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>>ANCHOR: The fourth annual Imagine RIT will draw thousands of people this weekend. It's
a festival that showcases creativity and innovation, which is why smartphones will play an important
role in this year's event. YNN's Scott Patterson has more on a new way of interacting that
could spread far beyond RIT.
>>REPORTER: Every year students, faculty and staff show off their work at Imagine RIT.
>>ANDREA HICKERSON: So often, we go to events and we walk away and that's kind of the end
of it.
>>REPORTER: That's why RIT's journalism department set out to make this year's festival truly
interactive.
>>ANDREA HICKERSON: What we're really doing with this project is we're inviting the crowds
to be journalists for a day.
>>REPORTER: With a $155,000 grant from the Knight Foundation, students from various programs
teamed up.
>>JOHN KARAHALIS: All of the code that's being written, all of the designs that are being
made are done by students.
>>REPORTER: What they've created is called "Rise Above the Crowd." It takes the digital
thoughts of about 25,000 people and turns them into one large conversation.
>>JOHN KARAHALIS: Some people will only have a story - 'my kid loved the racecar exhibit.
' Some people will only have a photo of the pumpkin launcher or the hot dog machine.
>>REPORTER: Six large monitors will be set up around the event along with six other billboard
size monitors. They'll be showcasing people's pictures and comments, uploaded from their
smartphones or mobile devices.
>>JOHN KARAHALIS: You can log in with your Facebook account, your Twitter account, something
like that.
>>REPORTER: This experiment could be the future of event interaction. Imagine sharing your
favorite exhibit at the State Fair or finding out what everyone thinks of the bands playing
Jazz Fest. Perhaps it could even get people more involved in public meetings.
>>ANDREA HICKERSON: If we can make it more enticing or visually appealing, we can actually
see people actually contribute to it live. I think that might be worth exploring in the
>>REPORTER: The easiest way to get involved is to pre-register online. We have a link
up on our website. Then bring your smartphone or tablet to Imagine RIT Saturday from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. And one thing that I didn't mention Amy is that people will be able to
vote on the content that's put up on those screens. The top winners are up for $3,000
worth of prizes.
>>ANCHOR: Oh, yeah, got to love that!
>>REPORTER: Love the prizes.
>>ANCHOR: I knew you would. Scott Patterson, thank you. And one reminder, of course, Time
Warner Cable and YNN are proud sponsors of the event. From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., you can
stop by and say hello to YNN chef Dan Eaton and our Getaway Guy Mike O'Brian.