This Fall, I had the privilege of serving as a peer facilitator for a course at the University of Washington’s MCDM program. I am continually impressed by the diversity of the program, and not just by diversity in its typical measure of gender or ethnicity (though that sort of diversity is certainly present).

I’m talking about intellectual diversity: the ways in which MCDM students and faculty approach and solve problems, skills and abilities applied in novel and meaningful ways, and outcomes that far exceed my admittedly high expectations. The student work from Fall 2011′s COM 546 Foundations course - Narratives & Networks in Digital Media – exemplifies both the challenges and the opportunities that true diversity can provide.

Course Background

As a foundational course to the MCDM program, Narratives & Networks in Digital Media had the unique position of orienting Cohort 11 students both to the theory and also the application of many elements they will encounter in the program. Taking a bit of their own advice, this course was newly revamped for 2011, and co-taught by MCDM Director Hanson Hosein and Dr. Malcolm Parks. The result for this first incarnation? Engaging discussions, relevant lectures and guest-speakers, and tangible takeaways for professionals and creatives, alike.

Students in this course witnessed the rise of the Occupy movement, the start of the upcoming nomination and election season, and the death of Steve Jobs. Meanwhile, they engaged with new tools and platforms, tried valiantly to “publish then filter,” and were brought together in new and sometimes challenging ways. Students were exposed to basic principles of digital media, and become comfortable with the central tenet of the MCDM: to effect trusted and persuasive communication, professionals need to develop a compelling narrative tied to strategic network engagement.

With this post, we would like to share some of their work, some of the process, and some of the core philosophies of the MCDM program.
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Join MCDM Administrators and fellow students this Sunday January 22nd at noon in Communications 126.  MCDM Director Hanson Hosein will be joined by other faculty in answering questions about the present and future of the MCDM program.  Pizza will be served.

Event registration can be found here:  http://mcdmtownhall2012.eventbrite.com/

The Strip by Brian McFadden

After the Consumer Electronics Show binge in Las Vegas last week, the guilt and remorse settle in — kind of like the day after Thanksgiving.  Was it too big?  Too flashy?  Why did we collectively gorge on stuff that we don’t really need?  Shouldn’t we reflect more upon the slave labor that makes these toys for us, rather than on the superficial novelty they provide?  (The cartoon above, and Flip The Media’s excellent Your Phone Was Probably Made in a Sweatshop expose this harsh reality).

Then there was the oft-shared Fevered Dream of a Guilt-Ridden Gadget Reporter:

There is a hole in my heart dug deep by advertising and envy and a desire to see a thing that is new and different and beautiful. A place within me that is empty, and that I want to fill up. The hole makes me think electronics can help. And of course, they can.

They make the world easier and more enjoyable. They boost productivity and provide entertainment and information and sometimes even status. At least for a while. At least until they are obsolete. At least until they are garbage.

And I couldn’t avert my eyes from the Wall Street Journal’s above-the-fold front-page headline trumpeting the much-anticipated Chinese uprising, but then throwing in the twist: not due to politics, but because of the newly-released iPhone 4s.

Fine.  It’s all true.  And all many of the tech blog post-mortems have concluded that this year’s show as more evolutionary than revolutionary.  However, as I consider what I saw — from fridges, to cars, to TV’s — it’s pretty clear what’s driving this consumer electronics gold rush (this year’s CES after all, had the most attendees and the most exhibits): mobile and social.

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I’ve been reading the horror stories about surviving the mammoth Consumer Electronics Show with some trepidation. There’s Survival Gear for Battling 100,000 Nerds in a Desert. Then I spied our own intrepid Todd Bishop of GeekWire in his lovely fly fishing vest.

Me?  Well, I’m in an unusual situation.  I’m there to promote the MCDM through Storyteller Uprising (which has a new chapter) as well as cover the event (for KUOW, GeekWire, KING 5, Flip The Media).  But I’m also looking forward to being “covered” as a subject matter expert.  I have interviews already scheduled with Wired, Reuters, PRWeek and the Seattle Times with my take on the show, seen through the optic of Storyteller Uprising and the MCDM.  So I’ve got to look Chic while being practically prepared for any eventuality as would any good Geek.

“Chic”: dark blazer, polished boots, dress shirts, make-up, brushes, spot removal wipes. I’ve even got a business card that actually doesn’t have a telephone number.  But it does have four URL’s, a QR code for journalists to download my e-book, my e-mail address, and of course, my Twitter handle.  Which means of course, that we’ve already moved into the “Geek” section of this post (considerably longer than the “Chic” one!):

I don’t have to worry too much about the gear, which is a relief.  I’m traveling with my colleague (and former student) Filiz Efe who’ll be capturing the show (and me) through a Canon 5D with a fancy Zacuto add-on viewfinder, and a multiplicity of microphones.  The MCDM’s new Program Manager, Ashley-Rose O’Mara will be our enforcer as she manages my interviews and schedule, while she makes friends for our degree program by handing out brochures and copies of my book.  We’re also supported through our terrific partnership with public relations firm Weber Shandwick Seattle.

But I’m forever the backpack journalist and I’ll be the only one in the team who’ll have access to certain events.  So I’ll be filming with my Galaxy Note “phablet” in 1080p video mode (read Todd Bishop’s feature on my mammoth conversation starter of a phone), which will probably be announced for the American market this week.  I’ll also have an Olympus XZ-1 point-and-shoot (with external mike setup), a Macbook Air, a backup mobile broadband hotspot (T-Mobile, how congested could that network be at CES?), and a plethora of cables. Another first for me?  We won’t be editing in Final Cut, but rather with Adobe Premiere.  It’s all a sign of the times.

Follow me on Twitter (@hrhmedia) for my latest #CES reports.  I’ll also be filing on Storyteller Uprising, and here, regularly.

Twenty Twelve heralds my last two quarters as an MCDM student and in the last few years I’ve seen a few changes in my life as a result of my time spent in this program. One major change would be increased interest in all things data related. My Google Reader is full of data and infographic blogs (such as Information is Beautiful and FlowingData), I spent an afternoon learning from Edward Tufte, I’ve improved my own data visualization skills working in Adobe Illustrator and I’ve been plotting ways for how I can meet the one and only Hans Rosling.

Beyond that, my love of data has proved to be infectious as our family holiday card this year included a QR code and web address to see “Twenty Eleven Graphically Visualized.” Yes, the MCDM has turned my entire family into data visualization nerds.

Exhibit A:

As a line graph, this is a relatively simple visualization, but we still managed to squeeze in a year’s worth of data points.

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What do a cheese monger with Asperger’s syndrome, a globetrotting photographer and an author experimenting with acupuncture have in common? They’re all great characters whose individual stories can tell us a lot about our world.

That was the premise of Advanced Multimedia Storytelling: People and Story, the course I co-taught with Sarah Stuteville this past quarter; that a short film focused on an individual character’s experience is an extremely effective means to communicate a message, whether it’s about a product, a service or a broader trend in society.

The eight students in the class produced some powerful work, and sometimes got more than they bargained for:

Erika Takeuchi set out to produce a lighthearted profile of guide dog trainers, but when she met a trainer named Joseph Skillings, things took a turn for the serious. Joseph suffered severe head trauma a few years ago after trying to help a women being harassed at a bus stop. He took up puppy training as a way to deal with the lasting impacts of his accident.

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Rose Egge is a 25-year-old MCDM graduate and a web producer for KOMO News. She is currently writing a blog about her treatment for acute lymphoblastic lymphoma “Stronger Than I Think I Am: A reporter’s fight against cancer.” You can find more updates on Rose’s treatment on her Facebook page - Rose Egge KOMO.

I am not brave.

People have said that I am, but I’m not. I am surviving cancer the only way I know how – by leaning on others. When I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic lymphoma I had a secure job, health insurance and an arsenal of family and friends ready to step in with anything I might need. Mine has not always been a graceful journey, but it is one I shared with the family, friends and people I don’t even know who have reached out to carry me in my moments of weakness.

Whether you are my parents, who paid for $8000 in fertility treatments to ensure I could have kids someday, my boyfriend who held me during more than one emotional meltdown, or someone who is taking a moment to read my blog and listen, you have had a hand in my survival. I am alive today because of you.

As I near the end of my treatment, I would like to help those who are not as lucky I am by establishing a new non-profit for cancer patients age 18-30. And MCDM community, this is where I need your help. Read more…

Last week Hari Sreenivasan the Director of Digital Partnerships at PBS and at PBS NewsHour correspondent appeared at a special event hosted by Seattle’s KCTS 9 public television station.  Held a stone’s throw from the Space Needle–Seattle’s iconic architectural monument to progress–at the small station’s studios, this was a special event for students in the University of Washington Master of Communication in Digital Media program and was followed by an interview and event with station donors.

A video of highlights from the conversation with MCDM students and a complete transcript are available on the KCTS 9 website.

According to Sreenivasan, who is a proponent of the growing “slow news” movement, “The value of breaking news is going down faster than you can post it.”
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