WaPo Labs visiting College on Tuesday, Feb. 28

WaPo Labs, the social-media R&D division of The Washington Post Co. is doing a spring road-show for a few journalism and communications colleges across the country. They’ve asked that UF be one of the few, and we’ve invited them to visit our campus on Tuesday, Feb. 28. Please see the following list of events.  Faculty are invited for any or all of the bolded events. If you are able to attend the morning coffee, please let Matt Sheehan know so he can get a head count.

• 10:15 to 11:30 a.m. – Faculty coffee (3032 Weimer)
• 11:45 a.m. to 1:40 p.m. – Classes
• 1:45 to 3 p.m. — lunch break
• 3 to 3:50 p.m. — Presentation in Gannett Auditorium (open to anyone, but seeded with JOU3109c and ADV 4930)
• 4 to 5 p.m. — Research presentation for faculty and grad students interested in the metrics and engagement strategies of a social media org (Aha! CoLab/3201)
• 5 to 6:15 p.m.  – break
• 6:15 to 8 p.m. — Open presentation in the 21st Century News Lab

The WaPo Labs is most famous for the Washington Post Social Reader app on Facebook and has developed a few other products for the Post company brands. They are traveling this spring to talk with journalism and communication students and faculty on, as they describe it, “the rapidly changing media landscape and what it means for them, for the industry, and for consumers.” Also, “why young people are studying journalism today, why it’s important they do so, how journalism is different today than in the past, and how media is evolving and growing in the digital sphere. It could be argued that none of these questions are particularly ‘new’ — but what is different about us is that we’re actually acting on meeting these challenges.”

Three reps from WaPo labs will be joining us: managing editor Greg Barber, Washington Post Social Reader tech lead Charles Covey-Brandt and assistant editor Emily Schwartz.

Please let Matt Sheehan know if you have any questions.