recorded directly in TikTok, while others were recorded using BIGVU. BIGVU is a screen reader app that shows the script on the screen as the recorder reads through the script. This app was huge for helping us look like we weren’t reading from an off-screen script and kept our videos looking conversational, but professional. For screen recordings, we used good ol’ Command+Shift+5 and stitched it together in iMovie.
Additional graphics were put into the video using Canva’s video editor, and all overlays were also created using Canva (this is a Canva fan account).
We used the website block editor platform, Duda, to build our accompanying website for Technically Speaking. Our HTML coding skills aren’t as pro as our dreams, so Duda was great for simplifying the website building process.
Of course, all of our videos were posted on TikTok. TikTok is taking the social media world by storm and is the birthplace of trends right now, so we were confident that this platform would allow Technically Speaking to shine. The app’s ability to expertly curate each user’s “For You Page” sets it apart from other social platforms, and Technically Speaking used this algorithm to our advantage in order to target small business owners in the Gen-Z audience.
Let’s Talk: Lessons Learned
From our time in 7014 and 7015, we have learned that building a brand from scratch and creating a TikTok account is not as easy as we initially thought it was.
TikTok is hard. Editing takes longer than you think it will. Writing scripts and writing those scripts concisely is a skill.
I think that the biggest lesson we learned is how to work together and recognize each others’ strengths and weaknesses. Originally, we tried to split up every little project equally — but this just resulted in a lack of consistency, confusion, and frustration. Once we each learned our niches and personal value we brought to the project, our process became much smoother.
Sydney is a Duda expert. Jules is a graphic design magician. Tara is a writing and copyediting machine.
But even outside of learning our team’s strengths and weaknesses, we also learned to lean on our peers and professors for guidance. Because no other team has created a TikTok series as their Capstone Project in the past, there was often a lot of grey area we needed to un-grey. With the support of our friends and many, many late-night Slack messages to our teachers, we figured out the details and created a project that we are so incredibly proud of.
Let’s Talk: Our Personal EM and Capstone Journeys
Tara: As I look back on my graduate school journey, I can hardly believe how much I’ve grown and changed. When I first started, I had no idea what I wanted out of life or my career. But over time, I learned that the “real world” I was so afraid of wasn’t something to be feared, but rather something to be embraced.
There were so many happy moments during my time in graduate school. Hanging out with my peers, dancing our nights away, and thrifting for grad outfits were all highlights of my experience. These moments helped me feel connected to the EM community and reminded me that I had a supportive group of friends by my side.
As I prepare to graduate, I feel confident in my abilities and excited for what’s to come. I’ve gained valuable skills and knowledge in emerging media that I can use to make a positive impact in the world. And most importantly, I’ve learned the value of connection, leadership, and making a difference. Although my journey wasn’t always easy, I am grateful for the experiences and relationships that have shaped me into the person I am today.
Sydney: The pursuit of my Master’s degree in Emerging Media has been a transformative journey filled with challenges, personal growth, and self-discovery. As an undergraduate, I was uncertain about what I wanted to do with my life, but this program gave me the opportunity to earn my bachelor’s and master’s degrees in just four years. Learning hard skills in web development and design, such as coding, WordPress, Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign, immediately helped me in finding internships and gave me a sense of excitement for the potential of this field in my future career.
Starting graduate school just days after graduating from undergrad was overwhelming, but I quickly formed friendships with my cohort, which helped me feel more comfortable in the program. The first semester was challenging, but forming close relationships with Jules and Tara was the lifeline that kept me from drowning. Refining and presenting my capstone project was a rigorous process, but it gave me confidence in the knowledge and skills I learned during my master’s program. It has been a journey of self-discovery, hard work, and personal growth. The Double Dawgs program allowed me to pursue my passion while providing me with the skills and knowledge necessary to succeed in this field. The experience of working on a capstone project allowed me to explore emerging media further and see the potential impact it could have on various industries. I am excited for the future and confident that I can navigate the evolving landscape of emerging media.
Jules: When I graduated from my undergraduate program, I still felt the need to continue learning and growing as a designer. That’s why I decided to pursue a master’s program in design, hoping to become more versatile in my skills.
In the beginning, I found the first few months of the program challenging, especially when it came to coding. Despite the frustration of feeling stuck, I persevered and reached out to my professors and peers for help, which eventually led to better understanding of the concepts.
Fortunately, I made friends in the program, and we bonded over shared experiences and supported each other through tough times. This supportive community made all the difference. As the spring semester approached, I was surprised by how quickly time had passed. Looking back, I realized that I had surpassed my own expectations, and had grown both as a designer and as a person.
Let’s Talk: Advice One-Liners for Future EM-ers
Tara: Make brunch plans for before class and dinner plans for after.
Sydney: Complain often, and loudly.
Jules: Consider Roblox.
Let’s Talk: Bonus! Our favorite spot to get work done in Athens is…
Blue Sky! There was always a 1 in 4 chance that one of us would be tip tapping away on our laptop in one of their cozy wooden booths.
While a lot of people rave about Walker’s Pub for studying, we loved Blue Sky for their cool and casual environment, incredibly stable WiFi (yes, this is a dig at Walker’s), kind bartenders, and their outdoor seating.
We highly recommend grabbing the corner couch on the porch when it’s warm and inviting the cohort — some of our favorite memories were made here and we’ll cherish these forever.
XOXO,
Technically Speaking, out.
