Week 11 - Internet & Journalism

What is journalism? It is a profession that involves reporting, photo journalism, editing news stories for one of the media. That is the traditional way of journalism. However now in the web 2.0, times have changed and with the introduction of the internet, people or citizens can hence encourage widespread distribution of information, news and the latest updates. One famous social networking site is Twitter, with an easy access of posting pictures or news.

With the use of internet, bloggers, Facebook users have an easy and free access of posting news almost instantly, because of the heavy use of mobile phones. Whatever they see, it will be noted, and pictures can become viral. It is different from the past because these news are normally not spread so far or quickly, and just kept within a close distance. However now news can spread as quick as a bush fire, and even worldwide. Hence we know what is going on in other countries, such as war, abuse and other such information.

It is impossible to stop citizen journalism just like the internet. There is just no rules, no control to what one can do. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and deserves their voice to be heard. However these news are captured by non-trained citizens, how trusted or reliable can these information be? Is it credible? It can be easily distorted by their own means.

An interesting thing that I found online:

A new app from the Global Media Forum called “Get it Right” provides a crash course in journalism, designed to improve the quality and reliability of reports delivered by citizen journalists…

While the promise of citizen journalism is significant, there is always the accompanying concern about the reliability of the reporting.

While numerous apps have been developed to support citizen journalism on the technical side, few have taken on the task of developing a reporter’s non-technical skill set.

In an effort to raise the standards of quality, Global Media Forum, a non-profit dedicated to training journalists, has released “Get it Right,” an iPhone app offering a mini-course in basic journalism.

"Get it Right" coursework

Billed as “A field guide to practical and critical thinking for citizen journalists,” the app takes would-be reporters step by step through the reporting process, from the equipment they’ll need to the questions they will need to ask and verify.

It offers a series of exercises designed to help citizen journalists develop their news sense, frame their stories, and improve their writing.

So if you wanna start citizen journalism, try out this! It might help.



Photo journalism has become very prominent in the news sector, because a picture can speak a thousand words. Pictures cause people to reflect, and the information is very clear.

Week 10 - Politics and the Internet

The internet has a strong power in influencing and affecting politics, especially so regarding political campaigns. Leaders make use of social media to spread their message, to garner views and opinions from the public. The use of videos may help change people's perception on a certain politician. As videos go viral and spread quickly, information reaches to its target audience more effectively.

This comic photo actually cracked me up. It shows how politicians make use of the internet to actually connect with the public! For those who are interested in handcrafted jewelry, they make actually check out this website. Hence he gains more exposure and people may actually vote for him.

Lets take for example Barack Obama. How do gain popularity within such as short time, and gain favor from millions? The internet has equipped him well.

“Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not be president. Were it not for the Internet, Barack Obama would not have been the nominee,” said Arianna Huffington, editor in chief of The Huffington Post.

http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/11/07/how-obamas-internet-campaign-changed-politics/

Obama and Social Media

The first rule of social media marketing is to put yourself and/or your product out there. A few ways to do that include becoming an active blogger, establishing a presence on the major social networks, and embracing new forms of communication.

Obama has done just that. From social networking to his blog to his Fight the Smears campaign, Obama has made his Web 2.0 presence known. He has over 1.5 million friends on MySpace andFacebook, and he currently has over 45,000 followers on Twitter. This personal activity in social networks allows him to quickly get the word out across multiple platforms.

Obama and YouTube

The days of writing a speech to capture a ten second sound bite on the evening news are over. The popularity of YouTube gives the public access to the entire speech, not just the clip chosen by the news, which means the entire speech must resonate with the audience.

Barack Obama has done a great job of making sure his speeches sound as good on YouTube in their entirety as they do on the evening news with just a clip. He's also gambled on YouTube's audience by creating a strong presence on the website. Historically, young voters have been high on enthusiasm but low on voter turnout. But Obama has been able to utilize social media to buck that trend.

Obama and Social Networking

If we were to look for the ace up Obama's sleeve, we would find Chris Hughes. As one of the founders of Facebook, Chris Hughes knows a thing or two about social networking. Obama's wooing of the social networking whiz may not have made headlines at the time, but it's been a major factor in Obama's success.

Barack Obama isn't the first to utilize social networking in a bid for the presidency -- Howard Dean used Meetup.com to become a serious contender for his party's nomination in 2004 -- but he may have perfected it. The rule of thumb for any great application is to pack a powerful punch while being as simple to use as possible. And that's what My.BarackObama.Com delivers.

A full-fledged social network, My.BarackObama allows users to create their own profile complete with a customized description, friends list and personal blog. They can also join groups, participate in fund raising, and arrange events all from an interface that is both easy-to-use and familiar to any Facebook or MySpace user.

Week 9 - Entertainment and Multimedia on Internet

What is multimedia? It is a computer-based interactive communications process that incorporates text, graphics, sound, animation and video. I will focus more on gaming. I did play some video games when I was younger and I have seen how it has evolved along the years.

My Choy showed us some really cool videos on virtual reality today. I am so amazed and I can't wait for it to be applied in our current age.

So what is virtual reality?

What I picked up from class is that you can convert reality into virtuality and vice versa. You can play a computer action game and you are like "physically" playing the game!

Or you could be shopping and use phone and gadgets to help detect the pricing of things etc etc..
Augmented reality: Augmented reality (AR) is a live, direct or indirect, view of a physical, real-world environment whose elements areaugmented by computer-generated sensory input such as sound, video, graphics or GPS data. It is related to a more general concept called mediated reality, in which a view of reality is modified (possibly even diminished rather than augmented) by a computer. As a result, the technology functions by enhancing one’s current perception of reality.^[1] By contrast, virtual reality replaces the real world with a simulated one.^[2][3] Augmentation is conventionally in real-time and in semantic context with environmental elements, such as sports scores on TV during a match. With the help of advanced AR technology (e.g. adding computer vision and object recognition) the information about the surrounding real world of the user becomes interactive and digitally manipulable. Artificial information about the environment and its objects can be overlaid on the real world.

Week 8 - Security & Protecting Self on Internet

Internet Security!
Warning! Suspicious phishing (sounds like fishing) site! Please enter at your OWN risk.
I'm sure we get these warnings through websites, or email spams.
And who controls these things? Some are caused by hackers-real people who are good at decoding or breaking a security code-they may be able to steal your precious and MOST important information or details such as your bank account or passwords.

And the best solution? You and I should PREVENT IT! Prevention is better than cure. And here is where all the anti-virus companies make money from you haha. Download it and it prevents your personal computer from getting hacked or getting this virus or bug. The symptoms of these bugs and virus can SLOW down your computer, or even consume the power of your computer. Big companies can be mostly affected by this, especially when an important deadline is to be met, and then everyone's computer starts crashing.

Some steps:

1. Discern personal information
2. httpS -> encrypted, is secured. (since I used i-banking or shop online with my credit card, it is pretty safe because I see the 's', which kind of means SAFE or SECURE)
3. internet firewall
4. Regular update
5. Anti-virus
6. Always back up data! (yes this is very important because you never know when virus may hit you)

More steps!:

1) Do not reveal personal information inadvertently.

2) Turn on cookie notices in your Web browser, and/or use cookie management software or infomediaries.

3) Keep a "clean" e-mail address.

4) Don't reveal personal details to strangers or just-met
"friends".

5) Realize you may be monitored at work, avoid sending highly
personal e-mail to mailing lists, and keep sensitive files on your
home computer.

6) Beware sites that offer some sort of reward or prize in

exchange for your contact information or other personal details

7) Do not reply to spammers, for any reason.

8) Be conscious of Web security.

9) Be conscious of home computer security.

10) Examine privacy policies and seals.

11) Remember that YOU decide what information about yourself to
reveal, when, why, and to whom.

12) Use encryption!

https://www.eff.org/wp/effs-top-12-ways-protect-your-online-privacy

Week 7 - Internet Tools

Google Earth! Google Search. Quotes = exact word search : " type what you want here "
There also tools such as '+' and '-' to help you with your search.

To see the weather for many U.S. and worldwide cities, type “weather” followed by the city and state, U.S. zip code, or city and country.

To see current market data for a given company or fund, type the ticker symbol into the search box. On the results page, you can click the link to see more data from Google Finance.

To see the time in many cities around the world, type in “time” and the name of the city.To see scores and schedules for sports teams type the team name or league name into the search box. This is enabled for many leagues including the National Basketball Association, National Football League, National Hockey League, and Major League Baseball. All sports data provided by STATS LLC

To see the precise times of sunrises and sunsets for many U.S. and worldwide cities, type “sunrise” or “sunset” followed by the city name.

and many more!!! This is actually pretty cool because in the past it wasn't so easy to find information quickly.

I love Google Earth so much because I can actually see the roads without even being physically there! This way I can remember the roads and never ever get lost again!

Week 6 - E Learning & Virtual Education

I think E-learning for me started back when I was in primary school. We could go to the computer labs and I was looking forward to that very much at that time. Now that I'm older, E-learning has definitely improved drastically. We shall see what are the latest updates. There are proven statistics that students prefer to listen to online lectures, as it helps them in their education.

E-learning is learning that is facilitated by the use of digital tools and content. Without the internet, computer or mobile devices, e-learning would of not have existed. It also involves some form of interactivity, such as interaction between the learners, peers and teachers.

Some of the varieties are virtual classrooms, online learning(can be web-based, or a school webpage), game-based, simulation based(in the form of a computer application), game-based.
I think my favourite would be game based, because it is fun, engaging, and time passes faster, and I am more interested in the subject.

Some of the benefits of e-learning is because of its convenience, and flexibility. We can access our personal computers almost 24/7, however real life school is not. Our performances will increase, probably better results! It is helps develop the skills and competences needed in this 21st century, because in the future work will be heavily relied on technology, hence it is important to develop these skills.

My school instructor showed us a video of Second Life, how a virtual school setting was like.

And maybe in the future, we may not have real teachers in teaching in our class, but a computer or a recorded video.

I feel that this technology will be a success, but maybe not in my lifetime, because by the time this technology has stabilised, I will be working or even retired. However I feel that alot of discipline is required for this e-learning. We can be easily distracted or even become lazy.

Video

 A cat came into my house and my brother and I tried to chase it out! But look at how the cat "speaks" to me!
My experience with iMovie was actually quite fun. It was fairly easy to use, and lots of selection for music, fonts and backgrounds were available. It helps make my video more entertaining and people will stay to watch it!