Comm 361-001

Chapter 1:

If you are using Firefox it is easy to clear the cache. You “select tools, then clear private data”. This  was the most useful thing I learned out of chapter one.

I have suscribed to an RSS feed on my other onmason blog but I didnt know what exactly it was. I learned in Chapter one that there are two different types of RSS readers; web-based and stand-alone. The RSS I have on my page makes looking at information so much easier.

Chapter 9:

Before reading chapter 9 I had no keyboard shortcuts on my computer. Now I have at least three and they make life so much easier. This is just one of the productive tools listed in this chapter.

This chapter made my life more organized. I now have a database with a list of things I want or need to do.  They have the internships I have looked at saved and a ranking of each. All of my contacts from my cell phone on organized on my computer now as well.

Chapter 2:

Before coming into this class I didn’t even pay attention to blogs. Now not only do  I have three of my own but I know some of the things to look at when I do look at them.

The most important line to me in Briggs’ chapter 2 is “writing a successful blog takes dedication and determination”. I just created my blogs and I find myself on them all the time. This line is key to having a blog.

When I look at blogs I know look to see if they are in reverse chronological order and check to see if they have headlines and links. Blogs with pictures and graphics stand out more to me. Colors and appearance are what draw someone into your blog.

Chapter two had the “language” of blogs and that is important to know when becoming a blogger. The words I learned were; permalink, trackback, vlog and moblog. I had no idea these were words let alone what they meant.

Chapter two says the best way to get your blog popular is to post high quality post and have effective headlines. This is important because there is no point to have a blog if someone is not reading it.

Chapter 4:

“If blogging started as an online journal, think of microblogging  as an instant messaging journal”. This was the coolest thing in the chapter to me.  Having the internet on my phone has become so convenient! Being able to post blogs through text messages is such a smart idea.

I had to create a twitter for my class last semester. I am still not to familiar with it, however, I love reading what people are doing. Twitter is a way for people to know what your doing all the time. I dont update my status that much.

Twitter is perfect for finding news. I follow a lot of news stations and their status is always being updated with breaking news. Celebrities always update their status with breaking news and so do political figures. This is why twitter is as big as it is.

After reading chapter 4 I have a better idea of twitter. Before all I knew how to do was write a status now I can include links and tag people in my post!

Chapter 5:

One of our guest speakers, Jim Iovino. Iovino is the Managing Editor at NBC4 online. He showed us a story that included video he took from his phone.

This chapter talks about how journalism has gone mobile and it is true. Their are so many advantages to having a camera phone because you always have access to having pictures and video.

A smart-phone takes the place of having to carry multiple things. Even if you aren’t at work you can takes notes, record audio, and takes film to have a story in seconds.

All of my internet accounts like email and personal websites i access most from my cell phone. Facebook and twitter have their own apps on my phone.

A journalist without a cell phone is steps behind a journalist with one!!

Chapter 6:

A picture is litteraly worth a thousand words. It doesnt take as much thought and brain power to look at a picture as it does to read. Pictures draw the reader in.

Ditigal cameras are amazing because everything is instant. I was already familiar with pixels and camera angles before the chapter because photo-journalism is what I love to do.

The one thing I really did learn out of this chapter was copyright and ownership on pictures. I save pictures from the internet all the time that i upload to my blogs and web pages. I never thought to think twice about copyrighting.

I did not know that google was protected by copyright laws.  It makes sense why it would because it will navigate people to the actual web site the photo came from.

This is an amazing chapter for someone who inst familiar with a camera or photoshop.

Chapter 3:

Crowdsourcing is information coming from different places and people. In journalism crowdsourcing is known as distributed reporting.

Open-source reporting is different because it doesnt ask for a specific piece of information is allows feedback.

Beat blogging is now huge in the US. I didnt know much about blogs yet alone beat blogs before this class. Now that I am familiar with them they are very useful. It is easy to red a blog and have feed to have the information instead of searching for it.

Crowsourcing is a very important part of the web. Wikipedia is one of the most popular information websites and most of the information comes from different people.

Chapter 10:

Making the news a conversation makes the news more fun. It is not fun to sit and read something or be lectured on something without being able to be hands on or get involved.

The nice thing about News online is it allows space for questions and conversation. There are spots for comments or contact information to email the website.

Social Networks are the best place for not only news but conversation. Most news is traveled through word of mouth and social networks allow the news to travel faster.

Chapter 11:

News websites have a lot more than just news on them. The Washington Post website has poles and interactive links.

It is easier for me to read news online than in a paper because it has a lot more to it online. The videos and pictures are a huge bonus for me.

The way a website sets up its news depends on whether i see it and read it or not. If a website can make their page appealing i am more inclined to visit it on a daily bases.