Session: The ABC's of Web 2.0

Verdict: You better jump on the bandwagon if you aren't already there.



By Dori Zinn

Assistant Web Editor



It's unfortunate for me to have to say that two out of my three sessions on Thursday discussed media convergence (what we are, in fact, already doing with our Web site). But then at 8 a.m. this morning, I had another encounter with a motivational speaker, telling me what I need to do in order to be successful.



Thanks, we're way ahead of ya’, buddy.



There were good perks, however, that seemed to give me some insight on how to improve what already existed… my entire purpose for this trip.



Bryan Murley, from the Center for Innovation in College Media, said that employers specifically look for any multimedia exposure or experience possible in the hiring process. Over the last six months, Web exposure has dramatically increased to the point where no one has one specific job title anymore. Murley discussed that there is no such thing as the "not my job" excuse anymore. Everyone needs to be versatile to the point that the only reason someone doesn't do anything is because of pure laziness, not because they aren't familiar with how to do it.



Murley says that college newspapers need to get rid of that name: newspapers. We are now "media agencies," since we are continually incorporating every part of media in our news releases. If you haven't already, get television, radio, a Web site and anything else that incorporates media convergence.



A great thing Murley pointed out was that media is no longer a lecture, it is now more conversational. We no longer give or get our news by purely educating people. We write the same way we speak in order to have the humanistic aspect more appealing to our readers/listeners/viewers. Something we should all be doing is looking into improving what we already have, and using the resources that are available to us (especially the ones for free).



The best part about the session was finding out that it's possible to edit video on the web for free (kudos to Murley for sharing that with the world... or at least the 12 people that showed up to the session). Jumpcut.com is something I will be using in the future. Watch out Katie Couric. We're taking over the world.