internet – Page 3 – Online Reporting, Research & Writing

Inside Z’s world of social media frenzy

I’ve had social media for a very long time. I started out with MySpace. Unfortunately I do not recall my username or password so a screenshot or link would not be useful at this time.

My main social media platform would be Instagram . I use Instagram primarily for photos and to alert the world via hashtags (and those that are following can see as well ) of newly posted blogs. If you were to look at my Instagram today, you would see a lot of makeup photos such as the one below.

Another platform I use is Snapchat, when I want to do a quick review on products or just to show a little personality, I’ll do so on Snapchat.

Also Snapchat has the world stories which is new to Instagram. With this feature you’re able to reach a lot of people.

My Twitter is fairly new for me to use, originally I used so I could see the products being shipped in my Ipsy bag prior to receiving them. Now I’ve opened it up publicly. I’ll likely use it the same as I use my Instagram account.

Lastly and most important to me is my Blog. Which is one of the main reasons I took a journalism class. I like to have my own platform where I can voice my own opinions, promote my book and of course do product reviews. On my blog, I’ll have my personal poetry, reviews and affiliate discounts with links. After taking this class I’ll be redoing my whole blog to give it a more professional look rather than the I started in my garage vibe it has currently.

A curation example

On Bridgemi I was able to find an example of curation written by Chastity Pratt Dawsey and Mike Wilkinson. This particular article compared the various school stats in Michigan as opposed to other states. The two reporters highlighted an important fact; “Michigan is not getting the school it deserves.”

I feel that after reading Ron French’s story, which is also on Bridgemi, this was a poor example or perhaps a short article. Although the article had well over 18 paragraphs and only three contextualized links. As the flow of the paragraphs increased to the end of the article the three links were the only sources that were used.

The article also had related links in the middle of certain paragraphs, that could cause some confusion as you are reading. That could be an added value for citizens in the school districts that want to see similar articles on the topic or as mentioned before cause a sense of confusion to the readers.

I do like the way the few links are attributed, it is the same as what we are currently learning and prior to clicking the link you know what you’re going to potentially be seeing. Thus, it is not click bait. Although this is blog post is not about the content of the writing, I think the authors had too much opinion in the writing. This is something that we should limit as much as possible so that our biases and personal beliefs do not run interference with the facts.

Ron’s Story

Ron French wrote a curated story about Betsy DeVos, that is used as an example for journalism students to study . Within his story he uses multiple sources to create a narrative where his subsequent paragraphs all have an introduction to his sources and contextualized links.

Unlike Bestsy DeVos, he had multiple sources included in his article. One source is from National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). This source includes how Michigan schools compare in subjects like math and reading as opposed to other schools.

Another great source Ron French used in this article besides Bridgemi.com is Professor Brian A. Jacob who is the professor of education policy, professor of economics and professor of education at the University of Michigan. This professor created an analysis that researched testing scores that have declined over the last 12 years.

The way he uses contextualized links as a way to introduce articles and people is nothing short of genius. He gives a quick summary of the points that are the main focus of the linking article and person. Rather than simply saying “click here” as if click bait, he uses phrases in the sentences to link. In my opinion this also helps the audience understand what they are going to be reading about.

Overall, Ron French made great use of curation techniques within his story that enables the audience to read through the article seamlessly, all while being able to check his sources to ensure they are facts and not speculation.

Louis Vuitton’s new designer for mens wear

“Louis Vuitton Names Virgil Abloh as Its New Men’s Wear Designer” is an aggregated article I found on The New York Times website. I read about how the famous brand Louis Vuitton is changing the head designer on the brand’s menswear.

While trying to introduce the famous designer Virgil Abloh, by saying he is Louis Vuitton’s first African American artistic director, the designer aggregated sources to link under his name to a page that has many questions and answers about who he is. He was one of the few black designers at the top of a French heritage house.

The aggregated source really helps people know this new designer is and why he is the new face of this very famous brand. Another aggregated source the brand used was when comparing him to other designers of famous brands, like Oliver Rousteing which is the famous director of the brand Givenchy and Balmain. The article linked a page of questions and answers about him also.

The article goes on to support all the people throughout the article to links and sources for people reading the article know exactly what they are talking about. If the readers have any questions about the people they are talking about they know where to find all the information. Overall the article has done a very good job of aggregating their article.

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Aggregation for the computer nerd

As many people know by now, I enjoy the tech and video game world. Keeping up with all the new games is a tough task considering you not only have to keep up with the consoles but also the developers and publishers. The tech world is even harder because new advancements are made every day. One way I keep up is through the website Reddit.

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Reddit is a site where any topic you can think of has a dedicated page. If you’ve heard of it, so has Reddit. All you have to do to start getting posts about your favorite topics is subscribe to their subreddit. Local news? r/Michigan. Politics? r/politics. Videogames? r/gaming. That is the naming convention Reddit uses, r/ what ever you want. And the subreddit I visit most often, r/pcmasterrace.

pcmr

r/pcmasterrace, or pcmr for short, is the subreddit for all things computer. Originally started as a subreddit to provide information on how to build gaming computers and why they are inherently superior to gaming consoles, pcmr has grown into something quite a bit bigger. A place to show off new computers, new industry advancements, talk about the latest games, and still find advice on how to ‘ascend to the glorious master race’.

pcmr is not purely news, but it is set up like a news paper. Sunday comics, breaking news, ads for businesses and products, and even fluff pieces, you just have to look at the tags. Even better than a news paper though is the ability to discuss the posts with like minded individuals which is done in the comments section of each and every post.