Twitter Talk

Alright, so it's pretty clear from this blog that I'm not a Twitter-mad person. I'm not a crazed 'Tweeter' - is that the correct term?

But I'm trying very hard to see its benefits. I've realised that although the poor sod who must continuously update a news organisation's Twitter feed probably doesn't need the extra task on top of his/her obscene workload, these posts do have quite a relevance to other lazier journalists who need a story! Just kidding, that's not the only benefit, I guess....

1 - Journalists' ability to find stories fast
News organisation's Tweets are produced almost the moment a story is released - it's instant. Although there is not a lot of detail, most are able to get the main idea through quite sufficiently. As a journalism student who just engaged in two practical radio and television weeks, finding stories was a big part of my day. And a tricky one - trying to source relevant, local yarns can be quite a task. But on certain mornings, Twitter did pull through with the material. By keeping my eye on news tweets, I was able to grab stories the moment they were released, produce a follow-up piece with a different angle and release my own story while it was still newsworthy.

2 - Up-to-date
One of the things Twitter is good at is keeping people up-to-date. Whether or not the individual wants to be kept informed of every ongoing event in the universe is debatable, but hey, for those who do, Twitter does the job! But in a news sense, this can be rather handy. It's good to keep track of where journos are heading, which stories they're covering and what audience reaction was to their last report - any information ABOUT journalism is valuable TO journalists.

3 - Networking
Twitter has the capacity to get your name/brand/opinions out there. Particularly if you're a regular, interesting tweeter (people really don't care what brand of milk you just purchased from IGA). Ashton Rigg, a fellow journalism student, shared with me a fantastic story about landing Channel 7 work experience simply by tweeting about one of the station's van's which was cheekily parked! Amazing! Although it's not Twitter, just through commenting on a PR publicist's blog, I have also landed an interview and potential internship with the company's director. You just never knew who will read your comments and take an interest. And the same goes for businesses - there are many companies which have bloomed after establishing an online presence.

Although I still don't understand how to use a hashtag, or what half of people's tweets actually mean, or how to operate Twitter on my iPhone, I guess I'm slowly grasping the idea. Slowly...

The Business of Blogging

I adore blogs. My deep-seated love began way back when as I watched my mother scroll through interior design musings late at night.

Since then, my Favourites bar of blogs has grown exponentially. I definitely focus on fashion and interior design, but am happy to broaden my horizons and sometimes venture out into the endless sea of other categories.



In recent years I have noticed a rise of blogging in mainstream media. Respected individuals who have passion, knowledge and insight into whichever field they choose to write about are beginning to have a serious impact on a much wider-scale than bloggers initially enjoyed.

Print magazines in particular are now including entire sections dedicated to the ‘Best Fashion Blogs’, ‘Bloggers style’ and profile pieces on popular online documentarians. Certain bloggers have gained celebrity status, claiming front-row seats at fashion shows, free goody bags, samples, party invitations and advertising simply because they are popular online.

I have found, when producing news stories of my own, that these niche blogs can provide amazing background to the topic I’m covering. Although credibility and reliability definitely come into the equation, a number of blogs do provide trustworthy and accurate information.

The business of blogging has such an exciting future, especially in a journalistic sense. It will be fascinating to see how news organisations jump on this bandwagon and embrace this form of personable, transparent commentary.

Online Journalism - Own Story

Disappointment as Apple launches iPhone 4s

By Alexandra Schultz

Watch the launch of the iPhone 4s here (via apple.com)

Tech geeks all over the world were confused and disappointed when Apple unveiled the new iPhone 4s in place of the much-awaited iPhone 5.

The device comes with a few new additions, such as a more powerful processor for faster downloads and sharper graphics, a higher definition camera and ‘Siri’ the voice-activated assistant.

Tim Stevens, editor in chief of American technology website engadget.com, says that Siri the assistant is the only addition which isn’t a “solid but predictable update.”

“[Siri the assistant] has the potential to make the phone genuinely more useful in many situations,” he said.



Examples of Siri the Assistant's capabilities (via apple.com)

But Mr. Stevens questions Apple’s approach to creating such hype around the launch of an unexpected, merely updated product.

“Currently Apple throws out refreshed laptops and desktop computers without much fanfare,” he said.

“I think the company needs to start thinking about doing the same for simple refreshes of its iPhone line or risk future disappointments.

“Maybe it should save the big events for wholly new models.”

Terence Huynh, Exceutive Editor of techgeek.com.au, believes the upgraded iPhone 4 was released to keep up with competition.

“The phone is definitely a hardware upgrade just to keep it competing with Android,” he said.

 “Many of the top-end Android phones had dual-core processors and better cameras than the iPhone 4.”

Mr. Huynh says that despite public dissatisfaction surrounding the release, Apple will maintain its monumental following.

“Apple is known for letting down fans sometimes because the rumour mill just gets it wrong,” he said.

“Apple has always been a revolutionary company and has changed customer perceptions on technology.

“It will continue to grow in a post-Jobs era. After all, they've learnt it from the very man himself.”

The disappointment was palpable online, where social networking sites Twitter and Facebook were bombarded with posts concerning the iPhone 4s' release.

Dissatisfied Apple fans said the iPhone 4s is “barely different”, one social networker posting they “feel cheated”, another writing “the iPhone 4s sucks”.



Some of the Twitter posts in reaction to the iPhone 4s release



However, the odd supporter remained, praising the upgrades of the smartphone’s existing features.

The iPhone 5 is due for release next year.

Check out our Apple Evolution 'Flashback'

make animated gifs like this at MakeAGif

Related coverage -

• View a Sky News report of the iPhone 4s launch here (via news.com.au)

BBC - Thinking outside the box

Was reading up on the Wall Street Protests over at BBC when I noticed an online element I haven't seen before! How exciting!

At the bottom of the coverage, the BBC had included a little 'crowd sourcing' addition -

If you are in New York and willing to be interviewed by the BBC, please fill in the form below.

Send your pictures and videos to yourpics@bbc.co.uk or text them to 61124 (UK) or +44 7624 800 100 (International). If you have a large file you can upload here.
Read the terms and conditions

(Required) Name (Required) Your E-mail address (Required) Town & Country (Required) Your telephone number

(Required) Comments

If you are happy to be contacted by a BBC journalist please leave a telephone number that we can contact you on. In some cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name as you provide it and location, unless you state otherwise. Your contact details will never be published. When sending us pictures, video or eyewitness accounts at no time should you endanger yourself or others, take any unnecessary risks or infringe any laws. Please ensure you have read the terms and conditions.

On first thoughts, I believed this was a fantastic idea. Those who were reading up on events they had witnessed were provided with the opportunity to become involved. However, having this option at the bottom of the page sets up readers for a similar experience to 'impulse buying' - caught up in the adrenaline and excitement of the event and its coverage, they may release details on a whim without properly considering the ramifications.

This also raises a secondary issue - how long can the BBC journalists retain these personal contact details? If a person gives their name, address and phone number concerning a single story, is the journalist then allowed to contact them in the future concerning other events?

Furthermore, where do all these contact details go? Are they stored in an 'online filing cabinet' or a printed database? In the Terms and Conditions, the BBC provided quite a general response -

"We will keep your information confidential and generally we will only use your information within the BBC. However, we sometimes use third parties to provide services on our behalf, for example independent producers who make programmes for us."

Hmmm... the more I think about it, the more questions I have.

Live blogging

Live blogging is still new. Very new. It's still a time of experimentation, hits and misses. But already journalists are beginning to discover there are quite a few key elements in creating a good live blog.

Full-time blogger Darren Rowes, who owns a number of blogging websites including ProBlogger.net, asked his readers what they believe makes a great live blog. These were some of their responses:

• Chetan recommends using a video camera to record as much of the conference as possible and then edit and upload sessions during breaks.
• Becky and Alrady shared some thoughts on capturing the ‘mood’ of a conference rather than just the information shared – mood being something that is hard for those following a conference online to get a handle on.
• impNERD encourages those live blogging events to take their time and focus upon quality rather than focussing upon just being ‘first’ to post something.
• Will coded his own system that tracks what other people are ‘tweeting’ about an event to update them onto his blog.

I thought each of these recommendations were right on the money. I did notice, however, that there was no mention of 'newsiness'. Okay, so I just invented a word, but this truly is a grey area in blogging - how newsy do the blogs have to be?

After coming across the Guardian's online coverage of the Emmy's, I felt even more confused as to where the line is drawn between being entertaining and informative. Below is a snapshot of the coverage -

7.19pm: We're playing the compulsory awards ceremony red-carpet drinking game. One for "I love your dress", two for "my jewels are from Bulgari". Sobriety will be a struggle tonight, I can tell this already

8.09pm: It infuriates me that Boardwalk Empire is nominated, not just because Paz de la Huerta is in it and therefore is inherently awful, but because it proves that if you throw enough money at something and slap Scorcese's name on it, it will get nominated, even if it is UNBELIEVABLY BORING.

If they don't give Steve Carrell the best actor in a comedy award for The Office, I'll eat my laptop.

8.34pm: HF: Why is Will Arnett paired up with Zooey Deschanel to give an award? She can't even read a teleprompter, for God's sake. He looks so embarrassed. Poor Will. He needs me. I should be there with him.

9.05pm: GONG! Outstanding writing for a variety, music, or comedy series goes to the Daily Show. That makes co-creator Lizz Winstead very happy. And drunker.

Predictably, the writers deliver a very badly written acceptance speech

Is it really appropriate for these journalists to include such personal commentary? Surely mentioning drinking games is out of the question? Well, surely not, as this type of coverage was produced by a reputable, widely-followed news source.

I guess blogging really differs depending on its source, and the same principle applies with journalistic blogging. Each news organisation is representing itself through its blog, whether as a serious, hard-news type or as a personable, entertaining source, like the Guardian. As I said, now is a time of hits and misses with live blogging. And the Guardian's Emmy coverage? You decide.

Where do we draw the line?

I've just finished reading an article on the Herald Sun website titled 'Facebook killer Christopher James Dannevig's jailhouse confession.' I've inserted a little summary from the page below -

Christopher Dannevig (20) in undated copy photo from his social networking website Facebook Source: The Sunday Telegraph

CONFESSED killer Christopher James Dannevig - who used a fake Facebook identity to meet young female victims - says he was diagnosed as "psychotic" at 13 but was told no one could help him until "I killed someone".

 

I thought this article was a fascinating look at the dark uses of social networking sites, but as I read on I noticed something that disturbed me; the article was based on a letter the 21-year-old murderer sent to the Sunday Telegraph "to tell you a little bit about me, and what led up to that night".

 

The fact the Sunday Telegraph ran a story based on a psychotic criminal's letter justifying his actions is a little unnerving, but it seems the Herald Sun online team saw no problem with it also.

 

Throughout the article, readers are made aware of the murderer's childhood, bad relationships and tendency for violent behaviour, as though this unfortunate combination of factors somehow excuses him from the disgusting crime he committed.

 

This person wrote to the newspaper for no other reason than to gain sympathy from the public. The articles revealed he showed little or no remorse for his sickening actions as he seemed to pass the blame on to some so-called incompetent psychologists from his childhood.

 

I believe the Herald Sun's online team made a poor decision in running this story. Mentally ill criminals like Dannevig should not be given the chance by media to justify their actions to the public. What a blatant insult to the victim's family.

 

 

Pulling power

Some news stories will live on forever - 9/11 is one of these.  


A day the whole world stood still in front of their televisions, computer screens and radios, their mouths gaping slightly in an amazed stupor. I still get chills when I see vision of the World Trade Centre towers billowing smoke, ant-sized bodies dropping to the ground, the tail of a plane sticking out of one side. It is significant enough to warrant the question "Where were you when you first heard planes had hit the World Trade Centres?"


Coming up to the reunion of this terrible day, news sites are producing new material to cover an old story.
Over at news.com.au they have posted brand new graphics simulating in great detail how the buildings were affected once the planes hit, couriermail.com.au has launched an interactive page asking users to submit three words to describe how they feel 10 years after 9/11 and the brisbanetimes.com.au website has included a small summary and video link to a Four Corners report on 'Mohamed Atta', the 33-year-old suspected ringleader of the group of 19 hijackers. Not to mention the myriad American news websites currently covering the event.


It seems the internet has not only provided a portal for breaking news and immediacy, but for reflection. As someone who remains fascinated by the event, the reasons behind it and how the world is getting on ten years later, I have certainly been engaging with these follow-up stories online.


Once again, online news sites are providing news that appeals to the masses. Infinite space allows for thorough, thoughtful coverage. And I'd be fascinated to view the results of the Courier Mail's interactive 3 word summary of how people feel ten years after 9/11. My answer? -


angered bewildered thankful