Well this is my final blog and I'm feeling reflective. This blog has been an interesting exercise and a learning experience at the same time. So I thought I'd give my best tips on how to get the most out of your blogging experience.
Blog often - How often do you visit websites that look like they were last updated when the typewriter was around? The answer is you don't - so who is going to visit a blog that you neglect. So be consistent and blog often.
Your blog is an extension of you - Throughout this blog I've tried to inject my own personality and views into it. A blog gives people a small snapshot of who you are and what you do. So don't be afraid to be different and bold because it's blogs that are unique which always attract the most attention.
Link across different social media - I have received most of my page views via traffic from posts I put on facebook and twitter. So while you may annoy your friends with endless blog posts clogging up their feeds, you might just grab a view more page views!
From the start of this blog, it's clear to see that I'm not the biggest fan of social media. But after today, I'm sold. During my last day of radio prac it felt like everything was going wrong. Politicians weren't talking to me, the power went out and we were short-staffed. Just when I was about to drop a four letter word, I got tweeted.
A follower of mine on twitter replied to my request for an interview and in minutes I sprang back to life - the story was complete. Thank you to Twitter and that follower for being my 'tweet in shining armor.'
In last week’s lecture, Elaine Ford said the basics of
journalism still applied to online journalists. Names and fact checking remain
as important as ever. If only our colleagues at Fairfax had been in the
lecture.
On Monday, the Brisbane Times, Sydney Morning Herald and other Fairfax news websites
broke the story about a series of controversial text messages between (former)
Federal Speaker Peter Slipper and his former staffer James Ashby.
The story also revealed the identity of the person who
introduced Slipper to Ashby as Ryan Reynolds and alleged he was Ashby’s ‘lover’.
Well, not quite. While the Fairfax sites called the middle-man Ryan Reynolds,
his correct name is actually Rhys Reynolds.
Ryan Reynolds is a Hollywood actor and heart-throb
among the ladies. Rhys Reynolds is a former Sunshine Coast Council candidate
and university student. There’s just a small difference.
But if that wasn’t embarrassing enough for Fairfax, the real Reynolds
took to facebook to publicize the gaff and say he’d never been in a
relationship with Ashby.
The
reporter who broke the story, Jessica Wright, later tweeted the real Reynolds
and apologised for the errors.
Perhaps
this embarrassing scenario will be the catalyst for our Online Journalism staff
to change the subject’s first assessment on speed vs accuracy and give more
weighting to accuracy?
After
all, what’s more important, getting the news first or getting the news right?
We’ll leave Fairfax to answer that question.
Aboriginal activists and
supporters gathered in Musgrave Park this weekend to commemorate the 30th
anniversary of the 1982 Commonwealth Games protests.
The 1982 protests saw 10000
people camped in the south Brisbane park, with protestors marching through the
streets calling for aboriginal rights.
Camp sites set up for the 30 year commemoration. Source - Taylor Bunnag
Hundreds were arrested during the
protests after the Bjelke-Peterson government enforced a state of emergency.
Organisers say around 300 people
gathered in the park on Friday night with documentaries shown to educate younger
generations.
The event’s organiser Wayne
Wharton, who participated in the 1982 protests, says the commemoration is about
bringing indigenous people together.
“It’s about teaching stories
about our heroes that aren’t told in the schools and aren’t told in the
universities,” Mr Wharton said.
Mr Wharton says honouring the
bravery shown by activists involved in 1982 is also part of the weekend.
“What people have got to
understand is the Australian Armed Forces were directed to defend Australia
against us people in the park – Aboriginal people, first nation’s people.
“We (protestors) were fired upon
with rubber bullets on a couple of occasions.
“It was the first time that Aboriginal Australia
had a chance to talk to world media...so we could get our story out to the rest
of the world about what we were experiencing.”
Despite the strong support across
the weekend, Mr Wharton remains concerned about attitudes towards Aboriginals.
“There is still an unwillingness
of the dominant society to acknowledge the truth.
“Alot people say build a bridge
and get over it but the shit is still going to be under the bridge.”
Aboriginal protests in 1982. Source - Independent Australia
The commemoration which also
featured the first ‘Embassy Idol’ talent quest was well attended by young people.
National Indigenous Times writer
and university student Callum Clayton-Dixon, says the commemoration will make
people more aware of Musgrave Park’s significance.
“It’s a big landmark event that
happened 30 years ago and the struggle is still happening now,” Mr
Clayton-Dixon, who has indigenous heritage, said.
“All the same issues are present today
to do with land rights.”
Non-indigenous supporters were
also involved in the commemoration.
Stephen James and Libby Copeland
both camped in the park overnight and said it was a significant milestone for indigenous
people.
“From their protests in ’82 they
have got their land rights and it was a big step for them and today is a
celebration of that change,” Mr James said.
The commemoration follows a
controversial week in Musgrave Park after part of the tent embassy was
destroyed by fire.
Police are investigating the
blaze.
Want more information about Musgrave Park? Check out our timeline here.
Don't get me wrong, I love people but sometimes we all need a moment to ourselves. It was once so simple, you'd come home from work and would only have to put up with your crazy family....Ooops, I mean, enjoy a wonderful night with your perfect nuclear family and labrador.
But now thanks to social media, when you get home you can't escape people. The walls of my home once protected me, but not anymore. People are virtually in bed with me while I'm on twitter (don't get any ideas), on the toilet while I'm reading my comments (or lack of) on blogger and at the gym with me while I boast about doing my 1000th bicep curl on facebook.
The fact is social media is helping journalists but may also be creating the grumpiest generation of journalists ever. I'll be leading the way in that field.
I know this blog may make you think I hate people, but I really don't...sometimes.
So if you need cheering up after my blog, I consider you watch this video of happy and smiling social media users which makes my entire blog redundant!
The modern-day politician is no longer seen as human. They are more robotic than ever as they serve up the same old lines ripped straight from a politically dull script which they've rehearsed until word perfect. What happened to our great political orators - the Whitlams, the Keatings and even the Costellos? These days, is there anybody that makes you even remotely interested in politics? All the blame shouldn't fall on the shoulders of our politicians. Some responsibility must fall on the media who have created the 24 hour media cycle and social media tools like Twitter are part of the problem. Last week while in Canberra I was lucky enough to talk with Anthony Byrne - Federal Member of Parliament for the Victorian seat of Holt. Among the many things we discussed, we talked about how politics had changed since he entered parliament 13 years ago. He said the biggest impact on politics had been the creation of the 24 hour media cycle. In Byrne's view, once upon a time there were six daily media cycles (3 in the morning, 3 in the afternoon/evening). But now because of social media tools and technology, the media cycle is never ending. Politicians who were once willing to let their guards down in public are now cautious not to get caught out making a mistake. Byrne says that even though the media now crave 'natural' politicians, the media are still hungrier than ever to slap them down if they make a mistake. This situation has created the stage-managed spectacle that is modern day politics. What is more worrying is if we follow the path that's been set in the United States. Both the Democrats and Republicans employ staffers to follow the opposing party's candidates around 24 hours a day with a video camera. This is done in the hope that they catch that election winning 'foot-in-mouth moment' some politicians deliver. So the next time you hear another robotic politician speaking, maybe you'll understand why they don't freelance....
It’s US
election season folks, and even though we’re ‘Down Under’ it’s hard not to get
swept up in the drama and excitment of the world’s biggest marketing campaign.
It’s the Presidential Election race of course.
This week
was the Democrats (Obama’s party) turn to host their convention and these
things aren’t your average weekend get-togethers with mints in the middle of a
table. It’s more like a rock concert with politics thrown in. Think
Foo-fighters. Think 20,000 screaming people waving signs. Think world-wide
coverage. Think George Clooney. Now you’ve got the idea.
So in the
spirit of this week’s lecture on live blogging, I thought I’d have a go at
covering the final night of the convention using Twitter. To begin with,
it sounded so easy but trust me, the novelty soon wears thin. So this is what I
learnt from my first stint as a live blogger –
1.Pick a short event – WOW, who would have thought that politicians
loved talking so much? If you can choose an event to live blog, pick something
quick like a 50 metre swimming event (unless ‘Eric the Eel’ is swimming)
instead of an all day event like I foolishly did
2.Be prepared – Live blogging is intense and draining. Chances
are you won’t want to move from your seat in case there are important developments.
Therefore have food, water and damp towels to wipe your forehead at the ready. To
complicate things, as a result of consuming food and water, chances are nature
will call so use a portable device to blog (e.g. Ipad) because it’s hard to
carry a desktop computer to the loo!
3.Do stretches – No matter what type of device you use, by the
end of your live blogging session you’ll have the hands of an 80-year-old. To avoid
this, have a rest and stretch those fingertips.
4.You don’t have to be on the spot to be ‘Johnny
on the spot’– I was
watching the convention on the internet thousands of kilometres away from Charlotte.
Yet I broke the news on Twitter that Barack Obama had accepted his party’s
nomination before the New York Times correspondent who was based at the
convention did. Most big events now have
their own live web feeds, so use them.
5.Don’t get caught up in the moment –I fell into the trap of blogging
nearly every statement Vice President Joe Biden made because I got fired up
about it. Don’t do it - even if you’re passionate about the subject take a step
back. Yes it’s hard but remember you’re a journalist, not Alan Jones or Kyle
Sandilands who gets paid for their opinion. Be objective and try to make
readers feel like they’re at the event themselves.
6.If watching an event online, DON’T do it
at QUT because chances are you’ll exhaust your internet quota.....
See my full live blogging coverage on Twitter @TayBunnag
