V3 Digital Media Conference presented by AAJA-LA

By Sarah Mirza When you arrive at V3con, you'll receive a gift bag with, among other goodies, a sample box of Jelly Belly jelly beans to (quietly) munch on during panel discussions. It's a special treat — first-time V3con sponsor Jelly Belly Candy Co. is contributing an assortment of its well-known sweets, including a green tea flavor and Jelly Belly Beanaturals, neither of which is sold...

By Kristen Taketa Marsha Takeda-Morrison, a Los Angeles-based writer of eight years and a third-generation Japanese American, is V3con’s next featured early registrant. Before diving into writing, she was an art director and designer in the entertainment industry, running a design firm she started at 22. These days, she is an active blogger, documenting her family’s life on Sweatpantsmom,...

By Sarah Mirza I have a junk drawer brimming with, yes, the usual twist ties and dry pens but mostly with the flotsam of aging technology. Nestled among the blank CDs, a baggie of USB drives and a solar panel (long story), is a 6-year-old cell phone. When I upgraded, part of me knew I shouldn't chuck it in the trash. It could come in handy one day, if not for me, for someone else. But...

By Kristen Taketa A mother of two, early-bird V3con registrant Julie Kang is a clinical data programmer by day and a blogger for Kimchi Mamas and Geisha School Dropout by night. She studied computer science at Stanford University and has held a variety of jobs, including waitressing at Disneyland, writing and editing for Amazon.com and teaching high school students. Learn more about Kang...

By Jackie Tiongson Like many V3con attendees, you will probably bring one of your mobile devices to the digital media conference, June 14-15. Whether it's your touchscreen mobile phone or tablet, it will eventually need a wipe-down. To help with a clear view, ABC7 is donating microfiber screen cleaners to all V3con attendees. These reusable, non-static wipes help keep your media device...

By Kristen Taketa V3con’s next featured early-bird registrant, VIZ Media video editor Eric Ignacio, was also among the first 10 to sign up for V3con last year. He holds a B.A. in Asian American studies and a master’s degree in instructional technologies from San Francisco State University. He has worked for a variety of advertising and entertainment companies, among them TBWA/Chiat/Day,...

By Gracie Zheng Were you among the lucky 2012 V3con attendees who were able to access Union Bank's sponsored discussion on "Blogging as a business: Monetize your efforts"? The panel room was packed with participants, many crowding in, some standing against the walls, others couldn’t get in after they closed the doors due to fire marshal regulations. "The AAJA/V3 Conference is a...

Aspiring journalist and returning conference attendee Carrie Lam is another of V3con 2013’s very first registrants. After graduating with a broadcast journalism degree from Cal State Fullerton, she decided to try her hand at marketing and now works as an assistant marketing manager for a wholesale manufacturer. Someday, she hopes to step back into the field of broadcast journalism. Here’s...

By Mega Sugianto Networking is an important part of any career, especially journalism and digital media. So why not get some tools for free? MOO is a business card company that helps you brand yourself creatively. In a special partnership with V3con, MOO is offering conference registrants 50 free business cards! This isn't the cheap stuff either. They are matte-laminated, on premium...

By Irene Marie Cruz Southern California Edison (SCE), a sponsor of last year’s V3con inaugural event has confirmed increased sponsorship for 2013 V3con. SCE is a strong, long-standing partner of the Asian American Journalists Association, Los Angeles (AAJA-LA) chapter activities, including sponsorship and team support for AAJA-LA's signature event, Trivia Bowl, which funds grants...

By Kristen Taketa V3con’s next featured early registrant is music blogger Nelson Wong. He manages his own blog about Asian Americans in the entertainment industry, called AARisings, which had its origins in 1990. Nelson is a past V3con attendee and is returning to the conference for another weekend of reconnecting with old friends and meeting new ones. Here’s more about this early-bird...

By Kristen Taketa V3con early birds Frances Kai-Hwa and Hao Hao Wang are connected by more than just blood relations: They also share a fervent love for Asian American media. The mother and daughter, who spend dinner time chatting about the latest Asian American media news, were also attendees at V3con 2012 and together were among the first to sign up to return to V3con this year. Frances...