Students from the IT/ICT program toured companies in Gainesville and Orlando in early November.
In Orlando, they met with MindComet, a Social Media Marketing company. MindComet hosted the group of IT/ICT students, answered questions about their company, the direction for social media, and the importance of social media marketing in business today.
MindComet is a Social Media Agency that manages social media profiles to help grow and improve brands’ online communities. They provide services to Fortune 500 companies and were early groundbreakers in social media marketing. They use Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube to manage and promote their clients.
In October, the company changed direction to focus solely on social media. While speaking with the Executive VP of Sales, Doug White, he stressed the importance of social media in business and how a background in social media will be an important factor in the workplace.
Senior in ICT Angelina Collazo said that “MindComet has taken a new direction focusing solely on social media. This is great because is reflects something that the ICT program promotes.”
In Gainesville, they were invited to tour Grooveshark. Founded in 2006, Grooveshark is an Internet music streaming service that has grown from a private Peer to Peer music service to a public online jukebox.
Grooveshark is now an international online music search engine. With its recommendation software, its provides users with a unique opportunity to find bands and artists similar to their tastes in music that they otherwise might not have discovered. Songs can be added to a playlist for free, but they also offer a paid version. Grooveshark stream 100-110 million songs per month and has 35 million registered user.
Students were hosted by Josh Greenberg, Co-Founder and CTO who explained that Grooveshark is passionate about providing students with internship opportunities and hosting workshops where they teach interns the skills they need to know before heading into the workplace. In addition, they are starting an incubator-style internship program this summer, where students will live in Gainesville and learn from Grooveshark employees.
Senior in IT, Matt Russi says “Grooveshark had an atmosphere that felt like a startup in the sense that it was very relaxed and open-minded. However, they still provide a structured environment that is focused on the future of the company.”
