About Verge New Media

HOW I CAN HELP

Jim Long speaking at the Inbound Marketing Summit (CC) Derek Wilmot. www.derekwilmot.com

I’m Jim Long and I have a practical, pragmatic approach to how brands (personal or corporate) can use social media to come out from behind the curtain, show their human side, and find their brand champions within, to get their message out.  Sometimes people ask me to speak before groups and share my personal story about building trust on the web. If you’re looking for someone to help you do that, I would love to hear from you.

I also have twenty years of behind-the-lens television experience.  I know video – much better than most.   Before you embark on a video project upon the advice that video is “easy”,  you should call me.  Video is a tricky medium.  Done well, it can have tremendous impact.  Done poorly, it can make a really smart brand look…well… not so smart.  I can help with that too. You can reach me by phone at 202-657-2137, or send me a note here.

WHO I AM

Inside the Oval Office

I’m a veteran, Washington, DC based, network news cameraman currently working for one of the original three broadcasters.  I’m also an entrepreneur and I started Verge New Media, LLC because I see opportunity where others see challenge in the media industry.  Verge New Media is my “side hustle”, something any savvy legacy media worker should have.

Over the years, I’ve built a strong reputation for fierce dedication to my craft as a visual storyteller.  My camera has witnessed history and I’ve traveled the globe covering Presidents,  heads of state, and world-changing events. I’m the guy who consistently delivers under the most high pressure, high profile assignments – despite technical, logistical, time and budget challenges. Simply put – when it really counts, they send me.

HOW I SEE THINGS

I see the social web transform our assumptions about media – who controls it, who creates it, and who profits from it.  I watch as blogging, podcasting, Twitter – these tools of social currency – shift millions of peoples’ attention from the media brands they grew up with to content created by neighbors, friends, or strangers across the globe.  Now, people participate with, respond to, and challenge their media.

Jim Long speaking before the Direct Marketers Association (CC) photo by CC Chapman http://www.cc-chapman.com/

While lowered production costs have allowed many to enter the media production field, it is the internet that has made distribution and syndication simple, allowing anyone to easily connect audiences with custom tailored content.  This trend, that began only a few years ago, continues to shift the power structure in media today.

It’s easy to hide your head in the sand when faced with a challenge.  That’s not my style.  I fully embraced the social web long before it was fashionable for old media.  Why? Because I saw it for what it was – a game changer for old guard media, governments, brands and people like you and me.   The forces that disrupt and challenge traditional models, are an accelerator of innovation and opportunity elsewhere.  That’s where I live… at that intersection.

WHERE I’M HEADED

Verge New Media was born of this innovation fueled opportunity.  As an early adopter of social media, I pioneered the use of tools like Twitter to bring an old media brand to new media audiences – at a time when legacy media were unaware of the coming sea change.  Along the way, I’ve managed to meet and build relationships with some of the smartest people on the web.  I continue to see trends that point to the growth of successful,  independently produced video.  I’m very interested in this space – where companies like Revision3 are finding success in niche programming.  As the lines blur between web video and “regular TV”, a whole new breed of television is being developed.  I plan to be a big part of that.  Stay tuned.