Response to week 7 reading 'Which is the best free photo gallery editor?'

There are not too many people who don't own a digital camera these days. So when someone yells 'quick! get the camera', there is nearly always one handy to capture a funny moment as it happens. I for one keep my camera in my nappy bag, because having two kids under the age of two means the nappy bag is with me at all times!

When looking at the best free photo galleries available to use, I went with Google owned Picassa. It's hard enough keeping up with all the user names and passwords I have, so for me Picassa was an easy choice as I already have Google accounts set up so there was no need to remember more passwords.

Those of you with kids will understand that being a mum, of course the only photos I have on hand are of kids and family. I was surprised by how user friendly Picassa was to upload the photos and then to embed them into the blog. Anyway, here is my first attempt.

Response to week 6 reading 'New tools for reporting.'

With all the various tools available to writers these days, it's almost impossible not to get caught up in trying to make each piece more superior than the last. And while writing for me is more like a hobby, rather than a career choice, I am slighly overwhelmed by all the tools available to help me create the perfect story.

Although I do feel slightly out of the loop, because I thought del.icio.us meant something yummy tasting and twitter is the sound a bird makes. How wrong could I be?

For me the del.icio.us concept is a new favourite friend. Now I can be anywhere in the world and find all my favourite bookmarks in the one location. In the past it's been so frustrating working on both a PC and a notebook, because I have had to save my favourite pages to both. Well, not any more. Now all my favourite bookmarks can be found in one easy place - del.icio.us!

Although I've heard the buzz word 'Podcasting' for the last few years, I've never really been interested in how it can help me in my daily life. However, as an off-campus student and part time worker, I have learnt how invaluable podcasting can be. I no longer waste two hours on the train going to work, instead I listen to the iLectures from Deakin Services Online. And if I miss my favourite radio show during the day, I can listen to it later that night or the next day if I want.

So it seems that my little writing 'hobby' has stepped up a notch, with so many more tools to help me write my next masterpiece!

Response to week 5 reading 'Ohmynews in South Korea'.

The ingenious creator of Ohmynews, Oh Yeon-ho really was thinking ahead when his idea for an online news site came to life in 2002. What a fantastic idea to create a space where stories or articles are gathered from a vast array of sources all over the world.

Oh's idea that 'every citizen is a reporter' was revolutionary and has only snowballed since then. The concept of providing a platform for any would-be journalist to display their writing talents has proven hugely successful with over 60,000 citizen reporters who provide content. The success of the site is evident with reviews that highlight its appeal.

Director of OhmyNews International, Jean Min says that the goal is to combine traditional journalism with citizen journalism. In the case of OhmyNews, the 65+ fulltime staff must be able to perform multiple roles. Reporters need to know how to edit and editors need to know how to write. It's not about just being a reporter and submitting a story and then moving onto the next one. Community journalism is unique therefore everyone needs to be multi-skilled to adapt to the medium.

While speaking at the Media 08 conference in Sydney in March this year, Jean Min discussed the success of OhmyNews and how important it is to understand your audience because at the end of the day, they are the content.

Response to week 4 reading Free! why $0.00 is the future of business.

I am an advertising company's dream...It's not as though I intentionally go out to spend money, but that is exactly what happens when I see something that screams 'free' - it just sucks me right in. And I know I'm not Robinson Crusoe there.

It could be as innocent as a cereal box at the supermarket, which says 'buy this 5 kg box of rice bubbles and you receive a 'snap, crackle, pop' children's calculator for free!' Once I've bought the box home (that will take our small family about six months to eat) I notice the small print, where I have to send $5 for postage & handling costs, so it's not really FREE after all!

Then there's the cliche I succumb to the most 'buy one get one free'. So instead of buying one top, I'll get two for the price of one. Never mind they bump the price up for the first top so you are really paying for two anyway.

My most recent visit to the supermarket found me buying 2 x 10 litre cans of olive oil because they were 50% off, meaning I was getting two for the price of one. My husband thinks I'm insane as it will take us a year to get through all the oil - ha, but look how much money I saved us!!

Just last Sunday, the Melbourne Herald Sun had a small add on the bottom of the front page declaring 'FREE PETROL'. Looking inside, the article said 'your chance to win free petrol'. But think of how many people would have seen the front page and bought the paper? The term FREE on it's own is enticing, but put the word 'petrol' with it and watch the newspapers fly out the door.

My biggest time waster at the moment is facebook. I just can't seem to tear myself away from it, searching for long lost school buddies, checking out the photos of someones new baby, it's never ending. But is it really free? I consider the fact that I'm logged into the internet for 10 hours a day not 'free'.

This obsession with facebook is costing me $79.95 per month just in internet access costs. (I know I can get cheaper broadband and that I'm getting ripped off - long story, for another time). Then there are the clever advertisements down the left hand side of the page. I'm scared to click on them, because the one and only time I did, I apparently asked someone to send me an email every week telling me how I can win a greencard to the USA. So you see, FREE doesn't really mean FREE at all. Oh, hang on, I found one example...here.

Response to week 3 reading - user-generated content

So anyone who has a mobile phone can now become a journalist?

That seems like a kick in the guts to all those students who spend years earning their Journalism degree!

I understand that with a mobile phone, 'news' or an event can be immediately accessed, but do citizen journalists actually have a clue about what the public want to see? It seems they do.

It is apparent to me that the majority of any user-generated content that is sent to news desks is during or after a major event or incident.

Or when Mother Nature reminds us she is still in charge with unusual weather events.

Some websites, including theage.com support user comments on all articles. Once a website opens up to user comments they're on the way toward citizen-journalism.

It seems that photos or video provide the most of user-generated content.

Sites such as Flickr that had the world's first photographs or the Australian Embasy bombing in Jakarta in 2004. And again in the London bombings in 2005.

It has become apparent that if one just happens to be in the vicinity of a catastrophe, then you might be an accidental journalist who can email or SMS the footage to a newsdesk.

Response to week 2 reading on Convergence

I haven't read a hard copy newspaper for months, and very rarely do I watch the news or any current affairs programs on television.

I'm on my PC nearly every day and theage.com is my home page, so I sit at the PC to have a look to see what is happening in the world each day.

This is because reading and watching takes time. Time I don't seem to have any more.

The only time I get to myself during the course of a day is an hour or so during the afternoon (when children are taking a nap) or an hour or so at night once they are asleep.

So as this precious 'me' time is exactly that - precious - I find the quickest way possible to do certain things, such as finding out that day's world events.

It's not just the mum's and dad's who have become time-poor.

I'm sure most people are in the same boat. I can see why mobile internet has become so popular. Why wait till you get home to watch the Olympics, when you can now watch it on the train ride home.

In a generation where you can pay someone to do your shopping, clean your house or book your holidays, it's easy to see why people look for the convenience factor.

However I do wonder what the affect convergence has on the older generation (I'm talking age group 65+).

The oldies I know look forward to buying the paper and sitting down to read it and do the crossword.

I know they would struggle to read an article on line, not only because they aren't computer savvy, but because their eye sight is not what it used to be!

Squinting at the screen just to try and read a few words, I think they would give up altogether if a video clip started playing.

I'm in my early thirties and I find it annoying trying to read articles that are continuously navigating to other pages on the net. If this is the way journalism is headed, how will the older folk cope with it?

As if my life wasn't hectic enough, I'm now trying to blog each week! Not sure where to start except that I quite enjoy talking, so I figure this is talking online.