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My week was filled with networking and barbeque during the Online News Association’s annual conference in Austin, Texas. Thousands of digital journalists from around the world gathered to find out about new tools, techniques, and technologies of our ever-changing industry.

Out of all of the discussions, from reporting during the Midterm Elections to female journalists facing harassment on the Internet and in the newsroom, the most dynamic was the “Tech Trends for Journalists” session on the last morning of the conference.

The address, led by professor of the NYC Stern School of Business and founder of the Future Today Institute foresight and strategy firm, Amy Webb, led the over 2,000 register conference-goers through a journey of how some of their favorite reporting tools, like wearable tech and smartphones (that’s right smartphones), will be replaced by over 108 new trends that will start as early as 2019. Webb, who is also known as a quantitative futurist, introduced a few examples from her “2019 Trend Report for Journalists, Media & Technology” report that will help newsrooms fight against misinformation and offer alternatives for funding quality news in the near future.

Some of the trends mentioned:

• Natural Language Generation: Machines translating content into different languages and generate content for different mediums and in different voices or styles.

https://youtu.be/gU6Jfz2jOHA

• Immutable Records: Information records using blockchain technology that can NEVER be deleted or modified. A company to watch is Tron

• Token & Tekenominics: This new blockchain business model will revolutionize how media companies approach monetization and distribution. Civil is one of the companies to watch as their recent platform is the home of the podcast Zig Zag with hosts Manoush Zomorodi and Jen Poyant.

https://youtu.be/RuUSc53Xpeg

• Faceprints: Advance computing systems that can use unique features of our face– bone structure, skin color, even capillaries– to identify us. AlterEgo, developed by the MIT Media Lab, is a closed-loop, non-invasive wearable system that allows people to converse without opening their mouth– simply by vocalizing internally.

🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯🤯

Whew, my mind is blown just writing this so I know your brain is shook reading this! If you think you can handle more information (and I suggest you to read slowly) click HERE to read the full report.

In 2014, the last Father’s Day gift I gave my Dad was a lavender polo shirt made with  Dri-Fit technology and some khaki cargo shorts for him to wear on the golf course. He loved that shirt so much that he decided to wear it while working and taking my Mom on “hot” dates. He said he loved wearing the shirt so much because it kept him cool and prevented him from sweating so much.

Now, as I reminisce those special times I spent with him, I wonder did the shirt actually keep him dry or was that because the advertising said it would? Dri-Fit fabric is a type of material that is made of a polyester and microfiber fabric. This fabric helps evaporate sweat away from the fabric surface and from your body. As developers have tons of research to support their theory, I want to put it to my own test.

Using the LilyPad Temperature Sensor found on Sparkfu.com, it will determine if the body of a person wearing Dri-Fit clothing increases or stays the same during use.

The sensor detects temperature changes near its surroundings.  Sewing the LilyPad on the Dri-Fit garment of a test subject,  the sensor will accumulate the data and transfer to the Arduino circuit board and translate the data to code.

Formatting the code would go to the Adafruit Feather nRF52 Bluefruit app. Developed by the woman-owned Adafruit Engineering plant, The Feather is an all-in-one Bluetooth Low Energy board with a native-Bluetooth chip called the nRF53832. The Bluefruit acts as a data pipe that can transmit information to your iOS or Android device. The “Check Arduino Temp,” IFTTT applet connects with my Google Docs spreadsheet where the determination of the material does or does not do what is advertised.

This week, my intern boss and journalism sensei, Jacque Reid, allowed me to work from my NYC apartment that I am renting for the summer. Not only was it for convenience, but for the annoying sinus infection I have been blessed with.

As my weekly blog assignment was to think of a how 3D modeling can help with my work, I came to the revelation that the model should be where I work. But first, let’s go back.

My maturing friend, Wikipedia, told me that 3D Modeling (which is short for three-dimensional modeling) is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any surface of an object (either inanimate or living) in three-dimensions via specialized software to form a 3D Model.

Of course, I want to be creative and impress my professor (shoutout to Dan Pacheco) but then I thought the model should be of where I am the most creative. And until my lease is up at the end of this month, it will be at my desk.

With a quick tour of this writing laboratory, it’s simply a table and a chair, which actually flattens my bottom if I sit there for more than an hour. Artifacts of my journies are revealed with the tote bag I received while at the National Convention of Black Journalist Convention and Career Fair in Detroit. Notebooks and papers surround the laptop or “centerpiece,” which store all of my work professionally, personally, and educationally. Living in New York I’ve found out that storage is a luxury, so I have my carry on suitcase which doubles as a file cabinet in between my travels. But to end with a sentimental finale. A picture of my heavenly cheerlead, Dad, to motivate me to keep going for my goals and my dreams.

RELATED: A loss of a father, a gain of a passion

So that concludes our tour! Make sure you stop by the Gift Shop or the comment section, since this is a blog and not an actual attraction, to give us pointers on your visit. Happy Creating Y’all!