I turned 50 – so give me a break!

Yes, I know you have all been checking your email every Monday morning waiting for my update. “Where is Scott? He used to keep me fully apprised of all things new media at UGA. What has happened to him?” Two things.
The first is summer. I know you think we academics just take the summer off to head to the beach, right? Well, I didn't. I have spent the summer learning some crazy new things that I want to share with you over the next few weeks. I have new ideas about social media. We are going to be working on wild new projects for Facebook and Twitter. I learned a lot about mobile media, too. Capstone projects this semester are going to be almost all iPhone and smartphone. So summer was educational.
But the second thing that happened is that I turned 50! Yeah, I know you are thinking I don't look that old (thanks!). Now I am entering the second half of life. I spent a lot of my summer reconnecting – with old friends, with old music, with old experiences. And it has been eye-opening. I have had a good first half, but Shamp's have always been second half players. So watch out!
I do feel bad not having written you in a while. But I swear I haven't been sleeping late. I have been reminiscing and learning. This semester is off to a great start. So I am back in the saddle and ready to keep you posted!
And, yes, I missed you, too!

This DBB (Tu, 8/25, 12:30P) – Will Lowry, AT&T

We kick off our Digital Brown Bag series this Tuesday (8/25, 12:30P, New Media Institute, Room 401, Journalism) with my favorite experts on all things mobile, Will Lowry. Will keeps his ear to the ground for the latest new technologies and products. We are going to grill him on what happens next. Everyone is invited – but get here early. We have a full house this semester.

My newspaper's battery just died.

Since I joined the faculty 23 years ago, The Atlanta Journal Constitution has been a regular part of my morning routine. My wife read the Athens Banner Herald and I read the AJC – it was a good arrangement. She kept me informed about happenings in Athens and I kept her updated on state news. But on April 25, the Atlanta Journal Constitution stopped delivering to Athens. When I woke up on April 26 and every morning since, I haven't had my morning paper. It has been killing me. I have learned the hard way how much those pieces of dead trees meant to me. I have been less informed. I feel less connected to the world at large. And even my cereal doesn't taste as good. It has sucked. I tried eating breakfast at the computer so I could get the paper online. After digging Cheerios out of the mouse, I gave that up. And I tried reading at the breakfast table on my iPhone. Word to the wise: don't touch your screen with banana fingers. Things had to change.
Last week they did. I bought a Kindle DX (http://bit.ly/NJvGt). The AJC isn't available on the Kindle, but the New York Times is. Now, I don't even have to get out of bed to read the paper. Silently the NYT sneaks into that 9.7” device that stays on my bed stand – no more cold walks to the end of the driveway. The volume in the recycling bin has been cut in half (the trees around my house are happier about my digital move). The screen is easy to read and the device is a great size – easy to carry around.
Lots of people have declared e-readers like the Kindle the new savior for the news industry. I am still undecided. I am still getting used to the device. Some navigation is tricky. And I miss ability to tear out an article to give to a colleague. Plus today something new and totally unanticipated happened. My Kindle ran out of juice – in the middle of my Sunday Times!
I just finished the the dead-tree book I was reading so I will downloading my first Kindle book this week. That should be interesting. It is a mixed blessing to not have to go to the bookstore. Plus it will be harder to impress people with the thickness of the books I choose (Vanity Fair published a great article last month about how digital makes it more difficult for us to be culture snobs – http://bit.ly/4jmVL).
I will keep you posted on my experiences.

1.NMI Facebook Page – www.facebook.com/NewMediaInstitute

Yeah, it is about darn time! The NMI now has its own Facebook Fan page! Yee haw! We created it about two weeks ago and now we have over 1200 fans – and that entitles us to a special Facebook domain name. You can find the NMI Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/newmediainstitute.
This summer, I learned a ton about Facebook and social media. It is going to play a much bigger role in what we do. So Fan us!

Tech4Turn summary and last semester's projects

Last April we hosted a great event called “Technology for the Turnaround” were we explored the technologies that were going to shape new media's future. I have finally put the report of the event online (yes, I know I am behind – did I mention I turned 50?). And you can also see the capstone projects from Spring Semester – all iPhone for the Georgia Aquarium, the Twilight Criterium, The US Fish & Wildlife Service, Athens Music, and Starbucks. Check them out at http://www.mynmi.net/Tech4Turn/

1.NMI Alum needs your help at SXSW

Rosie Siman was one of the earliest advocates for social media when she was a student in the New Media Institute. Now she has proposed a panel for this year's South By Southwest Music conference. And she needs our help to get it accepted. Here is a link to her proposal – and it is good one – SXSW Music - Beyond MySpace: How To Best Use Social Media : http://bit.ly/Hv0ra. Go online and vote for it.

Grady Connect Conference – 9/19/09

On September 19, the Grady College will be hosting “Connect.” It is a day long workshop focussing on the ways organizations can use social media. You can find out more at http://www.grady.uga.edu/connect/.