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Duane Jones: Most Inspiring Immigrants 2021

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“Artists have the power to spark joy, inspire revolutions, grow businesses, push culture forward and much more, yet most people, artists included underestimate the power of art. We want to change that.

Duane Jones, MIM (Class of 2014)

Duane Jones MIM (Class of 2014)

CEGE Connection sends our congratulations to Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014), creative director and founder of the lifestyle brand and podcast Art Pays Me, for being named by My East Coast Experience as one of the most inspiring immigrants in the Maritime provinces for 2021.

Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014) is a visual branding, graphic design, and information management specialist. His competitive advantage comes from a unique ability to bring together information management with the creative world of art and graphic design.

CEGE Connection reached out to Duane for his thoughts on receiving this prestigious recognition.

Duane Jones Most Inspiring Immigrants 2021

Duane Jones:

I am honoured and grateful to be added to this amazing list of people. Thank you to the person who nominated me and the friends who wrote in support of my nomination to be one of My East Coast Experience’s Most Inspiring Immigrants of 2021. Thank you to the judging panel for including me on this distinguished list of accomplished individuals who actively choose to make the Maritimes their home.

I want to give a shoutout to Bermuda, my friends, family, and the elders who laid the foundation for me.

Thank you to my parents for having high expectations of me in every aspect of life – making sure that my school uniform was always ironed and clean, encouraging me to pursue further education, keeping my brother and me busy with extra curricular activities like music sports and martial arts – but most of all making sure that through it all we became good people.

I also want to thank my wife Natasha for being there from day one of my business journey and supporting me when I need an extra push despite having a busy career of her own.

Thank you to my kids, Ava and Ella, for being my biggest inspiration. They are both a lot like me in their own unique ways and so much more talented at everything they do than I was at their ages. They remind me to keep pushing so I can give them the leg up that my parents were able to give me. I hope that by seeing their dad get acknowledged for this will inspire them as much as they inspire me.

 

 

Duane Jones: Why I’m A Podcaster

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“I’m excited to announce that Art Pays Me is partnering with East Coast Creative Collective to bring the first live recording of Art Pays Me. I’ll be interviewing Halifax based artists Geordan Moore of Quarrelsome Yeti and Élana Camille Saimovic of Élana Camille Creates.

Much like a musician, I began by recording my thoughts on various topics to develop my voice as a solo artist. Most of those recordings will never be released, but they were important for my growth as a podcaster. Eventually I felt more comfortable with the idea of stepping out on my own and launched the Art Pays Me Podcast, a podcast where I get to explore my passion for that grey area between art and business.”

Duane Jones, MIM Class of 2014

Duane Jones MIM Class of 2014

Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014) is a visual branding, graphic design and information management specialist.  Our first meeting was at the 2018 ARMA Conference held in Vancouver, which gave me the opportunity to invite him to join the CEGE Connection conversation.   Duane is an artist and the fashion designer of his clothing brand, Art Pays Me.  His competitive advantage comes from a unique ability to bring together information management with the creative world of art and graphic design.  His clothing collections are featured at Atlantic Fashion Week and recently, in a successful solo fashion and art show at the Halifax Central Library.

Duane is host and creator of a podcast called, The Art Pays Me Podcast, which made it to New & Noteworthy on iTunes. He is a guest speaker at events such as Canadian Conference on Medical Education, Podcamp Halifax and Social Media Day Halifax.

The Art Pays Me Podcast made it to New & Noteworthy on iTunes

The Art Pays Me Podcast made it to New & Noteworthy on iTunes

CEGE Connection reached out to Duane, asking him to share his insights on why he podcasts, and how he builds upon information management knowledge to transform the way in which we connect within a virtual community.

Duane Jones:

I’m a voracious consumer of information. I enjoy reading but I have to read very slowly to absorb what I’m ingesting. I fell in love with podcasts because they made it easier for me to satisfy my craving for consuming knowledge without the same level of time commitment. I could learn about all kinds of things while driving or even doing housework. I was able to connect with experts on obscure topics who were just as passionate about them as I am.

Over time, listening was not enough, and I found myself wanting desperately to be involved in the conversations. After all, most of the topics I listened to were things I had deep knowledge of and passion for. It then dawned on me that I needed to be a guest on some shows but when that happened, I still wanted more. I believe in the power of manifestation so I started to make it known that I was interested in starting a podcast of my own and the universe led me to Peter Hemsworth, Terrence Taylor and Lauren Sears who would become my co-hosts on a podcast called Changing the Narrative.

I worked on that podcast for a little over a year but my life outside of work and my business revolve around the needs of my family, so I needed to be able to record on a schedule that respected that. The break I took from podcasting was much needed but after about a month away I missed it. In particular, I missed the dialogue and the community that podcasting helped me to build. I also had a number of stories that I wanted to share, so I imagined what a podcast with just me would look and sound like.

Much like a musician, I began by recording my thoughts on various topics to develop my voice as a solo artist. Most of those recordings will never be released, but they were important for my growth as a podcaster. Eventually I felt more comfortable with the idea of stepping out on my own and launched the Art Pays Me Podcast, a podcast where I get to explore my passion for that grey area between art and business.

Here are some of the key things that I considered before starting:

  • What do I hope to get out of podcasting?
  • How much time and money am I willing to invest in my podcast?
  • How often do I plan to release my podcast, and will it run indefinitely or have defined seasons?
  • How long will each episode be?
  • Will my podcast have regular guests or mostly focus on me?
  • Where will I host my podcast and what platforms will it stream on?
  • What metric will determine if my podcast is successful or not (Is it worth continuing?)?

With most of us having access to advanced smart phones, the ability to cheaply record and edit a quality podcast is literally at our fingertips. You can spend thousands on recording equipment and software or spend $80 on a decent mic and use free software that’s preinstalled on your computer like I do. My opinion is that great content trumps everything so I’m not against taking a hit on quality temporarily if your means are limited but you have a great story to share. As a rule, the quality of your recording will depend on your personal standards and what your audience is willing to accept. Always strive for the best quality possible but don’t let that be a barrier to starting.

There are many services that offer online podcast hosting for free and paid subscriptions. I’ve done both. In my experience, the more I pay, the more tools that I have at my disposal like analytics, storage space and automatic uploads to major podcast networks like iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. iTunes and the like do not offer much information about who’s listening to your show so if this matters to you, your hosting platform will be where you collect most of this data. As information professionals we love data so I would recommend investing in a paid service that offers you as much information as you can get.

As far as time investment goes podcasting can be very time consuming. Listen to podcasts that are similar to what you want yours to be and determine what episode length works best for you. Some shows consistently release 2 hours of content and their audiences lap it up happily while others stick to 10 or 15 minutes and deliver content that gets right to the point. There is no right or wrong when it comes to podcast length but consider that longer podcasts require more time not just for recording but editing and uploading. Many people pay producers to handle that so they can stick to coming up with content.

Podcasting has many professional benefits as it can position its hosts and guests as thought leaders in their respective fields, spread their message to audiences outside of their own and can be monetized through advertising and subscription models. While these benefits are enticing, my biggest piece of advice is to make sure that you first enjoy doing it. If you don’t enjoy the process, you’re most likely not going to stick with it and to be honest… No one wants to listen to a person who’s not excited about being there.

You can listen to me being excited about being there on iTunes and Spotify on my podcast called Art Pays Me.

CEGE Connection is delighted to advise that Duane has graciously agreed to be a repeat contributor on CEGE Connection

Duane Jones: Why I’m A Podcaster

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“Much like a musician, I began by recording my thoughts on various topics to develop my voice as a solo artist. Most of those recordings will never be released, but they were important for my growth as a podcaster. Eventually I felt more comfortable with the idea of stepping out on my own and launched the Art Pays Me Podcast, a podcast where I get to explore my passion for that grey area between art and business.”

Duane Jones, MIM Class of 2014

Duane Jones MIM Class of 2014

Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014) is a visual branding, graphic design and information management specialist.  Our first meeting was at the 2018 ARMA Conference held in Vancouver, which gave me the opportunity to invite him to join the CEGE Connection conversation.   Duane is an artist and the fashion designer of his clothing brand, Art Pays Me.  His competitive advantage comes from a unique ability to bring together information management with the creative world of art and graphic design.  His clothing collections are featured at Atlantic Fashion Week and recently, in a successful solo fashion and art show at the Halifax Central Library.

Duane is host and creator of a podcast called, The Art Pays Me Podcast, which made it to New & Noteworthy on iTunes. He is a guest speaker at events such as Canadian Conference on Medical Education, Podcamp Halifax and Social Media Day Halifax.

The Art Pays Me Podcast made it to New & Noteworthy on iTunes

The Art Pays Me Podcast made it to New & Noteworthy on iTunes

CEGE Connection reached out to Duane, asking him to share his insights on why he podcasts, and how he builds upon information management knowledge to transform the way in which we connect within a virtual community.

Duane Jones:

I’m a voracious consumer of information. I enjoy reading but I have to read very slowly to absorb what I’m ingesting. I fell in love with podcasts because they made it easier for me to satisfy my craving for consuming knowledge without the same level of time commitment. I could learn about all kinds of things while driving or even doing housework. I was able to connect with experts on obscure topics who were just as passionate about them as I am.

Over time, listening was not enough, and I found myself wanting desperately to be involved in the conversations. After all, most of the topics I listened to were things I had deep knowledge of and passion for. It then dawned on me that I needed to be a guest on some shows but when that happened, I still wanted more. I believe in the power of manifestation so I started to make it known that I was interested in starting a podcast of my own and the universe led me to Peter Hemsworth, Terrence Taylor and Lauren Sears who would become my co-hosts on a podcast called Changing the Narrative.

I worked on that podcast for a little over a year but my life outside of work and my business revolve around the needs of my family, so I needed to be able to record on a schedule that respected that. The break I took from podcasting was much needed but after about a month away I missed it. In particular, I missed the dialogue and the community that podcasting helped me to build. I also had a number of stories that I wanted to share, so I imagined what a podcast with just me would look and sound like.

Much like a musician, I began by recording my thoughts on various topics to develop my voice as a solo artist. Most of those recordings will never be released, but they were important for my growth as a podcaster. Eventually I felt more comfortable with the idea of stepping out on my own and launched the Art Pays Me Podcast, a podcast where I get to explore my passion for that grey area between art and business.

Here are some of the key things that I considered before starting:

  • What do I hope to get out of podcasting?
  • How much time and money am I willing to invest in my podcast?
  • How often do I plan to release my podcast, and will it run indefinitely or have defined seasons?
  • How long will each episode be?
  • Will my podcast have regular guests or mostly focus on me?
  • Where will I host my podcast and what platforms will it stream on?
  • What metric will determine if my podcast is successful or not (Is it worth continuing?)?

With most of us having access to advanced smart phones, the ability to cheaply record and edit a quality podcast is literally at our fingertips. You can spend thousands on recording equipment and software or spend $80 on a decent mic and use free software that’s preinstalled on your computer like I do. My opinion is that great content trumps everything so I’m not against taking a hit on quality temporarily if your means are limited but you have a great story to share. As a rule, the quality of your recording will depend on your personal standards and what your audience is willing to accept. Always strive for the best quality possible but don’t let that be a barrier to starting.

There are many services that offer online podcast hosting for free and paid subscriptions. I’ve done both. In my experience, the more I pay, the more tools that I have at my disposal like analytics, storage space and automatic uploads to major podcast networks like iTunes, Google Play and Spotify. iTunes and the like do not offer much information about who’s listening to your show so if this matters to you, your hosting platform will be where you collect most of this data. As information professionals we love data so I would recommend investing in a paid service that offers you as much information as you can get.

As far as time investment goes podcasting can be very time consuming. Listen to podcasts that are similar to what you want yours to be and determine what episode length works best for you. Some shows consistently release 2 hours of content and their audiences lap it up happily while others stick to 10 or 15 minutes and deliver content that gets right to the point. There is no right or wrong when it comes to podcast length but consider that longer podcasts require more time not just for recording but editing and uploading. Many people pay producers to handle that so they can stick to coming up with content.

Podcasting has many professional benefits as it can position its hosts and guests as thought leaders in their respective fields, spread their message to audiences outside of their own and can be monetized through advertising and subscription models. While these benefits are enticing, my biggest piece of advice is to make sure that you first enjoy doing it. If you don’t enjoy the process, you’re most likely not going to stick with it and to be honest… No one wants to listen to a person who’s not excited about being there.

You can listen to me being excited about being there on iTunes and Spotify on my podcast called Art Pays Me.

 

CEGE Connection is delighted to advise that Duane has graciously agreed to be a repeat contributor on CEGE Connection

Duane Jones: Atlantic Fashion Week & the Art of Information Management

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Duane Jones MIM Class of 2014

Duane Jones MIM Class of 2014 (Photo Date & Credit 2016 Sinead Dubeau)

Duane Jones (MIM Class of 2014) is a visual branding, graphic design and information management specialist.  Our first meeting was at the 2018 ARMA Conference held in Vancouver, which gave me the opportunity to invite him to join the CEGE Connection conversation.   Duane is an artist and the fashion designer of his clothing brand, Art Pays Me.  His competitive advantage comes from a unique ability to bring together information management with the creative world of art and graphic design.  His clothing collections are featured at Atlantic Fashion Week and recently, in a successful solo fashion and art show at the Halifax Central Library.

Duane is one of the co-hosts and creators of a podcast called, Changing the Narrative, which discusses race, culture and the challenges creative entrepreneurs face while growing their businesses. He is a guest speaker at events such as Canadian Conference on Medical Education, Podcamp Halifax and Social Media Day Halifax.

Changing The Narrative

 

Michelle Hunter and I are pleased that Duane will be sharing his insights on building a social media presence, branding and how information management has transformed the way in which we live, learn and work.
Rebecca Budd
Editor & Blog Coordinator
CEGE Connection

Duane Jones:

I will be presenting a clothing collection at Atlantic Fashion Week for the third time. I started my clothing brand, Art Pays Me while I was in the early stages of the Master of Information Management (MIM) program studies. At the time, I was a graphic designer for Dalhousie’s Faculty of Medicine and looking for a career transition to information management. While in the program, I learned a lot about myself and how important visual communication is to information management so instead of making a complete transition, I began following multiple paths in art, information management and business.

Art Pays Me, Atlantic Fashion Week Finale

Runway (Photo Credit: Brent McCombs)

Running a clothing brand can be expensive so I try to be strategic when deciding which products to produce and release. Most of my products are graphic t-shirts that I rely on my creative instinct to develop; but I decide what is produced through calculated means. I consider shirt colour, size range, fit style, manufacturer, fabric and the design embellishment process. Once I have done that, I create realistic product mock ups to post on social media to gauge the public’s reaction to the design. I use the data from the social media to inform my decision-making process.

My favorite social media network is Instagram for a number of reasons – one of them being the analytics they offer people with business accounts. I can see where my top followers are based, how many users view my posts and how many people take it a step further by liking and commenting on posts. I can also see who of those users visit my website where they can purchase a product and or subscribe to my newsletter.

Fashion shows used to be the only way that clothing brands did this, but I am using Atlantic Fashion Week in a different way. I plan to reveal my products on social media leading up to the show to generate interest in the product and hopefully get sales from eager followers of my brand who want to be the first to see the products offline. I decided to try this method based on anecdotal data I collected from a fashion show that I did earlier this year. I revealed all of my new designs on the runway to some positive reviews but little sales. When the show was over, people wanted to buy what was on the runway, but I was not prepared and did not have product ready for purchase. I hoped that they would go to my website and buy the items later but that did not happen. This was a critical lesson that human reaction does not always predict human behaviour.

Another way that I am using web analytics to change how I do business is through targeting new customers. I started my brand with the intention of being rooted in Nova Scotia but having a global outlook. I am very active on social media and have used search engine optimization (SEO) in my website to the best of my ability to generate traffic far and wide but despite all of that, my data collection tells me that the vast majority of my web and social media traffic is based in Nova Scotia. My goal is to make Art Pays Me a global brand so, based on my analytics, I know that I must do a better job of targeting non-local customers.

The “free” data collection tools available to us today are incredibly powerful – especially when partnered with artificial intelligence. However, AI is not capable of creativity and creativity in all forms is art. As resource information management (RIM) professionals, our job is not just collecting and reporting data. Our job is to use strategy and creativity to interpret data so that it becomes useful information for our organizations. Acting on data without interpretation runs the risk of killing innovation. I encourage all resource information management professionals to embrace technology and creativity and see the art in information management.

CEGE Connection is delighted to advise that Duane has graciously agreed to be a repeat contributor on CEGE Connection.