A Look into the Past, Present, Future

Approximately a year ago, I first began my journey with the ICI as the Public Imaging/Social Media Intern.  I am now back for the summer as the Social Media Fellow, and it feels very strange (in a good way) to be writing on this blog again, seeing as how it was my final project last year.

In my recent discussions with Lise, we talked about how the ICI’s relationship with the Internet has come a very long way over the course of a year.  In the beginning of my internship last year, there were many debates over which social media networks to use and how to go about the transition to the web.  Now, the ICI not only has active Twitterand Facebook pages, but it has also incorporated various Internet tools for its projects.  The ninth iteration of the 100/10 project is coming up and will be livecasted via the ICI website; the tenth iteration of the project will be fully online-based!

In the past year, I have also gone through many internal changes.  Upon the completion of my first summer with the ICI, I went on a study abroad endeavor in Wales for my undergraduate junior fall semester.  As I encountered a culture that, at first glance, seems very similar to America yet has so many subtle differences, I was constantly challenged to reflect upon my ways of thinking and ponder upon new ideas.  The exposure I had to the ICI – and all that I learned from it last summer – encouraged me constantly to exercise my critical thinking skills, to put new cultural concepts I encountered into my own laboratory to be probed and analyzed.

I feel so lucky to be back here in the ICI again.  I missed the place so much – I sincerely look forward to the challenging and stimulating visions, concepts and ideas that we will surely encounter in my 2 months here.