Journalism Online and Blogging and Social Networking OH MY!

Quick reflections on the state of journalism online that I've picked up over the past few days.

First on a News Weekly that GETS IT. And by gets it I mean a local paper that is capitalizing on the opportunities the web has to offer -- not running away from it. Seven Days, our local alternative weekly has relaunched their site this week. They are incorporating some great social media tools -- but they have also created a user interface that makes sense for the WEB -- not a "let's make it look like a newspaper online". Check it out! While it is a little too "Myspacian" for me, I can see where they are taking it and I am sure it will evolve to be less busy over time. The Top 10 is nice as is the integrated RSS -- and if you click you'll see some tag clouds going on.

Second, on an interesting "experiment". Hmmm...check out BeatBlogging.org, a collaboration of 13 different news organizations...

Beatblogging.org is a collaboration between 13 news organizations from around the country and NewAssignment.Net, to figure out how journalists can use social networks to improve beat reporting.

Um...seems to me they should check out this other item that is posted at another blog I follow called Invisible Inkling on how a group of school students has created a news blog for a local community and are beating the pants off of the news folks.

And then there is this new gem "instant journalist" highlighted by the folks over at commoncraft.

Those media beat blogging journalists better "figure it out" fast. Perhaps they should look at Seven Days too!

Do you SEE me? Reflection on Tent City at Champlain College

Walking from the cafeteria back to my office there were students laying around...litterally! One stretched out by the entrance to the bookstore, and one outside of Hauke Lounge. I stopped and spoke to the student outside of Hauke and she said:

"This is hard. Being ignored. It's hurtful that the students just walk by and don't do anything."

Wow.

Champlain College Students Raise Money for COTS during TENT CITY

Not in my backyard takes on new meaning when right outside my office window a "homeless" tent city has sprung up. Monday it began and today, Wednesday, there are clothes hanging up outside my window, cardboard everywhere, sleeping bags, tents, a central fire pit with chairs and bags.

$400 raised so far for COTS, 50+ students involved.

Here's a YouTube!



Kudos to these students who simulate homelessness to not just raise awareness but to learn and appreciate what the poor in our state and around the world go through. Here in Vermont as the temperature dips down, and we are seeing some of the highest heating prices in years, there a major challenges.

Check out the YouTube video to keep up to date on our students' progress!

Live Blogging from iDMAa Day 3: Curriculum Challenges in Art

There are three sessions going on at the same time -- and all of them sounded great, but not easily applicable to my marketing and e-business world.

So why did I select this one? Because the curricular focus of this session is something I can relate to the broader curricular issues.

The topics include:

Reshaping still-image foundations for digital media (Blaise Tobia from Drexel University)

Their focus is how to adapt the basic photography course for digital media majors. So they had to move from film to digital, make screen based viewing primary and link that to value of printing and more history of photography (which happened because they do not need to teach the film processing and print darkroom prtoocols). However, they kept black and white, minimal manipulation, start with a low-tech film based project, using throw-away film cameras and assign fewer more indepth projects requiriing multi-image solutions.

So why keep photography? Um...DUH!! I so agree with our presentor that it continues to be vital to any work! Prof. Tobia went on to describe in detail why each piece from design to history is approached in the course.

This is a good example of how technology and program needs require that foundational courses adapt and change to be able to respond to the unique needs of specialized fields. So the art-based photography can be adapted to assist the digital creative to strengthen their work. In this continuing message of convergance -- this is a GREAT example of that.

Getting non-digital creative students an online presence (Peyton Rowe, Virginia Commonwealth University)

This professor has a wide range of non-technical students and is required to teach them Web Site Design. What did she do in her class?

Used group projects, made the content fun, students listen to real clients (client project), and when all else fails make it all about them (created portfolios), used lynda.com, made them learn a basic level of HTML, used what they knew already with illustrator and photoshop.

While it was all good, following the class, no one has an online portfolio! So what's the solution?

• Instant portfolio site
• Where are they anyway? Social Networking? Virb, Storylink
• That's where she will go...use social networking tools!

This one was great -- fits right into my research in teaching technology and has the same issues that I have with Marketing and PR majors in my classes!

Facilitating Collaborative Digital Photgraphy Critque Online (Selila Honig from Corcoran College and Heather Tillberg-Webb from Elizabethtown College)

Brought two classes together from different schools to allow for critique using Flickr! Honig spoke about critique in art is clearly a tough process and she has developed a series of questions: What do you see (line, color, shape, texture), how does it make you feel, what do you think it means, what formal aspects interfere or add to what you think it means. Tillberg-Webb spoke about bringing the two classes together. And the challenges. She created groups on Flickr and provided discussion areas for the students to talk about the critique.

What went wrong?

1. Students had a lack of intrinsic motivation and a lack of interest in new media
2. The logistical issues included class meets only once a week in different buildings and there was a lack of access to digital lab

Very interesting challenges that I face EVERY DAY! That assumption that students will WANT to engage in this way is baffling!

A tri-course design unit for a digital media visualization concentration (James Wroneki, East Tennesee State Univesity)

The goal for this professor was to get students to create a portfolio over time based on three courses the students have taken over time. The design of the course was teacher facilitated, student centered, project based and profolio oriented. Which keeps the students motivated and engaged. The portfolio class then ties it all together to provide them with guidance to utilize what they have learned to create their projects. They have to do project briefs. Here's the structure:

1. Class 1 -- Visual Thinking: There is a specific design challenge to design an innovative inventive or inspirationa idea for their portfolio.
2. Class 2 -- Principles of Visualization: More technical with programs such as Maya
3. Class 3 -- Model Design: Create their models, textures and render cameras

Professors advise and co-lead students through their project planning and curriculum design process, there is a Midterm review and there is a 1/3 component of their final senior portfolios as the grade.

This allows students to connect their course content to the portfolio to get ready for the work world.

Overall this session provided some good insight into the work that is going on all over the country in getting students to show their work, to understand what they need to know to highlight what they have learned and how to collaborate. Nice stuff!

Live Blogging iDMAa Day 3: The International Perspective (India)

This second part of the morning session featured K. Hariharan director of the L.V. Prasad Film and TV Acadamy and a filmmaker from India.

His topic: The Digital Challenge for Media Artists

He began with information about India and the complexity of Indian media and education. The challenges of pirated works have made "real" or "original" work a premium. There is much going on around the growth of Film. India media have moved to digital quickly with what seems little challenge. Film and TV have moved to AVID easily.

And yet...

The creative communicators -- the digital artists -- are struggling.

The average indian can read and speak at least three languages -- and computer programming is just another one. So the challenge here is that India is an oral and audio based tradition. The visual media artist struggles. and while India is the world's largest producer of films, they do not do any animation. They need content. The digital domain is acquisition, processing and transmission, and is not sequential in India. There is no process -- it is disorganized -- they produce inexpensive film with high technology and yet, the narration is fragmented. The same film can be different from theater to theater because they will edit freely and move things and take things out. Digital technology is seen only as a visual effects tool -- NOT artistic or creative.

So how do you educate individuals in Film who think they can all edit and make movies? There is a lack of role models -- so the teacher becomes the role model. Have to explain theory with clarity and must prove that you are credible. In order to teach here, the faculty have to show them how to create the film by example, then they have to show both what is good and what is bad about that film.

It is clear that there are barriers to working with digital film in India -- it seems that the issue from what I can understand is the Indian culture emphasizes the technical skill to get things done, but the ability to creatively approach a story is a bigger challenge, even though the tradition for the culture is one of story telling. There is a disconnect.

According to Hariharan, Indians do not have a perspective to start -- things flow. The animation programs from the U.S. want people to start with how long, or the depth...it is not the way someone from India would approach developing a film.

Very interesting window for me into the culture for India from the filmmakers perspective.

Live Blogging from iDMAa Day 3: The International Perspective

Bright and early this morning (8:30 a.m.) we are kicking off with a session with a focus on the international perspective. Featuring Lars Qvortrup with the Royal School of Library and Information Science in Copenhagen, who is the author of the Hypercomplex Society (pdf link) (a book I will be utilizing in my Technology: A Disruptive Force course in the spring).

His presentation was on Digital Art, Hypercomplexity and Creative Knowledge.

Hypercomplexity is about how the human being as the center of the universe is changing. He used great examples from art. Moving from the view of God, to the view of the human being, to a the view of more than one point of observation.

The challenge of hypercomplexity it would seem is that because there are multiple points of view, each individual has to find a reference point and is continually questioning their point of view in comparison to others. Which means there needs to be a way to manage the complexity -- putting yourself into the roles of others and continually adapting to change. Therefore complexity applied to complexity. Studies are done because the more you know the more you know that you don't know! Not to come to completion!

In my language? There are no guarantees. Change happens. Be prepared to realize that you don't know anything and that you won't ever know it all and that is ok.

What does this have to do with Digital Media?

Consider the screen as a point of view or "privileged" point of view. We sit and we watch in front of the screen. But if you consider virtual reality (like Second Life) we move within the screen and beyond the screen. We are also changing our perspective by being within the virtual world. We move from spectator to a spect-actor: One who watches AND acts. (This is very similar to the schematic discussion from yesterday).

The example is in the field of digital art -- interactive art. Rather than stand and just look and appreciate the art, you begin to interact with the art -- depending on the vision of the artist. Again, a change of your point of view. The art is no longer a static piece, you become a part of the art and both an observer as well as an actor. And then, you may not just interact with something in the virtual world, but you interact with yourself!

Um...WOW!

The impact here is that you can no longer keep the act of practice (technology, science ) and the act of interpretation (art and humanities) seperate -- in higher ed that is the equivalent of merging the democratic and republican parties into one! And yet, it's been a theme of this converence. Convergence. Creating interdisciplinary curriculum to prepare our students for this new way of thinking. Students should take courses in programming, art, and business if they are to be able to be successful in the marketplace.

It's beginning to happen. I wonder if our universities and if our potential students are ready for it.

End of day Blogging from iDMAa Day 2: Making Connections

Only a few more sessions to go, but I wanted to take a little space to highlight some amazing things at the conference the past few days.

First, I never did write about the F.U.E.L. showcase from last night. Unfortunately it's being taken down this evening, but the breadth and depth of work was truly amazing -- even for me. I'm not a big performance art or installation piece appreciator, but as Jeff said, it would "expand my mind" and well...it did.

All I can say is the student work really was beyond anything I had ever seen. Wish I had pictures. Sorry...

Tonight we went over to LaSalle University -- what a nice campus, even though I only saw a little bit. But what I did see was amazing. They have an art gallery that was amazing. It was all amazing.... AMAZING!! (ok...ok...I know). From there it was dinner for ... guess what... AMAZING food! There was an awards presentation too.

Overall AMAZING stuff (ok...I'll stop...really!) but what was truly __________ (insert AMAZING) was the opportunity I have had especially tonight to meet with and chat with colleagues from all over the country. I've met and spoken with Kurt Kratchman, the CSO of schematic, Joel Kline, the Director of the Digital Communications program at Lebanon Valley College (I was told to pronounce it Leb-nin), Jeff Ritchie also of LVC, Brigid Maher from American University's School of Communication, and Sharon Ross a professor of Television Studies at Columbia College in Chicago. I've spoken with others, but these were the cards I collected.

What makes this so good (or AMAZING??)? It's the work that is being done, the similar issues we face and the focus everyone has on improving their craft and helping our students to be successful.

So a big thanks to Jeff Rutenbeck who told me one day a few months ago that I "just had to go to this conference". I don't get out much (that will change soon with the dissertation finishing up) and this was good to get to.

Live Blogging from iDMAa Day 2: Print Journalism Online

The next session I chose to attend today is about how to bring print journalism online.

Deborah Gump with the Committee of Concerned Journalists was one of the presenters who spoke about the importance of providing readers with an opportunity to interact with the story online. One example she gave was American Public Media they are doing the "American Dream Idea Generator" to get people involved. They provide context as to why the "American Dream" isn't the same anymore, provide context and then get numbers/traffic (tracking that ROI!!). A local TV station engaged around politics. Contests, polls, discussions -- all leading to content (really information and news).

John Beatty, moderator and faculty from LaSalle University raised the following issues

1. digital era = fundamental shift in communication
2. Sender receiver or media audience dichotomies break down
3. feedback loops therefore increase exponentially in complexity
4. shifts in time, structor of hyper narrative, others?

AP CEO Tom Curley spoke of the "Fork in the Road" which highlights the challenges for journalism.

They are left with questions:

1. Does Journalism exist?
2. Is it gatekeeping? Who controls the gates?
3. Are hybrid forms the only options?
4. What about economic models?
5. Are audiences more fragmented? Is it micro broadcasting?
6. Are online print outlets synergistic?
7. What holds promis for online newspaper? Video, RSS feeds, blogs, reader comments, comprehensive calendars, stringers breaking news, video letter, trends and predictions, more immediate layout concerns such as navigation, content, usability?

Conversations were varied about this topic ranging from how to keep journalism going...what is it, and is journalism's role a sensemaker? What is the importance between the self-selection of information vs. branding of a news identity? How do you get students/young people to understand the nuances of the journalism and information they do access? What is next for Journalism?

Great conversation -- no answers though (smile).

Quick shout out to iBrattleboro which was highlighted as an example of Hyperlocal Sites here in this conference in Philly!

Live Blogging from iDMAa Day 2: The Industry Talks Back

What do you get when you get a panel of experts in Digital Media and Arts in a room?

Let's find out!

Panelists

Dale Herigstad, Schematic
Kurt Kratchman, Schematic
Ed Jones, President of Constellation Communication

Topics

Lot's of conversation about how to get students ready for this. How do we as educators teach this and keep students fearless, innovative and life long learners? How do you teach THAT in a classroom?

Interesting information from Kurt Kratchman

Based on eBay: What if?? Video and Commerce converge in the eBay space?

1. Commerce Vision: Integrate music video with products so all of it can be purchased on eBay. Watch the video and images of products come up.
2. Community Vision: Provide places for you to connect with others through eBay and find where they are and what they like. The same with recommendations. Someone can have their own vide show that recommends items for auction .... YouTube meets eBay!

Items that had a story behind it SOLD MORE! It's all about being able to tell the STORY ( a theme I've heard from Art Bell!!)

Employees need to have a well-rounded contextual understanding of techcian and the designer.

What about the business side?

Ed talks about the marketing and business end (my kind of guy!)

In order to sell the digital media -- you have to know who is willing to pay for it! And you need to think about it right up front (duh!)

Reasons for failure: poor communication, failure to engage the right audience, failure to obtain a behavior response that links to the business equation.

Q&A

What are the characteristcs of a college grad?

1. Look for design talent that can communicate -- well rounded individual who not only knows the tools, but can understand the implications, and they can communicate and persuade.
2. Humility and no one is afraid to work to solve the problem (be fearless!)
3. Contextual framework -- and understanding of how they fit into the process/structure of the organization
4. If you can sell your ideas and defend your process and product -- it's key. Put into your program -- Presentation Skills! Problem Solving! Project Management!

Now how do you create the new employee for this?

Students who know design fundamentals, audio fundamentals, art fundamentals, video fundamentals, marketing (YES!), strategy -- all in one. No more silos. It's a HYBRID approach in education that is needed. It's about Critical Thinking too. Sounds like a call for the work we are doing in the CORE at Champlain! And then perhaps a bit of the work we are doing in several of our programs.

Outsourcing

Outsourcing is effecting programming and technology -- but innovation cannot be outsourced. Repeatable process can be replicated everywhere.

Students focus on the Computer can do it all -- how do you get them to understand it's more than that!

When you show them exceptional work, the student wants to do that immediately, but the teacher needs to set the context to a local understanding and help the students do what they can do. You need to give your students an opportunity to fail. You have to create environments where they can step beyond the next level. You can't tell them. Humility is important. Start from where you are. Having professionals talk to students seems to make a big difference. When you have control of your curriculum you can structure it in a way that responds to the industry needs.

Live Blogging from iDMAa Day 2: Invasive Blended Media

We started early this morning (8:30 a.m.) with a presentation from Schematic, an interactive design agency located in the big cities (NYC, Boston LA, etc.). The speaker is their Chief Design Officer, Dale Herigstad and his topic is "New Television".

What is New Television? Rich media content comes from more than the TV. It is combined with internet, and all the wonderful stuff we are talking about during this conference.

Screen with media (info, applications, music, video) vs. just the TV. TV is a sequential flow/presentation that includes programming, promotion, branding, wayfinding, and advertising.

Now, screens are connected through IP (wired and wireless). No longer just one mode. It's now an "ecosystem" For example, NBC etc. now is porting out to many different devices, not just TV anymore.

Some interesting points

• Rich media is layered in space and dynamic in time.
• Use animation and motion to improve user experience.

Space in Media

• Front (me the viewer0) what is happening in front of the screen
• Behind what is happening ON the screen

Traditional TV experience is the 10 foot experience (how far away we are from the screen)
So options are: 10 ft: broadcast, 2 ft: computer, and 1 ft: mobile.

But there are others....which include Personal media combines the 2 and 1, friends and family is the 10-3 foot and then public media is 200, 25 (such as touch screens in airports). It's about a different type of experience. How do you then plan for all of this different "experience" when developing media? Then how do they converge? For example, interfacing with the large screen in Times Square with a mobile phone.

When developing for all of this, the only one that is mouse interaction is the computer, but most of the screen media is non-mouse driven.

Example: ACCENTURE (Kennedy Airport or O'Hare Airport) -- the behind the screen is cameras that track hand movements. One problem they came up with is that people didn't know they could interact with the wall, so the team had to build in images of people touching the different points to show how it would work.

He calls it a "virtual branded space" -- moving away from the page model.

There are many different ways that space is evolving that he talked about. iTunes with horizontal navigation that flows, windows media player where the navigation works left, right or up and down. They are changing how information is approached and how to navigate around a space. Looks like that left hand navigation in the static website is "dead"! He called it a non-page space site -- clicking does not take you to another page -- clicking just allows new content to flow within the same space. WHOA!!

He showed a prototype for Microsoft XBox connection to the TV/Cable company. Um the navigation is AMAZING -- rendering of the graphics is on the fly. From a user? OMG! He said it seems wild...and it looks overwhelming. I'd love to play with it, but I can feel uneasy about it....it seems like too much even though he said it was easy to navigate. Hmmm...I'll need to reflect on this one a bit more. Wish I could toss out a screen shot!

Other space
Game space for EA Sports. They create beyond the game space to provide live feeds from the ESPN ticker and connects the game world to the "real" world in one space. He called it "invasive media" or "blended media".

The prototype stuff he showed around TV and new navigation that is connected to many other "spaces" is like the iTunes/iPod navigation gone crazy.

HD-DVD allows for the programmed movie, but then you can layer in and port website info on the fly, and advertising info, and anything else you can think of...to allow the user to watch the movie, stop it, access relevant content all through the DVD movie experience. Are we there yet? There are technological issues that they are working out to bring in the information from the website to the DVD -- so in other words, the silo concept in developing a movie and ad campaign etc. is surely going away. The development of any of this will have to be so layered with individuals who can see ALL the possibilities. The traditional marketing of a movie, for example, will now have to take into account how to ensure that all of the channels and media messages can be integrated and flow to a screen...one screen...on demand by the user. It has to be compatibile.

Wow! This is all about this notion of "invasive blended media".

Want to get a feel for this? Go to their website. On the home page, move your mouse to the top of the image of the home page and notice the - sign that comes up. See what happens. You can see all of the pages -- visually. True visual navigation.

Impact on SEO? I wonder. Impact on marketing? HUGE.

Another example: ShopVougeTV and Microsoft Surface