Coming into J198, I was scared. I was horrible with technology and social media and avoided both like the plague. When I saw the work my friend Jackie was doing for the class last semester. I realized she was learning valuable skills that I needed to know. If I didn’t take the class, I would avoid them forever.
So I started the class. In the beginning I despised making videos. It took me forever to get myself to start filming, and then forever and a day to begin the editing process. I am not sure when the transition started, but as the semester went on I began to enjoy editing videos. I not only enjoyed filming, but also planning what to film at different locations. I found satisfaction in completing a video.
I feel that my work this semester was pretty well done. I think this was mostly due to the fact that I liked doing the work and therefore put a lot of time into the assignments. I put everything I had into the assignments and made sure they were the best I could make them. The one project I felt I could have done better on was the documentary. I found it an extreme challenge to make it long enough while making sure the quality was good enough. I am not as proud of it as I could be, although Allie and I spent a very long time working on it and tweaking it.
I found extreme satisfaction in completing the website. I absolutely loved making it, and found that I enjoy making sites. As soon as Allie and I completed Affordablebethlehemdining.net, I went to work making my own digital resume. I worked on it for hours and found it fun. I loved knowing how to do it, and began to experiment beyond weebly, using wordpress.
I know for a fact that I will be able to use the skills I learned in J198 in the future. When I went for an interview for a communications job at Prudential financial, they asked me questions like, “Where do you see social media going in the future?” “Where should social media go in our company?” “How do you use twitter?” If I was not enrolled in J198, I would have had absolutely no idea how to go about answering those questions. I definitely would have left the interview embarrassed and with the knowledge that I would not get the job. However, because I knew the answers I felt confident with my interview and with the skills I have attained.
Saturday, May 7, 2011
Self Evaluation-Allie
Coming into J198 this semester I wasn't really sure what to expect. I knew I'd be tweeting and blogging and making some videos, but I definitely think I underestimated how time consuming it would be. A pleasant surprise though was the basically zero amount of reading we ended up having to do.
As far as blogging goes I have to admit that I do not think I'm made for blogging. I love to write, especially about things that I'm passionate about and enjoy, and yes, I do enjoy working out and feeling good but I do not think I knew enough about fitness to write a blog article on it three times a week. That was of course my own bad judgement and luckily I found enough healthy recipes, workout plans, and healthy living tips that stayed consistent with my blog.
Twitter wise, I definitely feel I improved since the beginning of the semester. I did not understand what a hashtag was or how to find people or reach my "tribe" until a few weeks into the semester. I also had problems remembering to tweet about my blog in the beginning but I got the hang of it eventually. Before Multimedia and Reporting, I saw twitter as just another silly tool of social media where people could "follow" celebrities. This class definitely opened my eyes up to a whole different side of twitter though--a more serious side that allowed anyone and everyone to act as reporters.
My favorite part of J198, and what I think I improved in the most considering I had no experience at the beginning of the semester, was definitely making video news stories. From the filming itself, to interviewing people, to editing and eventually "publishing" on youtube and our blogs, I really surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this aspect of the class. It was definitely frustrating at times if people were not very cooperative or if just the slightest thing went wrong, but for some reason I always felt very proud after finishing a video.
All in all, I think this class was a great opportunity to really learn about and take advantage of every platform of social media. My one regret would be my lack of enthusiasm in my blog but besides that I really impressed myself with my ability to produce news stories, make google maps, tweet meaningful (and not-so-meaningful) tweets, use storify, flickr… you get the point! I feel like this class has given me the tools I need to tackle any field of journalism or media for that matter and I look forward to seeing how I apply my newfound knowledge.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Monday, April 11, 2011
Overview for our Final Project Stuff!
TV Style News Stories:
1. Grab-n-Go Eating- We will talk to people at Tulum, Michael's Steaks, and Sotto Santi (places that are quick eats- people are in and out with their food) about why they are a quick eatery, why it works for them, why people enjoy quick eating, etc.
2. Eateries in Bethlehem- We interviewed people at Terra Cafe and Goosey Gander about their great sandwiches and how they fit into the Bethlehem community and why they love it here.
Documentary-type Story:
Friday night at Sal's/Mama Ninas- What is it like at a friday night at two of the best, most popular eateries in Bethlehem? We will talk to the owners and employees about how they handle the crowds.
Custom Google Map:
Map that marks good eateries in South Bethlehem.
Picture Slideshow:
Slideshow that presents the eateries we have gone to and recommend.
1000-Word Story:
Introduction to everything about what we have done, an overview of the food in Bethlehem. Comparisons of eateries in Bethlehem, etc. Why go to these eateries?
Sidebar stories:
Restaurant reviews!
Hashtag:
Bethfood
Website Organization:
On the home page, we will have our large story in the center, the twitter feed on the right, hopefully the google map, and possibly the picture slideshow of the places we have been to going along the top.
Our options on the top will be: Home, About Us, Video Stories, Resource Guide, Where to Go? (if not on the home page, we will include Google Map. We will also include pictures, the two article reviews, etc.)
1. Grab-n-Go Eating- We will talk to people at Tulum, Michael's Steaks, and Sotto Santi (places that are quick eats- people are in and out with their food) about why they are a quick eatery, why it works for them, why people enjoy quick eating, etc.
2. Eateries in Bethlehem- We interviewed people at Terra Cafe and Goosey Gander about their great sandwiches and how they fit into the Bethlehem community and why they love it here.
Documentary-type Story:
Friday night at Sal's/Mama Ninas- What is it like at a friday night at two of the best, most popular eateries in Bethlehem? We will talk to the owners and employees about how they handle the crowds.
Custom Google Map:
Map that marks good eateries in South Bethlehem.
Picture Slideshow:
Slideshow that presents the eateries we have gone to and recommend.
1000-Word Story:
Introduction to everything about what we have done, an overview of the food in Bethlehem. Comparisons of eateries in Bethlehem, etc. Why go to these eateries?
Sidebar stories:
Restaurant reviews!
Hashtag:
Bethfood
Website Organization:
On the home page, we will have our large story in the center, the twitter feed on the right, hopefully the google map, and possibly the picture slideshow of the places we have been to going along the top.
Our options on the top will be: Home, About Us, Video Stories, Resource Guide, Where to Go? (if not on the home page, we will include Google Map. We will also include pictures, the two article reviews, etc.)
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Our Podcast Project
Our podcast discusses many culinary gems that Bethlehem has to offer to both the Lehigh University student body, as well as Bethlehem residents. We chose this topic because as students at Lehigh ourselves, eating on campus definitely can get boring and sometimes you just want to switch it up! So we've decided to go around to some of our favorite restaurants to eat at, as well as discover some new places, and share them with you!
Doing a podcast was definitely a lot easier than some of other projects we've done in class thus far. Basically, Alyssa and I just had a conversation for 11 minutes, but we made sure to organize our topics and loosely time how long we discuss each topic.
Though there are definitely a few moments here and there where the conversation seems a bit awkward or our faces seem a bit shaky, I think we ultimately executed the assignment well and covered everything we were supposed to!
Doing a podcast was definitely a lot easier than some of other projects we've done in class thus far. Basically, Alyssa and I just had a conversation for 11 minutes, but we made sure to organize our topics and loosely time how long we discuss each topic.
Though there are definitely a few moments here and there where the conversation seems a bit awkward or our faces seem a bit shaky, I think we ultimately executed the assignment well and covered everything we were supposed to!
Bethlehem Restaurants- Why Use Our Guide?
This audio file will hopefully explain to Bethlehem residents why we think it is so important to experiment and try new local eateries, inspiring us to create this project. We talk about how we discovered some of the eateries we have gone to, how we have gotten sources, why we felt there was a need to uncover these gems, why students do not find them, etc.
Doing a podcast was a little easier than I expected, however we did have to practice a little bit. We ended up making an outline of the topics we wanted to cover, and allowing around 2 minutes for each topic. We agreed that the podcast would be most interesting if we tried to include stories from our personal lives, relating this project back to ourselves in a way. Ten minutes of listening to facts and observations would get a little boring.
We tried our very hardest to have a real-life conversation- very casual. We worked off each other's points to create a dynamic atmosphere. There are definitely a few points where are voices seem stiff, but overall I think we did a good job describing the purpose of our project while bringing a little fun into the podcast.
Doing a podcast was a little easier than I expected, however we did have to practice a little bit. We ended up making an outline of the topics we wanted to cover, and allowing around 2 minutes for each topic. We agreed that the podcast would be most interesting if we tried to include stories from our personal lives, relating this project back to ourselves in a way. Ten minutes of listening to facts and observations would get a little boring.
We tried our very hardest to have a real-life conversation- very casual. We worked off each other's points to create a dynamic atmosphere. There are definitely a few points where are voices seem stiff, but overall I think we did a good job describing the purpose of our project while bringing a little fun into the podcast.
Monday, March 21, 2011
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)