Where can I find a DAM mentor?

There are not enough mentors today (in most fields for that matter), so I have made it one of my goals to start this mentor program and remain vendor agnostic. When will this start? Beginning in January 2010, I will begin offering a DAM mentoring program online on periodic basis…

Posted by Henrik de Gyor on December 25, 2009

During one of my presentations at a recent Digital Asset Management (DAM) conference, the audience made a request for a DAM mentorship program. A recent poll shows growing interest in such a program and some of you have already contacted me about this program. I welcome others to contact me about being mentored (being a mentee). If you have experience as a DAM professional (preferably at all levels of experience listed in my earlier blog post) and are also interested in being a mentor, let me know.

If you are awaiting the internship program, there are several major universities in the US who have contacted me since my post about career planning and mentioned they are already (or are about to start) offering DAM courses and interested in an internship program for their students. There is work being done toward spreading the word online as well as at several DAM conferences about these educational programs. Details coming soon.

There are not enough mentors today (in most fields for that matter), so I have made it one of my goals to start this DAM mentor program and remain vendor agnostic.

When will this start? Beginning in January 2010, I will begin offering a DAM mentoring program online on periodic basis (probably twice per month). There is no obligation to meet twice a month. You may choose to participate as often as the conversations are scheduled.

How and where will this mentor program start? Since geography and time zones are what really separates us today, this program will begin as a live voice conversation online (via VOIP) and any visuals can be shared (via screen sharing software). Mentoring can be done as a group or individually. In the future, we will explore in-person conversations, but those are likely to be even more limited in time and location.

What time and day would these online conversations happen? It all depends on your time zone and schedule. We are not bound by any geographic limitations nor travel necessary.

In what language? Individuals in the US and Europe have already contacted me about this and I welcome others globally as long as they speak fluent English.

Who can be a DAM mentee? Any individual working professionally toward the implementation of a DAM solution within an organization. This can also include individuals who already work with a DAM solution within an organization and who want to have a regular conversation about DAM. This is not about DAM for individual use, but about DAM for use within an organization (or even across an organization).

How much will this cost? Free. It will only cost you time for the conversation.I am donating my time and using free software (legally downloaded) to have these mentor/mentee conversations. Think of it as a DAM professional giving back to the DAM community to enrich the knowledge others. As long as the mentee is willing to learn and ask questions, I am willing to give guidance and/or suggestions. It is your responsibility what you do with the guidance or suggestions given. I assume no responsibility for (a) any hurt feelings (shoulder to cry on not included), (b) any action taken based on my guidance, (c) my suggestions and/or (d) any bruised egos. I will guide you as if I were in your shoes, based on the information you provide.

What about the mentee’s identity and affiliation to an organization? The mentee’s identity and affiliation is kept confidential unless they want to reveal it themselves. I will continue to blog about commonly encountered questions about DAM (which you can read about on this blog) in future posts without any organization(s) names nor the names of any individuals listed. Chances are you are not the first to ask those DAM questions.

Interested in being a DAM mentee?

1. Contact me directly
2. Tell me where in the world you are located (in order to find a suitable time within your schedule and my schedule).
3. Note what topics you would like to discuss so I can possibly sync them with others wanting to discuss the same topic in a group discussion. If you need this to be an individual discussion, please specify.
4. I will send you details on when we can have a live periodic conversation and some free software tools to do so.

Where can you find your DAM mentor?