Web 2.0

Being connected is more important than ever these days. We have so many forms of communication that it's hard to not be connected to people. The web and technology has come so far over the past several years. Not only can we stay connected by our desktop computers or landline phones but we now have laptops and cell phones that keep us up to date.

Other than staying connected through our cell phones a lot, the web has come light years recently. Just think how it would be if we didn't have our cell phones or our computers. Many of us rely daily on both. Other than that, look at all the advancements that have been made on the web. How many times a day to you use Facebook or Google or the Weather Channel website? We are constantly relying on the web to get us through our day.

Web 2.0 is simply a newer version of pretty much everything on the web. Take Wikipedia for example. Although it's not the most accurate website, we've all heard of it. But did you know that the older version of Wiki is the Britannica online. Not many people would know that. But as much as we use the internet these days, things become more and more common to us.

Today, the internet is known as the fourth mass medium. Other than television, magazine and newspapers, the internet is what we turn to also to keep up with media related stories and info. I would almost bet my life that most college students use the web for their news source more than they use the TV or a newspaper. Not only is it more convenient, but we're always on it doing something, so why not just keep up with the news that way. It's fast and it's reliable.

I have no doubt in my mind that in the next decade, the web will continue to change just as it has in the past. I think that we will move farther away from the traditional forms of media and begin to use the web even more often. It's growing and changing faster than ever now. It's all we can do to keep up with it.

Mason family arrested for multiple murders

Four members of the Manson family cult were arrested today for the brutal slayings of seven victims. Charles Manson, Susan Atkins, Leslie Van Houten and Patricia Krenwinkel were convicted and taken in to custody for the Tate-LaBianca murders that occured three months ago. Manson, the cult leader, reportedly ordered members Atkins, Van Houten and Krenwinkel to carry out the vicious murders that took place on August 9. Abigil Folger, heiress to the Folger coffee company, her boyfriend Voytek Frykowski, Jay Sebring, Steve Parent and Sharon Tate, the wife of film director Roman Polanski were the victims of the first slayings. Leno and Rosemary LaBianca were the last two victims that took place later that same day. Tate was eight months pregnant.

Multimedia:
- Any kind of video that may have caught the family members entering either property
- A timeline of how the events occured (in what order each person was killed)
- Pictures and biographies of each family member arrested
- Pictures and biographies of the victims
- Photos of the property where the slayings took place
- Photos of the weapons used (if possible)
- Any photos of the crime scene that would be reasonable enough to use
- Photos of Spahn Ranch (where the cult members lived)

People I would speak to:
- Family members and friends of the victims
- Neighbors that reporedly heard sounds the night of the murders
- Any people that might know Charles Manson from previous encounters
- Police that were present at the murder scene or those dealing with the crime report
- Other Manson family members (if possible)

Facebook to do list

As we all know, Facebook has become one of the most visited sites on the internet today. Between keeping up with people from high school and posting pictures from last weekend, Facebook is a huge craze with high school and college students. Just like Google became a term to use, e.g. "google it", notable things that happen between your friends can be deemed "facebook worthy".

However, as much as we all love it, there are several things that could be changed to make our visit to Facebook, which is probably ten times a day, move smoother. Lately, people have been adding applications to Facebook. Such as the Top Friends app, Sex and the City app, Flixster app and Sports Fan app, among hundreds of other apps to choose from.

I bet you've added at least one of these and have noticed some problems with the app. I know that under some of the ones I have, they are very slow and you can't always play the games that they promise. So I think that would be my first change to Facebook. Just make the apps Facebook friendly so they move as smoothly as the rest of the website does other than slow you down.

On the down side of that however is when people have too many applications. When you see on the news feed that it is someone's birthday and all you want to do is write on their wall when you finally get to their homepage and it takes you five minutes to scroll down to their wall. That's the negative about the apps.

We all know that we're stalkers on Facebook. We don't admit it, but we are. We want to see what people are like if we don't know much about them. The worst thing about these new apps is having to read through one hundred lines of quotes just to see what their favorite artist is.

The only other thing that I would change about Facebook is the layout. I have been waiting forever for Facebook to let you personalize your profile. I definitely think they should add things such as wallpaper, music and video. That's exactly where Facebook falls short of MySpace. I love Facebook so much more than MySpace. But I really wish that Facebook had the same kind of creative stuff that MySpace does.

JEM students at their best

The Big Orange meets the Big Apple

For the first week in October, the School of Journalism and Electronic Media took their annual trip to New York City. The trip allows journalism students, who are over 21, to go on the trip and get a taste of life in the big city.

I was lucky enough to go this year and see what all New York has to offer. For five days we got to visit many of different media conglomerates including CNN, ABC, Fox News, Playboy, The CW, HBO, NY Sports and many other places. We also got to choose from one of two Broadway plays to see; either Avenue Q or A Chorus Line. I chose to see Avenue Q, which I definitely recommend. The way they turn puppets in to perverted characters is definitely worth seeing.

With each place we went to, we got an insight to how they kept up with the news and what all goes in to making a story; whether the deadline is one day, one week or one month. One of my favorite places we visited was the New York Post. It made me realize how much fun you can have while working hard at the same time. It was my first visit to a real newsroom and it was at first overwhelming with all the madness that goes on. But it was everything I pictured it would be: The hustle and bustle of the news room, small cubicles with past articles in them and papers stacked to the ceiling.

The trip to NY made me want to be a journalist even more. The fast-paced life of the city was such a dramatic change from here but it was so exciting to be in the midst of it every day. The best thing about the NY trip was that it got me interested in areas that I would of never imagined. If you go in knowing that you wanted to do print, you might come out wanting to do production. That's what this trip really had to offer: the best insights possible to all the fields of journalism.

I would recommend this trip for any journalism student, especially those who want to move to a bigger city and work because that city could either make or break you. I always knew that I wanted to move to NY after I graduated but after I went and visited and got a taste of what it's really like, I knew that NY was the perfect fit for me.

Class exceeds expectations

When I first signed up to take this class, I was thinking that it wouldn't be too exciting and that I would just get an elective out of the way. However, as time went on I grew to love online writing. Not only do I find it much more enjoyable than news writing classes, but I just feel like it's more laid back and not as uptight.

Although online writing shares a lot of the same characteristics as news writing, the feelings I get in the two different classes are not at all the same. My news class stresses me out and I get frustrated all the time. But in this class, I don't mind any of the stuff we do, my shoulders don't tense up when I roll my seat up to the computer and I don't feel like someone is watching over my every move. Not to say that online writing isn't as serious, but it's just this feeling I get that I don't experience with news classes.

The possibilities for online producing are neverending. From the NY Times, to the Knox News Sentinel or Cosmopolitan to Scoop, choosing a path in online writing can take a you so many ways.

Having Peggy work with our class gave us an even better insight as to what online writing is really about. It was informative to hear about her job and what she does on a daily basis in a larger city. The only downside I have is that she didn't get to help as much as I was thinking she would. But other than that, it was nice having her as a teaching assistant.

With our generation, we are much more comfortable with using the web instead of newspapers. However, I never thought that online writing would be a good fit for me. Now, I think it's a better fit than almost any kind of print writing. As you can tell, I have really loved online writing. With the growing youth, we are going to get more and more comfortable with using the web and writing online will only become more frequent. This class is a great way to get a feel of how online writing and producing could fit a person's job goals or maybe even change the way they feel about the web.