1. Bubba and I in the here and now.

2. New Media Institute SLAM – 5/5/12

3. Get the Certificate on your Transcript

4. Positions available in Fall’s NMIX 4310 Rich Media Production.

1. Bubba and I in the here and now.

I was in the moment.  Living fully in the place I was standing.  Attending to those things in front of me.  Not worrying about where I wasn’t or why I wished I was.  Just digging on the here and now.  And so was Bubba.

Easter Sunday, I was at the Masters.  Late in the afternoon – actually closer to early evening, I was standing on a hill overlooking the 10^th green looking at a manual scoreboard.  An antique where somebody hidden behind changes the numbers by hand.  The tournament had been exciting.  It looked like it was going to go to a play-off.  And my expert tour guide (thanks, John Bateman) told us to forget running up to the 18^th, we needed to post up on the 10^th.  It would be the second hole of sudden death – and would be where the winner was crowned.  As we stood there our only connection to what was happening was that old-time scoreboard.  It was going to be the way that we found out if they were going to play 10– or if the tournament was already over.  It was like a time-warp.  Nobody was connected.

Nothing electronic.  No phones.  No cameras.  No radios.  The don’t let anything electronic on the grounds of Augusta National during the Masters.  More diligent than TSA but a heck of a lot nicer, the security ran metal detectors you had to pass through to get in.  They even scrutinized my keyfob.  They didn’t want the devices to disturb the players.  So 35,000 people walk around without ringtones, earbuds, or flashes.  You are just there – and nowhere else.  Your memories of the day will be memories and nothing more tangible or permanent.

It took a while to get used to it.  When there was a slow moment, I found my self fishing in my empty pocket for that device of distraction. But slowly I relaxed into it.  And it felt great.

I was about 25 feet from the pin when Bubba Watson knocked his ball up on the green.  Nobody stood in front of me with a camera or tweeted their friends to brag.  We all just watched silently as a fellow Bulldawg sank the putt that gave him the green jacket.  And I got to feel the raw power of unmediated reality.  And I want more.

2. New Media Institute SLAM – 5/5/12

What are you doing on Cinco de Mayo?  The NMI is hosting its annual New Media SLAM with over 26 different student projects.  Crazy stuff.  iBooks.  Apps.  Personalized Facebook videos.  All of it live and awesome.  We are going to be showing off the projects in the New Media Institute on the 4^th floor of Journalism starting at 1:30P.  You don’t want to miss it.

3. Get the Certificate on your Transcript

Are you an NMI student?  Have you almost finished the New Media Interdisciplinary Certificate? Yeeeeee hawwww!  Now let’s make sure you get it on your transcript.  You must complete this form completely.
http://bit.ly/eE4JZX

Then after the semester is over and all of your grades have cleared, we will write the registrar and tell her to put the Certificate on your transcript.

Remember, you must have completed all of your Certificate coursework to request the Certificate to be added to your transcript.  And if you have filled this form out this semester BEFORE, do it again!

4. Positions available in Fall’s NMIX 4310 Rich Media Production.

The NMI will be offering a section of Rich Media Production (NMIX4310) on Tuesday and Thursday at 11A in Fall of 2012.  Clate Sanders is going to be doing some wild stuff in there — mainly building cool apps.  If you are interested in taking the class, fill out this form
http://bit.ly/rME6Gj

We will let you know soon if we can give you a POD.  Hurry and sign up now — it will fill up quickly.

The AthFest Music Festival is an event that has been held in downtown Athens for the past 15 years. The festival showcases regionally and nationally recognized Athens-based bands at a variety of different popular music venues as well as multiple outdoor venues.

In 2011, the New Media Institute first formed its partnership with the AthFest Music Festival. NMI graduates Marisa Negri, Matt Evans, Jesica Lorin, and David Cherof conceptualized and created the first ever smart phone application for the festival. It was the first NMI app to be picked up by the Apple App Store. The original app featured an interactive map, multi-view lineup, band info pages with the option to purchase music directly, and a “My Schedule” page where users could drag and drop must-see bands and would later be alerted of their set time.

This year, a new team of NMI Capstone students is creating a new mobile application for the 2012 AthFest Music festival, which will be released in summer 2012. Users will be able to download the application online or from the iPhone App Store for use before and during the AthFest Music Festival.  The application will have a variety of informative features including a lineup, map, and personal profile section. These features are in place to enhance the experience of those attending AthFest.

The lineup feature will display the schedule for the music festival and provide information about specific bands and venues. The map will allow users to navigate the festival and will highlight different venues and display the specific schedules of each venue. The personal profile section allows app users to create a personal schedule based on the different events they plan to attend during the festival. There will also be a group texting feature that will allow AthFest attendees to connect with others at the festival.

Students in the New Media Institute this semester have been tasked with developing an application for Grady College. The application will be built for use on the popular networking site, LinkedIn. The concept is to create a way for current Grady students and alumni to connect and use each other as resources. The application will be available for those audiences to download on their personal LinkedIn sites.

The application will feature a career portal and discussion forums. The goal is for students to use alumni as a source for information about how to reach career goals as well as internship and job opportunities. There will also be a feature of matching students and alumni based on goals and experiences. This has the possibility of being an extremely helpful and widely used tool among newly graduated students and alumni looking to hire them.

The New Media Slam is an event the department puts on each year to showcase all of the student-made applications. This year the event will be May 5^th from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m on the fourth floor of the journalism building.

The New Media Institute’s Capstone Program is changing the way people approach health through innovative usage of new media outlets.  Many people wish children could have instructive fun to help them learn healthy eating habits.  Now, that wish is a reality with the New Media Institute’s implementation of Apple’s iBooks technology. Children will be able to enjoy a story with interactive animation, all working to send positive messages about healthy eating habits. With this technology, children have the capabilities to touch certain illustrations, which will prompt educational facts to appear.

The students of the Capstone Program are excited to be working to develop this new technology for the health education of future generations. We hope to see a trend of improved health habits among youth using this application.