SXSW Second Interview

Suneel Gupta is the creater of The Kahani Movement. This is a website where "members of the Kahani social network collect and share stories from the first major wave of South Asians that immigrated to the U.S. Kahani means “story” in Hindi," says Gupta. He was inspired to find a way to share stories from his own family's experiences he grew up hearing. Personal stories of living in exile, experiencing violence stemmed from racism, great triumph and adjusting to a new environment are recounted through videos, photos, and blog posts.

"David Isay's Storycorps proved that ordinary people have extraordinary stories to share – you just need to ask. The Kahani Movement brings the original Storycoprs concept into the Web 2.0 space," says Gupta.

Gupta is well versed in the world of Web 2.0 and open-source approach to projects. He was formerly the director of Mozilla Labs. "Social media allows our members to collaborate, share ideas, and promote each other's work, which is critical to the project's success," says Gupta.

Gupta needed a platform that would allow people to share their stories within their small communities and beyond. "Tools in the Web 2.0 space, have allowed us to reach millions of people and let them reach other," says Gupta. He built the Kanahi site based on Ning, a user-friendly social networking site. Gupta works closely with the Ning team to bring these untold stories to life online.

Gupta is looking forward to SXSW interactive 2010 as a panelist and participant. "There is no better platform than SXSWi to share a new idea and get feedback from interesting, innovative people," says Gupta. He's got the same idea all savvy SXSWi-goers have while attending the conference--contribute and grow. Gupta says, "we are hoping to share some of the things we've learned through Kahani -- where we've met our goals and where we stumbled a bit. Moreover, we're aiming to offer Kahani as a model to be replicated because we believe that every community has stories worth preserving.

Read more about Suneel Gupta's upcoming panel here StoryCorps 2.0: Social Networking Meets Storytelling (Suneel Gupta, The Kahani Movement).

GenY and Upstarts

In the world of business, the tried and true ways of starting a company are changing.

In her presentation at SXSW, Donna Fenn author of the book, Upstarts! GenY Entrepreneurs Are Rocking the Business World, will examine how GenYers are rewriting the entrepreneurial playbook one start-up business at a time.

What makes GenYers so different from their predecessors? The CEO’s of Generation Y are not only young but tech savvy, and they have a whole new way of communicating.

“They’re a very social generation and so they tend to start companies with partners, seek out advisors and mentors, tap into the resources of their colleges and universities, and generally draw in communities of vendors and customers into the larger visions of their companies, Fenn said. “I think this ultimately makes for stronger, more sustainable companies.”

Fenn, who has worked in business journalism for 20 years, says that young entrepreneurs are making an impact in just about every industry where technology can give them an advantage over the competition.

“Younger entrepreneurs tend to be collaborative, tech-savvy, and very agile. They’re also very socially conscious and focused on work/life balance and creating productive and fun workplaces,” Fenn said. “So I think those are all traits that entrepreneurs of every generation should take note of and attempt to emulate.”

GenYers also keep up with trends in social media. These tools help them communicate with customers, meaningfully and intimately. Social media helps build their business, by enabling them to create powerful brand identities.
“Look at what Tony Hsieh has done with Twitter – there’s no better example of how to use social media to your competitive advantage,” she said.

However, both young and old entrepreneurs have some knowledge to offer each other, she said. Older entrepreneurs have the knowledge that comes with experience. They are better negotiators, manage people better, and are not as easily distracted.

Fenn became interested in GenYers a couple of years ago.

“I began noticing more and more companies that were started by people in their twenties – more than I had ever seen in my twenty plus years in business journalism. I wanted to know what was driving them to start businesses, what kinds of companies they were starting, and if those companies were really so different from the ones I’d covered in the past,” she said.

The negative stereotypes of GenY are that they are spoiled and entitled, something that Fenn’s personal observations continually refuted.

“I have to admit that as a mother of two GenYers, I felt a little protective and possible defensive. My gut reaction was: wait a minute, this is an amazing generation of kids and I’m tired of hearing stories about how they all rely on their parents to micromanage their careers,” she said.

“I know that happens, but many of the young CEOs I spoke to were actually employing their parents and providing a major means of support to their families. That doesn’t sound entitled to me.”

Fenn’s advice to the college student who wants to create a startup of his/her own? Use what’s available to you to get ahead.

“Never again will you have as many free and valuable resources available to you as you have in college, so take full advantage of them. I’m talking about knowledgeable professors, possibly courses in entrepreneurship and/or on-campus incubators and entrepreneurship clubs, “she said.

Fenn also believes that the spirit of true entrepreneurship is purely based on your motivations.

“Entrepreneurship doesn’t always start with an idea. You’ve got to have passion for the entrepreneurial life – for building something that’s of value and that in some way will make life easier and better for the people your company touches, “she said.

“If you just want to get rich, forget it. Entrepreneurship is like journalism – it’ll make you miserable unless you love it so much that you can’t possibly imagine doing anything else.”

Fenn describes her book as a conversation starter on the topic of GenY and entrepreneurship.

“I hope that older readers come away with a new perspective on GenY and that they realize that this generation is doing business in a way that really does define the future of entrepreneurship for all of us,” she said. “And I hope that younger readers are inspired to pursue their own entrepreneurial dreams!”

Casting Crib Cutesploitation – Using Your Kids as Content

John Halcyon Styn is on a SXSW panel: Casting Crib Cutesploitation – Using Your Kids as Content. He own Royal Pink Productions (http://royalpinkproductions.com/), a consulting company that specializes in online video ad social media. Royal Pink Productions help craft digital landscapes of people’s websites with integrity and authenticity. In other words, they work with large corporate organizations which work with the individual consumers connections that have become critical in the modern digital world. So, they help large corporations use the tools, such as Youtube and Facebook, effectively and with integrity. Royal Pink Productions has experimental projects such as HugNation.com (http://hugnation.com/) that work to use the web to foster connections. Here is his interview on CNN: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UgMkNF80_8. Here is his blog: Life Student (http://www.lifestudent.com/).

John frequently speaks about blogging, webcam chat and community building, and consults with large companies to help them understand the delicacies required when courting the information generation. He has been going to SXSW for about 10 years. He has received the web award and been on a number of panels. He posted his SXSW interview at http://styn.net/sxsw/. Here is his interview about SXSW: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfMFSaJV0Go&feature=player_embedded#.

According to John, many people, who were innovators and users of the early web, become parents. He said he is interested to know what the risks and rewards are of having children while broadcasting online. So he decided to speak about “Casting Crib Cutesploitation – Using Your Kids as Content.” This is because he wonders whether or not people are on the edge of a huge crisis of privacy. He used the exampt of “David after dentist”, saying videos are simply fun, but have influence on the violation of a person’s future or privacy.

The Future of Online News...Are we There Yet?

Andrew Huff's panel for SXSW 2010 is called “The Online News of Tomorrow.” Such a title can conjure up several topics and can have a discussion that would lead into various directions. Mr. Huff is the editor and publisher of Gapers Block, a city-centric web publication based in Chicago. He is also a professional blogger and social media consultant. Knowing this about Mr. Huff, the first question regarded his opinion on the future of online journalism, specifically as it pertained to the hyper-local brand of news that he is a part off. He believes both print and web news will move extremes (worldwide and hyper-local) and believes “localized editions (different content for different parts of the city) will best positioned to remain strong thanks to local businesses
trying to reach their immediate neighbors through advertising.”
As to how such publishers can “sell” their type of localized coverage to consumers in mid-sized cities not named New York or Chicago or Los Angeles, Huff pointed to examples in Lawrence, Kansas (Lawrence.com), the Duke City Fix in Albuquerque and BhamTerminal.com in Birmingham, Alabama. He posits the venture “can work in smaller markets if they understand their audience well.”
It appears the transformation in this, a century old industry, will encourage innovation and consumer empowerment. Such is evident with the rise of user generated content. Huff points to CNN’s iReport as evidence of the trend taking hold. He did caution that the press may encounter a legal minefield when publishing accounts produced from non-employees or non-journalists. However, as soon as that issue is eliminated or defined, the practice may increase.

Chris Heathcote: Meta Loca

Chris Heathcote will be making his first apperance at SXSW this year. Coming all the way from London England, Chris says he is tremendosly excited to be in Austin for the first time and to be presenting at the conference. His panel will be discussing the latest take on something that a few designers have been working on for a while, such as the interface between computers and the internet. Chris has been designing for the internet for thirteen years and seven years with mobile phones. Some of Chris's specialties included, interaction design, product creation, and branding.

One of the issues that will be addressed on the panel concerns user generated content, social media, and how it is extended into the real world. Chris has recently been working at Nokia for the past five years. The motto at Nokia is "Connecting People." Chris says it is an innate universal human desire to want to communicate. Chris also commented on how initially people are surprised with all the new forms of social media such as, Twitter, Skype, Facebook and SMS, but that anything that allows new forms of communication if easy enough to use and cheap enough, are always embraced. Chris said, ' Lots of people talk about the Dunbar number. You can keep in communication at a sustainable level with 150 people, but it seems pretty irrelevant these days. I follow 400 people on Twitter, I subscribe to 1100 RSS feeds. I realize I'm at an extreme of consumption, but as tools that allow ambient awareness of others improve, the amount of communication can only increase." With all the new advances in social media, critics ask whether the use of social media is "real" communiation? Chris relpied, "real-time-one-to-one communication doesn't now seem like the most appropriate method for most, but it's no more change than we've encountered in the last 150 year, with advent of a fast, cheap, ubiquitous postal service, and telegraph service."

Chris has recently been researching and working with urban screens. Urban screens have recently been replacing billboards and traditional paper advertising. Chris said that currently the entire London underground metro system is covered in digital billboards. What Chris believes is most interesting about this phenomenon is that while traditional paper advertising is disappearing, things that look like computers are rapidly appearing in urban environments. "It's happening before there's really been any civic discussion about what this means, and in private spaces, that don't require planning permission," says Chris. "I'm interested in what designers and others who have been researching technology and urban environments can do to make screens more useful and more interesting, to the public as well as advertisers or owners."

Your Life in Six Words or Less: Storytelling in The Digital Age

When Larry Smith and Tim Barkow started SMITH Magazine in 2006, their intention was to create a place where personal narrative could flourish and be shared online. This initial idea led to several successful developments, including the Six-Word Memoir story project. Here, anyone and everyone is encouraged to express themselves in the manner that texting, Twitter and Facebook have taught us so well - with brevity and, hopefully, with honesty and humor.

The Six-Word Memoir project appealed to so many people that it has led to two bestselling books, Not Quite What I Was Planning: Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous and Obscure and Six-Word Memoirs on Love & Heartbreak. "Six-Word Memoirs are the quickest, easiest way to get a glimpse into another person's personality, humanity and essence," says Smith. "There's this feeling of intimacy and connection in a world gone digital."

Smith's panel It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs From Writers Famous and Obscure has been chosen for SXSW 2010, and the session will consist of readings from the new Six-Word Memoir book as well as contributions from the audience. Examining this phenomenon in a room filled with tech-savvy folks should lead to a better understanding of the direction in which communication and self-expression are going.

Over 200,000 Six-Word Memoirs have been submitted to SMITHmag.net and SMITHTeens.com, and many people (including several teens) make a habit of submitting something every day. Smith and another staff member read them all. "It's a joy to read thousands and thousands of expressions of humanity, six words at a time," he says. The Web site also includes six-word video memoirs and links to other projects in the making, with the underlying theme being that this is a democratic, forward-thinking and participatory mode of storytelling.

Freelance Isn't Free: The Twisted Economics of Writing Today

Jeff Beckham's SXSW panel, Freelance isn't Free: The Twisited Economics of Writing Today, seems to come at the most appropriate time when struggling newspaper are looking for freelance writers instead of full-time reporters.

Beckham graduated from the University of Texas with a journalism degree and spent the early years of his career working for newspaper. He now works for the online group of AT&T, but decided to find an outlet where he could write more about his interests-- sports and technology. Two years ago Beckham began writing for the Austinist and is currently their Tech and Sports Editor.

"So in working with Austinist, I saw how local media could be effective even where every person was an unpaid volunteer. It was a really nice community effort," Beckham said.

Beckham's opportunity to write for the Austinist led him to an inevitable question which in turn led to the topic of his SXSW 2010 panel: What kind of freelance work is worth paying for?

"On the one hand, anyone who wants to can now write and publish their work online, even if it's for a tiny audience. But it's also made it more difficult for freelance writers to get paid for their work. If the quality is roughly the same, why wouldn't sites choose to work with a large army of people working for free rather than a select few asking for money?" he said.

Beckham hopes that his panel will act as a discussion between freelancers and media outlets.

"Freelance workers should come away with a better understanding of what types of writing or content are worth paying for, and representatives of the media should come away with an empathy for freelance workers, but also a sense of fairness on the value of their work," Beckham said.

Big Brother in Your Brain: Neuroscience & Marketing

    Eric Kogelschatz first learned about neuromarketing while attending graduate school at Michigan State University. After reading the NYTimes article “There’s a Sucker Born in Every Medial Prefrontal Cortex” and watching the PBS program “Frontline: The Persuaders” Kogelschatz’s ideas about advertising changed.
    “From my perspective, the institution of advertising is defined as the communication of product or service related information in a persuasive manner. However, after reading this article and watching the program, I began to realize that advertising, coalesced with cognitive neuroscience (neuromarketing), would allow marketers to change overt consumer behavior by influencing emotional and rational attitudes, beliefs and motivations,” said Kogelschatz.
    “With the advent of neuromarketing, neuroscientists and researchers have been directing their expertise to marketing, using MRIs to analyze consumers’ brain activity when exposed to different stimuli,” said Kogelschatz. He said that companies like Google are using math to develop advertising strategies.
    While working at Modernista! in Boston, Kogelschatz started a band with three neuroscientists. During practice, the band mates would often talk about neuroscience. This led Kogelschatz to start rethinking his beliefs on advertising and science. “I often thought about neuroscience in relation to my research and experience in advertising,” said Kogelschatz. This led him to write the blog post titled “The Convergence of Cognitive Neuroscience and Marketing.” After the success of the post, Kogelschatz decided to submit a panel proposition to SXSWi.
    “My hope is that the panel audience will observe an in-depth analysis of the convergence of neuroscience and marketing and gain a subjective perspective on the topic based on emotional and rational information,” said Kogelschatz.
    Kogelschatz has extensively researched the convergence of neuroscience and marketing, digital music innovation, digital technology and urban revitalization. He is currently putting together his panel for SXSWi 2010. The panel will include innovative speakers in the areas of neuroscience, advertising and neuromarketing. Kogelschatz’s panel will answer questions such as: what is neuromarketing? Is advertising an art or science? Is neuromarketing ethical? Will digital marketers become scientists and mathematicians or will creativity triumph?
    For more information about Eric and his work, please visit www.erickogelschatz.com

Dance at CUNY

As an old dude myself, I'm very impressed with the accomplishments of Dance at such a young age (although I'm not so sure about his choice of hairstyle). As with most of these presentations to students, he lets them know that they need to seek a career doing something that they love. Great advice.

I agree with him that we are experiencing a very exciting time in journalism. Where is journalism headed; in particular, what is going to happen to newspapers? It is good to know that the NY Times is embracing the web and utilizing their site to be a usable supplement to their daily printed paper.

One of the reasons I returned to school is to get training in this area. I hope to be able to utilize my experience as a video journalist to either teach, or apply my skills to the web.

Gabriel Dance videos & questions

The Gabriel Dance videos were insightful and really helpful to get me in the right mindset for our final project.

He gives a disclaimer early on that warns multimedia designers not to get into it unless they’re truly committed, and he advised that you only make a high-quality finished product if you enjoy what you’re doing. He talks about the computer and computer programming as a tool for him to be better at journalism. His heart is in journalism and being a good storyteller, and he uses his programming genius to make his stories really powerful and interesting. It’s exactly the mentality we need for our final project with our investigatory journalism site.

He described how important it is to be comment on the sites of the person or group with which you want to work during the interview process. It goes back to our comments in class about opening up conversations instead of just throwing your point of view out there. You want to open up dialogue about what kind of technologies your dream employer is using when you’re taking a stab at joining their team.

Gabriel said he built the Robinson Crusoe site in a group of 18 people. I wonder what it’s like to build a site with a large group of people? What are the problems you run into with the programs when you split up work? He talked about time as a valuable commodity when it comes to building interactive sites, so I would ask him how long it took for him and his 18 group members to build the Robinson Crusoe site?

He also said that even though college students are under alot of pressure, there is more room for students to take on long-term projects while still in college. What does he mean by this? I had hoped it would be the other way around? That was a bit of unsettling news.

"The computer just enables me to do my journalism, much like a pen...or a stylus...or a paintbrush..."

Gabriel Dance's lecture on multimedia journalism was insightful and extremely relevant and helpful in our class. You wouldn't have expected to hear a minute into the presentation that he originally got a degree in computer science without any consideration of journalism. And while 10 years ago, the two fields would have never been considered as being interrelated, the Internet has introduced a whole new world of possibilities for journalism and communication. Dance realized early on in his graduate career at UNC the potential in using computer skills and journalism skills together. It was neat to see the thesis project he did using Flash (and I'm almost tempted to ask for his help on Flash as one of my questions...ha). His section on usability in multimedia journalism was interesting - while you as the web designer obviously will know how to navigate and utilize the pages, you must also consider your audience and keep in mind that people can leave a website just as quickly as they came to it, so you have to make it as simple and understandable as possible. His discussion on user generated content was especially entertaining, and the idea of interactivity and a sense of "societal participation" in online journalism is such a refreshing change from the monopolistic control of news content that has been the standard for so many years.

I would like to ask Gabriel:

1. Do you think it is (or will be) essential for students who pursue a career in journalism to learn multimedia skills? Do you think it would be detrimental to a journalism student to not learn the skills necessary for online journalism and instead stick to the practices of traditional journalism (hard news writing, page layout/design, etc.)?

2. What is the biggest benefit of interactivity and user generated content on the web? What is the biggest drawback or challenge?

Gabriel Dance Speech

Garbiel Dance’s presentation at CUNY was insightful and yet I came away with some questions regarding his employer and his overall concept of journalism. I certainly agree, wholeheartedly, with Dance’s assertion on failure. It is definitely beneficial to experience such fate from time to time. It makes young professionals or students of any discipline better at handling the proverbial career rollercoaster. Mr. Dance suggests students should take more risks and perhaps “push the envelope” a bit more when creating some of the work while in school since “there is no pressure to make a profit.” For the most part he is correct, except that most students don’t believe there is no pressure and the restrictions are sometimes self-imposed.

Mr. Dance’s work with the New York Times is impressive on the level of interaction and appearance. I wonder, however, if the paper’s leadership fells this separates them journalistically or is it only to increase traffic and create brand loyalty, both very valid and important aspects of the industry. Dance considers himself a journalist first, then somebody who uses technology to improve on the content. There is no doubt in that the New York Times is an industry leader and they will continue as standard-setters on many fronts related to what could barely still be called the “print industry” especially during this tumultuous times for the medium.

If I had the opportunity to ask Mr. Dance two questions they would be:

1. Do you think you were hired on at the New York Times because of your journalistic talents or your familiarity with technology?

2. Do you believe such innovations regarding the Times’ online separate your employer journalistically?

You Can Dance If You Want To

Gabriel Dance that is. He's the senior multimedia producer for The New York Times and recently spoke to CUNY journalism grad students about multimedia journalism. Several points in Dance's presentation resonated with me. Dance spoke at length about having passion for multimedia journalism. He said if you're going to go into this new field you have to be passionate about it or, like anything else, you're not going to be good at it. He went on to say that if you don't have the desire to take what's out there on the web and make it better, and more creative, then you won't thrive in the field.

I like that he encouraged the audience to be OK with failing and that it's a sign you're trying hard. As I lack a technical background, this statement makes trying multimedia tools less intimidating. The time and place he says to try new projects and really experiment is grad school. Lucky for us, we're in grad school! Free from the real-world restrictions of profit, deadlines, and directed content--we're able to create innovative and interactive sites. Dance advised the audience to find sites you like, create your project, and really push your self to go to the next level.

My questions for Dance are: At the NYT you have access to a great deal of resources. What are some smaller papers, or media entities, that are producing stuff you like on a shoestring budget?

Also, do you think we could soon get too out of control with focusing on aesthetics and not on the integrity of the "journalism"?

Gabriel Dance

The presentation by Gabriel Dance at CUNY was an interesting perspective on multimedia journalism. I think the edge that Dance has in the field of multimedia journalism is his degree in computer science. What I enjoyed best about the presentation was when Dance talked about the level of experimentation a student has with journalism at the university level. He made a great point when he talked about not having to deal with advertising, different levels of editing, turning a profit or even losing your job. The university level allows you to experiment with journalism, be more creative and take chances.

Dance also spoke about his master thesis project that he did back in 2006. I thought it was interesting that he said there are things in his project that are not even being done today. Not because people at the working level are not bright enough, but because of all the restrictions that come into play when working for a company. Dance also made it a point to talk about competitive analysis. Dance said that in order to be good at what you do, you have to know what others are doing.

Dance also talked about transparency. He gave the example of the debate analyzer, which allows the user to watch parts of the debate that are most important to them and read the transcript of what is being said alongside the video. There are also tabs pertaining to different issues that a user can click on to learn more about specific topics. He said the most important thing about transparency is that the user gets to engage in the content and there is no editorializing.

Overall I enjoyed the presentation. What I did find a bit discouraging is that it seems having a degree in computer science would be extremely beneficial to a multimedia individual. Unfortunately that is something that I do not have, so I feel that I am at somewhat of a disadvantage when it comes to entering the world of multimedia.

Questions:

1) You said earlier in the presentation that "If you don't fail then your not trying hard enough." Can you give an example when you failed and what you did to pick yourself back up?

2) I know you stated that it is not necessary to have a degree in computer science to work in multimedia, but obviously it has been extremely beneficial to you. Any advice for those without a computer science degree?

Gabriel Dance Lecture

Dance spoke several times of the the importance of collaboration. This resonated with me because I have always worried that I haven't mastered all the skills necessary to succeeding in our rapidly evolving field. So, of course, it's comforting to hear Dance confess that no one is "the best" at all aspects of a job or project. It's reassuring to know that even the most renowned of professionals rely on others to accomplish goals.

Another part of Dance's lecture that I found insightful was when he stated that the internet has created a vast community of people sharing and mimicking ideas. I've often pondered the implications that the internet has cast upon the idea of plagiarism. Dance, to some degree, echoed my opinion - that the copying and sharing of ideas is ubiquitous, and the internet has exposed the frequency of what we call plagiarism. Dance emphasized the importance of building upon others' ideas. Pretty much everything has already been done; it seems that creativity lies in the ability to reconstruct and improve upon those things.

Questions:
1. Do you think the definition of plagiarism has changed because of the increased information sharing afforded by the internet? For example, if one has an idea for something, then googles it and finds that someone has already done it, can they be faulted for having the same idea that one of the other billions of human beings has had?

2. Is in-person collaboration necessary to the success of your projects? Or do you find yourself and your colleagues mainly collaborating via text, email, Twitter, etc.?

Gabriel Dance's Presentation

Jesse Orona here,

The first thing I noticed about Gabriel Dance was the passion he has for what he’s doing. I completely understand wanting to merge various skills to create a whole new career and Gabriel Dance’s presentation shows you how to do it.

My favorite part of the presentation was the content section. It is our responsibility to make the site comprehensible to even the most computer illiterate person out there and keep things simple. The use of a big button that clearly tells the user “Play”, backward and forward buttons clearly present, and features presented in ways the user is familiar with makes so much sense.

I never realized how many people it takes to put together a site like those Gabriel Dance featured. You have to have a good relationship with the people you work with otherwise the project is going to suffer.

My two questions for Gabriel Dance:

What sort of skills should a person still in grad school acquire and showcase if he or she is looking for an internship with a company that produces multimedia presentations like those seen in your presentation?

What do you think is going to be the next big thing in multimedia technology?

Gabriel Dance

Gabriel Dance focuses on multimedia journalism and believes in the influence on multimedia. He has a really good background in computer science and in multimedia journalism. I think when he has some projects, he really considers media users’ convenience and needs as a journalist. He made websites easy to use and navigate. Hence, in his projects, design and contents are consistent and easy to use. He really loves his job and encourages students to be multimedia journalists.

Questions:
Do you think journalists should adopt new technology with their field? Why or why not?
How do you get some innovative ideas for your projects?

Gabriel Dance and New Media

Gabriel Dance has an interesting story behind him and he's currently in a position to work on and talk about some of the most exciting and innovative multimedia projects in existence. He's (like) quite a lucky guy.

I enjoyed Dance's enthusiasm and honest demeanor - his simple advice offered right away (to do what you have an inherent interest in) is good for anyone to hear. Dance clearly ended up in the right place at the New York Times, where the multimedia projects being created are simply amazing. I think Dance gave a good overview of a few important issues in journalism as well as multimedia technology.

I was particularly interested in the section on transparency. The image of the media is not overwhelmingly favorable these days, so it's more important than ever to be open and honest with where we obtain our information. Providing access to sources that we've used to build a story and presenting information in a way that lets the audience see the issues for what they are will only help to build our own credibility. Better transparency is needed in many of this country's arenas, and journalism should be leading the way.

A couple of questions for Dance:

1. What are a few more examples of ways that news outlets of all kinds can strive towards better transparency?
2. The NYT creates many intricate and time consuming projects. How do you go about making sure people actually see the work you do? What strategies have you adopted?

Gabriel Dance

Gabriel Dance’s lecture at the CUNY Grad School of Journalism focused on some pretty interesting things. Well we know he talked about these five things….usablility, context, transparancy, innovation and user-generated content.
What struck me as interesting was when he talked about using the resources available and taking the time – as a graduate student – to experiment with certain projects. I think this class has given us a good head start to doing this. Also I think it is going to be interesting to see how we deal with project management when dealing with our groups in class. Also when he talks about using the internet for transparency, I think he is mentioning something really worthwhile. Journalists don’t always have the time to provide the extra content, research, etc. that they have done. When the story goes to the newspaper it has to fit within the space allotted for it after the ads go up; it also has to be edited.
Through the internet, journalists are able to provide readers with the original documents and research, extra photos or other source material. He mentions that many people have a problem believing the context in which certain materials (in the presentation he uses government documents as the example) are used for stories. Many skeptical readers feel that the journalist uses the materials to support the stories that they want to tell. Providing readers with the original content does lead to higher credibility for the reporter and ultimately the reputation of the newspaper/magazine.
I also like the different examples he used of user-generated content. I think his ultimate goal is not only to see what users have to say but to grab new ideas and get an snapshot of the larger picture: looking at your audience, what they are interested in and what contributions they might have. That woman who posted the picture of her dying mother in the Polaroid gallery was such a great example.
Two Questions – 1. What are some tips on effective project management? Is it more about organizational skills or communication skills? 2. What is the one thing that you think universities should require of their graduate students in mass comm./journalism/social media before they can get their degree?

Gabriel Dance

One thing about Gabriel Dance's presentation at CUNY that I found particularly interesting was his talk on user-generated content. As an industry in general, I think TV stations struggle with this concept. It's not as simple as asking people to send in "puppy pictures," as Dance suggested. However, that is what you see on many TV station web sites. Dance brought up a shining example of the power of user-generated content with the picture of a reader's dying mom. That is power. As Dance said, he will likely remember that for the rest of his life.

So I would want to ask Dance 1.) why he thinks so many stations/newspapers struggle with user-generated content and 2.) how can stations/newspapers effectively solicit user-generated content?

Gabriel Dance

I found Gabriel Dance's talk to the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism to be very interesting. Dance seems very hip and innovative when it comes to his multimedia skills and projects for the NY Times.

I completely agreed with his first few words in the beginning of his talk. Someone must have a love for the internet and computers and must have an interest in applying both to the field of journalism before anyone decides to dive into the world of multimedia journalism.
His master's thesis project on Robinson Crusoe is simply out of this world. It is quite impressive and incredibly creative.

I liked his emphasis on usability and on how naviagtion must be so clear and easy for users that there would be little room for error. His example of Barack Obama's timeline of his life was a great example. The addition of two big buttons at the time of the timeline ended up being the only way that users browsed through the project instead of clicking on specific dates.
I appreciated his advice to people looking for any kind of multimedia job. You must promote yourself, but also acknowledge the skills and projects that the news outlet or company already has. That is sometimes hard to remember.

1. I liked how you joined many other professionals in saying that this is great time for journalism. Where do you see the field heading within the next 5 - 10 years and do you see any room for print versions of any newspaper or magazine?

2. Which project have you created that you are most proud of?

Gabriel Dance Talk

In a recent talk at CUNY, Gabriel Dance brought up a few great points about creating and pushing the envelope of online journalism projects. Dance pushed the fact that it is important to not be playing catch-up. While the internet allows for stealing of ideas, this is the time to actually create new ideas. Creators need to know what else is going and how these concepts get pushed further and they need to be part of that foward push. No one will be the best at every detail of making web content, but one does need to grasp all the concepts and techniques. It's about building a team of people that can handle the tasks required.
Dance pushed the fact that usability is basically getting out of the way of the content. It must be clear and the interactive part of the content cannot take away from the overall project and message. The average person is not going to content sites to see how they are put together, but they are going to learn something. Simple is better, but that does not mean it can't be creative.

1. Is it too late for some companies and businesses to catch up on using the online content to help their own fortunes?
2. What project haven't you seen yet that you just know has to be done by someone? Is there a project you are dying to do?

Gabriel Dance

Gabriel Dance brought up an important concept that resonated with me: transparency. In an age that is punctuated by low trust in journalism, the Internet gives news organizations an opportunity to share their source material with readers.
"Check us," Dance said, referring to the New York Times. "We're not afraid. We've done the fact checking."
He said the reporters who spend hours sifting through stacks of documents are thrilled that the the reader can now have access to the real gems that are uncovered.
Showing readers the source documents of a news story will help re-establish their trust in the news media that take advantage of this capability.
My questions are, Has showing the readers your source material backfired? Has it ever exposed a flaw or an unexplored angle in a story the Times has run?

Food Hacking 101

Do you want to retrofit your oven to bake pizza's at 900 degrees? Would you trick out your Brita filter for better vodka? Do the words methylcellulose, maltodextrin, or meat glue make you giddy? If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may have a new hobby called food hacking. Jeff Potter is a food hack. He's the creator of Cooking for Geeks, a blog dedicated to the idea of epicurean experiments.

What is food hacking? As Potter explains, it's “using unusual tools or techniques or ingredients to make something yummy.” He can't remember a time when he didn't cook. “I've cooked all my life, and my approach to cooking is really based on intuition and experience that I was fortunate to learn from my parents, who loved to cook,” says Potter.

Potter feels he's never really had a bad experiment. “There are certainly things I've made that tasted bad, but from an experimental perspective were great successes, because I learned something,” says Potter. “You know the saying ‘in theory there's no difference between theory and practice, but in practice there is?’” Potter asks. “I think I get the most satisfaction out of experiments where theory and reality line up--where I expected to see something happen from a theoretical perspective, and went to test it, and sure enough, spot on,” says Potter.

One of the theory-meets-reality experiments in Potter’s forthcoming food hacking book, is about collagen in stewing beef. As Potter describes, “collagen is one of the longest molecules in the body, and it takes a long time to unwind, break down, and hydrolyze. You can see this by cooking stew beef and checking it after it's been simmering for 15 minutes and then comparing that to stew beef that's been simmering for 6 hours--they're both at the same temperature, but the 15 minute stew beef will be tough and dry (due to denatured actin proteins) whereas the 6-hour version will be tender and flakey as the collagen converts to gelatin and masks the dryness of the denatured actin.” Potter continues with a tip, “oh, and by the way, you want lots of collagen in beef stew--trying to make beef stew with more expensive cuts of meats that are lower in collagen actually makes for worse stew.”

Potter explains that rethinking heating methods allows for new ways to cook some of our favorite foods. Salmon poached in a dishwasher or cookies baked in a waffle iron sounds unusual, but actually is just unconventional according Potter. “Once you understand the mechanisms for these sorts of things, suddenly you're free to wander away from a recipe and be confident that what you're doing will work,” says Potter.

“It's a great place to share what I've been working on, and a great place to learn what other people are working on!” says Potter when asked about his upcoming panel at the South by Southwest interactive conference in March. His first book “Cooking For Geeks,” due out in 2010 (hopefully in time for SXSWi) by O’Reilly Media. Potter says, “the book really isn't a list of food hacks in as much as it is the frameworks that would allow someone to go play and try new things.” So, get your blow torches, dry ice, and goggles, and get ready to try something new in your culinary laboratory!

SXSW Panel - Black Blogging Rockstars

What we know as the blogosphere is starting to change. Maurice Cherry of 3eighteen media might say it’s becoming bigger, better and blacker.
While past panels at SXSW (like “Blogging While Black” and “Digital Urbanites”) have shown that Black bloggers and bloggers of color are becoming more prominent and well-known in the media, Cherry’s panel “Black Blogging Rockstars” will attempt to take a look into the future of Black blogging.
By looking at the pioneers and thought-leaders of the Black blogosphere the panel will also attempt to answer the question, “What does is mean to be a black blogger?” The panel will feature discussion on trends, stereotypes and blogging on Black celebrities as well as the current recognition for black bloggers. Here's what Maurice said we can expect from “Black Blogging Rockstars.”

1. On your website it says that you have put on the Black Weblog Awards, you own 3eighteen media and are the Chief Strategy Officer at Relate Media Group. It seems like you are a pretty busy guy. Do actually have time to blog? If so, can you tell me about it?
I do find time to blog every now and then -- currently I'm a contributing editor at Techdrawl and a writer for Black Web 2.0 on top of my other duties. Generally, I report on tech startups and entreprenuership by African-Americans, Africans, or companies located here in the South.

2. What cool things can people expect from the panel? What do you want them to take from it?
I think people will get to see new, fresh African-American faces who are doing big things in the world of blogging and beyond. I promise not to make it a boring, pedagogical-type panel (personally, I hate those!). This is not a 'Blogging 101' type of panel. What I want people to take from it are ways they can either enhance their own brand or blog and the kinds of opportunities which can are available.

3. Which are some of your favorite blogs to read?
Right now, I fluctuate between about 200-300 blogs in my Google Reader in a number of different categories. Some of my favorites include Soulbounce, Crunk and Disorderly, NOTCOT, Kicks on Fire, Lifehacker, Smashing Magazine, Blackfolks (a LiveJournal community), and Acquire.

4. Why is it important to have a panel about minorities and blogging?
For the past few years, there has been at least one panel available at SXSW concerning minorities and blogging. These have generally been discussions on identity, race, and how that hashes out in the general blogosphere. I think it's time to move the conversation past that and look at those who have succesfully carved out a niche for themselves in the blogosphere and help illustrate to others how they can do the same. While the title of the panel is "Black Blogging Rockstars", the things people can learn in this panel won't just be for Black people.

5. Do you think the black blogosphere has been ignored by the mainstream media? If so, why?
In large part, I think so. The mainstream media is still just beginning to accept, use, and integrate blogging into their own programming. In this respect, entertainment programs like Extra and Access Hollywood are a little more forward-thinking when it comes to including and discussing blogs, but they still mostly ignore the Black blogosphere. One of the programs which did give great coverage to and about the Black blogosphere was NPR's "News and Notes".

6. Do you think there are stereotypes attached to black/minority bloggers? If so, what are they?
You know...I don't think there are. If they exist, I certainly haven't thought about them. Bloggers are bloggers. What they blog about may give them some sort of a bias to others, but overall, I don't feel that Black or minority bloggers are stereotyped. I think if you're online and blogging, you're already a step above the rest.

7. What do you think the continued growth in multicultural and multiracial blogs on the Internet will do to the future of media in general?
I certainly feel that the growth in multicultural and multiracial blogs will start to fill the voids that we're seeing now in television, radio, newspapers, and magazines. As shows are cancelled and periodicals close their doors, people are going to start turning online to find the news or information they want. Bloggers can really start to make a name for themselves if they create portals of information for those underserved communities or topical niches.

8. What part does the “digital divide” play in this issue?
Given the ubiquity of computers and Internet broadband coverage, as well as the use of smartphones, Internet tablets, and laptops, I feel it's easier than ever before to get online and get connected. There are also a number of freely available sites to begin blogging, such as Blogspot, LiveJournal, or WordPress. If you've got five minutes, you've got a blog.

9. Can you tell me a little about your current role in Black Weblog Awards?

I am the Chairman/Founder of the Black Weblog Awards, an annual Internet event which showcases the best and brightest in the Black blogosphere in over 30 categories. The Awards have been going on since 2005. We have some great things going forward in 2010, so stay tuned!

Journalism, innovation and experimentation

I really like that idea of experimenting with journalism.  Journalism is such a diverse field, and the opportunities to be creative and innovative are endless.

I've never thought of it this way, but being in college is the ideal time to push the boundaries with journalism.  You aren't restricted by advertising revenue quotas or making sure you don't cross the wrong people.  This is our time, as students, to explore all the realms of multimedia journalism.  I think that's why Cindy's web design class is so extremely beneficial.  We are learning all the tools we need to be multimedia journalists.  When you combine tools like Flash, Photoshop and Dreamweaver, you have the potential to produce amazing reporting pieces.

One thing that Gabriel stresses during his lecture is to be aware of what other people and news sites are doing.  Not only for potential job interviews, but to know what is going on in the industry, in your industry.

This is such an amazing time in journalism, and we are lucky enough to be a part of it.  The things that Gabriel and his team are doing over at the New York Times are truly inspiring.

Gabriel,
-Do you think other news sites will start doing innovative multimedia pieces like the New York Times is, and has been doing doing for quite some time?  Do you think that soon, it will be standard practice for these multimedia pieces to be included on all news sites?

-Do you think learning the computer side of multimedia journalism before the journalism part benefited you?  Why or why not?

The Commenter Ecosystem

As a self proclaimed “message board veteran,” I felt Kate Miltner’s panel was not only interesting but actually in my wheelhouse. I am a big sports fan and as such I have been known to banter with the fanatics of opposing teams as well as my own from time to time. In addition, I am also a news junkie who visits numerous sites for different angles and details regarding many topics. In this arena, I have grown to appreciate message boards for more than just being an avenue of expression or interaction. I am guilty of, on several occasions, deciding whether to read an article based solely on the number of comments. For some reason, consciously or not, I suspect the more people opine on a story, the more priority it should have, at least for me at that point in time.

Miss Miltner’s panel will explore the phenomenon that is the “commenter culture.” There is so much to consider of this still evolving community. The panel will discuss the role of the commenter as a contributor and an authoritative participant (for the self policing boards). Another a topic of discussion will be the concept of social capital and how it applies to this particular phenomenon especially when some media entities (Facebook Connect) may be shifting the structure in a way that blurs the line between the real individual and the message board character/persona.

Miss Miltner’s expertise in the social media realm should add perspective to the discussion; especially considering where this particular industry is headed. Professionals such as Miltner will have an integral in applying, or discounting the need for, social media and the various components and intricacies it creates for the medium.

Finally, the conversation will obviously reach the point where capitalistic interests are evaluated. What does this mean for the hosting sites and especially the advertisers? Have all options been considered, in terms of monetizing this arena.

Facebook and Teens with Dr. Rayne

Karen Rayne is a professor that teaches and explores a subject that might make most people blush. You guessed it; Dr. Rayne talks about sex. However, she doesn’t just talk about sex, she talks about talking about sex. In other words, Dr. Rayne tries to help people become comfortable talking about sex, and in being able to address important issues in sexuality. Currently, Dr. Rayne is preparing for a panel at the 2010 SXSW Interactive, which is held annually in Austin, TX.
At SXSW, Rayne will hold a panel discussion dealing in issues of teenagers and social media such as Facebook, MySpace, and other popular social media interfaces. Although the subject is not a simple one, Rayne suggests that there are important issues that can be addressed immediately such as the age verification practices. Rayne, however, understands making improvements will be no easy task: “The biggest media-specific issue I see is how to determine age via the Internet (other than clicking on the box "Yes, I'm over 13 or 18"). Doing this without violating the privacy of adults is complicated,” said Rayne.
More important, perhaps, is educating teenagers on the proper use of social media. According to Rayne, teenagers need to be educated on “appropriate online interaction and guidance on how to self-moderate and interact effectively and safely.”
The perceived problems that Rayne offers solutions to with teenagers and social media, however, are merely an extension of problems that already exist with teenagers and sexuality in general. Some of these problems persist well into adulthood, as one may notice when reading Dr. Rayne’s blog (karenrayne.com). Rayne states that students of all ages remain ignorant to many topics, which may be in large part due to taboos and discomfort in speaking frankly and openly. It seems many questions go unanswered because they were never asked to begin with. Thankfully, Dr. Rayne covers topics as light-hearted as “super-hero reproduction” to topics as serious and life threatening as rape and sexual abuse and offers a safe environment in which to grow and understand such personal topics.
Keep an eye out for her panel during SXSW 2010.

Web Framework Battle Royale

If the terms "Model View Controller" and "URL Mapping" are to you what "paper" and "plastic" are to the local grocery store bagger, then South by Southwest has a panel for you. If, on the other hand, "Content Management Systems" and "Caching" are as clear to you as the finer points of quantum physics, well, you might want to attend the panel anyway.

South by Southwest will feature "Web Framework Battle Royale," a discussion which promises to delight everyone - from the geekiest of programmers to those who think HTML is an extremely large shirt size. Leah Culver, a programmer with the social media-savvy company Six Apart, will head the panel.

Web frameworks, in the simplest of terms, are tools that assist in the construction of dynamic websites, enabling user input and interactivity. According to Culver, "most web frameworks don't interfere much with the design of the website. Mostly they are intended to make the request/response process easier by handling URL routing, form processing, templating etc." She also points out that although the title of the panel suggests a war between popular frameworks, "The competition aspect of the panel is really for fun. I don't think there is a clear "best" web framework. I think there may be a "best framework for the job" and I hope each audience member is able to determine for themselves which tool is best for their project based on the information presented."

As website interactivity and user-created content have developed into the gold standard of internet communication, the critical importance of tools such as web frameworks has become undeniable. Culver, relating the necessity of frameworks to the SxSW panel which she will head, says, "There's a point when starting a new website that you need to choose the tools for building that site. Maybe you go with the tools you already know or maybe you want to try out something new. The purpose of the panel is mainly to learn about a variety of web frameworks and expose some of their useful features," assuring that "Web Framework Battle Royale" will be a very informative and appropriate panel discussion.

Two SXSW Vets Come Back for More

This year’s South by South West conference will include two past panelists. Mr. Paul Boag, Creative Director of Headscape Web Design (http://headscape.co.uk/), will be speaking at the Pain Free Design panel. Mr. Reddington, Director of iShed and the Pervasive Media Studio (http://www.pmstudio.co.uk/), will be speaking at the Pervasive Games and Playful Experiences: Rendering the Real World panel. Below is the interview I had the privilege of having with the two Brits about the up coming conference.

Jesse: First off, what is it about the SXSW that caused you to accept another invitation? What made you come back for more?
Paul Boag: The honest answer is that I would be going to SXSW even if I wasn't speaking. If I speak I don't have the added cost of the ticket. The thing about SXSW is that it is where all those the web community gather. It’s a brilliant opportunity to learn new stuff but more importantly to spend time chatting with some of the best minds in the field. The hot weather is a bonus too when you come from the UK!

Clare Reddington: I have attended SXSW for the last two years, organizing funded delegations (that are funded by public money and UK companies apply for) from the South West of artists and digital media companies to give them an opportunity to research new business opportunities, view work, spot emerging digital trends. This year I decided to pitch a panel idea in as a way to get added profile within the Festival.

Jesse: Some in my class, including myself, will be attending the conference and creating a site around our experiences there. Can you give us a taste of what you'll be discussing?
Paul Boag: A lot of what I will be talking about comes from this presentation... http://boagworld.com/news/educating-clients-to-say-yes


Clare Reddington: Working for Watershed, a leading arts and media centre in the UK, over the last five years I have collaborated with many of the UK’s leading producers of pervasive games, located performance and interactive narrative. Last year I led the delegation of UK [creatives] sic who brought The Hat Game to SXSWi (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7943382.stm)

Whilst pervasive gaming has featured in previous SXSW [programmes] sic, we believe it is time for a more textured discussion around the social, cultural and economic possibilities of this incredibly exciting new form.

Jesse: Ms. Reddington, why do you think there aren’t more women in the gaming industry?
Am afraid I am not really qualified to speak on this, but I guess its currently a self fulfilling prophecy, women don't see themselves represented at the highest levels of the gaming industry so are not inspired to make a career in it. See http://www.skillset.org/skillset/press/releases/article_6286_1.asp

Jesse: Mr. Boag, how do you feel about net neutrality?
Like anybody who works regularly with the web I believe passionately that it should be accessible to all and should not be limited or censored in anyway. That said, many of the most successful companies on the web (Youtube, Facebook, Google) contribute little to the upkeep of the network. Over the long term this issue will need addressing.

Thank you both for your time and I look forward to seeing your panels this spring.