I’ve been using and thinking about digital media a lot in the five and a half years I’ve worked for the Faculty of Land and Food Systems. I’ve given a lot of workshops and made a lot of recommendations. To pull it all together, I thought I’d collect the 10 skills that I’d recommend for a person interested in digital media in 2012. This follows on an oft-cited (by me at least) New York Times story from a few years back, entitled “Is a Cinema Studies Degree the New M.B.A.?” Essentially, the story touches on the dramatic increase in the importance of communication skills. Being able to effectively communicate your message, be it research, advocacy, or entrepreneurial, is now more important than ever.
1 Photo taking & editing
– Digital photography basics
– Photo editing
– Photoshop/Gimp or Piknik
– Flickr
2 Video recording & editing
– Basics of video, including formats
– iMovie
– YouTube/Vimeo
3 Audio capture & editing
– Recording audio
– Audacity
– Podcasting
4 Publishing to print
– Poster and brochure design
– InDesign/Pages/PosterGenius
5 Publishing online/RSS
– Blogging
– RSS basics
– Wikis
6 Copyright/online best practices
– Copyright & Creative Commons
– Online etiquette
– Social Media
7 Aesthetics/principles of design
– Typefaces
– Making the most of media
– Storyboarding and storytelling
8 Presenting & Collaborating
– PowerPoint
– Prezi
– Public speaking
– Collaboration tools
9 Mapping and geolocation
– Google Maps
– Mobile apps
10 Writing and interviewing
– Writing for the ear and for online
– Interview Skills
These are meant as a conversation starter. I’d love to hear what you think should (or shouldn’t) be on this list.