Keeping Up Online

According to studies, Google+ users only visit the site three times a month for about three minutes a visit. That’s three more visits and three more minutes than I’ve spent since I signed up.

In this article from The Verge, the study notes that Facebook users visit the site up to 21 times a month and spend at least 20 minutes a visit which adds up to about seven hours a month. I thought it would be more but with 500 million users and counting I guess not not everyone is a college student trying to kill time during class. Or rewarding his or herself with two hours of wasted Internet time for writing one paragraph (curse you Reddit!).

With that said, Google+ was launched a mere eight months ago. How popular and relavent is Twitter now? It took Twitter a few years for it to be what it is now. So there is hope for Google+ despite the paltry numbers.

I actually really like what you can do with Google+. There are great features that allow you to connect to people in a way that Facebook and Twitter really don’t offer. After reading this I thought to myself maybe I should get back on that bandwagon and I was pretty overwhelmed with everything. Between the circle and the following people, it’s a little much.

I think it has more to offer than Facebook but the thing is, I already have a Facebook account. Have actively been using it for five years. All my photos are uploaded and tagged and I’m friends with everyone I want to be friends with. I know how to use it and how to navigate around it–so why bother figuring out Google+ when I already have all my social media needs to connect with people via Facebook and Twitter.

What I think Google+ needs to do is market to people to tell them WHY they should use Google+. As of right now, I feel like I have no reason to do so, I need them to convince me.

In July 2011 I went on study abroad trip for one month in Milan, Italy. During that wonderful month I visited Rome, the Italian Riviera, Turino, Venice, Pavia, and many other wonderful places.  Fellow classmate Allie Hunter went on the trip as well. A little background on the choice of music, this song became kind of the unofficial anthem of the trip–it’s “Danza Kuduro” by Don Omar. And no, he is not Italian. Anyway, here is a short slideshow, just a few of HUNDREDS of pictures that I took there.

Recently the U.S. Army has been using Pinterest to reach the masses via social media and also to appeal more to women since Pinterest is driven mostly by women. In class we talk a lot about social media, and more recently Pinterest so this article on The Verge fits in quite perfectly.

…while most that follow the military are men, the Army sees the primarily female-centric Pinterest as an opportunity to reach out to family members and spouses. Many of the Army’s pinboards reflect this intent — Army Style & Fashion, DIY & Decor, and Valentine’s Day are among those featured — but it’s not limiting its appeal strictly based on gender, with a number of the collections also focusing on what would be considered more traditional military themes. -Bryan Bishop, The Verge

I think it’s great different that the US Army is expanding their social media horizons. A more in depth article, which this Verge article is based on, can be found on the Atlantic Wire website.

“We saw that would be a way that we could potentially reach an audience that we don’t normally reach with our other platforms,” Major Juanita Chang, Director of Online and Social Media for the U.S. Army told The Atlantic Wire. “We know pinterest is highly dominated by women… A lot of people that follow the military are men because that’s the majority of the military. We want to connect and reach out to the female population and maybe the Army spouses and family members — the people who wouldn’t have any other reason to follow the military otherwise.” Major Juanita Chang, director of online and social media of the U.S. Army, via the Atlantic Wire

via The Atlantic Wire

Pinterest is a great website to look at different content of your interest and then pinning them to boards and you’re also able to share your own work (articles, videos, photographs, etc.) with other people. I’m personally overwhelmed by it but that’s for another post.

You hear time and time again that a photograph taken in the right place at the right time can tell a story that words cannot express. I think what makes images so powerful is their power to stay in your head. We’ve all read great articles and books but you don’t have a mental image of a page in your head. Photos on the other hand can stay in your head forever.

I wasn’t even born when this photo was taken and then printed as the cover of National Geographic in 1985.

But it’s still one of my favorite photos and an iconic cover/photo. I think using this as an example, a photo taken 17 years ago is a testament to how powerful photos can be.

So not anyone can take a photo that phenomenal but everyone can take a photo! In the this chapter, Briggs discusses the ins and outs of photography–how to take photos, the importance of them and some nice tips. He first goes over the difference between DSLR cameras and a nice point and shoot, which most of us probably have. When I went overseas in the summer, I bought a brand new Sony point and shoot camera and it took phenomenal pictures that had so many options and features that I never even figured out. My point is you don’t need to by a $1000 DSLR to take a good photo!

I’ve also used my phone to take great photos–my first smartphone was a Droid Incredible and it had an 8-megapixel camera in it, not bad, also what my phone has now. I don’t think phones without cameras are even made anymore so chances are if you have a mobile phone, you have a camera.

What else is really cool about most computers these days is that they come with some kind of photography program or application already installed! Look at some of the options with iPhoto:

Briggs writes a lot about editing and organizing your photos. There’s a lot you can and this is just with a free program that came with my laptop. Programs like Photoshop and Aperture are all available (but more expensive) but have endless features. And you can easily teach yourself to use them if you’re dedicated and interested enough.

Posting your photos are online are also very easy. Sites like Flickr, Kodak Gallery, Snapfish, Shutterfly and Photobucket are just a handful of photosharing websites you can post your photos to.

Briggs covers the basics in detail so this is a great chapter if you’re interested in photography as a journalist, great read!

You can’t really talk about journalism without mentioning the power of the smartphone and going mobile. In our Online Journalism class we’ve had two speakers discuss the importance of mobile journalism, from Steve Buttry and Mark Potts.

I check my Twitter every morning the same way some people read the paper every morning. Twitter is my morning paper–and I do it on my phone. Here’s a little screenshot from my own timeline on my phone. (I use Tweetbot, so worth the $3 I spent on it).

What I love about it is that I can read news from different sources and then have Simon Pegg sprinkled in the middle of it.

But mobile phones aren’t obviously just for news using Twitter. You can blog, send emails, post comments to different sites and other endless options.

Videos, as mentioned in the beginning of the chapter, are essential to all news broadcasts as it delivers so much more than still images. I can send a video straight to YouTube from my phone without ever leaving the camera app.

Even more options for a photo!

Heck, I could even finish this post on my phone if I wanted to!

And now you know that I started this blog post at 6:52 p.m. and the last screenshot was taken at nearly 11 p.m. Woops.

What blew me away a little bit was that the average of a person’s first phone was eight. EIGHT! I got my first phone for my 14th birthday and I got my first smartphone when I was 19 and I paid for it myself thank you very much.

I think chapter five can be summed up with the fact that anyone with a phone can be a journalist if they so choose to be. The opportunities are certainly there and many have taken advantage.

I took an Adobe InDesign class just yesterday to learn some new skills with the program.

I used InDesign for a few years in high school when I worked on the yearbook staffed and also took some classes a few years ago but haven’t used it since. I was really intrigued to use the program again for the first time and years and can’t believe the new features and look it had. It also helps that I was using a gigantic brand new Mac, that definitely enhanced the experienced.

After finally finding the room (I honestly think I could have found Narnia easier), we started working on an already made spread that had some content on it. Here is a screenshot from the actual spread we used:

I couldn’t help but wonder the amazing things I could have done with not only this amazing computer but this updated version, we used CS 5.5.  The one I used in high school was probably CS -100. That’s right, negative one hundred. Remind me to blog about when I used a program called Pages or something of that nature. I think they found it next to a dinosaur fossil. Moving on!

Here is another screenshot with a few of the different toolboxes we used.

The lovely instructor taught us how to create and lock layers, create different text boxes, how to fit an image into a certain shape, moving the text to fit around an image and so much more. It’s really amazing how much you can do so easily. It definitely takes time to learn all of these skills but I think once you become more experienced with InDesign, you can really create some very interesting, unique and visually appealing spreads.

One of the things that I found really cool was how a really minor change in just one detail can change the way a particular part of spread looks. We would made some small changed to the background color and that particular page become so much more appealing.

As much as we learned, we honestly didn’t even scratch the surface. We used maybe four of the 20 available options in the main toolbox.

If you would like to play around InDesign, you can download a trial version here! And you can use this tutorial to guide you!

If you absolutely love it and want to start your magazine, go ahead and buy it here for a mere $400 (I’m assuming you want the premium edition).

My next workshop is an introduction to Photoshop. Before you know it I’m going to be an Adobe spread and photo editing machine!

via theverge.com

Here is a great new article on Apple’s new operating system, Mountain Lion. As a an Apple user, I’m usually pretty excited about the updates however, their last OS, Lion, just launched seven months ago and now that I’m officially adjusted (it took a while just to remember to scroll in the opposite direction) I’m not sure I’m ready for a new one so quickly.

The new OS does have some pretty cool features however. iMessaging sounds like a lot of fun and there’s a going to be a number of cool feature that are used in the iPhones and iPads. I think what’s cool about what Apple is doing with this update is that they’re making all of their products have the same feel–for someone who uses Apple products, the new OS is going to be great. Read the rest of this entry »

image via twitter.com

If you’re not using Twitter, you’re behind. On everything.

Chapter four covers microblogging which is short amounts of information online, so essentially Twitter. In my opinion, this chapter reads as a love letter to the site which is fine by me because I can’t live without my Twitter.

What makes Twitter so popular, in my opinion, is that it is always updating, news is always flowing and it’s instant. In a previous blog I wrote about how Twitter gives you instant gratification. You choose who you follow so if someone isn’t as funny as you thought they were, unfollow. This person gives great news and links, follow. It’s as simple as that.

Speaking of simple, it’s a simple format. You get 140 characters, you can add links (use a link shortener to save characters) and attach pictures. You can tweet someone, retweet someone and more. You can also #hashtag The simplicity and convenience is what really makes it popular.

Here is a great YouTube video that gives a little Twitter tutorial.

Need other reasons to get on Twitter?

1. For people who are not yet an established name, this is a great way to get your work out. People have blogs to do that, but why not try to reach more people by tweeting the link to your blog? It’s a great way to reach a mass audience.
2. It’s a great way to get your news quicker. Check your Twitter timeline and read the headlines. If you question the credibility of Twitter, follow the major news sources like CNN or the AP. And if you’re like me, follow their sub-twitters, a word I just made up. You can follow AP Fashion, AP Travel or whatever else you’re into!
3. Twitter can keep you updated. If you follow a number of different people covering a number of different things, you’re constantly aware of what’s happening. I follow not only the Washington Post, but I follow the Woodbridge Patch account so I know what’s happening in DC and nationally as well what’s happening in my own town.
4. Meet new, cool people! There are quite a few people that I follow and talk to that I’ve never met but share interests with. These are the people I wish I could replace my current Facebook friends with, with all due respect to my Facebook friends.

So what I’m trying to say is get on Twitter, you won’t regret it!

So I recorded and edited my first video today!

I recorded a few videos of my friends from work on my iPhone for my video. I then emailed the videos to myself (where is my USB cord?) and them imported them to iMovie on my laptop. From there I made a few edits and cuts, added a background song and voila! 40 seconds of the most amateur video known to man. Enjoy!

That headline says a lot about the candidates in my opinion.

Regardless of what you think of President Barack Obama or the otehr candidates, you have to admit that he is really surging ahead when it comes to connecting to you on a technology level.

So the President decided to not only share his Spotify playlist but he tweeted it nonetheless and with over 12 million followers, talk about reaching the masses.

A little Wilco, a bit of No Doubt—check out what else made it onto the new official #Obama2012 campaign playlist: OFA.BO/pHpWYy

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 9, 2012

Read the rest of this entry »