"Tweet," said the Prof

The End…

jesslandolfi — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 16:14:49 +0000

This blog was done as a class project for Online Journalism 1 class at Rowan University. The semester is ending, and at this point in time I am going to be stepping away from “Tweet,” said the Prof, but I don’t want to say this is it forever. I am calling this break an indefinite hiatus.

To go on a break in style, here are my top 5 best posts:

The Whit: Online

jesslandolfi — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:56:29 +0000

Rowan’s student newspaper, The Whit, won the 2009 Online Pacemaker Award in the Four-Year-Non-Daily Newspaper for its website The Whit Online.

The 2009 Associated Collegiate Press Online Pacemaker contest had 45% more entries than the previous year, according to a press release about the contest. The ACP concluded that college publications are “adapting to the steadily evolving world of media.”

Ellyn Angelotti, interactivity editor for the Poynter Insitute, judged the competition; she told ACP the top sites showed excellence “in integration of multimedia and user-generated content, navigability, coverage, in-depth reporting; custom, clean design; sound news judgment for the homepage.”

It is not surprise The Whit Online won the award; they have all of those areas covered. Just three years ago, The Whit’s online presence was lacking, it didn’t have all of the stories as in the paper, or even use the school colors.

The current layout features blogs, a photo scroll on the homepage that links to news stories, a slide show, featured video, and a widget that aggregates comments posted on various articles.

The Whit now does live blogging during events where a reporter will provide commentary about the Oscar’s, for example, and allow students and visitors to the site to join in on the conversation.

The multimedia brings the site to a new level, not only because it’s current, but because it makes the site more interesting, and eye-catching for students.

Visitors will return to the site because of its attractiveness and interactivity.

Emily Kostic, current editor-in-chief, took on the role of web editor last year, and is responsible for the big changes to the layout and design of the site.

In addition to a redesigned website, The Whit also popped up on Facebook and Twitter.

“We use social media as a means to get people to our website,” said Kostic.

Facebook has allowed The Whit to direct more traffic to the website.

“There are not a lot of Rowan students on Twitter,” said Chris Carmena, current web editor.

Carmena helped get social media off the ground for The Whit, explained Kostic.

While Rowan students may not be interested, because “everyone’s friends are still on Facebook, so they see no added benefit to go to it,” said Kostic, the Whit’s use of twitter keeps them current with both national, and global news organizations.

Current newsstories are posted tweeted, posted on facebook, with all links going to The Whit Online weekly, in addition to any breaking news that comes up.

Just a few weeks ago, The Whit Online “posted a story about the fire alarm in the library that looked more dramatic than it was; four Emergency trucks and four fire trucks for a potato being burned,” said Kostic. If it had not been for the story most students at Rowan would not have known what happened.

The Whit used their Twitter and Facebook pages to direct students to the site for the full article.

“I feel like its [Facebook] helped our transparency,” said Kostic. “We’re not these random kids hanging out in the corner of the Student Center.”

If students have tips for news stories, they are encourage to contact the The Whit via Facebook and/or Twitter in addition to the site, e-mail, and phone etc.

“I know one thing we’re hoping to do is add more multimedia,” said Carmena about future plans for The Whit Online.

Interested in getting involved with The Whit? Meetings are Monday 11:30 A.M. in the Publication Suite, Student Center or e-mail editor@thewhitonline.com

Before

After

The College Student’s IPhone/ITouch Application Wish List

jesslandolfi — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 05:31:45 +0000

I’ve compiled a list of the top 10 applications for IPhone/ITouch for the college student. The best part about them — they are all FREE.

The links will take you directly to the iTunes store.

1. Free Wi-Fi Finder – This app will search for Wi-Fi hot spots wherever you are in the world.

2. gFlash + Flashcards & Tests This app will allow you to make flashcards using a Google spreadsheet

3. Book Bargain – Find the cheapest textbooks on the web!

4. Word of the Day Lite: Learn news words and improve your vocabulary.

5. Dropbox: Sync files online and share them with others.

6. Pizza: Find the cheapest, and closest pizza to you wherever you are.

7. Fandango: Watch trailers and look up movie times

8. Local Concerts: Notifies you about shows from the artists in your music library.

9. NYTimes: The New York Times on-the-go!

10. Quickpedia: Browse Wikipedia from this app

Happy Holidays!

New Ways to Update Your WordPress Blog

jesslandolfi — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 03:13:56 +0000

Tweetie 2 Application for IPhone

Mashable.com reports, as of December 12, just two days ago, WordPress announced that users can read and create blog posts from any Twitter application like Tweetie 2.

Tweetie is a client for Twitter that allows users to update without browsing to the Twitter website via a mobile phone application or Mac OS X application. Tweetie allows the user to manage multiple accounts in one application.

Any Twitter application that allows for custom API URLs can be used for WordPress. When you go to add the username and password for your next Twitter account, enter your WordPress information in its place as well as this http://twitter-api.wordpress.com in the API Root Field and save.

You will then be able to post to your WordPress Blog in the same window as you would a Tweet.

I only wish this came about sooner!

Social Media Dating

jesslandolfi — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:12:31 +0000

In my last post, I created a timeline of a day in my life with social media. I think an interesting topic that I have not covered yet is online dating. Even dating, finding an interpersonal connection and attraction to someone, has made its way to the web.

Online Dating is nothing new, but I think it’s an interesting topic because it seems like more college students are starting to try it. Rowan is a campus with 10,000 students, and it is very likely that there is a perfect match for everyone with that many people in the pool, however, meeting that person is an overwhelming task.

Facebook has a personals application that allows you to use Facebook to connect with other singles ready to mingle on the site.

YouTube users can even search the site for user personal ads.

Here is a list of some of the most popular online dating sites.

Ok Cupid

It is a free dating site that is popular among the college age group. It has the option to connect with Facebook, and then it will take information from your profile and match you with someone with similar interests.

EHarmony
Eharmony matches couples based on a compatibility test developed from information the user enters. You can also choose different demographics based on your dating preferences. These preferences include, but are not limited to Christian Dating, Black Dating, Jewish Dating, Hispanic Dating, Senior Dating, and Local Dating.

Dating OnDemand
Comcast will send a camera crew out to bars and other local hang outs, and ask singles to answer a few questions to create a video profile. The profile is available on their site as well as on demand. Users can aslo create their own profile with a webcam or personal camcorder, and upload it to the site.

Match.com
Match.com allows users to upload 26 photos, and has free writing spaces. When perusing a profile you can see pictures as well as responses to various questions that allow you to get to know someone online. All communication occurs with an anonymous e-mail address — name and contact information are withheld until the users decide they want to share. Match.com also allows for demographic preferences.

Timeline

jesslandolfi — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 16:39:25 +0000

Social media runs my life, and everything that I need to do on a given day from school work to entertainment depends on it.

Unfortunately, Dipity was not working properly, and I decided to use Slide for the timeline. It displays the information in the best way for what I am trying to accomplish.

Timeline Preview

jesslandolfi — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 18:17:24 +0000

One of the most interesting things about social media, which originally attracted me to the topic is how much I use it in my daily life. Almost everything I do from homework, projects, to keeping up with friends involves being in constant communication via different types of social media.

In an upcoming post, I will include a link for a timeline created via Dipity that follows a day in my life with social media including pictures and explanations.

Dipity is a site that allows users to create interactive web timelines that include video, photos, and text to track essentially whatever the user wishes.

In order to upload photos or video, source material must be hosted on another website like Flickr or YouTube.

Look for this timeline over the weekend.

Twitter Lists

jesslandolfi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:46:44 +0000

Twitter has a new feature recently called Lists. It allows users to compile a list of twitter profiles they think are worth being followed. For example, you can make a list for the funniest twitters, college athletes, cast of Twilight, etc.

Users can subscribe to lists, and then they will be able to see all of the updates of every user on the list.

Here is a Mashable.com article all about Twitter Lists.

I created this list for Rowan twitters.

I’m on Twitter (again)!

jesslandolfi — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:25:33 +0000

“Tweet,” said the Prof now has its own twitter. Follow @TweetsaidProf for post updates and social media links, ideas, etc.

I’m also following all the Rowan tweets which I listed in a previous post, as well as Mashable.com, social media guide.

You can also check out my personal twitter if you are interested follow @jesslandolfi.

RTF Students Using YouTube

jesslandolfi — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:51:04 +0000

Radio/TV/Film (R/T/F) majors are encouraged by professors to post their work on Youtube for the world to see. I thought about this as I read an article by Dan Schawbel, a frequent Mashable poster, about using YouTube to market yourself.

Schawbel recommends YouTube because of the effectiveness of video. He explains that you can get a great sense of who a person is by watching their videos. I agree completely. I think the same way you can tell a lot about a person from their writing, you can tell a lot about them from videos that they make.

Schawbel’s post served as inspiration for me when I decided to ask some R/T/F majors how they feel about posting their work on YouTube and if they received any recognition or feedback from posting.

Chris Sandas of Pompton Plains, graduated from Rowan last year. He has been posting his work to YouTube since high school. Sandas agrees that branding yourself is a vital step in getting started.”There are a handful of video and photo sites where people can show their work, and while a lot of them seem to be getting more and more popular, YouTube still seems to be one of the largest and most recognizable.”

Sandas has received some attention for his YouTube, and explained that it’s all about promoting what you’ve done. He recommends using Facebook, Twitter, and any other social media communication to promote your videos.”Every time you work on something new you’ll already have a relatively large fan base that will grow with each new project.”

Sandas also recommends deciding the purpose for your YouTube posts ahead of time. “If you’d like to mix your professional works with funny personal videos or home movies, stick to one or the other.” “I would recommend students push themselves to attempt more and more quality videos,” said Sandas, “Consistency with the amount of work you’ve done online will be looked highly by potential employers.

Charles Ackerman of Paramus, is also Rowan Alumnus, and he said that while YouTube is a good place to start students should be careful that their work isn’t overlooked because of the quantity of videos on the site. “If you make a short film about a man who slips on a banana peel,” said Ackerman, “the only people who will find your video when first upload it are those who are either looking specifically for the video you made or are are the 190th page of search results when they do a keyword search for ‘banana’.” Ackerman explained, the more views you get will boost your video to higher on the search list, but you have to figure out how to get more views in the first place.

“YouTube has become the “America’s Funniest Home Videos” of the internet,” said Ackerman, “While everyone can enjoy a cheap laugh with ‘Tourettes Guy’ or a certain Rick Astley song, it may not be the most vibrant community for high quality, original content.” Ackerman argued that websites like Hulu.com or Vimeo.com are better for attracting the a filmmaker-oriented community because of they allow the user to upload videos in higher quality, and have more original content.

Ackerman agreed that YouTube is good for a beginner looking to distribute their work, but he recommended also using vimeo.com as well as marketing your work using social networking sites.

Kevin McTigue is a Junior at Rowan who is currently producing his own show for the Rowan Television Network called Squirrel Man. Most episodes of Squirrel Man run under 10 minutes and will air on the network. McTigue has also chosen to put them on YouTube. “We wanted a quick, easy way for us to send the episodes to our friends and family,” said McTigue,”We want them to be seen by as many people as possible as easily as possible.”

McTigue’s post views average around 100 for each Squirrel Man episode, and all of his feedback has been positive. McTigue likes putting his work on YouTube because it becomes easily accessible. “There’s the chance that the show will develop a fanbase outside of just people we know.”