Josh Oakhurst is interactive producer at Nail Communications Inc., a multimedia marketing firm in Providence.
PBN: So what exactly does an interactive producer do?
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OAKHURST: Interactive is short for “screen media” and producer means “go get shit done.” I combine budgets, creative, client relations, and scopes of work with tangible programming and design decisions.
In truth, the title is more outward facing than inward; Nail is a creative shop with no walls, literally and figuratively. Everyone here is a “go get shit done” piece of the puzzle, in their own right. Organized calamity. It’s beautiful in action.
In that sense, I try to stand in the middle and translate for everyone – keep the zen. My blood runs cooler than some, which helps.
PBN: What projects have you been working on lately?
OAKHURST: We’re shooting video out in L.A. this week for an amazing micro-site for Vibram that should launch end of April. We’re doing some sleek infographic animations for Evergreen Solar’s new Web site. We’re in development on a really fun TV, radio and outdoor campaign for a chain of Mexican restaurants called Margaritas. We’re putting the finishing touches on some great innovative content for a nonprofit that we’re keeping very hush-hush until it launches in May.
In January we handed over a really well-functioning – and easy to manage – set of sites to the R.I. Convention Center Authority (dunkindonutscenter.com, riconvention.com, vmari.com and rhodeislandcomplex.com). They were made to be easy for government entities to control and update, and the good people over there at RICCA can push a lot of their content around quite handily.
We’re creating living, breathing communications for our clients, so in that sense, we like to teach them how to fish, you know? Help them take pride in ownership of our work. That makes for happy people.
PBN: I know Nail has been looking around Providence for digital talent. What sort of skills have you been looking for? Are you finding many people who fit the bill?
OAKHURST: I’ve seen a lot of people with Microsoft networking training that think they can design Web sites and kids out of school wanting to be “graphic designers,” which is not a job that really exists anymore. We need people that can sit at the intersection of programming and design. These are not mutually exclusive disciplines.
But when we’ve needed some specialist skill set for project work, usually they’re not here. I’d like to keep more money in town, if I can. There are a few experimental interactive artists (Tellart, Shawn Wallace of AS220 fame) and one pocket of freelancers churning out nice Web work who seem to stay busy.
We tend to hire people at Nail, not positions. I’m a testament to that. So is the other “producer” here, Lizzi. She’s a bright gal that came from Pixar; total embodiment of “go get shit done.” Our lead developer, Sam, is a hometown boy who’s all self-taught. He’s like a sponge. Effective, efficient people with taste and personality are more important than resumes.
PBN: You relocated to Providence from out West two years ago. What made you decide to come here?
OAKHURST: Indeed. I came to Providence to be at Nail, short and sweet. I had been between L.A., Denver, and Portland, Ore., for the better part of a decade before that. Something in Boston caught my eye. I ended up hating Boston but found Providence an authentically quirky city. Except for Sam, everyone at Nail has come from somewhere else (Atlanta, New York, Miami, Ireland, Chicago, San Francisco), so the culture match was pretty obvious.
I like it here because it’s a manageable city; more walkable, less congested than other places I’ve been. I ride a bike to work. Providence suits me fine. I hate your sucky winters, though. And I will still bike through that snow.
PBN: Once upon a time you were anti-Facebook. What are your thoughts about the juggernaut today?
OAKHURST: Let’s be honest, you use Facebook to look at pictures of girls from your high school. I don’t have that problem; my wife is quite the dish.
I’ve always been a Facebook pragmatist, as opposed to an apologist or a member of the hype machine. It doesn’t serve a niche in my personal life, so I roll with a few aliases.
I just think it’s really important for everyone to be well-informed and level-headed about how their money is being spent when it comes to social media. I’m talking about clients, now. At best, Facebook offers an interruptive ad medium, even with its branded time-wasters. It works really well for companies where there’s an actual person at the heart of the effort – I’ll support that every day – but it takes real people being totally transparent and honest, and that’s something a lot of companies can’t commit to.
To treat a Facebook fan page as just another spot to dump press releases is disingenuous. My strategic responsibilities require real-talk, real solutions. So Facebook might be all the rage right now, but I don’t mind being one to pour the cold water on it when it doesn’t make sense for a client. •
