CAITLIN STEDGE-STROUD

 

 

October 2nd

For many of us graduation day is upon us. If you look around, there are so many of us in the same competitive market waiting to get that one job. In a world where so many people have the same goals, it’s the internships, organizations and grades that get you where you need to be. In Briggs readings it teaches you what it takes to get yourself to not only become a journalists, but to get where you wanna be, and be taken seriously in the competitive landscape.

One of the things Briggs taught me was to not underestimate your competitors, but to take advantage of what they’ve done. He writes that you should always know what your competitor is doing to attract outsiders. It’s not considered stealing or cheating, but it’s usually what’s done in the professional world. Briggs stated that, “It’s possible to learn from others’ successes and failures with out becoming preoccuppied by the fear that they will steal your business.” Seeing what others are doing right can open your eyes up to more. He says to contact them and talk, put yourself in position where people are going to like your product. Like Twitter or Facebook, it can help get you viewers and expand the sites audience. You need to figure out what the audience is looking for and why a particular website is doing so well. Take that and work on making that idea even better. Targeting an audience is key and knowing your surroundings can give you full insight and help further your ideas.

Another point Briggs makes is to develop a strategy. Create your goal website in your mind and then reach out to the type of audience you want. Remember that you want a diverse group so that everyone has a reason to visit your site. Having a specific demographic and psychographics will help produce your website. You need to know who’s going be interested in your website and why. Having these things will keep your website organized and your thought process up to date.

Creating a website is something many people think is a quick and easy process. Not many people know that it takes times and patience. Being a Journalists, I’ve learned that creating my own website it key to my future. Getting an audience worth having it important for my future. Keeping myself connected with people will help the process. Knowing you have a fan base will help get your website off it’s feet quicker.

Briggs and Poytner both make excellent points. One thing Poynter, suggests that stood out to me was to focus on the little ideas first. Coming up with a huge idea can sometimes be intimidating, he says. You should really start with a little seed and learn to grow from there. Having too many eggs in a basket doesn’t always make you a winner. Sometimes you get crushed, and have to start over. These kinds of things take time and a lot of thinking. Slow and steady always wins the race.

A website that has all of these points built into it is The Kind Life. It started small, by an actress named Alicia Silverstone who wanted people to be aware that being Vegan can be not only possible, but fun as well. The website has great information on how to slowly become vegan, helpful tips and a true motivation for people who are seriously interested in the lifestyle. It has everything Briggs and Poytner have been talking about. It’s catches the audiences and even has links to other helpful websites for further information.

For a successful website, Briggs and Poytner have given you all the clues and answers, now all you have to do, is go out and show the world what you can do. Using their strategies and the many opportunities given, go out there and show the world your site.

September 24

Enrique’s Journey was once just a story no one knew about, but a women named Sonia Nazario changed all that. Nazario decided to dedicate three months of her life to take the same journey millions of children take to get to the states.
The story is focused on one little Honduran boy’s journey and how he overcame bandits, thugs and drugs. Along with all that the little boy also had to ride on top of freight trains, and survive along the way. You also learn a lot about what’s going on in this country, and the things people are doing to kick them out. Only a select few truly care about the issue and are trying to raise awareness to others around the country.
Like Enrique’s story, these kinds of things happen every day, people are just not aware of it. There are so many undocumented children in the United States. According to Pew Hispanic Center there has been a surge in children apprehended at Rio Grande border area. The number of unaccompanied children has doubled in less than a year.
It doesn’t seem fair to kick these poor innocent children out, they are coming here to find family, to find a new home, and to get away from all the drugs and gang violence in their countries.
Looking at the website for Enrique’s Journey, the cover of the book grabs your attention right away. It’s a visual that gives the website more depth. Like Briggs taught us, the website brings value to its audience. It catches your eye, and makes you want to learn more. The website not only gives you the personal journey, it also gives you information on how to help others, updates about the family and shares photos. Many of the children on the website have no legs, or broken bones, yet there dream is too still get to the United States. How can you kick an innocent child out of somewhere they are trying so hard to be, yet you have citizens of the US who bash the country. It just doesn’t seem fair at all.
With Enrique’s Journey being a national bestseller and a top pick for the freshman read for many colleges, it also sheds light to people who really don’t know what’s going on with immigrant children.
If you look in your own back yard, you’ll see that there are children closer than you thought. How many unaccompanied immigrant children are there in your community? Also what can you do to make sure they are safe?
If you visit http://www.immigrantchildren.org it will give you stories and photos of children needing your help. The website also gives news updates about what the country is doing about the issue.
Another place to find information is Catholic Charities of Newark: Immigration Assistance has a Facebook page where you can learn about the kids near you who need help. Volunteers are on the page and let you know about charities and events coming up.
Enrique’s Journey gives you a sense of hope for all the unaccompanied immigrant children out there. Thank god for someone like Sonia Nazario who is getting all this awareness out there.

September 18, 2014

Launching your own website…

Today, the internet is the key to the world. It’s so easy to look something up and have the world at your doorstep, but it all starts with a successful website. According to Mark Briggs, the author of ‘Entrepreneurial Journalism: How to Build What’s Next for News,’ there are a lot of key factors that go into launching not only a website, but a successful one. Many people are scared to launch one due to all of the failed websites, but Briggs explains that hard work does really pay off.
When wanting to launch a website, you need to start with a good idea and build from there. It takes time and a lot of thinking. If, at first, something doesn’t go according to plan, then stop, think it over and go from there. Briggs talks about the different ways to start a website and being able to set goals for yourself is key.
Having a goal means that you have something in mind. The more goals you have, the more enthusiastic you’ll be about getting it up and running. Tell a friend about your idea, and see there reaction, ask for their opinion and help. The more eyes you have and the more people helping you with the project, the better it’ll turn out. If for some reason you fail, get up and try again. “Test, try, play, fail, try again,” Briggs famous words. They make sense. If Steve Jobs gave up then we wouldn’t be where we are today with technology. If Rosa Parks gave up, we wouldn’t be where we are today. You need to be strong, and learn that error and trial are what makes a website work. Being able to fail and think of better and newer ideas is where your website will grow and succeed the most.
Once you have your idea and goals are in reach, you need to act on it. Briggs talked about how acting on your website is another key. You have to go for it, and really be persistent with it. Everyone out there is trying to make a successful website, but not every one is acting on it. Get out there, and show them that your ready for this.
After reading Briggs advice, it made me think about why Facebook was so successful. If you watched the movie “The Social Network”, you can see how persistent Mark Zuckerberg and his team were. They thought of an idea, made a goal, acted on it, and eventually reached it. They ended up turning a simple idea into one of the most visited websites ever made. With over 1 million people on Facebook, and the amount of advertisement Facebook has, Zuckerberg met Briggs criteria 100%.
Once you’re successful and you can call yourself a digital journalist, there are a few keys to help further your career. Knowing how to engage your audience is a huge key. You need to learn to survive in this digital world, because so many people are out there with new ideas. There will always be someone a step ahead of you.Reaching out to your audience and keeping them involved is sure to keep you going and keep your website running.

There’s a huge gap between the online journalism world and the “normal journalism” world, but Forbes is trying to connect both of these types of journalists to improve our everyday job.
Forbes article tells you that learning from one another will make you successful. “You teach me, I teach you — that’s the bridge FORBES is building to connect the values and standards of traditional media with the dynamism of the digital age”
We may be able to learn a lot from each other, but one of the biggest challenges now is that any one can post something online. Freelance writers are our biggest challenge and threat. You don’t know what’s on the internet now, what to believe or who to believe. Freelance writers can post anything they want, give it a title and it can make Yahoo News.

It’s hard for us aspiring journalists to produce news now.
The internet world and the journalism world are colliding and for the most part, they are making something incredible happen. It makes you wonder, what’s next…

 

September 11th 2014.

The fact that the web turned 25 on March 12, 2014 makes me feel extremely old. It wasn’t long ago that we were all still new to the web and the magical things it has done for us. Without the web I honestly don’t know where we would be or how we would survive. Everyday millions of people use the web to look up information, to go on social media, to play games, to shop and even meet people.

The web has had both a negative and positive side to it, most of the time it’s positive, unless you’re a celebrity who just had nude photos leaked. Or a person who got caught cheating, or someone who just don’t take “selfies” well. Other than those small things, the web has changed our lives.

Three points that show how the web has changed are

1)communication has grown rapidly. Because of social media more people are in touch with their friends and families lives way more now. You can easily go on their Facebook, twitter or Instagram and see exactly what they’ve been up too.

According to the article The Web at 25 in the U.S.by Susannah Fox and Lee Rainie, it states that 67% of internet users say their online communication has generally strengthened, while only 18% say it’s weakened it. The web helps you stay in touch way more than picking up the phone every once in a while to “check-in”.
2) More adults are more intact now. If you really think about it, adults never would have known what LOL is, what LMAO is, or even IDK. In today’s world most adults know this because of the internet.

According to the same article,  in 1995 only 14% of adults were using internet access. Most aunts didn’t even know what it was; in 2014 through eight out of 10 adults say they use a laptop and desk computer somewhere somehow. With more adults using modern technology their vocabulary and short hand has gotten so much better, making teens everywhere extremely embarrassed.

3) Social Media. Social Media is probably the most popular thing on the planet right now (besides money, money always wins, remember that! ) Anyway, without the internet there would be no social media, and with no social media would the internet really be that popular? It would be for some things like research but social media is where phone companies make big bucks, with only a certain amount of data allowed, kids go through data like candy at Halloween, making parents pay for so much. Social media has also helped people with illnesses raise money and awareness, like the ALS challenge. According to the article 56% of internet users say they have seen an online group come together to help a person in need. Without the web awareness wouldn’t travel as fast. News wouldn’t travel as fast either.

With the anniversary of 9/11 coming up and all this talk about the internet it’s weird to look back at 9/11 and see how the internet had impacted such a day. Compared to Pearl Harbor where their wasn’t the internet to look up photos, interviews and actual footage. 9/11 there was videos and because of the popularity of the internet in 2001 videos was posted.

In Today’s era there are actual raw footage of firefighters, police, victims, on-lookers. It proved to me how much has changed since before internet was around. Many people didn’t want to see the videos or photos because it was so raw and real people who weren’t in NYC felt like they were after seeing everything on the internet. It’s pretty crazy to see how something has changed within 25 years and how much more growing I still has to do.