UNL journalism college to host Mobile Me and You Conference

The University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications will host the Mobile Me and You Conference Oct. 28-30 in Lincoln.

One of the largest gatherings of digital and mobile media experts is coming to UNL. The conference is free. Mobile Me and You is bringing 20 notable speakers to campus from organizations such as Berkshire Hathaway Media, The Washington Post, Univision, Al Jazeera, CNN, Pew Research Center, NBC News Digital Group and the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria.

The conference, which will focus on mobile media best practices, is for professionals, academics and students in any discipline. It's about everyday people using mobile tools to solve problems and participate in conversations.

The conference is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

"We have an amazing opportunity to talk with these mobile media industry leaders about the problems they face in their organizations as media move to a mobile-first model," conference organizer Gary Kebbel said. "These are problems industry leaders face every day, while we, as faculty, are trying to figure out how to teach students how to operate in this mobile-first world."

Leaders in mobile media will speak at the conference, both individually and in panel discussions.

Speaker presentations include:

> UNL Drone Journalism Lab founder Matt Waite will discuss the importance of drones and sensors to gather and publish data.

> United States Mission, Nigeria, Information Resource Specialist Joseph Adah will highlight the importance of mobile in Africa and undeveloped countries.

> BH Media Group Corporate Director of Digital Development Jeff Carney will present on how Berkshire Hathaway's scores of newspapers think about mobile.

> Pew Research Center Senior Researcher and author of "U.S. Smartphone Use in 2015" Aaron Smith will report the latest mobile research from Pew Research Center.

> NBC News Digital Group's Breaking News Full-Stack Web Developer Andy Boyle will offer insight into how NBC's Breaking News app uses geolocation to keep its audience informed.

> Univision Vice President of Strategic Communications Jose Zamora will discuss why mobile is so important to its audience.

Panel discussion topics include how to monetize mobile with new businesses, tips for using phones and tablets to gather information, going mobile first to reach the unreached audience, and best practices for investigative reporting and mobile media.

Representatives from international media organizations will also present case studies, which include Mobile Project Manager Emily Ingram presenting on the Washington Post, Executive Producer David Cohn on Al Jazeera and Senior Manager for Mobile Initiatives Damon Kiesow on McClatchy Newspapers.

For more information on the conference and to register, visit http://www.mobileme-you.com/#our-story-1.