Whether I’m working away on a magazine or hanging out with one of my ag comm friends, my roommates usually are a bit overwhelmed when they see in my “natural element.” I don’t think many would argue when I say we pack a lot of motivation, creativity and passion for what we do into just the right amount of crazy. My roommates may have been a bit more overwhelmed than normal though, if they had been with me on my most recent adventure.
Last week, August 4-7, I had the opportunity to travel to Buffalo, New York to attend the 2013 Ag Media Summit.
This annual conference brings together both professionals and college students in the agricultural communications, journalism and marketing fields for meetings, learning sessions, collaboration and a celebration of our industry. As a student at K-State I was never able to attend, so when my job wanted to send me I was all on board! The mix of people, from every corner of the industry, spanning from bright-eyed students to young professionals to respected trailblazers, make for an interesting and high-energy environment. Never before have I been surrounded by that many people that share my passions for both agriculture and communications. It was great to catch up with friends made from AFA and K-State, share “post grad life” joys and woes with other recent graduates and network with folks that will no doubt, be a part of my career for years to come.
After becoming what you could call a “professional conference attendee” throughout high school and college {which all ranked from mediocre to outstanding,} I was very pleased to walk away actually having learned something valuable and feeling energized. I am a huge believer of continued learning and investing in your education beyond a structured classroom. It challenges us to be better, helps us refocus and in all honestly, keeps us working offensively, instead of playing defense. There were many learning sessions to choose from within the six time blocks and my goal was to balance my time between a variety of topics. My favorite session without a doubt was “Writing Deep Dive: Tools of Originality” featuring Kelly McBride from the Poynter Institute. She takes a very aggressive and strategic approach toward knowing herself as a writer and capitalizing on her creativity. It was refreshing to talk through the shared struggles the writers have and how we can infuse more originality into writing that is redundant and overdone. Previously, I was a bit familiar with the research and teaching that the Poynter Institute does and after Kelly’s session, would definitely encourage to check them out online.
My take-away’s from this session:
- Questions to routinely reflect on: What conditions do I need to be most creative? What have been my most creative moments in life and what outside factors may have influenced that creativity? What works for what I do and what is necessary for my job?
- Don’t see distractions as negative, see them as preparation. Naturally incorporate them into your routine and don’t feel guilty.
- Know the difference between the subject and the focus.
- Every word is on the ladder of abstraction. “Low” is specific. “High” is focus. >Avoid the middle<
- 6 Tricks of the Trade for Original Ideas {Best advice from the whole session. These really could have been featured in a blog post of their own}
1. Turn away from the target
2. Make a list
3. Do a narrative
4. Read the signs {literally}
5. Give our your phone number
6. Don’t be afraid of your own experience
The other sessions that I attended focused on photography, a public relations overview of John Deere’s {really stinking cool} campaign where they built a life size combine sculpture out of canned food, publishing content across multiple online platforms, and a panel on balancing time management, travel and relationships in your career. Overall, my first AMS was a great experience. I was humbled after many of my entries in the collegiate National Critique and Contest placed very well and proud that so many other K-State entries did fantastic as well. The city of Buffalo was charming and since I didn’t get the chance to visit Niagara Falls, it is definitely on my list to visit again
And if you’ve already took a peek at my pictures below you can see that this group sure knows how to have fun! The welcome party had a Roaring 20’s theme, which anyone who has been following my current obsession with The Great Gatsby, then you know I was just about tickled pink.
Thanks for a great time AMS!
The Good Stuff 