Exciting Careers - Interactive Producer

Guinevere Orvis at Aboutnewmedia has a great post answering a question that she is often asked: “What is an Interactive Producer?

Previously, when you wanted a website, you hired a website designer. Then, when you wanted more traffic, you hired an SEO expert. Then, to make it more customer friendly, you hired a usability expert. Now, you want to add a facebook app, twitter feed, a podcast, management blog and you are considering a mobile phone app. Who do you turn to?

An Interactive Producer!

The range of responsibility is pretty much comparable to a film or television producer, in that an interactive producer doesn’t need to have detailed technical knowledge regarding each aspect of their job. Instead, they need a broad overview of each technical area and the project management skills to pull together the work of disparate and possibly unconnected team members, on time and on budget. Often these are client-facing positions so people skills and good presentation are essential. If that isn’t enough responsibility, senior interactive producers are often called on to provide strategic advice on marketing and interactive technology, as agencies look for new angles to keep their clients ahead of the pack.

How do I become an Interactive Producer?

While the job title was first used 6-8 years ago, for most companies this is still a fairly new job description. As such, specifically tailored courses are still uncommon, but are evolving out of multimedia and web design programs at a range of schools. Technically, skills in MS Office, MS Project, MS Visio, Photoshop, After Effects, HTML, Flash, XML, SHTML, JavaScript and CSS may be required. Professionally, most companies will look for at least 3-5 years in webdesign/multimedia/online journalism, preferably in project management roles

In developing countries, such as India, both the number of people with internet access and the available connection speeds are booming. Greater online audiences draw companies to establish a greater online presence, creating demand for professionals who can guide corporate managers through the web 2.0 minefield. A specific challenge in a society as multicultural as India’s is ensuring usability and appropriate content across multiple cultural and language groups.

What are your experiences? Are you an Interactive Producer, or looking to get into this field? How does this role change between developed and developing countries?