Another conference!

I know I’m supposed to say this kind of stuff but one of the things I like about my job is going to conferences. (See my first post about Streaming Media East) In a couple of weeks I’m off to Providence, RI to attend my 5th AHECTA conference. AHECTA stands for “Association of Higher Education Campus Television Administrators.” This is a group that is made up of representatives from colleges all across the country who either have their own in-house cable television system or a student cable TV channel, or both. SU falls into that middle category as we have a station but are a Time Warner campus.

Attending these conferences is a chance for me to see what everyone else is doing and get new ideas. What’s interesting to me is that in academia, we’re all about sharing ideas and information. In my old life, working in production, sharing ideas and information was tantamount to treason. Never give the other side an edge! Not so in the Ivory Tower and that’s cool.

This year I am making two presentations during the three-day session. I’m “sharing” our method for uploading our content on-line and the second session is how we utilize our multi-camera production equipment for the shows we produce. The other sessions that I see on the schedule will be covering the transition to digital and HD as well as deploying content via IP.

I know this stuff sounds so geeky but that’s they way the business is headed. You really have to have one foot on the tech side to fully appreciate and grasp how this business is changing. I’m an old dog but I’m learning new tricks.