Busybee33 signing off

Thanks for reading my blog, it's been an interesting journey.

I look forward to having a few weeks off before undertaking the next unit in the quest to complete my degree!

cheers,
Beth

Week 13 - global voices online

What an interesting blog, the Globalvoicesonline.org one is.

For anyone out there who is passionate about blogging or citizen journalism, this site boasts all that and more.

There are so many events and issues that constitute news around the world however, many of the stories on this site are not picked up by mainstream media.

The sites aim is to 'shine a light on places and people other media often ignore'.

By continuing to focus on stories that affect real people or issues that readers are genuinely interested in, the global voices online site will always have an audience.

I find it amazing that during the US Presidential Election campaign, the major headlines that make the news are quite trivial - at least to me.

Thank heavens for sites like GlobalVoicesOnline.org, which posts articles that actually mean something.

An example of this is a story about John McCain that might affect some Americans' decision to vote.

An interesting post about McCain meeting with a known Chilean dictator a few years ago might strike a chord with some undecided voters.

It appears that he has recently criticised those who would meet with any dictator without pre-conditions, when in fact he himself did exactly that a few years ago as a US Congressman.

This information actually relates to the campaign and is worth reading.

Whereas certain sections of the media waste time discussing Sarah Palin's pregnant, teenage daughter or her designer clothes, the focus is not on the real life issues that are affecting people today.

When you want to know what is really happening around our world, take a look at globalvoicesonline.org.

Week 12 - buzzmachine

When looking at Jeff Jarvis' 'Buzzmachine' blog, I instantly felt a sense of relief.

I guess you'd call it relief because it was a blog that I could relate to straight away

The language was conversational and easy to understand, and the balance of images and text is easy on the eye when looking through his posts.

The posts are not too long that I lose interest, but not too short that there isn't enough information in each one.

I agree with many of the other students in ALJ301 when they say that short blogs that make a point are what keeps people coming back to read the blog again.

To me, Jeff's posts are fascinating and display just the right amount of wit and attitude.

I've never met Jeff, but I feel like when I read his blog, he's having a conversation with me, and more importantly, I understand what he's trying to tell me.

I feel like he's taking me on journey through his journalism career, and I am along for the ride.

I enjoyed his video on the shortcomings of internet penetration and speed in the USA.

It was brief (30 seconds) and to the point; just enough time to get his message across and not bore anyone who is watching.

I also really enjoyed his post about visiting Germany and the thrill of seeing his famous quote 'What Would Google Do? (WWGD), up in large print for all to see.


When looking at some other industry blogs such as www.journalism.co.uk and STOMP I feel overwhelmed.

There is too much to look at and click on, I don't know where to start.

On the UK journalism site, there is an overload of information on the front page, with too many choices of where to go next.

Together with flashing images or logos, as seen on the STOMP site - whether they be advertising or not, they don't encourage me to stick around and read.

I'm sure others would disagree with my thoughts about these two sites, but that's the beauty of blogs, you can express your own opinion freely.

I agree with Jeff when he says he likes the blogosphere so much because it allows him to talk with people whose opinions don't align with his views.

So here in this blog, I can give my opinion, or share my point of view and know that anyone who reads it, can agree or disagree, and then move on.

Week 11 - 'Innovations in newspapers'

Just when I thought I'd seen enough blogs for a while, I took a look at Juan Antonio Giner's blog 'Innovations in Newspapers'.



This blog offers intelligent and insightful opinions on various topics from China's preparation for the Olympic Games to the US Presidential Election.

The first thing that struck me about Giner's blog was the writing style in each post.

It is exactly as the lecturer suggested the writing style in a blog should be, when I asked for feedback on my own blog.

Each sentence is started in a new paragraph, which makes it easy to write and very easy to read.
Another aspect of Giner's blog I was intrigued by was the archives section, which starts in June 2005.

I was under the impression that blogging was a relatively recent activity however Giner has been blogging for over three years.

This makes me think I have had my head in the sand as far as being aware of certain aspects of multi-media journalism.

At least I am on the right track now adding posts in my very own blog!

One of Giner's earliest posts showed his thoughts on the future of news...

'THE FUTURE OF NEWS IS…BIGGER, GLOBAL, ACCESSIBLE ANY TIME, ANY PLACE,THROUGH ANY DEVICE, TRANSPARENT, PARTICIPATORY: A CONVERSATION, NOT A LECTURE. EDITED FOR MORE, NOT LESS. FUNDED THROUGH A VARIETY OF SERVICES AND ACCESS POINTS. RELIANT ON SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP. AUTHENTIC. TRUST IS THE NEW TRUST.

AND THE FUTURE OF NEWSPAPERS IS …SMALLER IN STAFF, FORMAT, INFLUENCE,ATTENTION, PROFITS [...]'

Giner was thinking ahead when he put this in his blog back in 2005, as this summarises much of what we have learnt in 2008.

Response to week 10 'Who found my mojo'.

I love the fact that as this unit has progressed, so have the different tools used for journalism that we have looked at.

Until recently, I wasn't aware that mojo's existed to the degree that they do. In many countries they are growing in numbers and may soon be commonplace in place of the traditional journalist.

I understand that technological improvements in the mobile phone are ever-evolving; however I didn't think that they would be good enough to be used solely for reporting or broadcasting a news story.

If I were mobile journalist, I would be more than happy travelling around with just a mobile phone in my pocket, knowing I had the only tool I needed to report and broadcast breaking news.

It makes sense that the more simplified the tools are to use, the easier it will be for journalists to capture a story as it happens and then get it back to their news desk immediately.

As a journalist, the ability to multi-task is crucial.

The ability to record an interview and commentary on a mobile phone and then transmit it back to the news desk for broadcasting without the use of others such as a cameraman, alleviates the use for multiple persons to be dispatched to a potential story.

And for the bosses in the office, this would equate to a cheaper way to run the business.

Response to week 9 'Five videoblogs that do it right.'

I really enjoyed the reading on video bloggers or vloggers, as it was a simple and interesting introduction into the world of video blogs.

The videos that were mentioned in the story were quite varied, but it gave me a good taste of what is out there.

I always thought that Youtube was video blogging, however I can now see the difference in quality between the more amateur vlogs on Youtube compared with the likes of 'Alive in Bahgdad'.

In my experience, video bloggers use video as a new way to vent, or rant, or simply give their opinion on something.

However with the examples given in the reading, I can see how vlogging can be used as a more interactive reporting tool.

I really enjoyed the video on the fuel crisis in Bahgdad as I wouldn't normally see something like that broadcast.

It gave a different view of what is going on over there, other than the images of war that I see on the news.

Similarly the Rocketboom video gave me an insight into some of the issues in the world that I didn't have any clue about.

So, in the interest of trying new things, here is my own vlog in which I tried to think of something interesting or inspiring to say, but ended up with a late night blurb!

Response to week 8 reading 'STOMP'

I was under the assumption that Singapore was in touch with the modern world when it came to the media and it appears they are recognised for their journalism.

However I must admit to being amazed that the Straits Times online, multimedia and print (STOMP) site has so many hits as it's not what I would look at.

My initial reaction to the website was that it looked like one of those nasty advertising pop-ups you sometimes get when surfing the net, and they just keep on annoying you over and over again (to scared to provide a link in this post!)

I found that the loud colours, font style and animation on the site resembled an adult content site, almost pornographic.

There is so much going on; you don't know where to look.

I'm certainly no prude, but the site didn't look like something I would look at and decide to read on.

When browsing the site, I was stunned that stories like 'Who's got the nicest bum in Singapore' would be what readers think is important news.

To me it screamed bad taste.

Then there was the story about a commuter who refused to give up her seat on the train for a pregnant woman.

In Australia, these types of stories are usually seen on programs like Today Tonight and A Current Affair which are under the delusion that they are providing quality journalism.

In the case of STOMP, I would have to place it in the same category as these 'pretend' current affairs shows.

It might be their idea of journalism, but to most intelligent people, it's almost comic.