Blogs: the diary of the travelers

Travelers all over the world have found an easy and accessible way to share their experiences. Blogs allow adventurers to involve strangers to come along on their trips.

Many people like to keep dairies, but the Internet has created an open book of possibilities for the writers to share their thoughts while they are away.

A great website where readers can learn about a young aviator and his historic flight around the world covering 27 countries and its cultures is www.experienceaviation.com. I love it!

Barrington Irving, a 23-year old, who became the first person of African descent and the youngest person ever to fly solo around the globe, has visited countries, such as Dubai, Saudi Arabia, India, Italy and Japan. He kept a journal along with photos and videos about his amazing experience.

Websites like his create opportunities to connect with other foreign bloggers. It’s a good way to make new friends.

I love to read blogs about other people and places. It mentally allows me to imagine flying to destinations that I have never been before. It’s just like reading a great book!

Video Biography: The resume of the… present?

New technology is giving us the opportunity to go an extra step further and expose ourselves a little more to our future employers with video biographies.

Video biographies? Yes, you read it right. Online resume is the new trend among students, especially those into media or performing arts.

More and more companies are admitting the use of the search page Google to find additional information about applicants. And more and more applicants are using online resources such as youtube.com, myspace.com, and visualvc.com among others to post more details about their personal and professional lives.

If you are interested in having your own website or perhaps your own online resume make sure to look professional and to let the viewers see your skills and talents.

When doing a video biography, please don’t go beyond two minutes. A simple 30 to 45 seconds video would be more beneficial than a long “film” about you. And if you don’t feel quite comfortable with video cameras, a sound slide would work just fine.

Citizen Paparazzi

The Internet is creating a new movement that involves the community as a whole. This concept is a trend that allows the public to participate in the dissemination of news, photos and information.

Digital cameras and the accessibility to the online world are leading to an increasing popularity of 'Citizen Paparazzi.' More photos taken by non-professional photographers are being published on gossip celebrity web sites, such as Perez Hilton, which obtains many of the content from its own audience. 

If you are one of those people that always carry a camera around, snapping photos of celebrities can earn you some extra bucks. This revolutionary idea is generating tension among competing professional paparazzi. But it also creates new opportunities for the average person to be part of the "celebrity" industry, for better or for worse.

For more information on this subject, read The Rise of the 'Citizen Paparazzi' published in The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120214555663941015.html?mod=technology_main_promo_left

Online Forums = Freedom of Expression

It is very interesting to see how the Internet has become a new place where the public can freely express emotions, insights and frustrations.

After every online story, newspapers, magazines, and even TV stations are giving to their readers and audience a space on their websites to communicate their opinions.

Many of the journalism sites use filters to screen out unacceptable language.  Some websites, such as MiamiHerald.com, are creating a registration requirement to stimulate respectful and non-abusive responses.

These online exchanges cover all type of subjects, such as condolences, support, anecdotes or experiences, anger, disappointment, and an innumerable amount of offensive feedback.

Whether offensive or not, these controversial discussions are giving a voice to the community. Once again, the Internet is providing an opportunity for all of us to utilize our freedom of expression. But be respectuful!

 

Copyrights

The Internet is becoming more available for people all over the world. The amount of knowledge and new technology that individuals are having access to are creating high risks for intellectual property.

Students are being more cautious with the images, music, videos, lyrics and graphics they use for their academic projects or blogs.

If you are a communications student, or perhaps just love the cyber world - as I do – keep in mind that the content found online has an owner, if we want to use it, we have to find out whom that person is and ask for permission or pay the rights.

It is also good to know that there is some content for public use. Royalty free music websites are easily found online. These sites provide free or single-fee music that can be used for production, multimedia projects, film, television, video, advertising, and educational projects among others. 

Keep that in mind!

Interested in Online Journalism?

If you are interested in online journalism as I am, it is important to keep in mind that there are many new skills we must have to succeed in this brave new world.

Every online reporter should have some knowledge about XHTML and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). This will give us a good foundation for our daily online work, which should come along with basic knowledge of audio recording and photo-shooting and editing.

But most important is still good storytelling.  If we want the audience to pay attention, we have to be able to originally and strongly present a story visually.

Here are a few important techniques given by Ricardo Lopez, a Miami Herald visual journalist:

1.     Make sure you are aware of what you are shooting.  Frame the shot and hold it for 10 to 15 seconds.

2.     Get A Roll (also known as talking head) it normally serves as the narration for your online video. And, of course get the B Roll, it is your action and it must match your A Roll.

3.     Some of the most common transitions are:

a)    Straight Cut – also known as cut.  This shows continuity and is similar to blinking.

b)   Cross-dissolve – also known as dissolve. Indicates a passage of a short period of time.

c)    Fade in/out – also known as fade. Indicates longer passage of time.

4.     Don’t forget to get familiar with the camera before going out to the field. Play with it and understand it before an interview.

5.     Finally, a video work flow consist in the following steps:

·      Think and Plan

·      Shoot

·      Log and Capture

·      Edit 

·      Export and Publish

How video works for story telling

Last night, in our online Journalism class we had the wonderful opportunity to listen to Ricardo Lopez, a Miami Herald visual journalist.  His presentation was extremely helpful and fascinating, especially to those – like me -- interested in media convergence.

Lopez had great tips:

1. Video is an emotional medium, which allows us to show our audience conflict, emotion and motion.

2. In an online visual short report it is very important to let the audience get a full sense of the main character and its story, without interruptions.  As he said, “let the subject drive the bus.”

3. Be always open for changes, but make sure you have a direction! Be constantly aware of what your story is about.

4. Seventy percent of the video is audio.  It is what moves a story forward.

5. Make sure to avoid noises when doing an interview. Questions for video are few, focused and to the point. Get full sentences and make sure to don’t interrupt… let the subject talk. 

That means: shut up and listen, listen, and listen!

What a great concept!