Black Nerd Problems Internship

Charlie Centinaro II
Kean University
COMM 4955 Spring 16 Mirrer

At the beginning of this semester, I made it a goal of mine to get one internship under my
belt while I am a student here at Kean University. I was always taught how important it was to
get an internship while in college, not just to learn, but also to get experience within the field that
I am currently studying for. Luckily for me, my goal became a reality and I was able to get an
internship with an amazing website called BlackNerdProblems.com (BNP). Black Nerd
Problems is a Pop Culture website that sheds a brighter light on colored characters of movies,
televisions, and comic books.
I was very excited to get this internship and the process was very smooth. I was advised
by a good friend of mine that the website had an opening for a new intern, and I jumped at the
opportunity. Within the hour, I had brushed up on my resume and sent an application for the
position. I was very nervous because this was my first stab at trying to get an internship; I was
worried that I might not get the position.
To my surprise, I received an email from Black Nerd Problems faster than I thought and
they wanted to schedule for a Skype interview. I felt very confident that the interview was going
to be through Skype; I find myself to be a very friendly and fun person to interact with. And
given the content of the website, I felt even more confident because I was going to have a
conversation with someone who had the same interests as myself. During the interview, I was
calm and energetic. Carrie, who would later become my supervisor, conducted the interview.
At the conclusion of the interview, I was told that I would receive an email back from
them confirming whether or not I got the position, and they thanked me for my time. I extended a
thank you for the interview. The next day I was offered the position and I felt very good about
myself; but that same moment is when my fear kicked in.

I had never done work for a website before, let alone work outside of retail. I was about
to enter a whole new area. I was not sure at all what I would even do for them. Would I write
editorials for them? Would I manage their online social media? It turns out that my position was
to manage their social media Instagram account.
My Public Relations class taught me that Social Media jobs pertain to dealing with the
public directly. But the only way I ever dealt with the public was in retail. So what was social
media to Black Nerd Problems and how does it pertain to my Communications degree. Well,
social media is already prevalent in our lives whether we like it or not. And many people who
run companies or small businesses use some form of social media. The impact social media has
made on society, is not something that can be ignored.
As of 2015 the worlds largest social networking company, Facebook, has 1.49 billion
active users, and the number of users is increasing every year. One of the most interesting things
to look at is the increasing number of student users on such social networking sites. As per the
survey conducted by Pew Research Center, 72 percent of high school and 78 percent of college
students spend time on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. These numbers indicate how much the
student community is involved in this virtual world of social networking many reasons exist
that explain why students love to spend time socializing. Firstly, social networks provide them
the freedom to do whatever they want to upload what they want and talk to whom they want.
They like to make new friends and comment on the lives of different people. Students can create
other online identities that the real world does not allow. The freedom it gives them to act just by
sitting in front of a computer enthralls them, and they then demand for more freedom. Never
before has it been so easy for young minds to create a digital image of their actions through such
a spontaneous medium (Karadkar, 2015).

After a few welcoming emails from the new staff that I was a part of, my job was duties
were given to me and I was off to the races. I was to run the BNP Instagram account. I was sent a
manual on what I can post, and how to post it. I was also taught what to avoid putting on the site.
Instagram was a little tricky to learn, but I learned it nonetheless and ran with it.
Instagram was created by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, and launched in October
2010 as a free mobile app. The service rapidly gained popularity, with over 100 million active
users as of April 2012 and over 300 million as of December 2014. Instagram is distributed
through the Apple App Store and Google Play (Wikipedia, 2016).
However, I was not using social media for a personal site, this was very different. Each
post made had to be for a specific purpose. It was not until this internship that I learned how
important social media is within the workforce.
Social media have transformed corporate communication practices: Tools such as
Twitter and Facebook allow organizations to speak directly to and solicit responses from the
public quickly and affordably (Weigel, 2013).
For a short time, and by short I mean three days, I was tasked to work on the Black Nerd
Problems Twitter account. I did not last long there because I was much better at Instagram and
my supervisor was kind and understanding of where my strengths are and are not. From then on,
Carrie tasked me with assignments on the Instagram account.
One of the reasons I chose to apply to Black Nerd Problems was because they focused on
Pop Culture and comic books. I adore comic books. I am a huge fan collector of comic books. I
had always wanted to be a part of the industry in some way shape or form, instead of just a
customer. I wanted to reach out to thousands of comic book fans such as myself. Luckily, at the
time I was offered a position, the Black Nerd Problems Instagram account had over one-

thousand-five-hundred followers; and all of those people would see and comment on what I post.
That was very exciting to me.
Comic books have become more popular due to recent cinematic movies that have
accumulated billions of dollars. But these billions of dollars sparked from the ideas of a short
packet of paper that cost only ten cents.
Some argue that superheroes are integral to American society. This claim comes from
the reflection of American social change in many superhero comics since 1938, also assisting in
the increased popularity and renown of comics and superheroes. World War II prompted
Marvels famous Hitler-punching Captain America, and with the coming of The War on Terror
following September 11, Captain America dealt with government oversight, akin to current
issues of government surveillance or US foreign policy. DCs Superman educated children about
unaccounted landmines in former Yugoslavia, and technological changes in the 21st century
manifested most noticeably in the current development of Marvel Cinematic Universe movies
and TV series we read comics or try to understand superheroes, particularly as children, we
develop our emotions, reading ability, and morals. Just as we idolize celebrities, we idolize
superheroes. This is best mirrored by Tony Stark he is a celebrity, and one who seems to bask
in the glow of his self-made fame. The comics, however, also reveal him to be particularly fond
of drowning his insecurities and fears in alcohol, while suffering from anxiety, panic attacks, and
bouts of paranoia: effects that are not uncommon in celebrities. Furthermore, based on theories
of social psychology, comics likely impact our levels of aggression, prosaically behavior,
leadership ability and attitudes Children can use superheroes and villains to take various
perspectives on a situation and test the consequences of actions, while reading comics can assist
with developing their emotional vocabulary. Comics provide the exaggerated opportunity to play

out moralistic and ethical dilemmas for both children (in an effort to increase their understanding
of the world around them) and adults (to critique and analyze the status quo) (Kraska, 2015).
The focus of Black Nerd Problems is as I stated before, shining a brighter light on
characters of color in comic books and other entertainment outlets (movies, television, etc.). The
beginning of comics started off with Superman, aka Clark Kent, who we all know is Caucasian.
Other popular superheroes such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Captain America, Spider-man, and
Ironman were all Caucasian. Even today, the majority of comic book heroes are Caucasian.
While there were some black characters and heroes that could stand up to the likes of these other
famous heroes, it was unsettling to the creators of Black Nerd Problems because they felt that
these characters were not just as strong as Superman and Captain America, but that these
characters symbolized something that none of these other characters could not. While Batman
and Superman dealt with common struggles like depression, difficult choices, interpersonal
relationships, and conflict, they never dealt with racism or oppression. People of color were
limited in being able to connect with characters like Superman and Wonder Woman. There was a
great need for strong and powerful Black, Muslim, and Latino heroes.
The most important lesson is that everyone has a right to dream their own dreams and
that dreaming for others must be done with great caution - if at all. Black people are human
beings. We have the right to lay claim to everything that this means - including a diversity of
experiences (Akili, 2013).
During the internship, we used email to communicate one-on-one, between Carrie and
myself, and we used Google Hangouts, that is a messaging app that we used to communicate as a
whole group. Google Hangouts included everyone from other interns, to other head supervisors;

we spoke about upcoming events, status on group tasks, and friendly messages of
encouragement.
Carrie, my supervisor was spectacular. I expressed to her early on how nervous I was, and
she was very patient and understanding of the fact that I was swimming in new waters. Anytime I
had a question or concern, I would email Carrie and she would walk me through step by step.
Carrie would also send me monthly emails on my progress; I was very pleased with those emails
and reading Carrie tell me how I offer a great deal of help and that I am doing a good job. Those
emails gave me a greater boost of confidence that I needed to get through all those hours of
working. I started the internship a about a week late into the semester so I had to make up for
those hours lost.
My main assignments would include posting photos on the Instagram account, keeping
track of live tweets and posting, reading weekly articles on the Black Nerd Problems main
website, and reposting other accounts.
Keeping track of live tweets was probably my weak point. Carrie would have to remind
me to post something that was live tweeted. I think the reason I had trouble with live tweeting
was because I was never watching the show as the live tweeting was going on.
My strong points were definitely posting screen shots on time and finding great
photographs for Cosplay Wednesday. Cosplay Wednesday was a weekly assignment in which I
had to find people dressed up as their favorite fictional characters. I was able to find and share
great talent with our followers and help get other more followers. Carrie assigned Cosplay
Wednesday to me and after the trial runs, she eventually gave me the task permanently.
There were a few times when I was unable to post anything from Black Nerd Problems.
The website crashed two separate times during the semester. I was informed that the reason for

the crash was due to trolling. Trolling is when a bunch of people comment so many negative
comments on our site that we have to restart to block those individuals from turning people away
from the site. We want to encourage a fun and inviting atmosphere on the site; not a site that is
full of fights and negativity.
Black Nerd Problems gave me wonderful experience in a field that is rapidly growing
within the workforce. Almost nine in 10 companies in the United States are using social media
for marketing purposes, reveals a new study. eMarketer surveyed organizations with 100 or more
employees across the U.S. and found that 88 percent are using social media in some capacity for
marketing purposes, including: social networks, social games, blogs, micro blogging, photo and
video sharing, podcasting, ratings and reviews, virtual worlds, widgets, and apps. This figure is
expected to rise slightly to 89 percent next year and 89.5 percent in 2016 (Bennett, 2014).
Working with Black Nerd Problems was such a fun and fulfilling experience. I was able
to learn what it is like working with people in the work industry. I was able to complete task on a
timely manner, and deal with a large number of individuals. This gave me good practice at what
is and is not appropriate to post for a large group of people. I held great responsibility for many
tasks and challenges for a website that I did not think I could have ever done. After this
experience with Black Nerd Problems, I could in fact see myself working for a living in this type
of job. It gave me practice at learning to material. I learned to manage multiple tasks at the same
time, while also maintaining my schoolwork. Plus I gained knowledge and experience in
working directly on social media, which was not for personal use. I feel very accomplished and
proud of the work that I did in this internship.

Sources
Akili, Yolo. "The History of the Black Male Superhero in Comic Books: An Interview
With Dr. Jonathan Gayles." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 24 Jan.
2013. Web. 09 May 2016.
Bennett, Shea. "88% of Companies Are Using Social Media for Marketing [STUDY]."
SocialTimes. N.p., 20 Oct. 2014. Web. 09 May 2016.
"Instagram." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 09 May 2016.
Karadkar, Abhishek. "The Impact of Social Media on Student Life."Technician. N.p., 13
Sept. 2015. Web. 09 May 2016.
Kraska, Jake. "The Psychology of Comic Books: Why We Worship Superheroes." RSS.
N.p., 3 Aug. 2015. Web. 09 May 2016.
Weigel, Margaret. "Social Media in the Workplace: Research Roundup - Journalist's
Resource." Journalists Resource. N.p., 11 Apr. 2013. Web. 09 May 2016.