Wade on Birmingham

Why Birmingham? Web video series examines an important question

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Video: Wade Kwon’s interview for WhyBHM

Scott Pierce and I have several things in common. We both work on the Internet (he serves as director of technology for Intermark Interactive). We both love public speaking, having shared the stage at Ignite Birmingham. We’ve both spent years recruiting people to work in our city.

Scott PierceAnd we both love Birmingham.

Recruiting nationwide has been challenging at times, trying to convince talented professionals to consider Birmingham, not only as a place of future employment but as a livable city. It often took both sweet talk and careful strategy to lure, for lack of a better word, candidates here to see what we have to offer.

At the Birmingham Post-Herald, we went to considerable expense and trouble to show off what we loved about our chosen location. We took immense pride in showing off our hangouts, our restaurants and our ways about town. If we had someone look beyond the uninformed perception that Birmingham is a backward, terrible, hostile city, we succeeded.

There’s your new tourism slogan … “Birmingham: It’s not as horrid as you might think!”

Pierce has made it his mission to change those outside perceptions using a new website, rather than take the super-expensive inefficient route of flying everyone in the world to Birmingham for a visit. It is narrative journalism on video.

He calls it WhyBHM.

Pierce interviews residents from the metro area to ask two questions: Why did you come to Birmingham? And why did you stay?

I was honored to be one of the initial six participants, whose videos are posted on the site. My 9-minute story talks about my serendipitous journey through journalism and how Birmingham became not just my hometown, but my home.

Viewers will learn that the answers to those two questions vary greatly. And that each person’s story helps build the case for why Birmingham.

If you want to participate, email Scott Pierce at whybhm@piercingwit.com.

1 Yip for “Why Birmingham? Web video series examines an important question”

  1. » Wade’s Top 13 videos of 2011 | Wade Kwon | wadekwon.com
    Monday, January 2, 2012, 7:02 am
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    […] 11. My interview for Scott Pierce’s WhyBHM series. […]

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