As someone new to the study of journalism, I picked the London School of Journalism (LSJ) because they focused on practice, not theory, and on staying up to date in a rapidly changing industry. Our first class in Online Publishing showed me I was right.
Our lecturer Chris Wheal has been blogging and reporting online for years, which sounds intimidating when you're starting from scratch the way I am. Happily, the Internet has a long memory, and Chris was happy to show us his first ever blog attempt on Wordpress - just a travel diary from a family holiday. Can't remember the link, but it sure as hell made me feel better!
We went through writing techniques, search-engine optimisation, and ways to get the most out of your publishing platform. Mostly, the emphasis was on the short attention spans of online readers, and how important it is to keep up a good online presence. We started by googling Chris and each other, and it's always surprising to see how much you can dig up on someone from a Google search. I did discover that I need to start going by Ellie online - way too many references to Woodrow Wilson's daughter and some actress from decades ago if you search for Eleanor. Homework was to post about the lecture on Wordpress and Blogger, so - welcome to my new Blogger account.
One thing that struck me was the emphasis on making information available, rather than private. So much of what you hear about your online presence is focused on locking it down, vetting your Facebook photos, guarding yourself. The assumption is that everything is out there for everyone to see. Our class was about making sure people did see your work - showing up on search engines, clean site designs, short snappy sentences - making it as easy as possible for someone to find your article and read the whole way through. It was a new and welcome perspective.
It's going to be difficult to adapt my usual blogging style to one that fits the world of online journalism. I'm pretty long-winded when I don't check myself. Even if nothing ever comes of my journalistic career, these are going to be positive changes to make.
Our lecturer Chris Wheal has been blogging and reporting online for years, which sounds intimidating when you're starting from scratch the way I am. Happily, the Internet has a long memory, and Chris was happy to show us his first ever blog attempt on Wordpress - just a travel diary from a family holiday. Can't remember the link, but it sure as hell made me feel better!
We went through writing techniques, search-engine optimisation, and ways to get the most out of your publishing platform. Mostly, the emphasis was on the short attention spans of online readers, and how important it is to keep up a good online presence. We started by googling Chris and each other, and it's always surprising to see how much you can dig up on someone from a Google search. I did discover that I need to start going by Ellie online - way too many references to Woodrow Wilson's daughter and some actress from decades ago if you search for Eleanor. Homework was to post about the lecture on Wordpress and Blogger, so - welcome to my new Blogger account.
One thing that struck me was the emphasis on making information available, rather than private. So much of what you hear about your online presence is focused on locking it down, vetting your Facebook photos, guarding yourself. The assumption is that everything is out there for everyone to see. Our class was about making sure people did see your work - showing up on search engines, clean site designs, short snappy sentences - making it as easy as possible for someone to find your article and read the whole way through. It was a new and welcome perspective.
It's going to be difficult to adapt my usual blogging style to one that fits the world of online journalism. I'm pretty long-winded when I don't check myself. Even if nothing ever comes of my journalistic career, these are going to be positive changes to make.
