Topics: College of Communication Information and Media, College of Sciences and Humanities, Emerging Media

June 6, 2008

Three Ball State students discussed the future of media consumption and e-mail at a national conference in Florida.

The students spoke as members of a keynote panel at Mediapost's E-mail Insider Summit 2008 on May 22.

The students were August Miller, a telecommunications major from Battle Ground, Ind.; Amanda Pollard, an English literature major from Muncie, Ind.; and Brandon Prebynski, a digital storytelling graduate student from Auburn, Ind. Michelle Prieb, project manager for research and communications at the Center for Media Design, also participated as moderator for the panel.

The three students regularly post their reactions and interactions with media on a blog hosted by Mediapost Publications called "Notes from the Digital Frontier." They used the panel as an extension of the conversation featured on their blogs, Pollard said.

Prieb said that the students had a unique opportunity to describe their media habits before an industry audience.

"The summit gave industry leaders a chance to hear directly from the next generation of media consumers and workforce e-mail users; this is an audience that can be perplexing but is highly sought after," she said
The team members discussed how they consume media, specifically how they use e-mail. Their panel - "Does E-mail Have a Future?" - addressed the new technologies of instant messages, text messages and social network sites.

"When it comes to mediated communication, e-mail is really the tip of the iceberg," Pollard said.

Miller said that his preferred method of communication depends on the message he wants to send.

"If I have an important message for my boss, I'll send him an e-mail. If I have a quick question for a friend, I'll shoot a text message. If I want to get in contact with an old acquaintance, I'll write on his or her Facebook wall," he said.

Prebynski said the future face of e-mail may shift, but he believes that digital messaging will not face extinction.

By Hillary Tribbett