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.
- 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.
- 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.
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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.