WebFirst Conference Now a Webinar Series

The 2020 WebFirst Conference of the University of Arkansas is being reformatted into a year-long WebFirst Web Series.

Organizers saw with the campus having closed in March from the Covid-19 pandemic that most of the expected participants are seeing their work situations dramatically changed.

"We have decided to reformat WebFirst," said Kelly Bostick, University Relations associate director for digital design and development. "Expecting everyone to sit through an entire morning of presentations on your computer is a lot to ask."

Rather than the scheduled half-day of back-to-back live video presentations on July 23, "we have decided to spread the presentations out through the year during the bi-monthly WebFirst Community meetings," Bostick said.

These seminars will be available through WebEx during the meetings and recorded for future viewing. The 2020 WebFirst Web Series will kick off at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, July 1.

WebFirst organizers, comprising staff digital specialists from across campus, are sending invitations initially to the WebFirst Community, composed of previous WebFirst participants, communicating through the WebFirst listserv. U of A faculty, staff and the general public are welcome as well. It's all free. To receive invitations and stay connected to WebFirst, and for questions please contact webhelp@uark.edu.

The first session, "Defining Your Audience and Why it is Important," will show the importance of defining one's online audience and how best to target it with research-based digital media writing and web strategies. Its facilitators are Rebecca Sims, web developer for U of A Enrollment Services, and Amy Cole, digital media program manager for Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, in the University of Arkansas System.

The webinars will be of varying lengths with some focusing on general principles or best practices, while others address specific software used at the university or campus tech issues. Details will be within the announcements of each program.

WebFirst previously had conducted seven annual, day-long conferences, besides maintaining a website that contains a variety of training materials and related material intended for the university's digital users but helpful to many more.