On most Thursday mornings, I, like many others, look forward to checking out the digital media producer Dave Summers’ #dawnpatrol short videos on LinkedIn. They are invariably thought-provoking and entertaining, on a wide variety of professional/personal development-related subjects.
The videos have cool soundtracks, with music that goes beyond the obvious; sometimes obscure cover versions of songs that complement the visual content perfectly. Periodically, he conducts short interviews for #dawnpatrol, and I was honored to be featured last month.
I’ve known Dave since mid-2018, when we met in Arlington, Virginia at the Berrett-Koehler Book Marketing Workshop, where he was presenting. (This was when Dave was still at the American Management Association, and he also has corporate experience at Pepsico and Accenture.) I still have the handout of his presentation: Short Attention Span Theater: Leveraging Web Video to Expand Your Reach.
And I have witnessed his calm, good-humored and reassuring behind-the-scenes presence online; for instance when he produced a book launch last year for CB Bowman-Ottomanelli, CEO of Courage Consulting and the Association of Corporate Executive Coaches/ACEC. He is scheduled to do the same for CB’s new book later this month.
I’m grateful to Dave for answering my questions about his work, entrepreneurship, and staying current in a fast-changing field.
Can you describe the nature of your day-to-day work and how/why your earlier career experiences continue to impact and influence what you do now?
I’m a Digital Media Producer, and the bulk of my work involves the production of both live webevent broadcasts and on-demand content. The live events can be book launches, virtual corporate meetings, or instructional/training webinars. The on-demand content can be video and audio podcasts, explainer videos, or social media focused short subjects. In parallel with this technical/creative production work, I’m also a coach for thought leaders and people leaders who want to show better on-line. I help them tell their stories, in their own words, with a heavy emphasis on authenticity and simplicity.
I think it’s been an interesting journey that brought me here, in that I have always valued the purity of a personal story that is well told, while at the same time having a passion for the constantly evolving enabling technology of digital media.
During the pandemic, on October 21, 2020, you were the first person featured (including your photo) in Kerry Hannon’s New York Times article “Making a New Start in a Business of Their Own: Whether because of layoffs or a desire for a new challenge, older people are becoming entrepreneurs at an increasing rate.” What did that mean for your career as an entrepreneur, and do you still receive positive reaction to it, more than four years later?
Hahaha, Yeah that was my “poster boy moment”! I have to shout out a thank you to Nancy Ancowitz, a professional peer and friend, who put me in contact with Kerry Hannon about a week after I left my last real corporate job. The New York Times piece has indeed driven business and recognition to a much larger community. I still receive emails, texts, and occasional calls on it. I may or may not still have a few paper copies of that issue securely filed in ziplocked bags. OK, I confess I do.
You’ve worked in various parts of the media/technology field for many years. How do you keep up with new developments, while still carrying out your day-to-day work?
It’s so much easier to stay up to date with the tech (both hardware and software) than it used to be even five years ago. The software itself is primarily a subscription-based offering that “auto-updates” several times a year with tweaks, bug fixes, and amazing brand new functions and features. When a new update occurs, new training videos, support docs, and practice modules become available.
On the hardware side, staying involved and engaged in user community social media is essential. You get inside info on what’s working, what’s not, what products to avoid, and which ones are the “best kept secrets.” Reddit, LinkedIn, even Facebook have strong hardware communities.
On the creative side, YouTube is my jam. There’s so much high-quality digital media work being done by independent producers, I’m like a kid in a candy store. Many times those visual, audio, and musical ideas can be co-opted into my client work.
On the “Old School” side, I’m a pretty solid reader, averaging about 36 books a year. Typically it’s a combination of fiction and nonfiction. I’ve been making an effort to read more fiction, as it seems to act as inspirational “mental floss.”