Tom Kennedy

It was interesting and exciting to be able to listen and converse with an "industry guru" such as Tom Kennedy. Honestly, as a public relations major, I had not heard much about him or what he has done; but, after hearing his views on the convergence of media and the future of multimedia it really made me think of my future as a public relations practitioner. I have thought little of the future potential of storytelling in a dynamic way (such as the Waterlife) until Mr. Kennedy demonstrated the "now" (Darfur on washingtonpost.com) vs the possibilities of "then" (sites such as Waterlife). Yet, his thoughts and our visual comparisons of the present and the future lead me to wonder--what happened to just good storytelling. When I watched the video clip on Darfur, I didn't need the "hoopla" and interactiveness of Waterlife to want to know more--the story itself, the visuals, the words of the people--that made me want to listen, and watch more. Although the possibilities of interactive media are exciting, they aren't necessary. If we as communicators, in whatever sense that may be (journalists, public relations practitioners, photojournalists, etc), tell our stories--their stories, in a compelling way, and do it consistently, yet fresh every time, there won't be a need for the over-glamorized and costly measures of sites like Waterlife.