Society & Culture

UGA New Media Institute students create first AthFest app

Athens, Ga. – Thanks to students in the University of Georgia’s Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, AthFest is going mobile in 2011.

During spring semester, students in the New Media Institute’s Capstone Course created an iPhone App for AthFest, the annual music and arts festival held in downtown Athens each June.

The new app puts the power of organization in the palm of the user’s hand, with interactive features such as a scrollable version of this year’s lineup that is sortable by date and venue, a map of downtown Athens, band pages that include information on each band, and a personal schedule, fully customized by your choice of shows. The app even includes a simulation of that age-old concert favorite, a flickering lighter for when audience members want a band to return to the stage for one more encore performance.

The app was developed by advertising major Marisa Negri, mass media arts major Matt Evans, advertising major Jessica Severens and sociology major David Cherof. All four students are pursuing the New Media Institute Certificate.

“AthFest is always awesome, but it will be even more so with this app,” said Scott Shamp, Grady College professor of telecommunications and NMI director.

The free app has just been cleared and is now available for download in the iTunes App Store. The iTunes preview is available at http://bit.ly/kH1acB

The 15th annual AthFest will be held in downtown Athens, June 22 – June 26. AthFest showcases the best in locally, regionally and nationally recognized Athens-based talent in a town that is known for its live music scene.

In addition to live music, the festival includes KIDSFest, a juried artisan market, film events, a comedy showcase, Flagpole Music Awards, Wired Dance Festival and more. For the past five years, AthFest has been included in the “Top 20 Events for June” by the Southeast Tourism Society. Learn more about AthFest at http://athfest.com/.

Established in 1915, the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate majors in advertising, digital and broadcast journalism, public relations, journalism and mass media arts. The college offers two graduate degrees, and is home to the New Media Institute, the Knight Chair in Health and Medical Journalism and the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see http://www.grady.uga.edu/ or follow @UGAGrady on Twitter.