{"id":3246,"date":"2019-09-14T11:11:28","date_gmt":"2019-09-14T16:11:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsroom.home.ona\/newsroom19\/?p=798"},"modified":"2021-06-22T18:22:54","modified_gmt":"2021-06-22T22:22:54","slug":"amy-webb-gives-her-final-ona-tech-trends-talk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/journalists-org-develop.go-vip.co\/newsroom\/2019\/09\/14\/amy-webb-gives-her-final-ona-tech-trends-talk\/","title":{"rendered":"Amy Webb gives her final ONA Tech Trends talk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Amy Webb has made her name by sharing her vision of the future of journalism each Saturday morning at the ONA conference. On this Saturday, she gave us a glimpse into her own.<\/span><\/p>\n

At the end of her much-anticipated annual Tech Trends presentation at ONA19, Webb announced that this would be her last ONA talk. Since 2008, she has presented a talk on emerging tech trends, and many ONA attendees rely on her readings of the crystal ball of digital journalism.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s time to pass the baton … I don’t work inside of a newsroom anymore. I haven’t for a very long time,\u201d Webb said, as the crowd let out an audible \u201caww.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s important that as this session continues, and it will, that the people every year doing this are those working in their newsrooms learning to use these tools and applying these tools and giving their own perspective. Because we need more futurists. We need more of you doing this work — people who are trained. And I think I need to make space for another generation of people to do this.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Her replacement will be Sam Guzik<\/a>, a senior product manager at Hearst, who was Webb\u2019s former graduate student at New York University’s Stern School of Business. She\u2019ll coach him so he can deliver the talk at ONA20 in Atlanta, and then he will pass on the responsibility the next year. Webb brought Guzik on stage for a portion of this year\u2019s talk.<\/span><\/p>\n

In this year\u2019s talk, Webb analyzed synthetic content and the danger of deepfakes, as well as broken digital subscription models.<\/span><\/p>\n

Over the years, Webb has highlighted a variety of findings<\/a>, which she does not consider predictions, but part of a \u201cstrategic foresight process\u201d that involves pattern recognition and modeling. <\/span><\/p>\n

More than a decade ago, she thought a little site called Twitter would become a prominent tool for journalists, cloud computing would allow reporters to write on the go and QR codes would be used for advertising in newspapers and magazines.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last year, she<\/span> highlighted tech<\/span><\/a> like spatial computing and blockchain. She also gave a substantial amount of her presentation to representatives of the blockchain startup Civil, which launched shortly after the 2018 ONA conference and failed a few weeks later<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Webb is known for providing gifts or refreshments during her talk, and Saturday’s event had a distinct NOLA flavor. This time, Webb provided beignets and coffee.<\/span><\/p>\n

\n

Good morning! Please help yourselves to coffee and beignets before we begin. Breakfast is on me today. #ONA19Trends<\/a><\/p>\n

— Amy Webb (@amywebb) September 14, 2019<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n