It has been over a week since I was last here at the Daily Freeman. I am finally back from Madrid, Spain and have jumped right back into the digital journalism/social media frenzy that is going on here at the Freeman.
Instead of walking to my usual desk when I first came in, I walked into a new conference room where Ivan Lajara gave a tutorial on how to improve your newsrooms facebook page. All of the Daily Freeman
editors attended the conference which was put on a live stream for others to learn as well.
Video streaming by Ustream
Key points from the conference included:
You should not post TOO frequently. Taking up someone's whole news feed 24/7 is not appealing and people will dislike your organization.
The things that you DO post should be newsworthy enough to make you say "wow". People don't go to Facebook to find news. Facebook is a social media website where they go to have fun and see things that they want to see. Be careful of the content you put up. You want to post things that people with interact with.
Speaking of interacting, the newsroom's Facebook needs to be more personal. It needs to be known that there is a human being behind the username, not a robot. Interacting with the comments/posts people place on the facebook will give the user satisfaction that someone is listening to then and taking what they have to say into consideration.
Snarky comments are never going to disappear. Instead of ignoring comments that could be critical, mean, or pessimistic,you should acknowledge the person with "Thank you for you input" or something that allows them to know you read the comment. It has been observed that if a newsroom responds to a snarky comment in a nice, cooperative tone of voice (I know that sounds weird, but you know what I mean, then the conversation is much more likely to turn around and even be substantial.
When posting a story or update on both Twitter and Facebook, the wording should be different for both social media sites. Facebook is a more personal form of social media and so posts should reflect that. Similarly, not everybody who uses Facebook uses Twitter; therefore, do not use hashtags or "RT", "MT", @blahblahblah on Facebook.
Afterward, I watched the recorded live stream of how to use twitter for journalism which Ivan Lajara taught to all of the reporters at the Freeman.
The conference was directed towards people who have all different levels of twitter-literacy. some of the main topics included:
Reporters should be following other reporters or news organizations. An easy way to do this is to follow a list rather than follow everyone in the list.
It is okay for newsrooms to retweet information about a story that is not absolutely true by asking in the retweet, "How do you know this?" "Confirmation?", or "What's the source?".
TweetDeck is the way to go! TweetDeck allows you to schedule your posts so that you do not necessarily have to be at your computer to tweet a story or headline. It also allows you to add columns where you can put all of the lists that you follows. TweetDeck has a pop-up that shows you tweets,updates, and everything you need to look for when compiling information through Twitter.
Hashtags are topics. When using a hashtag, it combines all of the same topics that other Twitter users are talking about. It compiles them together and can be very useful when looking for information to put into a story or people to talk to for a specific story topic.
Bit.ly is extremely useful for journalism because it allows you to see what is working and what is not working. When you copy and paste a link into bit.ly, it shortens the link as well as allows you to see how many people are clicking on your link as well as where they are clicking from (ex: facebook, twitter, e-mail.
Twitter is something that all journalists should be updating for their own stories. There should not have to be a set person in charge of Twitter for a single newsroom because journalists should be able to quickly put up a one sentence post on breaking news or story updates.
Technical references that were left out of the livestream video about Twitter can be found here.
One of the most important things that was stated in both videos was to make sure you are expressing yourself as human on your social media sites. They are SOCIAL MEDIA sites; people want to be interacting with your newsrooms twitter or facebook. So be as effectively interactive as possible!
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Not so crazy about Aviary...
For the past four hours, I have been attempting to use Aviary, "a free suite of powerful online creation tools". Now, I know that I don't have a whole lot of patience for figuring out applications I don't understand. However, I purposely went into today's task with a clear head and had not a slight feeling of pessimism.
Four hours later, I'm ready to throw the computer out the window.
I have found multiple problems with Aviary; the first being that it says that beginners can use these tools...that is not completely true.
The first thing I tried to use was the Phoenix tool, which is an image editing program. This is the video they show on the website of what you can do with the program:
When I first took a look at that video I thought the program was going to be so cool and that I would be able to create such awesome images; that did not happen. I opened up four tutorials in total and attempted to do four different things including: adding a border (which doesn't sound too hard, cloning the background of a photo, casting shadows,and lastly understanding layers.
I read and re-read these tutorials at least two or three times each (like I said, I've been doing this for 4 hours) and I was only able to follow the "Understanding Layers" one. This is what I was able to create:
1st try.egg on Aviary.
Kiersten, Logan, and Jules in the Desert.egg on Aviary.
Happy Saint Patricks Day!.egg on Aviary.
The second image was the coolest one in my opinion; however it is still no way near what I should be capable of doing on this program. For people with experience in graphic design, this program must be heaven.
For those who have only used a photo-shop application, this is confusing.
The biggest problem is that the tutorials that they provide don't use the same language for the tools and toolbars that are on the website. It gets confusing when they tell you to use a specific tool, and then it is not there. When I got really lost I used this support page which made it easier to figure out.
Although difficult to use,I think the idea of using photo-editing programs in journalism could be useful for stories and websites. The only problem I could see is that it takes time to edit and be creative with these photos.
The next tool I tried was the Audio Editor. When I first opened the program, I thought it looked very familiar to a program I used for one of my classes so I thought I would be able to use it easily.
What I found is that this is also confusing. There are many dead-ends in this program that made me feel as though I didn't have the freedom I would have liked to have in an audio editing program. I tried to put two songs together, but was not able to make the volume of the voice lower than the music, which was upsetting. I then tried put together an interview with a song on two different tracks, but I was not able to cut certain pieces of the interview.
A program that is very similar to this but easier to use and you have many more options is Audacity. It is a free downloadable audio editing program. This is something I created on Audacity for a class of mine. The project, which required a lot of editing, was to turn a two-person interview into one person telling a story.
Foleyaudio3.7.wav. by user179716
An audio-editing program I think is very useful for journalism. If there is a case where a reporter does not have a flip camera on them but has an audio recording device, using a program to create a story out of an interview to put up on a website could be nice to have. Also, if someone does not want their face to be shown on a website, having them create their own story using just their voice may be appealing to audience members.
Next, I played around with Aviary's Music Creator. This program, I must say, did not necessarily need instructions. I just started to play around with it and I understood it pretty quickly. It was really fun to play with for a while but I just don't see a real journalistic purpose for it. This is the sound bite that I created using sounds from a piano, bells, and a harp:
Lastly, I tried to use the Peacock Application which is an effects editor which Aviary calls its "Visual Laboratory". Once again, look at how cool this looks:
And so I got all excited to be able to do that too, but was only more disappointed then before. I am thinking that maybe there was a problem with their server, or something wrong internally. I uploaded a picture to the "canvas" to start editing, but when I got there I was not able to click on anything. I would click, click, click away on different effects but nothing was happening! It really seemed as though something within the website was wrong because literally,NOTHING worked when I clicked on it.
I am not exactly sure how useful an effect editor like this would be in the field of journalism; it seems more like it has a professional art focus, but it definitely would be cool to play with if it would work.
There is a possibility that I will give Aviary a second chance and try to learn it better in the future; however as of right now I think that it is more for people with experience in web/graphic design and is too time consuming for small newsrooms to be using.
Four hours later, I'm ready to throw the computer out the window.
I have found multiple problems with Aviary; the first being that it says that beginners can use these tools...that is not completely true.
The first thing I tried to use was the Phoenix tool, which is an image editing program. This is the video they show on the website of what you can do with the program:
When I first took a look at that video I thought the program was going to be so cool and that I would be able to create such awesome images; that did not happen. I opened up four tutorials in total and attempted to do four different things including: adding a border (which doesn't sound too hard, cloning the background of a photo, casting shadows,and lastly understanding layers.
I read and re-read these tutorials at least two or three times each (like I said, I've been doing this for 4 hours) and I was only able to follow the "Understanding Layers" one. This is what I was able to create:
1st try.egg on Aviary.Kiersten, Logan, and Jules in the Desert.egg on Aviary.Happy Saint Patricks Day!.egg on Aviary.The second image was the coolest one in my opinion; however it is still no way near what I should be capable of doing on this program. For people with experience in graphic design, this program must be heaven.
For those who have only used a photo-shop application, this is confusing.
The biggest problem is that the tutorials that they provide don't use the same language for the tools and toolbars that are on the website. It gets confusing when they tell you to use a specific tool, and then it is not there. When I got really lost I used this support page which made it easier to figure out.
Although difficult to use,I think the idea of using photo-editing programs in journalism could be useful for stories and websites. The only problem I could see is that it takes time to edit and be creative with these photos.
The next tool I tried was the Audio Editor. When I first opened the program, I thought it looked very familiar to a program I used for one of my classes so I thought I would be able to use it easily.
What I found is that this is also confusing. There are many dead-ends in this program that made me feel as though I didn't have the freedom I would have liked to have in an audio editing program. I tried to put two songs together, but was not able to make the volume of the voice lower than the music, which was upsetting. I then tried put together an interview with a song on two different tracks, but I was not able to cut certain pieces of the interview.
A program that is very similar to this but easier to use and you have many more options is Audacity. It is a free downloadable audio editing program. This is something I created on Audacity for a class of mine. The project, which required a lot of editing, was to turn a two-person interview into one person telling a story.
Foleyaudio3.7.wav. by user179716
An audio-editing program I think is very useful for journalism. If there is a case where a reporter does not have a flip camera on them but has an audio recording device, using a program to create a story out of an interview to put up on a website could be nice to have. Also, if someone does not want their face to be shown on a website, having them create their own story using just their voice may be appealing to audience members.
Next, I played around with Aviary's Music Creator. This program, I must say, did not necessarily need instructions. I just started to play around with it and I understood it pretty quickly. It was really fun to play with for a while but I just don't see a real journalistic purpose for it. This is the sound bite that I created using sounds from a piano, bells, and a harp:
Lastly, I tried to use the Peacock Application which is an effects editor which Aviary calls its "Visual Laboratory". Once again, look at how cool this looks:
And so I got all excited to be able to do that too, but was only more disappointed then before. I am thinking that maybe there was a problem with their server, or something wrong internally. I uploaded a picture to the "canvas" to start editing, but when I got there I was not able to click on anything. I would click, click, click away on different effects but nothing was happening! It really seemed as though something within the website was wrong because literally,NOTHING worked when I clicked on it.
I am not exactly sure how useful an effect editor like this would be in the field of journalism; it seems more like it has a professional art focus, but it definitely would be cool to play with if it would work.
There is a possibility that I will give Aviary a second chance and try to learn it better in the future; however as of right now I think that it is more for people with experience in web/graphic design and is too time consuming for small newsrooms to be using.
Friday, March 11, 2011
How to make a Google map!
View Hudson Valley flood reports, March 11, 2011 in a larger map
This is the Google Map that Ivan Lajara started and I helped to finish today. The map is of the floods that have occurred over the past few days. The map represents road closings, flood warnings, fires, and state of emergencies.
Based on the comments we have received on the map, people seem to be finding it very useful...and so we will continue to update it.
I thought I would be the last person to have the patience to sit down and make a map using Google Maps; however, I promise you it REALLY isn't that bad. Actually, once you start it and get into the motions, it's really quite simple.
1) First of all, if you don't have a Google account, you should get one.
2) Next, visit the National Weather Service website and download the National Weather Data that they have in KML/KMZ file format. Click on "Current Weather Warnings" and download the file.
3) Visit Google Maps, click "My Maps".
4)On the left hand side you will see "Import". Click it to import the weather data you downloaded before. This is what it should look like:
5) The next thing I did was go onto the Daily Freeman's website to get the latest updates on road closings, and flood warnings.
6)For example: I want to show that Springtown Road in New Paltz New York was closed due to flooding. I searched in the Google search bar for "Springtown Road, New Paltz NY".
7) The tool bar on the left hand side shows you the point that you selected. (In this case: Springtown Road New Paltz, NY) Click "Save to..." and select your map.
8) Click View Map in the yellow headline at the top of the page to get back to your map.
9) Once you are back to your map you can edit your location. On the left side tool-bar, click "edit". The brown oval is where you can change the title of your location. The blue circle allows you to include a link with your location. To insert a picture, you click the blue and green landscape button that is in the pink circle, underneath where it says "Edit HTML". The square inside of the green circle allows you to change the icon the points to your location on the map. And lastly the yellow circle contains a "delete" option which allows you to delete that location.
10) When you are done editing your location, click "ok". Then scroll up and look at the tool bar on the left. Click "Save" and then "done".
You can do this as many times as you want and you can add as many locations as you want. There are lots of tricks and cool things you can do with google maps if you play around with it long enough. You are able to add pictures and videos as well as include links to other pages or websites. I hope that this was helpful to some people and I will edit it to make it easier or more clear for people.
Also, when you are embedding your map into a website or blog, you can choose what part of the map will come up on your blog/website. For example the map that I embedded at the top of this blog post is not specific to the information on it.
Now this one...
View Hudson Valley flood reports, March 11, 2011 in a larger map
TAA-DAAA! This one is specific to my locations.
To do this simply click "link" on the right hand side on top of the map. Instead of just copying and pasting that code, click "customize and preview embedded map". Now you had choose what size it is, what area of the map to focus on, etc.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Maps spin my head right round, right round...
My head is currently pounding due to the amount of confusion I've been faced with today.
The beginning of my day at the Daily Freeman was typical..JRCChat! I really have started to enjoy the chats because I really do learn a lot just by watching. I am starting to get the desire to add my own to sense as well; however, it is intimidating all the same. Luckily, Ivan shared a link today that has encouraged me to try to get involved in the next chat!
Today the topic of discussion was implementing web tools into journalism. We talked about using maps for stories that involve traffic, road detours or closures, crime, weather, foreclosures, the census, or local locations (holiday lights, grand openings, etc). The question is who is going to put these maps together? Using web tools has become easy enough for any regular, every-day reporter to create. You no longer need to be a web designer, or a programmer to come up with these things. Therefore reporters should be able to create maps and graphs on their own.
We also talked about using Google Documents and Scribd to upload government documents, programs for festivals or events, or excerpts from papers. These can be embedded into a website or a blog and can be scrolled down to read from that specific website, or can be printed out as well.
After talking about timelines last week, everyone at the Journal Register Company who was in the #JRCChat agreed that timelines are indeed worth the time and can be very useful when it comes to online journalism. Although there is still some discussion over which is more effecient- TimeToast or Dipity.
One problem that there seems to be in newsrooms all over the place is that some people are not exactly on board to learn how to use these web tools. The chat discussed ways to get other reporters excited to use web tools. Some suggestions included being patient when teaching other people, letting others know that it is okay to make mistakes with the tools, and sharing knowledge about the tools with others. More suggestions included having sessions in which people can learn step by step how to use specific tools, and forcing people to learn to use web tools rather than waiting around for them to decide it is necessary.
It was after the chat that the headache started. Ivan asked me to search for KMZ and KML files. These files are only to be opened using Google Maps or Google Earth. When it comes to this kind of specific technology, I am completely lost. I actually start to feel queasy thinking about it.
The most I can really understand about it is that KML is a type of file and KMZ is KML zipped. That is really all I understand about the files. I figured out that if you can download one of those files and open it up in Google Earth, it is really really cool to play around with because it is so interactive. The problem that I ran into is that they are hard to find.
Maybe I was just looking in the wrong spot, searching for the wrong terms; but as I continued to search for these files my head began spinning faster and faster.
I finally downloaded a KML file that had to do with the Hudson Valley Estuary Drainage . I downloaded it and then used Google Earth to open it. This is what i saw...
The map is interactive and you can zoom in and out as much as you want. It also includes layers in which you can decide if you want to see photos, roads, traffic lights, etc.
After playing around with that for a while I started to look up information on the 2010 Census results. I wanted to make a chart or map of some sort with the results; however, the results for New York State had yet to come out. So instead, I started thinking about what kinds of maps and graphs could be created once the results do come out.
A map or line graph of the increases in population of each county in the Hudson Valley would be interesting; you could also measure in the decrease in population of surrounding areas.
An interactive map of the shift in immigration might also be an interesting aspect to use a web tool for. I found some sites with more interactive tools to use, but I am not going to give them away until I have a chance to play with them with real numbers from the Census in the upcoming weeks.
Until then, click this.
And this.
The beginning of my day at the Daily Freeman was typical..JRCChat! I really have started to enjoy the chats because I really do learn a lot just by watching. I am starting to get the desire to add my own to sense as well; however, it is intimidating all the same. Luckily, Ivan shared a link today that has encouraged me to try to get involved in the next chat!
Today the topic of discussion was implementing web tools into journalism. We talked about using maps for stories that involve traffic, road detours or closures, crime, weather, foreclosures, the census, or local locations (holiday lights, grand openings, etc). The question is who is going to put these maps together? Using web tools has become easy enough for any regular, every-day reporter to create. You no longer need to be a web designer, or a programmer to come up with these things. Therefore reporters should be able to create maps and graphs on their own.
We also talked about using Google Documents and Scribd to upload government documents, programs for festivals or events, or excerpts from papers. These can be embedded into a website or a blog and can be scrolled down to read from that specific website, or can be printed out as well.
After talking about timelines last week, everyone at the Journal Register Company who was in the #JRCChat agreed that timelines are indeed worth the time and can be very useful when it comes to online journalism. Although there is still some discussion over which is more effecient- TimeToast or Dipity.
One problem that there seems to be in newsrooms all over the place is that some people are not exactly on board to learn how to use these web tools. The chat discussed ways to get other reporters excited to use web tools. Some suggestions included being patient when teaching other people, letting others know that it is okay to make mistakes with the tools, and sharing knowledge about the tools with others. More suggestions included having sessions in which people can learn step by step how to use specific tools, and forcing people to learn to use web tools rather than waiting around for them to decide it is necessary.
It was after the chat that the headache started. Ivan asked me to search for KMZ and KML files. These files are only to be opened using Google Maps or Google Earth. When it comes to this kind of specific technology, I am completely lost. I actually start to feel queasy thinking about it.
The most I can really understand about it is that KML is a type of file and KMZ is KML zipped. That is really all I understand about the files. I figured out that if you can download one of those files and open it up in Google Earth, it is really really cool to play around with because it is so interactive. The problem that I ran into is that they are hard to find.
Maybe I was just looking in the wrong spot, searching for the wrong terms; but as I continued to search for these files my head began spinning faster and faster.
I finally downloaded a KML file that had to do with the Hudson Valley Estuary Drainage . I downloaded it and then used Google Earth to open it. This is what i saw...
The map is interactive and you can zoom in and out as much as you want. It also includes layers in which you can decide if you want to see photos, roads, traffic lights, etc.
After playing around with that for a while I started to look up information on the 2010 Census results. I wanted to make a chart or map of some sort with the results; however, the results for New York State had yet to come out. So instead, I started thinking about what kinds of maps and graphs could be created once the results do come out.
A map or line graph of the increases in population of each county in the Hudson Valley would be interesting; you could also measure in the decrease in population of surrounding areas.
An interactive map of the shift in immigration might also be an interesting aspect to use a web tool for. I found some sites with more interactive tools to use, but I am not going to give them away until I have a chance to play with them with real numbers from the Census in the upcoming weeks.
Until then, click this.
And this.
Friday, March 4, 2011
Tools, tools, and more tools.
For anyone who has taken a look at this blog before, I bet you can guess what I did at my internship today? If you guessed that I searched for and played around with tools that may be useful for online journalism...then you are RIGHTO!
I began by searching in Google for "visualizations for online journalism" and an article by Poynter popped up. The article featured a few websites that have been used for online journalism and gave tips and examples of how journalists could use them. Dipity, the website I used to create the Timothy Matthews Timeline that is featured below, was one of them!
This is an image that I created with Wordle. Wordle generates "word clouds" which is a visual that gives you an idea of the content of a specific speech, website, blog, document, etc. It allows you to insert a speech, URL for a blog or website, song lyrics, documents, etc and creates an image. The image that is posted above was generated from a link to my blog. The purpose of word clouds in journalism seems to be to give readers a quick look at what the content is about.
This image is a timeline of the "Charlie Sheen" trend on Twitter. It is created by a site called Trendistic. Trendistic allows users to search for a term or phrase; it then generates a chart of how often that term or phrase was tweeted over or within a certain time frame (24 hours, 1 week, 30 days, 90 days, 180 days). It also allows you to embed or tweet the chart in either a static or dynamic form. I think this could be useful when making a point of how much attention one topic is receiving from news media.
This image is of a map that I was able to create through a site called BatchGeo. The program allows you to copy and paste an excel sheet which includes: address, city, state, county, zip code, phone number, etc. Once you paste the excel sheet into the space provided, it generates a map of all of those places and the information you included in the excel sheet. I made a map of the places I am going over Spring Break. A visualization such as this could be useful when doing a story about a series of places: Christmas lights, Dine Out Against Hunger, Blood Drives, are all examples I am thinking of off the top of my head.
Stickybits is a website that I came across while searching for tools. I can not see any journalistic purpose to it; but it is really cool. It's an app for your smartphone that allows you to scan barcodes of any product in order to find deals and get free stuff.
Lastly, I found an article from the Investigative Reporters and Investigators that had links to visualization tools. It included a lot of tools that I've already messed around with; however the one tool I had never heard of Tableau Public. I downloaded it for free because it seemed like a really cool program; however it was sort of tricky to figure out. Again, you need an excel sheet for this application and once you download the excel sheet into the program, it is not that simple to create a visualization. Maybe if i spent more time on it I could figure it out but I definitely do not recommend it for beginners.
I took a look at the Nieman Journalism Lab's This Week in Review which had to do with "Google’s content farm crackdown, Facebook’s new comments, more TBD lessons". I am starting to think it is almost scary how interconnected everything is getting. The internet seems to have become a place with nowhere to escape.
I began by searching in Google for "visualizations for online journalism" and an article by Poynter popped up. The article featured a few websites that have been used for online journalism and gave tips and examples of how journalists could use them. Dipity, the website I used to create the Timothy Matthews Timeline that is featured below, was one of them!
This is an image that I created with Wordle. Wordle generates "word clouds" which is a visual that gives you an idea of the content of a specific speech, website, blog, document, etc. It allows you to insert a speech, URL for a blog or website, song lyrics, documents, etc and creates an image. The image that is posted above was generated from a link to my blog. The purpose of word clouds in journalism seems to be to give readers a quick look at what the content is about.
This image is a timeline of the "Charlie Sheen" trend on Twitter. It is created by a site called Trendistic. Trendistic allows users to search for a term or phrase; it then generates a chart of how often that term or phrase was tweeted over or within a certain time frame (24 hours, 1 week, 30 days, 90 days, 180 days). It also allows you to embed or tweet the chart in either a static or dynamic form. I think this could be useful when making a point of how much attention one topic is receiving from news media.
This image is of a map that I was able to create through a site called BatchGeo. The program allows you to copy and paste an excel sheet which includes: address, city, state, county, zip code, phone number, etc. Once you paste the excel sheet into the space provided, it generates a map of all of those places and the information you included in the excel sheet. I made a map of the places I am going over Spring Break. A visualization such as this could be useful when doing a story about a series of places: Christmas lights, Dine Out Against Hunger, Blood Drives, are all examples I am thinking of off the top of my head.
Stickybits is a website that I came across while searching for tools. I can not see any journalistic purpose to it; but it is really cool. It's an app for your smartphone that allows you to scan barcodes of any product in order to find deals and get free stuff.
Lastly, I found an article from the Investigative Reporters and Investigators that had links to visualization tools. It included a lot of tools that I've already messed around with; however the one tool I had never heard of Tableau Public. I downloaded it for free because it seemed like a really cool program; however it was sort of tricky to figure out. Again, you need an excel sheet for this application and once you download the excel sheet into the program, it is not that simple to create a visualization. Maybe if i spent more time on it I could figure it out but I definitely do not recommend it for beginners.
I took a look at the Nieman Journalism Lab's This Week in Review which had to do with "Google’s content farm crackdown, Facebook’s new comments, more TBD lessons". I am starting to think it is almost scary how interconnected everything is getting. The internet seems to have become a place with nowhere to escape.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Visualize This!
As I have talked about in previous posts, online media is taking over. The need to supplement online journalism is becoming an issue as well. Today, I observed the #JRCchat on new developments in media.
The discussion was about charts, graphs, visualizations and how they come together with journalism to create content that can be read in different ways. There was mostly positive feedback; people agreed that charts, graphs, etc are easy to create and can help readers understand complex issues or stories more easily. If these visuals are done well, readers can understand a story by simply looking at a chart; it may grab their attention where as an article without a visual would have been looked over.
The Gamification of news was said to come along with a risk of trivializing news; however, overall the gamification of news will engage and bring in an audience that might not have looked at your news story, or clicked on your site without having undergone that.
The next discussion topic was about social media curation tools such as Storify or Tweetizen. The general consensus seemed to be that social media curation was more useful for journalists than it is for readers. Readers don't necessarily want to read a bunch of tweets. Reading a story that may contain some tweets as references is good; but that would be up to the journalist to decide how many and where to insert tweets. Another thing to be careful of is the accountability of the tweets that you are sharing, retweeting, or publishing.
As always, the last discussion point for the chat was to...share a link! Free Visualization were immediately shared and I began to play around with them to find out how they could be used in journalism.
The first visualization tool I used was Bubbl.us. Bubbl.us was really easy to use and did not take a lot of time at all. I used the program to design a plan of action for a club I recently started at my school.
I think that this tool would be useful in making a web of connections in a complex story with multiple people are involved and interconnected. I also think that this tool could be used in a political piece where a leader is going to make a decision. A chart like this could lay out the possibilities and the directions that that leader may take. It only took me about 5 minutes to create this chart; it was easy and it is very clear to read.
The next thing I tried was a governmental kid's site that allows you to make graphs. This again was simple to use and did not take a lot of time at all. Yet, the visual is easy to read and can be key to helping a reader understand an article or situation.
Tools such as this could be useful when dealing with a story about budgets or money (for example: how much money was "double-dipped" by Timothy Matthews). It could also be used when measuring the amount of people that are involved in or being affected by something (maybe injuries from a fire for example).
Cacoo is a site that allows you to make all different kinds of charts, graphs, maps, etc. This is a preview of how it works:
In the process of trying out new tools, we got some good news at the Daily Freeman! Dipity is allowing the Daily Freeman to use its services for the website. Therefore, I updated the timeline that is following the scandal surrounding Timothy Matthews.
The discussion was about charts, graphs, visualizations and how they come together with journalism to create content that can be read in different ways. There was mostly positive feedback; people agreed that charts, graphs, etc are easy to create and can help readers understand complex issues or stories more easily. If these visuals are done well, readers can understand a story by simply looking at a chart; it may grab their attention where as an article without a visual would have been looked over.
The Gamification of news was said to come along with a risk of trivializing news; however, overall the gamification of news will engage and bring in an audience that might not have looked at your news story, or clicked on your site without having undergone that.
The next discussion topic was about social media curation tools such as Storify or Tweetizen. The general consensus seemed to be that social media curation was more useful for journalists than it is for readers. Readers don't necessarily want to read a bunch of tweets. Reading a story that may contain some tweets as references is good; but that would be up to the journalist to decide how many and where to insert tweets. Another thing to be careful of is the accountability of the tweets that you are sharing, retweeting, or publishing.
As always, the last discussion point for the chat was to...share a link! Free Visualization were immediately shared and I began to play around with them to find out how they could be used in journalism.
The first visualization tool I used was Bubbl.us. Bubbl.us was really easy to use and did not take a lot of time at all. I used the program to design a plan of action for a club I recently started at my school.
I think that this tool would be useful in making a web of connections in a complex story with multiple people are involved and interconnected. I also think that this tool could be used in a political piece where a leader is going to make a decision. A chart like this could lay out the possibilities and the directions that that leader may take. It only took me about 5 minutes to create this chart; it was easy and it is very clear to read.
The next thing I tried was a governmental kid's site that allows you to make graphs. This again was simple to use and did not take a lot of time at all. Yet, the visual is easy to read and can be key to helping a reader understand an article or situation.
Tools such as this could be useful when dealing with a story about budgets or money (for example: how much money was "double-dipped" by Timothy Matthews). It could also be used when measuring the amount of people that are involved in or being affected by something (maybe injuries from a fire for example).
Cacoo is a site that allows you to make all different kinds of charts, graphs, maps, etc. This is a preview of how it works:
Cacoo - Real-time Collaborative Diagramming & Design from Nulab Inc. on Vimeo.
In the process of trying out new tools, we got some good news at the Daily Freeman! Dipity is allowing the Daily Freeman to use its services for the website. Therefore, I updated the timeline that is following the scandal surrounding Timothy Matthews.
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