Todd Pollock, Senior Manager at Jabian Consulting, spoke as part of a TAG panel discussion to explore technology’s influence upon the fine arts.
Atlanta, Georgia – October 12, 2011 – The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) featured Jabian Senior Manager, Todd Pollock, on its recent panel focused on the unique technological needs of Atlanta’s world-class fine arts community and how technology can enable the arts to foster a rich growth environment.
Panel organizers pointed out in the event materials that although major technological advancements are rarely thought of as originating from the arts world, “it is the innovation of technologies within the arts (printing press, musical instruments, film, etc.) that form the most enduring historical record of the human condition for future generations.”
Topics for discussion spanned a wide range: practical software, hardware, and network infrastructure needs for future growth; the ramifications and influence of social networking and mobile devices; digital archives and secondary distribution of events; and the use of multimedia to attract future audiences. The panel also included technology professionals from the Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta-based technology industry executives from The Coca-Cola Company and IBM, and leading scholars from Georgia State University in new digital entertainment media.
Pollock commended and challenged the Woodruff Arts Center on two major fronts: innovation and social media. “As an innovation enthusiast, I am encouraged to see Woodruff and others in fine arts embrace innovation as part of their organizational vision. I would love to see this happen across the entire arts community and ultimately become a more central part of the arts culture.”
Continuing on that theme, Pollock says, “At Jabian, for example, one of the ways we build an innovative culture is through gearing our hiring process toward an entrepreneurial and innovative mindset. We have an internal innovation team, and we engage a select group of clients and partners for periodic innovation round table discussions. We also host Innovation Councils at our client engagements, to help clients brainstorm innovations they may not have thought of before.”
When the conversation turned to social media, Pollock contributed lessons he has learned in helping Jabian establish and execute its own social media strategy, as well as his observations as a father of three. “While social media tools have dramatically advanced the ability to share information and express interests and personal characteristics, it’s all for naught if the users have no authentic affinity for the arts,” he says. “It seems obvious to me that genuine interest in the fine arts is initiated and developed in the home and by the parents and family unit, as well as in schools.”
He continues, “Fortunately, institutions like the Woodruff Arts Center are taking bold steps toward creating awareness and interest in younger generations. Families and schools are now provided with a wide array of programs and techniques to generate sincere passion in the arts.”
Pollock believes that because social media is still a relatively new phenomenon, better things are on the way. “As the arts experience growth, I expect social media concepts such as crowd sourcing, location-based services, and video to radically evolve. It’s my hope that social media becomes more widely adopted, especially within the community of creators – not just consumers – of fine arts.”