SALISBURY — With so much content being created online, younger and younger artists are tapping into new mediums. To ensure those children are doing it responsibly, safely and effectively, Livingstone media personnel decided to offer a new camp.

The Children’s Content Creators Camp was held on Friday at Livingstone College’s radio station WLJZ 107.1 FM.

The camp was a collaboration between radio personality Genia “Mz. Good Newz” Woods, with support from Livingstone multimedia director Keith “Synphany”Anderson and videographer Preston Gillespie.

“Life changes, and it evolves,” Woods said. “Kids today are now gamers. They are content creators. It’s not always the typical 9-5. We want to make sure that we created an environment here for that, where they can have better skills on how to film and posture and conduct themselves.”

The camp’s goal is to create an environment for youth to cultivate their ability to create positive and quality content by exposing them to tools, training and like-minded individuals.

“We are doing different projects aimed at provoking thoughts and ideas,” Woods said. “More than anything, it is about being around other children who are like-minded and being able to beam off each other can unlock that.

“You’d be surprised how people are fearful to share what they have. So we have a portion today where we are doing show and tell. They can get up, do their thing and show what they do, and hopefully, it inspires someone else.”

Woods and Anderson run the radio station and the college’s Podcast Cafe.

“This is an opportunity to get the kids involved in what is coming to be,” Anderson said. “This is all the future of what’s going on.”

With so many new job titles that didn’t exist ten years ago, Anderson and Woods want to set their campers up for success. Even if it doesn’t mean a job right away, Anderson said there is still potential for young artists to express themselves creatively. Once they unlock that door, the sky can be the limit.

“These are things people think about as hobbies now, but people are getting paid, so this is an opportunity for them to start early,” Anderson said. “On my musical journey, my parents allowed me to be involved in music early on, so later in my adult life, I was already on the doorstep… starting early allows these kids that head start.”

While the mediums may be new, tips for success could have come from a traditional playbook.

“It’s a presentation of who you are,” Woods said. “You want to make sure that you leave a good impression on people, and you want to make sure that you are intentional about the things you put out.”

Making sure that your content is curated to reach a large audience also comes into play.

“You want to make sure that you appeal to your audience,” Woods said. “It’s not always about what you want to talk about.”

The ground floor at the Livingstone radio station was packed with children on Friday. Those children came with their dreams, ideas and personalities to match.

Kaden Anderson is an aspiring beatmaker.

“I want to get better at my social skills and music,” Anderson said. “I am a music producer. I make music for people to sing over.”

Imani Fair was in town visiting from Tennessee.

“I am here to learn about what my uncle (Keith Anderson) does,” Fair said. “I’m interested that he gets to produce stuff that so many people listen to every day.”

Fair likes all kinds of music, and she sings.

Fellow camper Hunter Foutz has an inclination for music too.

“I like to try and find ways to get into a studio so that I can make music,” Foutz said. “I like hip-hop, rap and soul.”

Foutz usually listens to YouTube, but he has ideas on how to make that content himself.

“I like to review music and try to find ways to sample it and put it in a beat,” Foutz said.

Not every artist at the camp was a musician. Levi McCombs is an aspiring author.

“I made a book recently,” McCombs said. “I am trying to make a new one by the end of the year. I don’t know if it will be a chapter book or not.”

McCombs is branching out and expanding his skill set.

“I am trying to build a brand called Clear Lens,” McCombs said.

McCombs’ sister, G’nya Woods, likes coming to the studio and hopes to be on the radio one day “just like Mz. Good Newz.”

Not everyone that was there had their ideas so fully formed.

Xavier Frazier likes to play football and work out but thought the camp might be a good way to try something new and see what he could do.

Others, like JaCorey Patterson, were farther along their creative journeys.

“We do spray paint art and sketches,” Patterson said. “I make different types of planets. The website is almost done, but for now, we are posting on TikTok.”

Jessica Ford’s young daughter Jalayah Ford, 4, was at the camp.

“She loves being in front of the camera,” Ford said. “Her personality is out of this world. She likes to sing. She likes to take pictures. She likes to dance.”

The class appealed to Ford since her daughter has a big age gap from her other siblings.

“I like to get her around other kids her own age,” Ford said.

Some might object to the idea of young children being exposed online for content, but Woods and Anderson pointed to the camp’s mission to make that possibility one that is safe.

“What we are doing is teaching them the right ways to go about it,” Anderson said.

Having the parents present was also part of that goal.

“We want parents to be aware of what their children are doing,” Anderson said. “Their kids have talent, but you can’t just throw them out there. You have to teach them how to navigate the world.”

After a successful camp on Friday, Woods and Anderson are optimistic about the next installment. Woods said they plan to make it a quarterly event.