My MoJoCon 2017 Experience... Part One

MoJoCon 2017 was an incredible experience. So good that I have to blog in two parts as I have so much to say! One of my new  heroes film producer and journalist  @billcarter speaking at #MoJoCon said that 'the centrepiece of my whole existence is story' and what a story I have to tell about my @mojoconirl journey! So here it comes... well Part One anyway!

RTÉ, the organisers of MoJoCon, describe it as 'a leading international media conference focusing on mobile journalism, mobile content creation, mobile photography and new technology'. It takes place annually and is a meeting of minds of all things MoJo.

This year's conference was a three-day event and took place in the Radisson Hotel Galway. The impressive line-up of presenters and workshop facilitators can be viewed here- as you can see it is a formidable spread of people from across the industry, both nationally and internationally and I was lucky to meet and interview some of these!

Me Getting Comfy in the RTÉ pod at #MoJoCon

So.... what was a 16 year old TY student doing at such a prestigious event I hear you ask! Well, I am a member of the Digital Youth Council of Ireland and through my involvement in the DYC I was lucky enough to source a three-day ticket for the event- so before I forget thanks to @DYCIRL and RTÉ for this opportunity.

Why was I interested in attending MoJoCon? Well...as you know I love all things technology, so the mobile in MoJo floats my boat. But I've only been recently bitten by the journalism bug thanks to my work with the Youth Media Team  under the guidance of Pamela O' Brien and Bernie Goldbach of LIT and Dr. Conor Galvin from UCD.

So MoJoCon was a marriage of tech and media/journalism..... I was quite at home as you'll see ...!

I'm in TY so I was able to attend the full three days of MoJoCon and each day was an enriching experience for me. The first two days were large sessions in the decidedly pink MoJo themed ballroom of the hotel, punctuated with pop-up workshops and a side of MoJoCon fringe events. Day three was workshop based and a great opportunity to learn from the best in the business.

The Stage in the Ballroom for MoJoCon Galway

Day One, bathed in glorious Galway sunshine was opened by 'Mr MoJoCon' Glen Mulcahy and began with a keynote from Richard Swinford of Arthur D.Little. He spoke about 5G, the next generation mobile network due in Ireland in 2019/2020. This he believed will transform enterprise and media and lead to what he described as a “Gigabit Society”. The anticipation in the room was palpable as the MoJos imagined a world of 5G... connectivity is everything in this business especially when a story is breaking in some far flung corner. I caught myself smiling wryly as I had a flashback to my own home wifi network with its paltry 4MB speeds (on a good day!) 😓 

Next was coffee and note to self... MoJos love coffee.. not just because of the caffeine though, but because it fuels conversations. I found myself casually chatting with MoJos from Ireland and beyond, eventhough I was one of the youngest attendees in the room - everyone had time for me and took an interest in how and why I came to be at MoJoCon.

The topic for the next session was one I had been looking forward to from the first time I looked at the MoJoCon lineup. Titled with the question 'Is journalism dead?', the conference programme promised a moderated panel discussion with a Q&A. Brave moderator (Margaret Ward) I thought to myself ! Over 500 attendees and we were discussing the possible extinction of their craft in their presence. MoJoEXIT anyone???

@RoseblumTV arguing that journalism is dead

What we got was a rich debate- lots of very strong opinions such as 'The geeks ate our lunch' from @RosenblumTV  but all expressed in a good-humoured manner. We listened and we talked. We explored whether everyone has the potential to be a journalist thanks to MoJo... WHAT?... Was MoJo cannibalising its own industry?  Then we considered the possibility that everyone was a witness but not necessarily a journalist. An intense discussion took place about monetising content to make a profit from quality content. In any case the need for innovation in storytelling was agreed upon. This was certainly an intense discussion!

The outcome in my opinion?... Journalism isn't dead at all.. it is being reborn again and again and again ...The huge enthusiastic attendance at MoJoCon shows that!

@carolinescott91 talking apps for Apple and Android

More coffee and next up was a discussion that we are all familiar with in some way... Android or Apple? It was agreed that when MoJo was starting out Apple was the only way to go.However technology changes and a robust debate was needed. There were a lot of topics discussed that in my opinion both ends had ups and downs but inevitably the expensive apple came out on top for various reasons. I was very disappointed as I'm an android user but at the end of the day everyone has their own opinion. This called for lunch to cool off...or continue the debate depending on who you sat with!

@JebbL founder of immersive.ly showing the science behind VR

After lunch it was back to looking at 'The Evolution of 360 video, M.R., A.R. and V.R.' I'm familiar with AR & VR but MR was a new one on me so I took to the internet to learn more. MR stands for 'Mixed Reality' and is as the name suggests a mix between virtual worlds and real worlds (sounds like a typical day for me at school!). We got a great insight into what these technologies can do for storytelling. Some actual AR and VR experiences helped the audience to see first hand how the technologies can enhance a story or an experience. This session was followed by coffee and ice-cream... not virtual though ...of the real kind 😋

I only caught parts of the final session of the day which was a panel session on the 'Future of Mobile Content Creation'.  I was prepping some interviews (more on this shortly) but was glad to be back in time for the swag... a fabulous Manfretto pole. Thanks Manfretto - it works great with the new kit I got at MoJoCon.

So to the interviews- I set up five interviews in advance of MoJoCon and managed to bag another five while there... a good return on the few days. The MoJos were just so generous with their time and sharing their expertise and as an aspiring MoJo I was just so grateful for this. I'm going to post three of the interviews here in this post- the first is with Cian McCormack, the second with Mark Little and the third with Anne-Marie Tomchak. I recorded these interviews using the YMT AudioBoom site (serious thanks to Cian McCormack for the 'sound' advice too!).

Cian McCormack, fellow Tipperary man was my first interview. He gave me a quick masterclass in the work of a MoJo such as seeking out a quiet location where possible and using a mike shield. Cian told me how mobile technology enhances his work and illustrated this vividly with a walk through his recent story of the Twin Boys with the Twin Lambs. Have a listen below:

Mark Little spoke to me about his career and his journey to being a MoJo entrepreneur with his company Storyful. I got an incredibly rich insight into the work involved in verifying news stories and a small insight into his future plans. Despite heading out to a #MoJoFringe session he was really generous with his time. Listen to my interview here:

Anne-Marie Tomchak is best know as UK editor of Mashable and we discussed how technology is changing the role of the journalist. Her programme 'Cloud Control' which she produced and presented last year for Science Week was a real eye opener for me so I we talked about the research behind the programme. Anne Marie was so encouraging of my work and gave freely of her time for the interview. Listen below:

And so ends My MoJoCon 2017 Experience... Part One. I'm working simultaneously on Part Two featuring my remaining seven interviews and an insight in MoJoCon day 2 & 3.

Thanks for reading and listening!