Part 2: Friday at HATCHfest

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by Justin Belleme
on Friday, April 24, 2009

Back to Part 1: HATCHfest: Now I get it!

The following morning I was back in the Innovator's Lounge for the Journalism panel. Moderated by Jon Elliston of the Mountain Xpress, the panel included notable journalists from across the country. The conversation centered on the shifting media world under the pressure of new media and declining advertising revenue. At one point the conversation turned to Twitter, the rapidly growing micro-blogging platform. Here are a few quotes from that segment that I found interesting.

Panelists in Twitter:

"[It's] like the beach head on a new ecology of information."

- Andrew Fitzgerald, Supervising Producer, Citizen Journalism, Current TV

"Twitter is rewiring all our brains in a scary way."

- Jeff Pohlman, Documentary Producer, CNBC

Design & Technology Panel
Photo by Craig McAnsh

I was also intrigued when Julie Shapiro of Third Coast International Audio Festival and Chicago Public Radio, stated confidently that public radio was thriving in the current economy. That really got me motivated to add podcasting to the site, which should be available in May or June. Overall the panel was enlightening and I was impressed with how Jon kept the conversation alive and on topic, not that I expected anything less.

After a brief lunch and a quick bout of website upkeep, I was back at the Lounge for the highly anticipated Design and Technology panel. Moderated by local software designer and entrepreneur Sean McDonald of Jute Networks, this panel featured an all star cast of designers, inventors, and multimedia artists from across the country and abroad. The lecture focused on the creative process and the challenges of designing in the ever-evolving, complex digital world. I left the panel feeling inspired, confident, and also overwhelmed by the design challenges that I face every day designing websites.

Directly after the panel, design mentor Scott Pagano presented his work. I will not attempt to explain it, but here is an example called Parks on Fire, music by Trifonic.

By the time I reached the Design and Technology Reception at the HATCH Asheville offices, I was about HATCHed out from a hectic day of inspiration and quality business networking. After an hour of looking at various amazing technology exhibits, and an absolutely hilarious conversation with Robert Zimmerman of BugLogic, I decided that I was ready to call it a day.

As I was leaving, with the sun setting on Wall Street, I ran into Billy Roberts of Better Ventures, a HATCH organizer who had been a consistent force in encouraging me to attend. I asked him once more, half joking, "Can you explain HATCHfest to me one more time?"

Now I get it!

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About the Author - Justin Belleme

Contact Justin Belleme:
AshevilleNow, LLC
828-273-1280
jbelleme@ashevillenow.com
www.ashevillenow.com

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