In Online Journalism today we had another open lab. In addition to our lab time however, we also talked more about multimedia. As a class we discussed how important it is for us to be aware of the many different ways to tell a story.
One of the ways professor Klein stressed this issue to us again was by showing the class a youtube.com video from Post-Crescent Gannett info center.
Post-Cresent is a newspaper company, and the fact that they are capable of delivering the story to the consumer so fast is truly amazing. It shows how fast journalism is changing right along with technology.
I think professor Klein really made the class see today that from here on out, we must always remember the two i's as journalists. Information and Immediately.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Alan Rosenblatt
I never thought about the fact that there are people out there who dedicate their lives to advising others on how to use the Internet to their advantage until I me Alan Rosenblatt.
Alan has a PhD. and is an Internet strategy consultant and the Internet Advocacy Center. He advises politicians and other well known people on how to effectively use the Internet. He says there are two things to keep in mind when creating a website.
1) It's not what you think should be done as a web designer. A web designer needs to have the mind set of, what do my users want to do once they get to my site?
2) If you are just disseminating information with the Internet you are doing something that is very powerful but you are barely scratching the surface. It can be used for so much more, for example, connecting people.
Rosenblatt says he believes that the world is moving away from email and headed towards social networks such as myspace.com and facebook.com when communicating. In other words the online world is becoming more personal.
Alan Rosenblatt was a great speaker and very intelligent. Great class!
Alan has a PhD. and is an Internet strategy consultant and the Internet Advocacy Center. He advises politicians and other well known people on how to effectively use the Internet. He says there are two things to keep in mind when creating a website.
1) It's not what you think should be done as a web designer. A web designer needs to have the mind set of, what do my users want to do once they get to my site?
2) If you are just disseminating information with the Internet you are doing something that is very powerful but you are barely scratching the surface. It can be used for so much more, for example, connecting people.
Rosenblatt says he believes that the world is moving away from email and headed towards social networks such as myspace.com and facebook.com when communicating. In other words the online world is becoming more personal.
Alan Rosenblatt was a great speaker and very intelligent. Great class!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
March Maddness!
Well, March has truly been madness this semester and not just in basketball, but academics and online journalism as well. If you have never touched Dreamweaver or related programs before, creating a website and multimedia site can be a tall order in just three months.
That is why the open labs we had this week in class were great. Thursday's open lab was especially helpful because we had a Dreamweaver expert come in and help the class with Dreamwever problems.
I took away a skill that will be very valuable to me in my multimedia project. I learned how to use youtube.com to post a video on my website. NOT a hyperlink, the actual video window with a play button. Here is how to do it:
That is why the open labs we had this week in class were great. Thursday's open lab was especially helpful because we had a Dreamweaver expert come in and help the class with Dreamwever problems.
I took away a skill that will be very valuable to me in my multimedia project. I learned how to use youtube.com to post a video on my website. NOT a hyperlink, the actual video window with a play button. Here is how to do it:
- Go to YouTube.com
- Click on "Upload Video" in the upper right hand corner
- Follow the directions to post your video on youtube.com
- Open Dreamweaver and find the page and the spot where you want your video to be
- Minimize Dreamweaver and return to YouTube.com and use the search box to find your video
- To the right of your video highlight the window specifications next to the word "Embeded"
- Copy and Paste the embeded code between the body tags of your split view on Dreamweaver
Easy as that! It's a very quick and useful tool to jazz up a multimedia page. Hope everyone finds it useful. I know I'll be using it to post a video interview I conducted with the varsity head football coach and the athletic director here at Mason.
Let's Go Georgetown! You can never have enough success for the D.C. George's in March! See ya next post!
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
Back From Break and It's Time for Multimedia
Well I am back from sunny San Diego! I went to San Diego for my cousin's wedding and it was a great trip and it is a beautiful place.
In this next five weeks in Online Journalism, I will be posting all 10 of my article analysis stories, as well as three aditional video conferencing session stories. However, the majority of my work in Online Journalism will come from the creation of my multi-media project.
My multimedia project will focus on why the largest school in the state of Virginia does not have a Division I football program? I have no opinion on this story but I believe it is an interesting question that may have some answers that the student body would be interested in.
I am going to try to incorporate a video clip of an interview with the head coach of the club football team Joe Pascale as well as the athletic director Mickey Mcdade. I am also going to try to incorporate some audio clips from players on the club team as well as a print story.
Stay tuned to see how the production process goes. I'll keep everyone updated!
In this next five weeks in Online Journalism, I will be posting all 10 of my article analysis stories, as well as three aditional video conferencing session stories. However, the majority of my work in Online Journalism will come from the creation of my multi-media project.
My multimedia project will focus on why the largest school in the state of Virginia does not have a Division I football program? I have no opinion on this story but I believe it is an interesting question that may have some answers that the student body would be interested in.
I am going to try to incorporate a video clip of an interview with the head coach of the club football team Joe Pascale as well as the athletic director Mickey Mcdade. I am also going to try to incorporate some audio clips from players on the club team as well as a print story.
Stay tuned to see how the production process goes. I'll keep everyone updated!
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
Spring Break!
Well, it is spring break for George Mason University, but guess who still has to work all week at his internship. That's right me! My internship at WUSA9 Sports really is not that much like work however, it's more fun than anything else.
March Madness starts this week so I am in for many long nights ahead. I am learning a lot about television and what needs to be done to successfully produce a newscast.
Coming up in the next few weeks on my website will be several stories including 3 additional video conferencing stories and 9 more article analysis stories. Also I will be putting together a multimedia page that will explore the question "why does George Mason not have a D-1 football program?"
If all goes according to plan, the page should include a print story, a video, telephone audio interviews, and possibly a message board or slide show. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.
Also I've noticed my site looks better in Internet Explore rather than Firefox. Just a suggestion. My next post will be after I get back from sunny California...WHOOO HOOO!
March Madness starts this week so I am in for many long nights ahead. I am learning a lot about television and what needs to be done to successfully produce a newscast.
Coming up in the next few weeks on my website will be several stories including 3 additional video conferencing stories and 9 more article analysis stories. Also I will be putting together a multimedia page that will explore the question "why does George Mason not have a D-1 football program?"
If all goes according to plan, the page should include a print story, a video, telephone audio interviews, and possibly a message board or slide show. We'll see how it goes. Stay tuned.
Also I've noticed my site looks better in Internet Explore rather than Firefox. Just a suggestion. My next post will be after I get back from sunny California...WHOOO HOOO!
Friday, March 9, 2007
Joel Sucherman
Once again, we had another great guest speaker on Thursday. Joel Sucherman is the Executive Producer of USA Today. He spoke to our class about USA Today's massive upgrade to their online website. It's not that USA today has invented anything new, but instead they are just catching up. However, their new site is remarkably different than their old site and it is now what of the cleanest and consistent interfaces in the business.
Of course, the website has taken giant steps towards interacting with their audience through blogs and message boards. This again brought up the issue of journalism that is less credible. However, was is special about USA Today in my opinion is that they still focus on stories written by their own writers. Therefore what the audience has to say is just in addition to the articles that the professionals write. It is a mix of credible journalism and user journalism.
USA Today has been punished for their remodeling so far with some very discouraging emails sent by users. I found it interesting how much people really do dislike change. Change is inevitable however, and I'm sure the users will adjust to the new format and then appreciate it.
Another very interesting class!
Of course, the website has taken giant steps towards interacting with their audience through blogs and message boards. This again brought up the issue of journalism that is less credible. However, was is special about USA Today in my opinion is that they still focus on stories written by their own writers. Therefore what the audience has to say is just in addition to the articles that the professionals write. It is a mix of credible journalism and user journalism.
USA Today has been punished for their remodeling so far with some very discouraging emails sent by users. I found it interesting how much people really do dislike change. Change is inevitable however, and I'm sure the users will adjust to the new format and then appreciate it.
Another very interesting class!
Thursday, March 8, 2007
Kevin Anderson
Kevin Anderson really gave a very impressive presentation during Tuesday's class. I learn more and more from each speaker. Kevin is currently a blogs editor and worked for BBC for 10 years.
I found it interesting to see how much mainstream media really is taking notice of online blogging. I also found it interesting to see the graphs Kevin presented which showed how blogs are doubling every six months and they have been for the last three years!
Kevin was a huge help with my multimedia project that will be coming in the next five weeks or so. He did exactly what Professor Klein said he would do. He provided the class with many multimedia tools that will help us greatly with our presentations:
I found it interesting to see how much mainstream media really is taking notice of online blogging. I also found it interesting to see the graphs Kevin presented which showed how blogs are doubling every six months and they have been for the last three years!
Kevin was a huge help with my multimedia project that will be coming in the next five weeks or so. He did exactly what Professor Klein said he would do. He provided the class with many multimedia tools that will help us greatly with our presentations:
- Bubble Share - lets you upload stills
- Video Downloader - lets you download videos
- You Tube - Code embedded lets you copy and paste video into Dreamweaver
- Skype - Call anyone in the world from your Internet
The best part - they are all FREE DOWNLOADS!
Great Class!
Thursday, March 1, 2007
Today's Discussion
I thought today's class was very interesting. This has been such an interesting semester in Online Journalism. This class could easily just be writing stories and posting them online for 35 weeks straight. However, it has been so much more than that. Professor Klein has brought in incredible speakers who have scratched the surface of the amazing forms of new media available to this generation.
It is interesting that the younger generation is a little overwhelmed with these new forms of media such as Flash, Dreamweaver and Photoshop. I think we grew up with home PCs, the Internet, Instant Messenger and Napster and therefore the older generation thinks we are the children of Bill Gates. In reality, a new software program will always be a new software program. I think our class is a little overwhelmed with the sudden learning curve.
Having said all of that, I don't think there is any reason to feel we will not succeed in this line of work. There maybe a new learning curve, but we cannot forget we are in college to learn. I think we should just enjoy the fact that our University is one of the few that will let us touch this new technology before our first potential employer ever asks us if we've touched a program like Dreamweaver in a job interview.
It is interesting that the younger generation is a little overwhelmed with these new forms of media such as Flash, Dreamweaver and Photoshop. I think we grew up with home PCs, the Internet, Instant Messenger and Napster and therefore the older generation thinks we are the children of Bill Gates. In reality, a new software program will always be a new software program. I think our class is a little overwhelmed with the sudden learning curve.
Having said all of that, I don't think there is any reason to feel we will not succeed in this line of work. There maybe a new learning curve, but we cannot forget we are in college to learn. I think we should just enjoy the fact that our University is one of the few that will let us touch this new technology before our first potential employer ever asks us if we've touched a program like Dreamweaver in a job interview.
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