Todd O’Neill teaching at MTSU
By: Josh Young
Todd O’Neill has worked in various aspects of Electronic Media Communication for over 25 years. In August 2012, he brought his professional mission, “empower people to leverage electronic media for their communication goals”, to Middle Tennessee State University. He is now an Assistant Professor within the College of Mass Communication’s New Media department, and was kind enough to share with us his interesting thoughts on the changing nature of communication, networking and social media, and what it all means for MTSU students.
(Take Charge) The networks we use and the ways we communicate with each other, both professionally and socially, are changing rapidly. What do MTSU students, no matter what their major or career path, need to know about New Media, especially looking forward to transitioning into the work force and developing a career?
(O’Neill) Students need to know that social media, online video, mobile apps, even apps and content for technology that hasn’t gone mainstream yet like Google Glass are here to stay. And because of our students’ age and generation, people in the business world expect the students to have expert knowledge of it. The only way to get that knowledge while in school is to just do it. Create websites, manage social media for a club or a non-profit, shoot useful video content for online; just do it. The hardware and software tools are free and the barrier to entry is almost non-existent. This might be most important: accept that, because of technological changes, the field of mass communication will remain chaotic for their entire career. Deal with it. We all need to learn how to learn, on our own, outside a classroom, in order to manage the chaos and make it useful. I read about some of the technologies we have today in science fiction books as a kid. But technology is changing so quickly today that fiction is having a hard time keeping up with reality.
You’re playing a big part in the development and expansion of MTSU’s New Media Communication program. How would you define “New Media”, and what does the curriculum look like for the program?
The New Media name is somewhat unfortunate because today all mass communication media is new. Mass comm is probably the dynamic field of study at MTSU. And mass communication affects the greatest number of people. In New Media we’re trying to prepare students to be managers and “doers” of social, online, mobile and interactive media of all kinds, today and tomorrow. So we offer a digital writing course, a course that focuses on online video, a social media practice course and a course that focuses on audience analysis. But we still have many holes. We can’t get some of these courses into the curriculum fast enough because of the processes that exist in higher education, but we are working hard to add courses in web analytics, content management and strategy, user experience and interactive design and digital law.
What types of career opportunities are available within the broad scope of New Media / Social Media that may not have been available in the past?
The beauty of new media for students is that they can work in virtually any environment and any industry because the need for real practitioners, not posers, is everywhere. Want to work in corporate? Go for it. Want to work for yourself or open a business? Go for it. Want to invent something entirely new? Go for it. New media jobs are not limited to TV stations or ad agencies or newspapers like many other majors. They are in those places and everywhere else. Every major in Mass Comm has to have at least some knowledge of new media because every job they apply for will want that knowledge in new hires. Mass communication is new media, not the other way around.
We’ve seen so many changes recently in the landscapes of both traditional media and social media – what would you say has been the biggest change in the last five years? What types of major shifts do you envision occurring over the next five years?
The biggest change has been the move toward online social networks. There have always been social networks like the Lions Club or a bowling league or even a bar where everyone knows your name. But Facebook and Twitter have almost singlehandedly changed how we relate to each other and how we get news and information, from both friends or strangers.
The upcoming changes will be largely hardware based: virtual reality like Occulus Rift; augmented reality like Google glass; miniaturization of current tech like the rumored Apple iWatch with a phone and a camera (it’s inevitable); and the “Internet of Things” where your phone integrates with your car and your refrigerator and your crock pot, turning your lights out when you leave your house, adjusting the temperature before you get home.
There was a recent story in the British newspaper The Guardian about an 80 year old woman who committed suicide because she said “she couldn’t adapt.” She grew up in a different time and all the new technology and “convenience”, items like packaged meals, were just too much for her to handle. That’s a pretty extreme reaction to our changing world, but the message from that story is that change, and especially chaos, is stressful. It’s not really what humanity was built for. We’re not evolving fast enough to keep up with what we invent. The people with the skills to understand that will be successful. And those without may want to check out and find a cabin on a stream without electricity and learn how to hunt and grow their own food because the modern society, that changes everyday, isn’t going away anytime soon.
#TakeCharge 