Journalists gather news and reports them through their writing. Journalism can appear in various media including newspapers, magazines, and now - the Internet.
Journalists are expected to be out at the scene of their story to gather first-hand information. They may also use other information gathering modes like the telephone, emails, interviews and many more.
The wide variety of subjects that a journalists can write on politics, business, health, education, sports, hobbies, lifestyles, fashion, food, pets, relationships, family and so so many more - actually - there are no boundaries to the kinds of subjects that a Journalist can write on (but he/she will have to keep in mind his/her company's aim, motto, vision, rules and regulations...etc.)
Thanks to the invention of the Internet - WE ARE ALL JOURNALISTS NOW!
Citizen journalism are what we call ourselves now. With millions of bloggers, and readers, online news sources have radically reshaped the way we access our daily news.
While mainstream news organizations have expressed doubt about the value of online sources such as blogs, they too have gone online with their own blog sites with employees maintaining them.
For example, Singapore has its own xin.sg and stomp - these two websites are places were the community meet online to discuss certain issues, post their thoughts and to read about other'sopinions too. If online sources are not reliable or of value, then how do you explain the big number of blogs (especially offical blogs e.g.political party blogs)?
Technorati, a blog search engine, reports that it tracks 75,000 new blogs each day. Wow! with giant growth daily, I predict that within a few years, everyone will have at least one blog - now I have 3 blogs! ;-)
Collaborative news sites, staffed by volunteer citizen journalists, have also grown in popularity. For example, Ohmy News, a South Korean news site that publishes exclusively user-generated stories in both Korean and English, has developed into one of that country's leading news sources.
From a media perspective, the emergence of citizen journalism has blurred the line separating mainstream/traditional media from online new media. This to me is an advantage as more sources of information will mean greater knowledge - as long as I know how to deceide for myself what is real and what is not real on media.
Online media is always seen as less credible and unrealiable. People get this negative idea as they think that anyone - including children can join in with the conversation online. This is true, but I feel that it may not be bad. We can learn from all.
I see the further of journalism as something exciting, with a place for me to express myself freely.
References:
http://michaelgeist.ca/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1280&Itemid=85
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Using the internet for Political Campaigning
Despite its youth, the Internet has already had tremendous impact on political campaigns, particularly in regards to raising campaign $$$.
For example, in 2000 U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain raised $1 million in 48 hours! Peak contributions for McCain reached $18,000 an hour on the Internet.
Democratic nominee John Kerry raised $10 million on the Internet in just 10 days!
According to the article The Internet and political campaign advertising: A cotent analysis, "Grass root movements are particularly successful on the Internet. This is because of the Internet's unique qualities: there is no centralized control, anyone can set up a web page, it can be used for little to no cost, and all that is necessary is a connection."
The Internet can help you gather lots of support from the public, however, it may also work to your disadvantage. For example, the Dean campaign was addressed in the article The Internet and political campaign advertising, calling it a “dot-com miracle”. A year before the Iowa
caucus the Dean campaign was run by only six people, had no real money on which to campaign , and had about 9,000 possible (not confirmed) supporters.
The only tool in their campaign was a computer sitting in the corner that had not yet been turned on. The change in momentum occurred when the computer came on and the first important Internet link (www.Meetup.com.) went up on the Dean web site(www.DeanforAmerica.com). Meetup.com arranges for people with like interests to get
together. Simple concept, but its power is incredible. Dean’s campaign made jumps
from 432 online supporters wanting to meet up to 2,700, to 190,000 and so on. With
their own version of Meetup, www.GetLocal.com , netting another 170,000 supporters,
Yet, the Dean Internet campaign did not have the strength to save him from
traditional media, after the loss of the Iowa caucus. A brief moment when Dean was seen
screaming to the crowd was quickly run repeatedly on traditional media. In the end, even
the dot-orgs could not counter. Ironically, the Internet assisted in the demise of the campaign as voters went online for more information about the spot traditional media dubbed the “I have a scream” speech.
What a realistic example which all of us can learn from!
For example, in 2000 U.S. Presidential candidate John McCain raised $1 million in 48 hours! Peak contributions for McCain reached $18,000 an hour on the Internet.
Democratic nominee John Kerry raised $10 million on the Internet in just 10 days!
According to the article The Internet and political campaign advertising: A cotent analysis, "Grass root movements are particularly successful on the Internet. This is because of the Internet's unique qualities: there is no centralized control, anyone can set up a web page, it can be used for little to no cost, and all that is necessary is a connection."
The Internet can help you gather lots of support from the public, however, it may also work to your disadvantage. For example, the Dean campaign was addressed in the article The Internet and political campaign advertising, calling it a “dot-com miracle”. A year before the Iowa
caucus the Dean campaign was run by only six people, had no real money on which to campaign , and had about 9,000 possible (not confirmed) supporters.
The only tool in their campaign was a computer sitting in the corner that had not yet been turned on. The change in momentum occurred when the computer came on and the first important Internet link (www.Meetup.com.) went up on the Dean web site(www.DeanforAmerica.com). Meetup.com arranges for people with like interests to get
together. Simple concept, but its power is incredible. Dean’s campaign made jumps
from 432 online supporters wanting to meet up to 2,700, to 190,000 and so on. With
their own version of Meetup, www.GetLocal.com , netting another 170,000 supporters,
Yet, the Dean Internet campaign did not have the strength to save him from
traditional media, after the loss of the Iowa caucus. A brief moment when Dean was seen
screaming to the crowd was quickly run repeatedly on traditional media. In the end, even
the dot-orgs could not counter. Ironically, the Internet assisted in the demise of the campaign as voters went online for more information about the spot traditional media dubbed the “I have a scream” speech.
What a realistic example which all of us can learn from!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
McDonalds.com.au
Visit the Australian McDonalds website and you will be clicking away like a curious young kid...everything's floating and so colorful! :-)
McDonalds uses Flash and calls it the "Full Experience" - they want their visitors to feel like they are at a McDonalds counter, ordering their happy meals! Wow! What an experience!
From colorful images to hip music, McDonals uses multimedia to its max, entertaining visitors and making them feel good about McDonalds.
In the "What's NEW" section, visitors can view newest McDonals TV Ads and see what's new on the lastest menu!
There's even a website for Happy Meals! Visit it at http://www.happymeal.com.au/
On this website, kids get to play games like "Loopy Laundry", "Ball Rescue" and "Skate Smartz". If they are still not satisfied, kids get to view the latest toys in the market! Ranging from "Bionicle" to "Strawberry Shortcake". Parents get a fair share of the Happy Meal website too - with "Parents'Retreat", mums and dads get to learn about McDonalds' services for kids.
All very interactive and cool!
Phishing attacks at UB!
From:
Chuck Dunn " name=Email>
Sent: Tue Mar 4 16:15
To:
UB@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
Priority: Normal
Subject:
Important Security Alert about an E-mail Scam at UB
Type: Text
Alert:
The users email-address has been added to the addressbook
UB is being targeted by "phishing" attacks designed to trick UBfaculty, staff and students into revealing their UBITName and passwordby threatening loss of access to e-mail. This constant stream of falsemessages is being received from many different sources including forgedUB addresses.We continue to work on improving the university spam management filterson a daily basis. Although we intercept approximately 3 million spammessages daily, a small percentage of messages continue to get throughundetected.Here are some specific recommendations for protecting yourself:* You should never email your password or any other private information(e.g. credit card number, driver's license number, bank accountinformation or social security number), and UB will never ask you to do so.* Don't open attachments or click on websites in unsolicited e-mail fromsent from unknown sources.* Don't be tricked - never reveal your password(s) to anyone.* Reputable banks and financial institutions will never ask for youraccount numbers, pins or passwords by email.* Never enter your credit information into a non-secure web page. Asecure web page starts with https:// (note the "S" for "Secure") andwill display a lock on the browser frame.* Don't fall for stories about winning the lottery, promises of moneyfrom newly discovered relatives or requests to act as an agent for abusiness or individual. If the story sounds too good to be true, it isa probably a scam.* Don't respond to the current round of death threat extortion emailmessages.See http://computersecurity.buffalo.edu/ for more information.Please call or contact the CIT Help Desk (645-3542,cit-helpdesk@buffalo.edu) if you have questions.Charles F. DunnInformation Security OfficerUniversity at Buffalochuck@buffalo.edu716-645-3582
Chuck Dunn
Sent: Tue Mar 4 16:15
To:
UB@LISTSERV.BUFFALO.EDU
Priority: Normal
Subject:
Important Security Alert about an E-mail Scam at UB
Type: Text
Alert:
The users email-address has been added to the addressbook
UB is being targeted by "phishing" attacks designed to trick UBfaculty, staff and students into revealing their UBITName and passwordby threatening loss of access to e-mail. This constant stream of falsemessages is being received from many different sources including forgedUB addresses.We continue to work on improving the university spam management filterson a daily basis. Although we intercept approximately 3 million spammessages daily, a small percentage of messages continue to get throughundetected.Here are some specific recommendations for protecting yourself:* You should never email your password or any other private information(e.g. credit card number, driver's license number, bank accountinformation or social security number), and UB will never ask you to do so.* Don't open attachments or click on websites in unsolicited e-mail fromsent from unknown sources.* Don't be tricked - never reveal your password(s) to anyone.* Reputable banks and financial institutions will never ask for youraccount numbers, pins or passwords by email.* Never enter your credit information into a non-secure web page. Asecure web page starts with https:// (note the "S" for "Secure") andwill display a lock on the browser frame.* Don't fall for stories about winning the lottery, promises of moneyfrom newly discovered relatives or requests to act as an agent for abusiness or individual. If the story sounds too good to be true, it isa probably a scam.* Don't respond to the current round of death threat extortion emailmessages.See http://computersecurity.buffalo.edu/ for more information.Please call or contact the CIT Help Desk (645-3542,cit-helpdesk@buffalo.edu) if you have questions.Charles F. DunnInformation Security OfficerUniversity at Buffalochuck@buffalo.edu716-645-3582
Monday, March 3, 2008
Fishing? No! It's Phishing! What's the difference?
Fishing is a family activity, while Phishing is a criminal activity... > <
Well, in computing, phishing is an attempt to criminally acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant mesageing.
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
Well, in computing, phishing is an attempt to criminally acquire sensitive information, such as usernames, passwords and credit card details. eBay, PayPal and online banks are common targets. Phishing is typically carried out by email or instant mesageing.
Cases of phishing attempts are on the rise! Social networking sites are also a target of phishing, since the personal details in such sites can be used in identity theft. In late 2006, a computer worm took over pages on MySpace and altered links to direct surfers to websites designed to steal login details. Experiments sho a success rate of over 70% for ohishing attacks on social networks.
Phishing techniques
1) Link manipulation - This may be a link in an email, directing users to a spoofed website.
2) Filter evasion - Some phishers use images instead of text to make it harder for anti-phishing filters to detect text commonly used in phishing emails.
(Don't try these at home!)
Damage caused by phishing
It is estimated that between May 2004, and May 2005, approximately 1.2 million computer users in the U.S. suffered losses caused by ohishing, totaling approximately $929 million.
Anti-phishing software
Consisting computer programs that attempt to identify phishing content contained in websites and e-mail. It is often integrated with web browers and email clints as a toolbar that displays the real domain name for the website the viewer is visiting.
List of anti-phishing programs:
1)Firefix 2.0
2) Opera 9.1
3) Microsoft Windows Internet Explorer 7
My Personal Experience
I once received an email in my inbox and it said something along the lines of "the sender's father left him with one million dollars in his bank account, but the sender does not have a bank account, so he wants to put the money in my bank account, so I should give him my bank account number".
The email was written in good english and was quite fun to read! :-P
References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
Friday, February 22, 2008
Goodie Good Google Tools
What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word "Google"?
Is Google just a search engine?
Well, Google is a lot more than a powerful search engine. It’s a goodie bag filled with wonders! With more than 30 additional “Google Tools”, no wonder Google is so successful!
Google Tools are categorized under 5 branches:
1) Search
2) Explore and innovative
3) Communicate, show and share
4) Go mobile
5) Make your computer work better
I am currently using the following Google Tools:
1) Blog Search
This allows me to search for specific blogs or blogs that address certain issues.
2) Search Engine
The famous Google search engine is (in my opinion) the most powerful search engine ever created.
3) Earth
This function is amazing as it shows me the world! Before visiting a new country or place, I can give myself a rough idea of the place by using Google Earth.
4) Gmail
I prefer Gmail to Hotmail. Gmail is a lot more user friendly.
5) Groups
With Google Groups, project discussions and file transfers can be managed easily and efficiently.
6) Picasa
Photo editing and share has never been so fun and easy!
7) YouTube
Search for any video and just have fun!
Google makes me happy as I am encouraged to have fun while surfing the net! With all these Google Tools, I can't wait for computer time! Thanks Google! :-)
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