That’s a legitimate question, but if that same person had Googled “emmy award editor” without the quotes, he or she would have seen my name. Same thing for “emmy award resume” without the quotes. So, personally, I don’t need IMDB, because I’ve documented many of the television & corporate projects I’ve worked on as well as the names of the people that hired me. If anyone has any questions, they can go ask them.

Having said that, if you have zero internet presence, IMDB is the only way that people are going to consider you legitimate. I hadn’t considered this because as a Freelancer in NYC, I get all of my work via word-of-mouth and I don’t apply to random companies to edit for them. I never needed to be listed anywhere, because the people that called me already knew who I was and what I could do.

Had I known IMDB was going to become such a big deal, I could have requested that every client I worked for submit our work for entry into the database. As it happened, I was working with staffers, which means they had their jobs regardless of the internet, so there was no incentive for them to be interested in the IMDB database. It’s kind of like “We’re already in the business and have the demo reels to prove it, so why in the world would we need to put anything on the net?”

Meanwhile, in Internet-Land, shows like Rocketboom and Something To Be Desired have been producing well-done episodes for years and years and I think should be recognized for putting in as much work, if not MORE than a lot of programs that made it to IMDB while demonstrating much less skill and/or longevity.

I don’t know how the process works, but it seems to me that there should be some kind of vetting process for inclusion of internet shows into IMDB. Should EVERYTHING get in? Of course not. However, IMO, the groups demonstrating professionalism, production values & entertainment or educational value should have a chance to be included so that people without a history of actual television or film involvement are recognized as similarly capable content creators.

The hardest thing for us is that like many web producers we rely on a lot of volunteer effort–people who are working for free to get experience, some material for their reel, and another title for their resume. It’s unfortunate when these people invest heavily into a project and we can’t even reward them with a new credit on their IMDb page.

It’s time that the site owners and moderators faced the facts: the media world is changing and if they want to stay on top of the cyber world, they need to adjust to the times. My show “Issues: The Series” has talent from feature films and television, was covered in numerous media outlets and the pilot episode recently crossed 3,000 views in two weeks. We have a booth at NY ComicCon. We filmed in high def. How are we any less professional than a short film that airs in a single film festival?

-Scott Nap