Incorporating twitter into our second project has been an interesting process. If nothing else it has forced me to become more active with my twitter.

       Having to tweet definitely got the ideas jogging in my head concerning a topic. I was also able to see what other people were thinking and how they were working with their projects.

       Sometimes I would get frustrated because the hash tags weren’t always working.

       Also, I think it would have been better if we were all bouncing ideas off each other more. It seemed that it was like we were all just trying to get our own tweets out there and not really having any sort of discussion.

       I did try reacting to one persons tweet by helping generate questions about their topic but that was it as far as interaction.

       I think if we all had blackberries it would have been more successful because as I was thinking about my project throughout the day I could have just been thinking out loud via twitter. It would have been more natural.

Overall though, interesting touch to project two!

My Tweets:

Laurenthinks I’m pretty positive that we only have to post our project to masslive #wftwhalf a minute ago from web

Laurenthinks such a relief to have that posted. thought of video was really nerve racking. it took time because of logistics but happy to be done! #wftw

Laurenthinks So i finally posted my project two, I can’t believe I actually made and posted a video…! #wftw3 minutes ago from web

Laurenthinks it took me so long to figure out how to make a video and everything and I feel like the video itself sucks,ghkjhgjdfg Hating Finals #wftw1 day ago from web

Laurenthinks So I’ve committed to a topic, I’m going to cook something vegan and present it in a video. I may do different ways to use tofu… #wftw6 days ago from web

Laurenthinks anyone know anything about the peoples market? work there? I hear its vegan friendlys so I was thinking of doing a feature piece… #wftw6 days ago from web

Laurenthinks any questions about veganism out there? I’m really struggling with this one… (and my tweets aren’t showing up on the hash tag…) #wftw6 days ago from web

Laurenthinks What division is the diving team? What’s the highest they dive? Who is the best diver? Do we have a pool for them to practice? #wftw6 days ago from web

Laurenthinks So I’m having trouble committing to a topic… Vegan recipe too lame? I want to be ambitious but the video aspect worries me… #wftw6 days ago from web

This week I used a vegan recipe for my photo post.

I got a vegan recipe for scones and took pictures throughout the process.

I have mixed feelings about this assignment. 

I suppose I’ll start with the pros. I like the pictures themselves. I appreciate the different angles and detail shots I used. It made me realize how easy it is to add pictures to a post. The pictures posts are definately much more appealing then non-picture posts. I’ve been getting frustrated with the lack of font and design manipulation on the site and incorporating pictures is definitely a nice visual aid to use instead.

Now, for what I didn’t like. After I took the pictures and wrote the post, I found it difficult to place the pictures in the middle of the text. I wanted the pictures to correlate with the sets of the recipes, but then I feel the top text was a bit blank. I fear that the audience won’t see the pictures right away and then maybe not even bother scrolling down. Picture placement is very important. Also, the subject was a bit lame. I mean it worked, i like the pictures, but I feel like next time I’d like to shoot something more animated instead of a still object. 

Overall, this was a good learning experience as it forced me to incorporate pictures and taught me just how easy it really is to add a little spunk to the blogs!

       The two photo stories that really caught my attention are, “Kazakhstan’s Radioactive Legacy” and “Afghanistan, October, 2009”.

       What caught my attention most regarding these two stories was the shock value of the pictures and the ‘human element’ (as my photojournalism teacher likes to say) each provides. 

       The residents of Kazakhstan have endured years of suffering due to the Soviet Union nuclear bomb test facility located in northeast Kazakhstan. The topic of this piece is definitely newsworthy and very intriguing; I suppose that’s what initially led me to explore the piece. In the Kazakhstan piece, the photographer presents eight different individuals personally suffering from the effects of radioactivity. The shock of these visuals really fascinated me, not only because I was unaware of this issue before seeing the story, but because these pictures depicted deformations and physical ailments I could never even being to imagine. The human element of the piece has to do with the individual stories within the main story. The pictures are fascinating and heart wrenching as they depict the effects of such terrible conditions in the eyes and bodies of the Kazakhstan locals. This piece informs that audience of this gruesome situation unfolding in Kazakhstan of which most of us were unaware.

       Truthfully, a piece on Afghanistan would not usually be highly ranked among my top stories off a site, solely because we read about it so much, sadly it has become a rather typical topic. However, the picture piece immediately caught my attention because we don’t see many pictures from the streets of Afghanistan. This piece was very successful in covering the story from multiple angles, shooting everything from the innocent youth being affected by the war, to the protesting Afghani college students to the American soldiers heading overseas. This piece definitely has a strong shock value simply because, while this topic is frequently covered in written pieces it takes courage to shoot such gruesome and emotional pictures as seen here. Shooting this piece is also very dangerous for the photographer; immersing oneself in such a scary environment is very impressive. The ‘human element’ in this piece was also very strong. While there were a few landscapes and environmental scenes, the photographer really focused on the people and how the situation in Afghanistan is literally affecting multiple groups of people.

       Both are strong stories, with significant messages and important news-value. They both focus on the ‘human element’ and shock value to successfully bring out the strong emotional character of each story.

                She was, as I like to say, ‘swining’.

                She began to tell me how horrible she felt. I did my best to console her and secretly held my breath in an attempt to avoid breathing in any of the nasty germs that were inevitably swarming her body and looking for the next victim to latch onto.

                She got on the phone with health services and explained her symptoms. The nurse on the other end told her that she did indeed have the swine flu and that they absolutely did not want her coming down to the office. The voice on the other end made no attempt at consoling her, they just bluntly told her to stay as far away from everyone as possible. When she hung up the phone she was upset and just wanted to go home.
                I was also upset. The nurse at health services is advising her to stay in confinement and emphasizing the extreme contagious nature of this virus. Here I am, trying to make her feel better, in our tiny two bedroom apartment when all I could think about was the germs multiplying and contaminating everything in the small space.

                It wasn’t long before I heard frantic knocks at the front door. I immediately knew the source of those knocks. It was her mother, her very worried mother. I had never met her mother before and this was not the ideal time to first introductions. I tried to open the door as quickly as I could, struggling with our temperamental lock, I could feel her anxiety through the door. I finally opened the door and we briefly introduced, then I led her down the hall to Adria’s room.  Within five minutes they had the linens stripped from her bed and were gone.

                This had all happened in a matter of one hour. Still half asleep, I poured myself a cup of coffee and tried to wrap my head around what had just happened. My roommate has the flu. Health services denied her any care. Her mother is in a state of absolute panic.

I was sitting on the couch, the very same couch she was sitting on last night. The couch that her swine contaminated body was sprawled over for a good five hours. I was drinking coffee from a mug, a mug that she undoubtedly drank from at some point in the past week. I began to think about all the tiny germs that were incubating in my tiny, over heated apartment.

I immediately broke out the Lysol and start spraying everything. Door knobs, light switches, any hard surface I could find.  

I turned the heat down and opened all the windows.

Then I called my mom, a decision I immediately regretted. She, of course, immediately started worrying. I assured her I had sterilized everything humanly possible. I tried my best to calm her down then got off the phone and went straight for the shower.

I went on with my day as I normally would. Friday came and my parents insisted that I come home for the weekend and get away from the apartment. I assured then it wasn’t necessary but reluctantly complied to ease their anxiety.

When I arrived home Friday I was feeling fine. I woke up Saturday and whole body ached. I saw I had a voicemail from my roommate. I was clammy and my head was throbbing. I dialed my voicemail and heard her happy voice on the other end, “Hey! It’s me! Hope you’re doing well, I’m feeling much better now! Headed back to school, let’s go out tonight! Call me!”.

                I grumpily tossed my phone off the bed and rolled back over. I was now ‘swining’.

           Call me ignorant or maybe just completely over whelmed with midterms, but when we got this assignment I was instantly anxious because I had no idea that the elections were taking place on November 3^rd. However much of what I observed on these three sites did not pertain to the content of the elections but rather the set up, and coverage strategies.             

            The Mass Live election coverage was very thorough and clearly organized. Given the nature and audience of the site, Mass Live provided a local focus on election coverage.  The site had a link to each town the Western Mass site targets. On each town page you could find blogs covering basically every issue concerning the towns elections. The first couple pages were links and excerpts to blogs pertaining to the most pressing and controversial issues. Then, as you clicked through the pages you would eventually get to individual blogs for each candidate in this years election. The variety of voice in the blogs provided a variety of angles for coverage. The organization of this site provides a variety of angles, although it is a very clear setup, it forces the audience to make decisions in regards to what is worth reading and what is important.

            The Washington Post coverage of the election was very different from Mass Live. The Washington Post covers a national news angle. “The Rundown”, a blog updated daily by Ben Pershing, covered the election though a broader view but in a much more limited voice than Mass Live. The site provides a general overview of the elections and the significance this year. Although this site is only updated once a day and does not link out to various blogs, it was easier to read and does not force the audience to choose which blogs are most important to read. As an ill informed audience member when it comes to the elections, this site made it easier for me to get information fast. Although it may not have been as specifically focused as the Mass Live information, it informed me much more efficiently in that I got a broad overview of the elections in one quick read. Also, the comments are scarce, however they were intelligent and sparked interesting thought. One comment that specifically struck my fancy was the first one made on the November 4^th post, the commenter brought up the issue of voting miscount. Coming from someone who could careless about these elections, this miscount topic was much more interesting to me than the local issues.

            The New Jersey website coverage was similar in set up to the Mass Live coverage. The page has links to multiple blogs pertaining to issues involving the elections in New Jersey. This site seems like a bit of a mix between the Mass Live and the Washington Post. Although the coverage is not as broad as the Washington post, its not as specific and organized as the Mass Live blog. The comment activity on this blog is much more active than the Washington Post. The localized angle of this coverage provides much more investment in the topic by the audience and inevitably provokes more commentary than the Washington Post. This site was a middle ground between the other two. 

            There are many angles by which to cover elections and personally I believe when it comes to such open topics, sometimes less is more and quality rules over quantity. The Washington Post worked best for me in terms of accessing elections news, because although it may not have been as thorough as the other two, it is clear and did not force me to choose what is most important to read.

       After doing my  story fragment piece, I went looking for a referential piece. I was having trouble so I went back to Gawker assuming I could find something there. Of course I found a piece, ironically it was about the David Letterman scandal. The short article on Gawker ,More Tales of Creepiness and Terror from the Letterman Staff, is a referential piece, referring to a recent vanity fair article which expressed the stress female employees on the Letterman staff feel.  The article interviewed Nell Scovell, a former writer for the LEtterman show. She claims to have left for several reason but does note that the sexual tension and stress was one factor. 

       This piece is very accessible. I really enjoy these referential pieces because they are much easier and quicker to read. It’s like someone has read through a long piece of journalism for me and is highlighting the key aspects of the piece. These referential pieces are like the spark-notes of journalism. It also contains a link to main article so that I could go back and see it for myself. It also worked really well because unlike the original piece, I get the voice of a third party. The original piece was written by this former female staff member so it definitely had some biased undertones. Reading story from another voice is definitely beneficial in this case.

            I’m sure by now most of you have heard about the David Letterman sex scandal. On October 1^st 2009, David Letterman opened his show with a story which inevitably led to a confession. Lettermen had been black mailed and was being threatened by a man who had evidence of Letterman’s affairs with female members of his staff. Letterman when on to admit to his affairs. After the confession, the show went on as usual after a brief commercial break.

            As the scandal was revealed, the audience was unsure how to react. The unusual serious nature of this segment was hard for the audience to react too. It did seem very serious, but then again it’s hard to take material on the show seriously. After watching the confession, many questions remained. Did his family know? Who was the man? CBS did a report on the incident, which aired the morning after the shocking confession. The CBS morning show clarified that his family and friends were told just before the show and the blackmailer was in fact a former member of letterman’s staff.

       CBS interviewed a celebrity publicist, Michael Levine. This program aired October 2^nd, the morning after the extortion plan was revealed. Levine believe and assured the public that Letterman’s celebrity status would not be ruined due to the scandal. 

       Letterman’s fellow comedian talk show hosts decided to get in on the fun. Jay Leno opened his show poking lighthearted fun at Letterman. For Letterman, the tables have turned as far as comedy goes; he is now the subject of fellow comedian’s acts.

            Even the women on the view got in on the gossip. They acknowledged that Letterman did handle the situation well by admitting to his affair and facing the issue on the air. However, they did express their disappointment in him and his actions. 

       After the scandal was revealed and countless news sources reported the incidents, I was left wondering on thing, what now for David Letterman? Apparently I was not the only one with theses concerns. The general consensus via Internet blogging and polls seems to reveal that Letterman with go on. Pop Watch Blog Post reacted to the incident saying, “Letterman has demonstrated an extraordinary ability to preempt the scandal by getting ahead of it, both by issuing his sincere mea culpas and by poking fun at his predicament.” Even the Harvard Business Publishing site commented on the scandal, as Michelle Roehm posted a list of reasons Letterman would recover from the scandal. Blogger Catherine Taylor from BNet Blog Site also reiterated the idea of Letterman making a recovery. She said, “Scandals have a way of blowing over, this one will too”.  

       While most people believe that Letterman did the right thing by admitting the affairs on air and owning up to his fault. There are still some people out that who are appalled by his behavior and hope to see him fail. Andrea Peyser, blogger for the New York Post said “Letterman’s contract expires at the end of next year. I count on CBS to pull Letterman off the air, then kick him to the curb.”

       Wether you applaud Letterman for his reaction to this scandal or you are disgusted by his actions and wish an end to his career, this scandal is gripping. It has taken on so many angles. What started as an on air confession had exploded into a media frenzy.

Although the three posts all come from the same site, they are all very different.

The First post I read was very short. It seemed like a quick, ‘i’ve-gotta-get-this-out’ type piece. It was a breif summary from the twitter founder reacting to negative comment about his sites success. This post was clear, to the point and definitely accessable to readers.

The Second post was a bit longer. It was about halloween costumes. This time the site used a completely different format, using a list with extended commentary. The format of this piece was very helpful. For each costume there is a picture, a reason for not being said costume, a new suggestion and a tip for how to pull together an alternative costume idea.

The last story, (which was my least favorite) was very long. It was a piece about the hot air balloon hoax that recenetly took place. Apparntly the man behind the hoax was desperately trying to get famous. If you ask me, the writer of the piece is equally as desperate. The writer use to work with this man and he gives the full inside story in an extensive feature he has sold to site. This could have been much shorter and just cut right to the juicey details. In my opinion, this guy wanted to expand the story and hopefully add to his own success in the media world. It was well written, with good divisions, but there is just not need for the length.

The three stories we looked at are all very different, the styles pertain to the subjects of each piece and they work well together. This makes me think about different ways that I could post, I feel like not EVERY post has to be a long drawn out piece that I spent hours on. I think I should start doing one extensive piece a week and two was i’ll call ‘fun’ pieces. (not that they all aren’t loads of fun…) I think working on a variety of different stories will help to increase my bloging activity.

Okay, so I think i’m stuck in a blogging rutt.

I feel like I need to put so much time into a post that I keep pushing it off until I have a few hours and now I seem to be way far behind and I’m trying to play catch up.

I think I’m just over thinking it and making the posting processs seem so long and drawn out.

I’m wondering how long everyone else typically spends on one post for the masslive website?

I feel so relieved to finally be inspired to write posts. I was having the worst case of writers block ever and now I just feel like I have so many different things to write about.

Tonight’s class was very helpful to me in clarifying small details about the Masslive system that I was confused about. I now understand tags, video uploads, links and block quotes. 

Now that I’ve finally got my blog underway I’ll be much more active on the personal class blogs