Just Another Step Towards Your Future
I don’t even know where to begin. These five weeks have gone by so fast, but it really is amazing how much we can learn in so little time. I had such a great time doing the assignments for this class. Usually for online classes you are sitting in front of the computer for hours, dreading the next time you have to log on, but I will admit, I would log onto Webcampus just for fun, even if I knew my assignments were done and I had everything submitted! It was part of my computer routine; check my email, Facebook, Twitter, my blog and Webcampus, it is what I did every time I got onto a computer!
I made accounts that I never thought of making, such as a Flickr, a Delicious, a YouTube account, and a Twitter. I thought I was good without them, but from this point on I think I’ll keep it all. All of these things seriously makes surfing the web so much easier and you look forward to the new things you will hear about through Twitter, whether it is a major news story or just what your close friend is up to. This class has helped me look at journalism a whole different way. Whenever I thought of “Journalism”, I thought of a newspaper or a news channel, definitely not the Internet.
I didn’t think I would ever blog in my life. I thought you had to have some sort of “special” connection to blog. I didn’t realize it was so easy and fun. I learned that I can have an opinion and eventually get enough readers with the same interests as me. I never thought of it as another way to get your news. The world is changing and the Internet has a huge part in that.
Last but not least, I really enjoyed learning how to create a podcast and a YouTube video. Never in my life would I have thought that it was that easy. People make them everyday, of course they are easy… but for some reason I was just too lazy to figure it out. I seriously learned so much in this class and I think it will stick with me for the rest of my life considering how advanced everything is getting. I’m sure there will be much more to learn, but this was definitely a great place to start.
It isn’t Always Fun in the Sun…
For most people living here in Las Vegas, the 100-degree temperatures mean hanging out by the pool and having a good time. Yes, it is a great way to stay cool, and I wish I could be at the pool 24/7, but what some people forget to do is take care of themselves while just doing basic everyday things. Such as going on a walk, doing outside chores, and even going to the grocery store. In this blog, I am going to talk about the dangers of the summer heat, and some ways to avoid letting it get to you.
Three of the most popular and life threatening (if not treated) dangers from the summer heat are dehydration, heat stroke and heat exhaustion. It really is common sense to keep yourself hydrated, but people forget or don’t realize they are dehydrated until it is too late. The common signs you should look out for when you are dehydrated are: dry/sticky mouths, weakness, dry skin and headache. Symptoms for heat stroke are dizziness, high body temperature, rapid heartbeat, hallucinations and disorientation. The good news is there are easy ways to prevent this from happening. According to the University of Maryland Medical Center; make sure you keep yourself hydrated, take in more fluids then you are losing, schedule outdoor activities for the cooler parts of the day, and drink appropriate sports drinks for electrolyte balance. Also wear light clothing and protect yourself by wearing a hat and sunglasses.
Another common danger is sunburn. It isn’t exactly caused by the heat but is caused more so by being in the sun too long unprotected. A great way to prevent that is by wearing a high SPF sunscreen. I know ladies, it doesn’t help with your tan, but it will be worth it in the long run. You will have less risk of skin cancer. If you do happen to get sunburned, the best way to treat it is by taking a cold shower, applying lots of aloe vera, moisturize as often as possible, and ibuprofen always helps.
I know most of this stuff is a little scary to think about, but if you are careful, and do everything you can to protect yourself and your loved ones, you should have nothing to worry about! I hope this gave you a little bit more information about the dangers of the hot summer heat, but like I said before, going to the pool is always a great activity to do during these hot Las Vegas summers! Have fun! :] Also here are some tips on staying cool this summer.
Dreams can come true… in Dreamweaver
Dreamweaver is an Adobe program that is made specifically for building websites from scratch. Most graphic designers are familiar with the program, but it does take a lot of practice to figure everything out. For me, I just found a portfolio template online and I just gradually added all of my information. I did teach myself Dreamweaver, so it is possible; you just need the time and patience.
For my video, I tried to explain how to add code to an already existing site made from Dreamweaver. To make it easier on yourself, if you are new to the program, I highly recommend finding a template online that you like first. By doing that, it provides you with most of the code already and all you would really have to do is add your information in manually. That on the other hand can be pretty confusing but like I said earlier, just be patient. The site that I found my template from is called Themeforest. They have a pretty good variety of different templates to choose from and you can find the one that best fits you. I also mentioned a great webhosting site call 1and1. I had a friend tell me about it and it seriously was the best thing I did. They are constantly having deals and have many packages to choose from.
So in this tutorial, I just wanted to explain what the steps were for adding to your site. All I pretty much did was copy and pasted a code then I just plugged in the file names of the files that I wanted to add. It is pretty simple, just practicing and watching
tutorials will really help. I will admit that it was a little tough because there was so much more I wanted to explain, but this was the best I could do. I even think I went over the maximum time limit. Oops. I wasn’t quite sure how to approach this assignment, but I wanted to do something a little different. I remembered from all the tutorials I watched on YouTube that everyone was able to just record their whole computer screen, so I looked into it some more and I found Camtasia. All I did was download the free trial, and boom, started recording. It is seriously something I am thinking about purchasing. It will be something good to have and it was really easy!
I hope this was somewhat helpful, and like I said in the video, I am always open for questions!
The Experience is what Counts
Being a local, I know that Las Vegas is full of many different and exciting things, but for some reason, I really wanted to write my blog about one of the most obvious ones, Fremont Street. I don’t make it down there very often, just because it is a hassle and full of big touristy crowds, but this assignment got me thinking about lots of places around here, and The Fremont Street Experience really stood out to me.
It is a small taste of old Vegas. Most, if not all, of the original hotels are still there. Granted they have slummed over the years, but if you think about it, Fremont is one of the bigger factors to how our city started. As I walked around with my friends I took a second to just look down the long row of flashing hotel lights and could only imagine how amazing it was all those years ago. I was seriously taking pictures left and right. Flickr.
When we first got there we walked straight into a crowd of people watching a cover band play ‘Word Up’ by Cameo. Fremont has a themed concert series every summer and they have concerts almost everyday of the week. This year their theme is ‘Nina Blackwood’s Absolutely 80s’. It was really awesome to watch people of all ages getting into it. Here is the schedule. As we made our way down the street we came across the common things you would expect to see on Fremont Street; the artist working on his spray paintings, lots of little kiosks selling the cheesy ‘I LOVE THE 80s' t-shirts, showgirls passing out beads, and of course a very large variety of tourists.
One of the newer things that I did notice were all of the random people dressed up as famous people or cartoon characters. They definitely weren’t hired by Fremont Street and you weren’t allowed to take a picture with them unless you ‘tipped’. I guess if you are that desperate for money it’s an easy and fast way to get some. Even with this recession, drunken people will pay for anything these days. I definitely had a great time people watching. It's starting to look like Hollywood more and more.
When it finally got dark enough the show above started. Everyone stopped where they were and just looked up. It was pretty amazing. The whole street literally went from a big cluster of people bumping into each other to almost dead silence. The theme of the first show they played was ‘The Doors’. I will admit though, the best part of my night was when the second show (‘Queen’) started playing, because that was when I ‘Flightlined’ right into it. If anyone has been thinking about trying the zip-line, I highly recommend it. It was the perfect ending to an interesting night of picture taking.
Tweeting the News…
I guess you could say I was one of those people who didn’t have the need for Twitter. I was never opposed to it, but was just not interested enough to get one. I’ll admit, I did have everything else at some point, like a Xanga, a MySpace and a Facebook. As the Xanga and MySpace faded, Facebook, and Twitter grew. I thought I was fine with having just a Facebook and when I saw that we had to start a Twitter for this class I was a little nervous because I had no idea where to start. Since I have made one it really is growing on me.
Now that I have played around with Twitter, I can definitely see why it would come in handy in the world of Journalism. It is a very convenient way to get information out there, and the more people you “follow” the more people “follow” you. It is a great tool for journalism because you are sharing information with such a large group of people; you just have to take the time to build up your followers. Also, with the convenience of smartphones, you can check anytime or anywhere.
Twitter is also a great way to keep yourself updated. You can literally follow anyone. Weather it’s CNN, Fox News, your Journalism class, your favorite band or actor, designer, company, and your friends. It really all depends on what information you are most interested in. Twitter also is a great way to voice your opinion on something that someone posts. By just adding an “@” symbol followed by the username you are trying to get the attention of, they are able to see what you have written. Also by adding a “#” symbol followed by some kind of phrase or word that has to do with your post, you can see other people’s posts that are on the same topic.
Even though people say Twitter is easy, I still feel like it will take me some time to get it down right. There are so many different abbreviations and symbols to know. I’ve heard it is a lot like Facebook, but so far, I am not getting that vibe. The only thing that is similar is the news feed on the main page. I will say, that it is something that I know I will be using a lot after this class.
I feel another addiction coming on! :]
Your Layout Should Define You!
When I found out that we had to actually customize our personal blogs, I was thrilled. I remember sitting at the computer for hours when MySpace was super popular and changing my page theme to whatever holiday was coming up or just something that simply defined me and my tastes. It was fun when I was able to figure out how to change the actual layouts, background images, fonts, headlines, about me, interests, etc.
I will admit, I did spend hours the first time I got on here, just clicking on each theme that WordPress provided and spent the time just playing around with them trying to make it my own. Some didn’t work out so well. I found a few that I liked but some parts just weren’t working for me. It doesn’t help that I am a perfectionist and I just need everything to go the right way. I’m told it is a good thing at times, and sometimes a bad thing. I did try to find other sites that provided layouts, but I eventually found out you are only able to use the ones that are there to choose.
When I finally came across the layout you see now, I immediately knew it fit… as weird as that sounds. I really want my site to come off as professional, but show off who I am at the same time. I liked that it only had one main column with slight color blocks of gray separating the actual blog from the sidebar. The text is something I tried to change but I couldn't seem to find that. I can deal with the font for the most part. It is just a simple white, all capital text, but it stands out at the top of the page. I chose a floral patterned background because it is something that I am really into at the moment, and it was purple, which is my favorite color. I feel like it sets a relaxing/calm tone overall. The deep purple is supposed to be soothing. I wanted the background to be noticeable but at the same time, very subtle. The reason I didn’t want it to stand out too much is because I want my focal point to be my blog entries and the photos I post along with them.
Being a graphic design major, I really enjoy doing this kind of thing. I have worked with Dreamweaver before, and let me tell you, it isn’t the easiest of programs. I used it for my online portfolio (which is still a work in progress) at the beginning of this year. I give major kudos to all the designers that make their own sites from scratch! I know I still have a ways to go, but for now, I am happy with what I have. Knowing me, I’ll probably change the background about 10 more times before the final layout is due at the end of this session. I would love to know what everyone else thinks; constructive criticism is always a very helpful thing!
Bloggers > Newspaper Columnists… time for update web 2.0
Nowadays it is very rare to see an old fashioned newspaper stand on the corner of a street selling a hard copy of your hometown’s daily newspaper. Over the years, the Internet has transitioned into not only searching definitions for a school project, but it has completely transformed into this monstrous way of communicating. Whether it being what your friend did that day and where they checked in at, or top news about Osama Bin Laden and what readers think about it.
I believe that newspapers are not going to disappear anytime soon, but eventually as time goes on, they will gradually fade from our society. In my experience, when I look at the newspaper, I see stories that I have no interest in reading, but since I have the Internet, I can search for a specific topic whenever it is convenient for me. From this point on, I believe that journalists and news reporters will have absolutely no choice but to learn how to use technology and social media networks such as blogging, Facebook, and Twitter because the technology has become so advanced. It has actually become more convenient for the online journalists, because it has been said that news travels much faster when browsing the Internet. It has become so easy, that a person can be absolutely anywhere in the world and still have access to the news at their fingertips.
It is very important for journalists to have some knowledge about social networking because people find it more personal and it allows them to have interaction with their readers. Even though print journalists are not used to two-way communication, and they wont be able to hide behind their one-way communication, it forces them to come out of their shell and be more intimate with their audience. If a journalist is completely old fashioned and against the ways of the “big bad internet,” it is going to be unfortunate for them due to the fact that our generation has been brought up with the Internet and social networking.
Many people enjoy online networking because their online blog makes them feel as if their voices are being heard. Social networking gives the writer an opportunity to express any opinion about various subjects without having any boundaries. There are no editors to go through, no proof reads, and no censorship.
Since I will be getting my degree in graphic design, which totally revolves around the computer, I strongly believe and encourage these journalists to just try and want to learn about the new ways of the world.