Name: Zoe Bell
Graduation Year: 2009
Programs of Study: Writing Seminars
Current Residence: Baltimore, MD
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I am a member of a select group of people. Born in 1986 or 1987 we all had the distinct privilege to watch and come to expect years of great prosperity. And then, when it came our turn to join the happy fray, the rug was pulled out from under us.
Which is not to say that I am bitter about the timing of the recession, but it did make it significantly more difficult to find a job at the end of my senior year. As graduation approached, part of me wished that I had chosen to attend law school or graduate school like many of my fellow Hopkins seniors, but I knew that they were truly dedicated to their fields, and what I needed to do was to get real-world work experience and then possibly further educate myself with a masters in business.
And so I networked. I pulled every string I knew from every job, internship, or casual conversation at a coffee shop that I ever had. It was a stressful situation as I felt the constant ticking of the graduation clock at the dismissal of each Hopkins class.
When I finally graduated my only plans were to continue working for the Johns Hopkins Alumni Association, who had offered me a job working in the Reunion office. Then, not more than 10 days after graduation I got the call I had been waiting for.
“Would you like to interview for Zynga?” he said. “Of course!” I replied.
If you’re familiar with Facebook (or MySpace or Friendster or the I-phone) then you’re probably familiar with Zynga. Launched in July 2007 with the mission of connecting the world through games, Zynga makes a variety of games on social networking platforms including FarmVille, Mafia Wars, Zynga Poker, Café World and our newest game, FishVille. Don’t lie; you’ve always wanted to grow digital strawberries and plant a horde of elephant topiaries all over your virtual farm.
And what do I do at Zynga? Well, I’m a producer, which basically means I do everything and anything Zynga needs me to do. I got a taste of production during my time at Hopkins. I was the president/producer of Throat Culture, a film and stage sketch comedy group, that puts on six shows a year for the Hopkins community. It was a lot of work but I loved the frenzied pace of writing, casting, costuming, advertising, and performing three times each semester. I also interned in the production department of Hill Holliday, an advertising firm in Boston that makes all the Dunkin’ Donuts commercials. I worked with the editors to learn more about how a commercial gets made and enjoyed the frenzied pace there as well.
So, when I graduated Hopkins I knew that I wanted to work in production, the only problem was that I also wanted health insurance and a steady paycheck. I needed to find a job with an advertising firm (they didn’t do so well in the recession) or in a production company. Zynga ended up being an interesting fit for my production goals. I consider myself much more than computer literate, but I couldn’t take apart a Tickle-Me-Elmo and reprogram him to be a satanic dancing doll like someone in my office did. In other words, I had and still have, a lot to learn about how programming works.
My main job at Zynga is to ensure communication between the art, design, and tech departments and Zynga HQ in San Francisco. But there’s so much more to my job than simply arranging conference calls. I was the East Coast point of contact for our office renovation and move. I lead daily morning progress meetings to make sure that everything is on track for our projected launch date. I get everyone all the tools they need and want to get their work done more smoothly. I plan travel for the company when we go out to San Francisco. And, of course, I fill out expense reports. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it gives you an idea of how varied my day can be.
There is one question people always ask me when I tell them where I work: How does Zynga make money? Is it the ads? I think that this is one of the most interesting parts of Zynga. The company sells virtual goods. Want to have a blue barn instead of the standard red? It will cost you 27 FarmVille dollars. At an exchange rate of ten US dollars to 55 FarmVille dollars it can seem like a steal. Maybe you’re thinking right now, “I would never spend money on virtual goods. That doesn’t sound like a bargain at all.” Some people feel that way, but many of the other 63 million people that play FarmVille and other games every single day, disagree with you and that’s how Zynga makes money.
So, I’m still in Baltimore, living in Fells Point and working on making games in Timonium. Overall, it’s a pretty exciting life, I see a lot of fun in my future and I wouldn’t be here today without my experiences both in and out of the classroom at Johns Hopkins.
