But we realise that we don’t always promote these opportunities as best we could, especially as there’s lots of them to let our volunteer base know about.

The ‘Opportunities of the Week’ is an attempt to let volunteers know about roles that they might be interested in getting involved with, in an easily digestible format.

Below is the first in the series, with some fantastic roles on offer. We’ll try to do weekly updates where we can, so if any of these roles are of interest, simply apply to volunteer and we’ll get you going on a project asap!

PR Intern, Bold Creative

Bold Creative is a social and youth innovation agency based in Shoreditch. Employing a unique user-centred approach, theydevelop innovative communication solutions that engage hard to reach groups and empower young people on the issues that matter to them. Pushing through several ground-breaking projects to raise the profile of young People’s voices in mainstream media, Bold Creative have in the last two years won seven international awards including a Royal Television Society award and two BAFTAs. This role involves general marketing tasks such as brand management, maintaining Bold’s social media presence, and growing and monitoring reach and traffic on Bold’s digital media outlets.

PR Executives (all levels), iDance

Combining the power of dance and music with the energy of performance to instil self-confidence in young people.  They are encouraged to make a positive contribution to society, adopt healthy lifestyles and engage in constructive teamwork, regardless of age, ethnicity, race or gender. This role involves event management and promotion experience, as well as social media skills and creating sponsorship opportunities.

PR Executives (all levels), Pants to Poverty

A new type of underwear brand. Not simply content to make some of the most comfortable and stylish pants on the planet, P2P work with thousands of farmers and factory workers in India to celebrate fashion as a beautiful tool to change the world! This role involves social media, event promotion and fashion and consumer media relations.

Media and Web Intern, World Development Movement

WDM is an activist organisation campaigning across the UK for global justice. The media and web intern is an important part of WDM’s communications team which consists of a media officer and a web officer. If you have some experience of HTML, CSS and content management systems, along with desktop publishing software such as Photoshop and an interest in media work, buzz monitoring and social media, they’d like to hear from you. For more information, and details of how to apply, visit the World Development Movement site.

The background image of your Twitter profile can be a useful tool in building your brand.

Many users add a static background image with a “sidebar” of content that reflects them or their brand. The sidebar is a loophole around the limited amount of information Twitter allows its users to display on their profile page. The sidebar can include anything from a photo of that brand or individual, a brief description of what they do, a list of their websites, and a method of contact.

Below are some examples of Twitter profiles that have been successfully branded by companies or individuals:

Bold Creative’s Twitter account (@boldcreative) displays a simple sidebar image with its logo and important contact information and a URL that directs back to its website. All the information you need to understand what the company is and how you can find out more is there.

Pepsi (@pepsico) advertises a current campaign, the “Dream Machine,” on its sidebar, directing users to the Dream Machine Facebook Page. They also feature members of Pepsi who are tweeting for the company, so that users can know who exactly is behind all those tweets. Many companies opt to do this because it creates a more personal touch to Twitter accounts owned by large, seemingly impersonal companies.

GM (@gmblogs) similarly displays the people who are in charge of their Twitter account, probably for the same reasons as Pepsi. GM also displays their Twitter policy – a disclaimer that states that any 3rd party articles linked to from their account is not their responsibility.

Charity Water (@charitywater) is one of the nonprofits that has done an excellent job with its online presence. Its Twitter is beautifully designed, with a simple background that points users to a specific campaign.

Travel Channel’s Twitter (@travelchannel) has a nicely designed background that is branded well. It points users not to its website but to its other Twitter accounts for its various shows. If you go to these other Twitter accounts, you will see that each of them are also consistently branded with the Travel Channel, sometimes even using similar sidebar graphics – which is brilliant. Even in its variety of shows, the Travel Channel manages to maintain a consistent image.

As you can see, these companies have successfully used the user’s screen to provide relevant information and links — all simply in their background image.

5 Steps to Make A Background Image With Sidebar on Twitter

It’s simple to create a background image that has a sidebar on twitter. Here is the simplest method:

1. Take a screen grab of your Twitter account (with the window maximized.)
2. Paste the screen grab into a photo editing program of your choice (like Photoshop).
3. Create a sidebar graphic in the empty space you see to the left of your Twitter feed, making sure that it is not too wide or too close to the top or left side of the canvas.
4. Select the rest of the image that is not the sidebar and delete it.
5. Save your background image, upload to Twitter, and you’re done!

If you are well versed in graphic design, you can get fancy with this method – for example, you could a background color, add a gradient as the background color (as Pepsi has done), and so on.

If you are searching for a generic background, or one with a ready made template, websites like Twitrounds or Twitrbackgrounds work well.

Alisha is a third year student at Harvard University who has bravely crossed the pond and has joined Bright One. She will be based at Bold Creative, an award winning creative agency that Bright One works with, as a digital communications and PR intern.

“During my eight week internship, I’m hoping to gain an insightful and exciting experience in the world of digital media and public relations,” Alisha said. “At school, I study History and Sociology, but in my “free” time, I enjoy blogging, navigating through social media, graphic design, and generally poking around the internet. I’m looking forward to many adventures while exploring London, although it may take some time for me to look right instead of left when attempting to safely cross the street!”

While at Bold, Alisha will be working on two projects specifically. The first is called Tag Map, an interactive, geo-tagging networking site for sharing ideas and opinions. The second is a website called Forest Flava, which has been designed and developed by Bold in collaboration with young people from Waltham Forest. When she’s not working on these projects, Alisha will be turning her skills to Bright One projects.

You can also check out Alisha’s blog, Bows and Ivy, or follow her on Twitter – @alishalisha

Welcome aboard, Alisha, and best of luck with your internship!