NMIX6200 — Really Gets Me | UGA New Media Institute

NMIX 6200 — Really Gets Me

Spring 2012

Journalism, Room 402

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Scott A. Shamp
403K Journalism
e: sshamp@uga.edu
v: 706.680.6649

Objective: To explore ways organizations can utilize open source data sets to improve their offerings.

Class Requirements

Attend class.
Participate in Class
Prepare a Client Recruitment Package
Read The New York Times daily.
Complete the weekly New Media Tech quizzes

Textbook & Readings

Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game — Michael Lewis (you should have read this by the second class meeting, Thursday 1/19).

Online readings will be assigned weekly.

You must read the New York Times every day.

Standards Of Practice

Classes in the New Media Institute will teach you about new media. But they will also teach you how to be successful professionals in whatever field you choose. Below you will find some standards of practices for students in New Media Institute (NMIX) classes. Adhering to these rules will not only make you a more successful student, practicing them in your career will make you a better professional. If you feel that you cannot conform to these practices, please consult with your teacher – maybe a New Media Institute course isn't right for you.

Attendance. Good workers come to work. Your class attendance not only helps you learn more, it makes the class better. Missing 20% of the classes (three classes) will result in an automatic deduction of a full letter grade. Please do not miss 3 classes. You need to make sure you understand that you can miss two classes for any reason you want, but when you miss the third class you will be deducted a letter grade. "But what if I get sick?" you might be asking. If you are sick for three weeks requiring you to miss three weeks of class, then you need to seek an "I" for incomplete for this class. "But what if I just skip two classes and then I really am sick on the third?" Tough. That is the danger of skipping the fist two.

Coming Late. Good workers arrive on time. You must come to class on time to receive the full benefit from your class. Upon arriving in class, you will be required to swipe your key card in the door scanner for the classroom door. This will log when you came to class. For every two times you arrive late, you will be counted absent.

Cell Phones Off. It is unprofessional to allow outside interruptions to disrupt meetings. The same goes for class. Turn your cell phone off before you enter class (or at least turn it to vibrate).

Classroom Computer Use. Professionals do not engage in extraneous activities during meetings. Successful students do not engage in activities unrelated to a class during that class. In class, not use your computer for activities unrelated to the class. Answering email, working on other class projects, downloading songs – do these on your own time, not during class. If you engage in non-class related activities during class, you might as well not be in class – and you will be counted as absent.

Challenging Evaluations. In your jobs and your classes, you will be evaluated. How you handle and use these evaluations will greatly determine your eventual success. There is a professional approach for addressing evaluations (or grades) with which you do not agree. First, take some time to consider the evaluation. After you receive the evaluation, think about it for at least 24 hours before doing anything – this cooling off period will help you present your case in a positive manner. Second, formulate a rational argument for why you deserve a better evaluation. Develop at least three points that you think prove you deserve a better evaluation. And third, first present your argument in writing (email is cool) then request a meeting to discuss your evaluation. Hey, your teacher (or supervisor) might buy your argument and you won't need to meet a meeting at all! Handling disputes constructively is the mark of a true professional. These are the standards of practice for students in the New Media Institute. Learn them, love them, live them.

Academic Honesty “All academic work must meet the standards contained in “A Culture of Honesty.” Each student is responsible for informing themselves about those standards before performing any academic work.” In this class, we will adhere to the University of Georgia's Academic Honesty Policy. You can read the entire policy online but the short story is don't cheat. You will be expected to do your own work and to report individuals who do not do their own work. You will have several assignments where you will not be monitored but that does not excuse appropriating other individual's work. The punishments for violations of the Academic Honesty Policy are severe. Frankly, the pay off isn't worth the risk – don't do it.

Grading:

Participation = 25%
Blogs = 15%
Quizzes = 10%
Client Recruitment Package = 50%

Blog:

You must create a blog to house all of your writing for this course. The blog must have a restricted readership — only people in this class can read it. You must update this blog by Tuesday at 5P. The Blog must be up with your first posts by Tuesday (1/17). Each Thursday before you leave class you must clarify for the class what you will be covering in your blog. One post each week will cover questions, topics, or issues that emerged during our class discussions. The second post will cover progress on your Client Recruitment Package. No post should be longer than 750 words. Each student must read every other students blog before they come to class. In addition, each student should comment on at least two blog posts — a different two each time.

Presentations:

You will be required to present your Client Recruitment Package (CRP) on both May 4th and May 5th. Yes, that is a Friday afternoon/evening and a Saturday. We will also use the exam time for review. This semester we will aspire to be TED-Like. Each week you should watch one TED talk (http://www.ted.com/). Start with this one — about Filter Bubbles. Your presentations should be like TED talks.

Guiding Angels:

Each week one student will serve as the Guiding Angel for the day. They are in charge of making sure we stay on task and accomplish everything we need to. Before each class, one of you should volunteer to be a Guiding Angel.

NOTE: The syllabus is a general plan for the course; deviations announced to the class by the instructor may be necessary.

OK, did you read all that? That is what I have to write. Now read on for what is really going to happen this semester.

The Real Scoop:

I was scheduled to teach this graduate class but then just before Christmas I got a call from a venture fund out of New York (it is actually one of my former students who started it). She and I had talked about some of the most exciting developments in new media and we had hit on the idea that open source big data is going to take over. The smart companies are ones that can adapt to the new opportunities that consumers "giving" away personal preference data. She told me she had read this article in the New York Times — "For Startups, Sorting the Data Cloud is the Next Big Thing." She wants to create a new type of firm that helps companies figure out how to take advantage of open source big data. She wants to call it "Really Gets Me" because the social graph gives us new ways to customize a companies offering so that it responds to the unique and special nature of the company. So the customer feels that the company "really gets me." She wants me in. She is willing to pay me. But first we need to come up with an initial roster of potential clients — and we need to have something to convince those clients to contract with the company. I told her that I would love to come aboard — it is right on target for what I want to do. But I couldn't do it now because I am teaching this grad class. So she comes up with the great idea to use the class (as a tenured faculty member with an endowed professorship you must know that I have absolutely no problem using students — for their own good).

So here is the deal. She is giving me a finite amount of start-up money. And she is giving me (and, therefore, us) a finite time to get this company ready to announce. On April 19th, we will present a overview of ReallyGetsMe to our lead investor. She will then decide if we have passed the bar to make a public announcement on the weekend of 4/28 (so hold that date open).

Since I can't pay you guys, all I can do is reward you with the compensation you covet the most — grades. For each project, assignment, or task, I have a finite about of money — let's just think of them as points. By performing well, you can receive more compensation for that project in the form of more points. At the end of the semester, I will assign grades based on the cumulative points (pay) you have received.

Bottom line, this won't be your regular graduate seminar. You will be expected to perform as a working professional. My job is to manage, guide, and assist you as you complete the tasks and assignments necessary to make ReallyGetsMe work. Along the way, I will be helping you develop skills that can help you become a more valuable working professional — in whatever profession you choose.

So if you are willing to accept this approach, strap in tight. It is going to be a crazy semester. If you don't think this approach will work for you — drop the class.