The News About The News

The Searsboro Flash: Zach James

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Hello, everyone. I am Zach James, and I am a sophomore at Simpson. My majors are Integrated Marketing Communications and Sports Administration. I am also one of three very hard-working student assistant coaches with the men's basketball program. My passion for media is very deep as well as my love for sports.

I also have another blog which I started during my senior year of high school at Montezuma, named Running Off the Print, which you can also find here on Blogger. I realize it hasn't been updated recently, but that is soon to change!

My nickname, if you are wondering, is from an old friend who admired me for participating in cross country.

Tablets: A Successful Journalism Tool?

All the rage these days are new tablet devices such as the Apple iPad. However, are these devices helping increase communication? In some ways, no. So far at least.

An article found on TechDirt talks about some of the problems that still persisit with the iPad and other tablet devices. One of these issues is that they are geared mostly towards one-way communication. This, obviously, can be problematic for budding journalists. If a journalist is unable to make his or her work available to consumers, their input will never be heard.

Lack of a keyboard is also a problem with tablet devices. Anyone with experience with a touch screen knows that it is not easy to type using a touch screen keypad. They are prone to errors and accidental misspelling.

Another problem with the iPad specifically? The lack of Flash capabilities. Many websites have pictures or videos that are only accessible if you have Flash. With the iPad, a user is unable to view these. However, this is a problem specific to the iPad.

Do any of you have an iPad or other tablet device? Have any of you ever used one? Do any of you want one?

Photocredit: Glenn Fleishman, Wikimedia, Creativecommons.com

Smart Phones Susceptible

Technology Review has a new article showing just how careful smart phone users need to be in the future.

The smart phone is quickly becoming an indispensable journalism tool that allows thousands of journalists to do things ranging from rapidly communicating with one another to recording video or audio for stories. But like knives, saws or hammers, tools can also end up harming those who use them.

The problem lies in how new the phone technology is in a general sense. Serious, wide-spread security issues have never been that large of a problem before. This, coupled with the technology's growing popularity, is creating interest in the hacking/spamming/malware community. While the phones do have quite a few built-in defenses, a stray app or two can be all that is needed to open up the floodgates to infection.

If the phone becomes infected one of the prevalent fears is that it will become part of a botnet, a group of devices working together to spread spam and other malicious activity by receiving instructions from a central location and obeying them like a "zombie," the user completely unaware. Since this infection leaves very few clues about its presence it can be a costly problem for many people who use their phones for secure activity (i.e. bank transfers). Imagine the problems a journalist might face if a contact list of confidential sources is leaked to the public or put on the Internet for any to see.

Unfortunately, with shiny new tools come important responsibilities. Users of these technologies need to be aware, be safe and be smart about what they do with their wireless devices. At this stage of the Technological Age "I didn't know" can no longer fly.

Photo credit: Creative Commons

Journalsim Doesn't Have An Age Limit

In an article posted on Yahoo!News it was revealed that 90 year old Helen Thomas has decided to come out of her retirement which began in June of 2010 after some comments she made about Israel. She was formerly with Hearst newspapers but will now have a weekly column focusing on politics. Ms. Thomas' new employer is the Falls Church News Press, located in Virgina.What I find truly remarkable is that Ms. Thomas is still working even though she is at an age when a large number of people are confined to wheelchairs and are in assisted living facilities. Instead she is getting her voice out there, letting people know what her opinion is, and is trying to make a difference in the world. In my opinion dedicated journalists are hard to find.

Then and Now

Black and White Photo:Marion S. Trikosko

Color Photo: Official White House Photostream

Countdown to the "IPcalypse"

It's said to happen on February 2 around 4 a.m. The Internet is scheduled to run out of current IP addresses. So what exactly does that mean for you?

Basically, your IP address is your way to use the Internet and every device you use. Whether it's a smart phone or computer, it gets a unique code called an IP address. You don't get the same address every time you use the Internet, but pretty soon you may not get any at all.

Today we use a system called the Internet Protocol version 4 (or IPv4) to give out those codes and there are about 4 billion to give out worldwide. That probably sounded like plenty back when this standard was introduced in 1981, but it was hard to foresee a computer in every home along with extra devices using the Internet.

Now, when we do run out of IP addresses, it won't mean the internet is over, so don't panic quite yet. We have guardian angels that foresaw this dilemma long before we did and created a system called IPv6.

The difference with this system is, instead of using just numbers, it will include letters in the code, making it a much bigger source for IP addresses.

Ideally, when we switch to this new system, people won't see or notice a thing. The only real problem that could happen in the days of "IPcalypse" is if enough networks don't move in a timely fashion. In this case, some people would literally see nothing because of their inability to connect to the Internet.

So I'm glad we had people to see this coming way before the deadline because, what if we weren't prepared in some way? Because of the fact that the Internet has become such a huge part of most people's lives and in some cases the internet is their life, I can only imagine their panic, anger, and inability to really live their lives.

So, as epic as the "IPcalypse" may sound, don't get too worked up about the transition because it will slip by around 4 a.m. on February 2 while you dream .

How much is too much?

Social Media has been on the rise and is continuing to do so as technological advances keep occurring. Americans are wondering if these advances are setting new extremes for the safety of their lives and their children. Many Americans believe that the new technology should be viewed as a positive outcome for the economy. Tasks are able to be done quicker and at a more consistent rate. With this increased amount of technology the use of workers is slowly decreasing. Why hire a worker if there is a electronic gadget to do the work at half the price? With these new advancements many people are losing their jobs because they are not needed in the media and journalism industry. What happens when the technology source crashes? We still need reliable workers to make sure that the job is going to be done and done on time. If there was an electric outage and the media world was not prepared then the news would not get delivered on time and many people would be upset.

One new gadget that was added most recently is the invention of the Apple iPhone. These gadgets help individuals stay up on the most current news just from the touch of their finger. Whats cooler than that is the invention of the ipad. This handheld electronic allows total access to the web 24/7, with a monthly fee of course. Consumers are able to view the news from the touch of a button. These electric advances are very exciting to American consumers. My warning is, don't let technology consume you, pick up a hard copy newspaper from time to time. Appreciate the work of those who created it.

photo credit: Jason Kottke, creativecommons.org

Katie Buchholz 101

Hey! My name is Katie Buchholz. I am a Communications major and possibly a minor in Art History here at Simpson College. I am involved in theater, intramurals, PLC, and a Bible reading group. Around campus I am known as K-Fresh, so don't get confused! I grew up in a small town about 45 minutes from Indianola. In my day to day life I love to be goofy and spontaneous. I always try to see the bright side of things, and I am open for anything new. My roommate is my college best friend and you might see us playing video games in the Barker basement or singing our hearts out to Britney Spears in our room.

I look forward to writing a blog weekly and reading each others blogs!

Could You Live without Your Newspapers?

Do you miss the newspaper boys on the sidewalks yelling the news ? Back in the time people know that to keep on track with the news they had to read the papers and nothing else. The newspapers were accesible to all given their price and number of outlets.

Certainly nothing has changed on the side of the newspaper industry but the emergence of the Internet has facilitated the accession to the news and made them virtually obsolete in their printed form.

It is not a news that the Internet is softly killing the newspapers but could we live without our local newspapers? A study by the Pew Research Center states that 31% of American cite the newspapers as their main source of national and international news (from 34% in 2007). This reflects both the growth of the Internet and the gradual decline of the newspaper readership. In 2010, more than 100 newspaper companies closed because they were not economically viable.

However, people still think that losing their local newspaper would hurt the civic life in their community and that they would personally miss reading the local newpaper a lot if it were no longer available. So, we could have the dream that the newspapers will stay forever because people care about their local news and they like to sit down and read the newspapers.

Photo credit: The Pew Research Center, CreativeCommons.org

The Importance to Blogging

Monday, January 24, 2011

Today every journalism student is said to need a blog in order to become a successful future journalist.

Many people blog all over the world for many different reasons. Some blog in attempts to become famous, while other people may do so in order to receive that A they want in class. No matter the reason all blogs are reaching a common goal, spreading information. This spreading of information is the main focus of journalism today.

At Simpson College there are professors that require their students to either be apart of a blog, or even create their own, such as professor Brian Steffen who uses blogger.com for The News About The News in his Communications 201 class. Why do professors do this? The blog prepares students for their future careers, and it is suggested by many professional journalists that journalism students create their own blog, such as Drake Snyder from the Drake School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

Being apart of a blog is beneficial to future journalists in many ways, and it's essential for their future career. This skill teaches them how to write professional stories, and allows them to learn how to spread news professionally. These two aspects of blogging is exactly what will be expected of journalists by their editors; giving them a step up in the hierarchy of journalism when they start to interview for a journalism position. When an editor is able to look at a future prospect's work in action, you can bet that that prospect will have an advantage with his work being previously posted.

Setting up a blog account is easy, so why not set up an account today, and get started on your future career as a journalist? Blogging is beneficial and essential for the future journalist. The sooner you become apart of a blog the better.

Photo Credit: LuMaxArt, Flicker

Online- Useful or Deadly?

Social networks are a great way to find old friends and make new ones. Launched in February 2004, Facebook became a popular site for students to keep in contacts with relatives, classmates, and co-workers. However, recently the question arises: Just what exactly are we using social networks for today?

Fortunately, social networks can be used positively by communicating with others and promoting business . Many journalists have created MySpace , Facebook, and Twitter pages to build readers, receive feedback from others on their work, and find good top stories from posts of other readers.

One major problem people face with social networking is cyber bullying. The reason cyber bullying is so much easier and harmful is because people are more willing to say something behind the screen of a computer than they would to a person's face. There have been stories reported in the news about teens taking their own life because of cruel posts found online.

The second, possibly most serious problem we are facing is unwanted people finding us online. Many people in this world known as "creepers" or "predators" use online as a tool to hunt down victims for sexual or abusive purposes. Many of us think of these people as being old men that live alone searching for young girls, but just exactly how young are these people that are using online as a way to harm others?

The most recent story in the news that caught my eye involves a 14 year old boy who used online to successfully kill a 13 year old girl. The two had been using Facebook as a way to get to know each other and eventually decided to meet up for a date. Later, the boy brought the girl to his home, attempted rape and failed. However, the girl was found later that weekend naked near a bus stop, strangled to death. Many times we say situations like this could never occur in our own life. However, we need to understand the world today has turned brutal, scary, and unsafe.

It's a shame to think there are people using online as a tool for criminal purposes. However, not all users are bad. Many journalists have found with the switch of mass media converting from newspaper to reading material online that using social network is an essential tool in the success of promoting journalism.

What can we do to protect ourselves from something like this happening to us? There are several steps that can be taken to protecting online life of yourself and those around you. Start now by spreading the news to family, friends, and classmates so you know you are doing the best you can to protect others. Keeping online clean will help journalists today be able to expand the growth of their business, both behind and away from the computer.

Photo Credit: Safe in YourSpace

From 9/11 to Pearl Project

In Washington, a journalistic investigation funded by an Oklahoma City foundation concluded a link between the terroristic acts of 9/11 and the 2002 kidnapping of the late Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.

After a much awaited three years of research, Georgetown University students have finally come to a verdict of the killer of Daniel Pearl. al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Mohammed confessed to murdering Pearl almost nine years ago in Pakistan. The reason his story is so significant is because they broadcasted his beheading to the entire United States.

They identified Mohammed as the man behind the knife while looking back at the actual murder video and comparing veins on both hands of the unknown killer and that of Mohammed's.

Along with this horrendous act, Mohammed is also known as the man who helped plan the attacks of 9/11. He currently is being held at Guantanamo Bay, but has not currently been charged for the murder of Pearl.

I for one am happy to know that the man that has affected thousands of American lives has been caught and put away. It's amazing how people would go to so much trouble and effort to bring pain upon others.

Photo Credit: U.S. Forces, Creative Commons.

The Issues Behind Printed Issues

As newspapers become less popular, news readers are going to other sources to find out information.

Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Times of London, was one of the first people to enforce paywalls for his newspaper. Unfortunately, it was unsuccessful. Originally The Times had 150,000 registrations online. After applying the paywall over 120,000 people were unwilling to pay the paywall fee.

People aren't willing to pay for news that they can find elsewhere for free. With social media taking over people go to Twitter and Facebook to get their news fix. Tablets are also becoming more popular and with these tablets are applications that provide free news.

Also, because newspapers are printed at the same time on a regular basis, other news sources are able to get the news out quicker. Twitter is able to post breaking news immediately along with Facebook and iPad apps.

Let's face it, newspapers are going to become extinct in the next ten years. IPad apps, Facebook, and Twitter are taking over the news industry with their free information.

Photo Credit: Dorothy Parker, Loon Pond

SKIN

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

I sat down last night with my roommates to watch a new tv show called SKIN. If you like obscenities, and nudity its a show for you. I can't believe what type of shows the world is creating these days. I don't believe the word shy should be incorporated into Websters dictionary anymore, along with modest. People just shout out what they feel and also have no respect for their elders. How can one be so disrespectful?

Morgan Abel, Now Blogging Weekly

Monday, January 17, 2011

My name is Morgan Abel and I am a senior at Simpson College in Indianola Iowa. I am a native to the Midwest and have spent the majority of my life in Iowa. I am very passionate about traveling and have taken the opportunity to travel abroad through Simpson College.

Jeremy Dubois French Student's Blogger

My name is Jeremy Dubois. I am 23 years-old, I am french and I am currently a journalism student at Simpson College, Iowa. I am interested in sports, especially soccer, movies and world news.

Nicole Dillenburg's First Blog

My name is Nicole Dillenburg and I am a junior at Simpson College. I am double majoring in Sports Administration and Integrated Marketing Communications.

Amanda Hintgen's First Blog for BNR

I am Amanda Hintgen and I am a freshmen at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. I graduated from Maquoketa High School in 2010. I am currently enrolled in Beginning News Writing and Reporting.

Erin Gerken's Introduction to Blogger

Hello, my name is Erin Gerken. I am currently a second semester freshmen at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa. I am a member of the swim team, and I also participate in the Campus Activity Board, or CAB. I graduated from Cedar Rapids Prairie High School in 2010. This blog is being created for my Beginning News Writing and Reporting class.

April Sigmund from Stanhope, IA.

My name is April Sigmund and I am a sophomore here at Simpson. I am currently undecided on a major and participate in the Simpson track team. I enjoy reading and watching movies with friends in my free time.

Tierney Israel, Blogger Extraordinaire

I've been blogging for several years. My name is Tierney Israel. I'm an English major at Simpson College and I want to be a professional writer. I love writing and I've been doing it for fun since I learned how in Kindergarten. It's my passion and hopefully soon, it will be my career.

Maddie Boswell on Blogger.com

Hi! My name is Maddie Boswell and I am from Humboldt, IA. I am currently a freshman at Simpson College majoring in Integrated Marketing Communications with a creative concentration and minoring in music and art. I am involved with women's choral, Starving Artists Club, RLC, yearbook, and I am a proud member of Pi Beta Phi! In my free time I enjoy playing eight different instruments/singing, photography, traveling, and spending time with my friends

BNR Urging Students to be Media Savvy

My name is Katie Schober and I'm finishing up my English degree at Simpson College. I am from central Iowa, and have a brother who attends the University of Iowa. We share a love of music and art passed down by our dad, and an affinity for great cooking encouraged by our mother. My boyfriend Grant and I have a dog named Roswell, a cat named Maxine, and a hamster named Higgins.

Charlie Sandvick, New Blogger

The name is Charlie Sandvick. I'm currently a sophomore at Simpson College majoring in IMC-Creative with a small side of Multimedia Journalism. I'm from a small town you've probably never heard of called Marengo, IA. When I left the population dropped severely. I'm on the softball team here at college. You can find me in the outfield. I like to hang out with my friends, participate in sports, watch football, and cheer on the Mizzou Tigers :)

Kelsey Hagelberg's First Blog

Hello there, my name is Kelsey Hagelberg. I am an Integrated Marketing major at Simpson College. I enjoy outdoor activities, reading books, and meeting new people. My favorite time of year is when I can wear tank tops and flip-flops.

Biographical Information

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

My name is Theresia Kopper. I am a Fulbright Language Teaching Assistant (FLTA German) at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa. My home country is Austria. I like languages, music and sports.

A New Member Arrives

Hi, my name is Owen David Douglas Talley III. Long enough? A simpler version of my name is David Talley. I major in communications at the world renown Simpson College. I'm currently in Brian Steffen's class learning how to write an effective blog and although I don't feel like I'm doing this right I'm "Going out swinging" like Michael Vick said in his post game news conference a couple days ago.

A Little About Me

My name is Kimberly Kurimski and I attend Simpson College. I am a freshman this year, and I am studying communications. I am one of five siblings from Albia, Iowa. I am in the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma here on campus. Once I graduate from Simpson I plan on working somewhere in Des Moines, Iowa.

Me, Myself, and I

My name is Tess Myer and I hail from the small southwest town of Mt. Ayr, Iowa, a town so small there were basically five things to do: go to school, sports, hang out with friends, spend time with your family, and drive to the city for something to do. That is why I am now enrolled at Simpson College. A school that's not to big, but not as small as home. Here I am majoring in English, and minoring in Secondary Education. I also play on the Simpson Women's Basketball team where I play both a little bit of the shooting guard position, and primarily the off guard position.

Me In A Nutshell

My name is Morgan Fleener. I am a freshman at Simpson College studying Communications and Integrated Marketing. I am a student ambassador and a member of SOS (Storm Overnight Squad). I am also a member of the cross country team. I enjoy spending time with people, working out, fishing, camping, showing sheep, and summertime. I have an older brother who studies at UNI and a younger brother that is in sixth grade at North Mahaska Elementary.

Flashy and Attention-Grabbing Headline

My name is Ben Lucas, and I am a native Iowan majoring in Multimedia Journalism at Simpson College. I hope to work in one of the various media fields while fervently attempting to get published as a novelist in the future. After graduating from Simpson I plan to attend the the University of Iowa's Writers' Workshop and focus on my growth as a writer.

Sympathy for the Betrayed in Politics

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

Elizabeth Edwards, the estranged wife of Sen. John Edwards due to his affair with his former videographer, died today after a lengthy battle with breast cancer.

An article on CNN.com was written shortly after her death telling a story of her life, including the time when she struggled with her husband's affair which led to the birth of a son by her husband with another woman.

Though her story is tragic, and her character was well known and well loved on the political scene, I can only wonder if I would have the same feelings reading this article if she had not been one of the many 'betrayed wives of politics'.

If she had just been any other wife to a senator who had lost a presidential campaign, would we, the public, recognize her as the moral hero that we do?

She was betrayed by someone in our public eye...someone who was hoping to lead our country.

The affair led to the couple's separation leaving the reader to feel even more sympathy for her at her death--she not only had to struggle through a long battle with cancer without her husband, but she had to die without him as well.

Elizabeth was certainly the one who came out "smelling like a rose" (so to speak) through all of this, and yet she is the one who is now lost.

We not only have sympathy for her at her death after her long fight with cancer, but we also have the added layer of sympathy for her after she was betrayed.

Rest in Peace, Elizabeth Edwards. I certainly hope that John realizes now, more than ever, how much you should, and will, be missed.

New Facebook design emphasizes photos

Facebook experienced a huge overhaul earlier this week giving user's pages a significant new look.

I had no idea that Facebook was coming out with the new design until I watched the 60 Minutes episode on December 5, the night of the transition. Facebook found that it's users greatly enjoy photos and the new design put a focus on photos.

Facebook has undergone mild to moderate changes in the past, but this most resent upgrade was quite substantial. I've seen frustration with users using the new Facebook and during slight changes as well. I think the main reason why users get frustrated is simply because it is different from what they are accustomed to. Examples of changes in years past are the inclusion of "Top News" and "Recent Activity" along with "Friendship pages" and the use of geolocation.

This newest upgrade goes all out in making profiles loaded with photos. User photos are significantly larger in the new design and are shifted horizontally in a row where the "Wall" and "Info" tabs once were. Don't be frightened, because you can still find those tabs underneath the person's profile picture. Right above the row of photos is where you'll see the user's information, as in their birthday, and where they reside for example.

The "Send message" and "Poke" buttons have also found a new home located on the upper right hand corner of the top of the page. Also new, is a list of ten friends streaming down the left side of the page.

Overall, I am definitely pleased with the update, I find it convenient and have not gotten frustrated at all. I really enjoy being able to take photos and video from my web cam and having it posted right then and there.

If you are unsure if you want the upgrade be sure to take a glance at the pages of your friends that have already converted, because there is no turning back.

Internships before entry-level jobs

As students we're all anxious to get out there in the world and get our first "real job".

However, according to a CNN article it's not that simple anymore. It's hard to even get that entry level job.

These days most students aren't graduating and going straight to that first job. Instead they are getting internships.

Surprising? I know. During the low point in our economy companies would only come to college looking to fill internships, not jobs.

Then when you graduate it's almost impossible for some to get a job. The entry-level job market is super competitive with fewer jobs and the same amount of graduates each year.

Back when our parents were all in college an internship wasn't a must like it is now. Now-a-days internships are the first time that students enter the work field.

So, if you can't get a job right away don't fear there are other things you can do to stay active. First off network, network, network! Sometimes it's not what you know but who you know.

While networking you should be doing something to keep active. Get a temporary job to pay the bills while you look. Also it's smart to get internships.

All of this shows that it's better to be actively working towards that entry level job than sitting at home complaining to your parents.

If you think internships are a joke, you're wrong! It's very important to think hard about which internship to choose that will help in your future careers.

Remember, quality over quality. It won't matter if you get fifteen internships but it will matter if you get a few good internships.

Internships and job shadowing are both helpful in that they let you see what it is actually like. Through these experiences one can learn what they like to do and what they hate to do.

Make sure you're showing your future employers your skills in a way that will make them want to hire you.

And if all else fails you can start a blog about not getting a real job like the three ladies who started The Eternal Intern. It's actually quite interesting.

Make an Impression in your Interview

Journalism and communications majors are increasing becoming a popular academic choice for undergraduate students in college campuses across the nation. According to The Princeton Review, communications studies sits at number eight out of the top 10 college majors with the best opportunities to succeed. That being said, a number of young journalists seek to enter the professional world of journalism fresh out of college, ready to embark on their career-adventure.

With the job market competition rising in nearly every field, student will have to work extra hard to stand out to potential employers.

In addition to having an impressive resume and an online/social media awareness and presence, students need to posses a variety of skills in video, broadcasting/sound, strong writing, photography and design.

But most importantly, a student looking for a job in journalism needs to have the interpersonal qualities and personality that will help them stand out in an interview.

Sometimes, employers get blessed with having a multitude of qualified candidates to choose from for an opening position. If that's the case, it may only take a minor infraction to get dismissed from a job opportunity. It may come down to likeability or how well you answer questions...even how you dress could make or break landing that first job in journalism.

So here's five simple things to keep in mind going in to your first interview as a student journalist:

1. Dress for success - It may sound corny, but it's true. Dress like you want to be taken seriously. No jeans. No tennis shoes. If you want to be a professional, you've got to start acting like one. It shows confidence, and that's an attractive quality in a young candidate.

2. Do your homework - Know the company you are applying to work for. It shows your potential employers that you're on top of your game and that you care about this job offer. Find out as much as you can, through a website or word of mouth, and ask questions about anything you don't know.

3. Ask questions - People in the journalism field are by nature, curious. If you ask questions, it shows that you're someone who wants the job, and ultimately is the job. Journalists focus their lives on finding the story in everything, so why not start in your first interview?

4. Show them what you have to offer - As mentioned previously, journalists need to have a pretty large skill set in their tool box in order to cut it in the profession. But if you're really talented in one area/medium, prove it. Put together a strong portfolio of your work to highlight your talents and make that the emphasis in your interview. You never know what employers are looking for, and you might have something unique to offer over the other candidates.

5. Bring the right attitude - There's a fine line between confidence and cocky. Don't assume you've got an interview in the bag. Confidence is a large part of the interview, but so is likeability and positive personality traits. Those are things that are going to make people want to work with you, which will ultimately enhance your credibility and reputation as a journalist.

A strong skill set and sense of awareness can compliment a good resume and work history...but nothing can make or break a job opportunity like an interview. With these ideas in mind, go into your next interview for a job in journalism, or any field, knowing that you did everything that you could to present yourself as the best possible candidate.

PostPost Facebook Newspaper

PostPost is a recent launch by a company called Tiger Logic. It is through Facebook. The article I readcalls it a real-time " social newspaper." What does it consist of?

The PostPost consists of videos, photos, and links that you create on Facebook and share with your friends. Which becomes a news source when talking about social media.

PostPost takes your news feed and makes it look like an actual news paper site. There is different videos to click on and displays the different events people are participating in. It does not look like your news feed on Facebook. I would say it looks more professional.

It also, shows the recent pages you have liked towards the top of PostPost.
This site makes it easier for users to switch from different sections like from photos to videos. Whatever they are wanting to view at the time.

PostPost is said to be along the same lines as Pulse which is a mobile app and Flipboard which is used on the iPad. The difference between these is that PostPost is accessed on the web browser.

This video below introduces PostPost.

No this is not an "actual newspaper" with the news of politics and the articles you commonly read in a daily newspaper. Unless these are the types of videos and links you and your friends are talking about.

I see it more as the links and videos you view as news and want to s hare with your friends. Such as the fight at the NBA game or what the new style is for the week. These may be in news papers, but not as likely main topics.

This is like a newspaper that can relate to what you like to read and hear about while sharing with your friends.

I don't know everything about the new application to Facebook so I may be taking it the wrong way, but it is the understanding I have received from the article and the YouTube video.

Overall I feel it is a great addition to Facebook and will be a fun and different way of sharing social media throughout you and your friends.

Inadequate Journalism Needs WikiLeaks

After the release of 250,000 diplomatic documents on Nov. 28 and the commotion generated in the media by WikiLeaks, Julian Assange has exposed the need to improve journalism.

James Moore, writer for the Huffington Post, explained in his article the reason why he denies the fact that Assanges' "leaks" and "incorrectness" generated the governmental outrage seen throughout the media.

"There is a very simple reason WikiLeaks has sent a furious storm of outrage across the globe: the public is uninformed because of inadequate journalism," Moore said.

By inadequate journalism, Moore refers to the lack of details on government news reports, the lack of objectivity in the newsroom and the lack of coverage on international matters; all contributing to the delay of information for people who often ask themselves "how did such messes end up being such messes?".

"If journalism were functioning at appropriate levels, there would have been stories that contained information leaked in the cables now published around the globe," Moore said.

Moore argues that journalism will soon become even more endangered, thus, he believes WikiLeaks has the potential to become the source of information capable of inquiring upon secret government endeavors and challenging government pressure.

This is certainly an important moment for journalism as many oppose WikiLeaks' actions, while others strongly support its objectives.

If WikiLeaks had not been created and all the leaked documents and videos had been given directly to news organizations, it would be interesting to know how many of them would actually accept or reject to publish such controversial documents.

As a mere opinion, I really don't think the New York Times, the Guardian, or any other well-known news organization would like to face the same issues Wikileaks is facing.

Wikileaks will remain on Facebook

Monday, December 6, 2010

As Wikileaks abides by the rules, Facebook continues to allow theWikileaks fan page to exist on

the dominant social media site.

Major sites like Amazon and PayPal denying access to the Wikileaks organization bring up the question, who's next?

Facebook will not be one of the companies following suit. "The Wikileaks Facebook fan page does not violate our content standards nor have we encountered any material posted on the page that violates our policies," which was used after in depth research by Marshall Kirkpatrick with ReadWriteWeb's.

While Facebook is keeping Wikileak's Facebook fan page intact, Twitter is not speaking about the removing or keeping Wikileaks on there social media platform. Twitter did say that they are not removing the "trending topics" from their site.

So while the criticism continues to flare about the Wikileaks controversy, the Facebook fan page continues to grow and is close to one million followers.

Facebook to Make More Changes

On Sunday, Facebook released their new design for profile pages. The new pages are designed to let users share more details, with the ability to link them to other users. These changes came about shortly after the release of Facebook's version of e-mail, in an attempt to keep up with the ever-changing social media world.

Stated in an article by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook profile pages will now include everything from where you are from to what classes you took in school to your political affiliations. By doing this, users will be able to find more people to connect with.

Users will still be able to control who sees what on their page, but it may take more tweaking. Pictures will now appear on your profile page, including your top five recent tags. People who are not allowed to see certain pictures won't be able to, and instead will see other pictures.

Starting today, anyone that wants can upgrade to the new profile pages can, and everyone will be changed early next year.

Facebook is trying to keep up with the times, and for the most part people accept the changes. Personally, I do not like these constant changes, and would like the option to stay with my current page view. It seems like by the time I get one thing figured out, they switch it again, and I have to re-learn everything.

I use Facebook for staying in touch with friends, so personally this new feature of connecting with people who have similar interests will not be of great use to me. To connect with people that way, I use Twitter and blogging.

What do you think of the new Facebook features? Will you use them, or do you prefer to keep things as they are?

iTunes Newspaper and Magazine Subscriptions Could Change Media Forever

For a long time, people have been wondering if the internet will take over print media. Now the concern is more with how print media companies are going to make money off their content when people can get the same information for free online.

With the introduction of Apple's new iPad, this question is becoming a bigger concern. People can download content instantly from anywhere, music, movies and virtually anything else.

Currently, print media companies can create their own iTunes apps and upload their content onto them to get people reading it on mobile devices like the iPad and iPhone. According to this article though, there's no real guidance for companies to do this effectively.

There's been recent talk that iTunes will be creating a "Newspaper and Magazine Stand" for the world's biggest companies to sell subscriptions from. While there are already apps such as Pulse and Zinio that provide some content, this would be like a digital news stand for all content.

This could bring about huge changes for print media companies and the way the world consumes their media. These are some changes I could see coming:

1. People would not only have instant access to information online, but using this one app the would know that they were getting credible information

2. Print media companies already have their own website, most including their daily or weekly works, but they would now also manage their app version of their content. This would include adaptions such as more embedded videos and podcasts. According to this article, many newspapers are already willing to do this.

3. It seems that currently most media companies are hesitating to charge for online subscriptions because no one else has done it yet. If iTunes created this app, everyone would upload their content on it and begin charging at the same time, so it would make the transition from print to online easier.

4. There would of course be some problems, such as companies still wanting to reach out to older generations who still prefer print versions.

I think that an official iTunes app for newspapers and magazine subscriptions is a great idea. While it would take a lot of adjusting from companies at first, this is a transition we can't avoid forever.

Checking Sources for Accuracy

In today's world of internet media it is easy to understand how a journalist can stray from a proper source. The problem is that we trust everything we read on the internet.

Why shouldn't we? Who would post something online that isn't correct?

The truth is a lot of people and as journalists it is our job to sift through all the clutter in order to report the cold hard facts.

I recently discovered two articles about this topic at cjr.org. One dealt with a reporter using an anonymous Twitter feed as a source and the other about the misuse of an online press release to cause hype about extraterrestrial life.

The story that was created based on the anonymous Twitter feed dealt with radio shock jock Howard Stern possibly moving his show to iTunes. It was posted by the Star-Ledger, a New Jersey based newspaper.

The article does note that there may be no reason to believe the claim as anyone can say anything on the social media site. This should raise a red flag right away.

Is this even newsworthy if you have to mention that it might not be in your story? The answer here is no and don't waste my time by publishing it.

As for the article dealing with the online press release about NASA finding extraterrestrial life, it shows a blatant disregard for thorough investigative technique.

NASA did release information about their findings about extraterrestrial life. However, it was not that they found life on another planet.

NASA simply released a statement saying that they were going to hold a press conference about their findings. It was independent blogger Jason Kottke that sent this spiraling out of control.

In his blog Kottke uses background information on those that participated in the press conference to create a vague and wild hypothesis.

Herein lies the point, if you have no idea about something don't start making conclusions about it.

As someone who is on a path to journalism as a career i see the importance of checking and double checking sources. It is easy to get lost in the world of online media and choosing a reliable source can become difficult.

However, it is our responsibility as journalists to seek the truth and if we do use a faulty source we have no one to blame but ourselves.

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Upstart News Agencies and the Death of Legacy Media

Sunday, December 5, 2010

As journalism continues to evolve and change with the times many people are seeing legacy media slip away into a black hole of history. One of the many reasons this is occurring is because of online for-profit upstarts.

One such news upstart is the Alaska Dispatch. In an article by David Saleh Rauf, Rauf looks at the Dispatch's continued course to profitability in today's world of journalism. The Dispatch is a nonprofit, investor backed news website that covers many stories in Alaska, and even beyond, that are hard for bigger legacy media to cover.

Because the Dispatch is a non-profit small news agency there is no chain of command to go through. Many decisions are made over dinner meetings between co-founders and editors Tony Hopfinger and Alice Rogoff. They were the ones who decided to send a reporter to cover the BP oil spill which the Dispatch received high praise for its coverage.

Its definitely a unique business model. Many of these small news agencies are springing up all over the country and it is really hurting legacy media. There is no need for these giant news corporations any more when you can assemble a group of ten seasoned reporters and have the freedom to cover what you want.

The reason this works so well is because of today's digital age. The access to online news sources is taking away from reading traditional newspapers. Its all a matter of speed and timeliness. People want their news fast and they don't have time to sift through articles that do not peak their interest.

But maybe that is a problem in itself. Personally I do not like the fact that legacy media is dying. I feel that people would be more educated to what is happening around them if all they had to read was a newspaper.

Online news sites are good for variety and speed but people should be informed about everything that is happening in the world. There are many people who just look at what sounds interesting. By doing this people may miss something that is very important.

However there is nothing that can be done to reverse this trend now. People might as well get used to what is happening because before long online media will be the norm. It is just sad that it is happening and I feel that it is bad for our society.

But I guess as much as I dislike the change, I'll just have to suck it up like the rest of us legacy media lovers and face the harsh reality. Legacy media is on life support. Now may be time to pull that plug before it gets worse.

Social-media trends with a cause

Saturday, December 4, 2010

If you've been on Facebook lately, you've probably noticed some of your friends have turned into cartoon characters, by the looks of their profile pictures.

A recent Facebook trend is bringing awareness to child abuse. Facebook users are changing their profile pictures to their favorite childhood cartoons and updating their statuses to:

"Change your FB profile picture to a cartoon from your childhood. The goal? To not see a human face on FB til Monday, Dec. 6. Join the fight against child abuse & copy & paste to your status to invite your friends to do the same"

Many other awareness trends that Facebook has facilitated include breast cancer awareness and self-harm awareness.

I think these are refreshing and important ways in which social-media can and should be used.

Social-media is designed to connect people across the world and I think it's important that these devices are being used for good causes.

Although the help these trends are actually bringing to the problems they outline is unknown, the point is that Facebook and other social-media tools are getting the word out to the masses in the best way they know how.

A trend is designed to help people find out what issues are currently being talked about.

Other trends that social-media promote are trends in discussion. Twitter is especially popular in this respect and even has a "Trends" column that can include worldwide, national or local trends.

These Twitter trends change daily in accordance to what people are talking about most.

This article by Mashable outlines which Twitter trends were most popular for any particular week.

Social-media trends have a much more important purpose than to just give people something to talk about.

Trends inform people about breaking news, connect people across the world on the basis of a single subject and break down the bureaucracy of news coverage by giving everyone a voice on important issues.

Whether trends are bringing public awareness to an important issue or informing people about something new, they are always connecting people in ways that were never thought possible just a few, short years ago.

Is Groupon Crazy?

Mashable is polling readers. They are asking if readers would have taken the money Google offered Groupon for control of its site if they had been the founders.

According to the poll, Groupon's founders denied the $5.3 billion offer Google made to take over the company.

The article references Graphic.ly COE Micah Baldwin:

"Basically, the motivation for a big exit is not longer motivated by 'how much money can I get;' it is motivated by 'what is my legacy,'" Baldwin said. "That simple shift makes their rejection of Google's $6 billion offer not that surprising."

I agree with Baldwin. Groupon is a great site that has been attracting users and has made good money.

Groupon made a good choice because:

1) it freed itself from potential harm under Google's control;

2) it brought attention to itself when it said no to Google, which might attract more users;

and, 3) I'm sure if the company ever decided to sell, there would still be an offer on the table.

Share your view on the subject by answering Mashable's poll or commenting on my blog.

Also, check out the video below showing how Groupon works. If you're like me, you will get very excited thinking about the deals Groupon may get for you.

Learn How Groupon Works! from The Point on Vimeo.

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