Author Archives: Andrea Behling

About Andrea Behling

Andrea Behling is a sophomore majoring in public relations and minoring in journalism at UW-Whitewater. As a freshman, Behling took on the role as the lifestyle page editor for the Royal Purple and was recently named managing editor. She also works as a sports intern for the Daily Jefferson County Union and contributes freelance articles to The Cambridge News. Behling, a first year member of the Society of Professional Journalists, has been to three national journalism conferences and was named to the IJEA All-State Journalism team as a senior in high school. Behling expects to graduate May of 2014 and is eager to gain more experience in the field of journalism. “I’m ready to let my passion for storytelling and page design take me wherever it leads me.”

Website Review: Rolling Stone offers organization, clean design

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Written by Andrea Behling, Andrew Bayliss and Jessica

Upon visiting RollingStone.com, the initial appearance of the site is crisp and professional. Sections and departments are organized neatly, with black copy on a white background and the iconic red Rolling Stone logo running across the top of the page.

Right under the title, each department is listed in a row. The top left corner of the home page allows the reader to view the current homepage, with articles from the most recent magazine, or click into a search of the magazine’s archives. A federated search box is in the top right hand corner. This allows visitors to search recent issues and historical archives simultaneously.

The home page of RollingStone.com.

The home page of RollingStone.com.

The home page is built vertically in three columns. The news section is on the site’s left side and features the day’s top story, followed by stories listed in chronological order, with the most recent at the top.

In the center of the screen, a box of photos and titles of their corresponding articles, similar to Yahoo’s home page, scrolls continuously.

A list of new and “flashback” music videos, titled “The Mix,” is opposite the news feed, on the right side. Other sections include photos, lists (such as “The 25 DJs That Rule The Earth”), the current issue, videos (news and documentaries, not music), reviews and movies & television.

Two designs are used for the departments’ pages. Politics and reviews both use a simple list of their most recent stories. The other departments are designed like the home page. The photo and video sections have their own design, emphasizing a box that scrolls through the latest and greatest pictures and videos.

Overall, the design of the homepage is nothing spectacular. However, the ease of navigation and generous use of photos are huge positives. In case of a huge breaking news story, such as the death of Michael Jackson, the web site may have to create a special design, because it is not built as a hard-news website.

For instance, the Huffington Post will often display a huge headline on its homepage that makes viewers immediately recognize what the day’s top news story is. RollingStone.com is built to complement the biweekly magazine. News is broken on the website, but usually small stories such as “Shakira’s Ex-Boyfriend Sues for $100 million” that can be relegated to the news feed.

The home page of www.huffingtonpost.com on Dec. 2, 2012.

The home page of www.huffingtonpost.com on Dec. 2, 2012.

Rolling Stone’s mobile website is completely different than the full website. Whereas the complete website is not focused on breaking news, that is the mobile website’s primary focus. Latest news and videos are at the top of the mobile website, which has a simple design.

A news-first approach to the mobile site is sensible, because those visiting from phones are most likely not looking to read a big feature article. Plus, when they are, the option of going to the full site is available at the bottom of the mobile homepage.

Social media does not appear to be a main concern of the site. The ever-present Facebook and Twitter icons are available on the home page, but blogs seem to be a bigger area of promotion for RollingStone.com.

Blogs is one of the departments listed on top of the home page. A list drops down, revealing links to four writers’ blogs, a political blog, a technology blog and a fashion blog.

Once a visitor clicks goes to a blog, the option of following that specific writer or department on Facebook or Twitter appears in a sidebar.

Of Rolling Stone’s four most popular writers, David Fricke (music reviews), Peter Travers (movie/television reviews), Matt Taibbi  (politics) and Rob Sheffield (music, movies, pop culture), only Sheffield utilizes social media on a regular basis. He sends out an average of two or three tweets per day, while the others may go days, or even weeks, between tweeting.

Rolling Stone’s audience is defined by their longevity. The magazine itself has been a piece of Americana journalism for nearly 50 years, with each generation discover what the generation before them had discovered: that Rolling Stone is the hip magazine to read.  The audience is long tail in a unique perspective. Those who read Rolling Stone online are the same people who will be the magazine in stores as well. Those who read Rolling Stone are dedicated users, who are brand loyal, and read multiple articles that vary in a wide range of topics. Rolling Stone does not specifically say on the website who their main target audience is because they already have a built in audience they know will stay loyal to them. That’s why the magazine has stood the test of time.

Rolling Stone has interesting concept relating to paywalls. A lot of the material readers see in the magazine are present online as well. However, in order to get the entire spectrum of content given in the current issue, readers are given the option to subscribe to all access: Rolling Stone. If a reader signs up for the all access membership, they get a subscription to the magazine, archives, and all of the content from the current issue available online. The magazine offers its best deal at 0.50 cents an issue, or 78 issues for $38.95. It was reported in 2011 by publishingexecutive.com that the magazine had seen a major jump in advertising revenue, mostly due to the summer rock festival season. Ad pages have increased from 158.2 ad pages in the 2010 March issue, to 221.2 in the March 2012 issue.

I would dare say that the Rolling Stone website is the corresponding media outlet next to the magazine. The magazine is what started the rock journalism trend in the 1960s, and the online presence of the magazine only increased this level of cool to its readers. A lot of the feature stories on the website are much shorter than those featured in the print magazine. A feature story runs about 7 pages in the magazine, but online can only be a few paragraphs or maybe two pages if it is a cover story. Rolling Stone’s bloggers live and breathe online content, and generate opinion pieces that enhance the rock tone of the magazine as an entire medium. A lot more Internet videos are used on the website, including movie critic Peter Travers have is own video section where he can connect with his print readers through video. Content on the website is much shorter and to the point, including many list articles and videos.

Multimedia is integrated into the text through links, links, and more links. Each article has a corresponding link to another related Rolling Stone article. This gives readers a sense of credibility to what they are reading, and it shows the author of the piece knows his history on the subject he is writing about. Text is integrated into multimedia through captions for videos. Each video on the website has a lengthy paragraph describing what the video is about, and what you may hear from the interview subject. The videos are much more intimate than YouTube videos, and the subject matter the video can go to is much more personal, and can be PG-13 rated instead of PG. Their media player is not linked to YouTube at all, but is simply created by those affiliated directly with the magazine. Multimedia is key online in order to have visitors want to see more in text in print.

The Rolling Stone’s most recent website update came in April 2010. What was a big deal for the magazine, but less of a big deal for the audience, was that the new website would be controlled internally. Before, RealNetworks controlled the magazine’s online presence, but the contract expired. The biggest update that came with the reveal: access to archived content all the way back to 1967. Nothing like old content being the front lining feature for a brand new website. Although the re-design reveal may have been anticlimactic, Fact Company said it was long-needed in a review.

Rolling Stone magazine has had a bad track-record when it comes to message boards. First launching the message board forum in the late 1990’s the website generated a growing community of regular, worldwide contributors. Due to an Internet troll and hacker problem, the site deactivated the message board feature in May 2004. In an attempt to fix the problem, a more limited message board was reactivated in late 2005, only to be removed again, a year later. A third attempt in March 2008 produced the same results, and was deleted in April 2010.

Hyperlocal content is not a specialty of the magazine overall, but the federated search option, which searches both the website and the archive, gives online readers better search engine results for articles related to a specific location.

Rolling Stones does modify and revise its content from the print versions to the web version. One example had to do with a misquote in a blog and the correction ran like this:

When it comes to sharing articles on social media, the website makes it visible and easy to share content. It shows you the numbers at the top of each article, in an attempt to persuade you to do the same. Commenting is activated for all online content, except reviews. It

Screenshot of a Rolling Stone correction.

Screenshot of a Rolling Stone correction.

gives you the option to post a review of the song, movie or album being reviewed, yet no comment box is provided. None of the recent reviews have any comments at all. When it comes to sourcing, the Rolling Stone uses hyperlinking for secondary sources. When they do have one, the hyperlink format reads, for example, “The New York Times reports”. The blog posts are filled with external links which are shown as key highlighted words.

The site obviously has yet to master the message board option online. This is an area the website could work to bringing back, for a fourth and final time. Possible corrections could mean a stricter enforcement of comments, a more intense sign-up method or a better system to block hackers and virus spreaders.

Another frontier the site has yet to fully address is the paywall problem. Will readers continue to pay for online content? Especially in the music industry, Rolling Stone could be the first domino in the line to revolutionize the niche music media industry. With growing competition in other smaller and even more niche publications and websites, the Rolling Stone has to take the lead of The New York Times and continue to prove itself as the forerunner.

The website should also continue to improve the free phone App and iPad App. The iPad magazine App was released earlier this year, but still seems very much like the print edition and doesn’t have any added features or content, sadly. Wenner Media, which has been slow to convert to tablet content, tested the waters with a Beatles special edition iPad App. Appadvice.com deemed the special edition as “underwhelming” and that “The Beatles deserve better”. Something closer to Popular Mechanics’ impressive interactive edition would be in the magazine’s best interest moving forward when it comes to a full-force interactive iPad App.

Anderson Cooper: The king of sharp-tounged Twitter talk

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The life of a celebrity is commonly coupled with the burden to act, dress and think a certain way.

So often celebrities attempt to convince people, “Celebrity isn’t easy. I’d like to see you try.” Many, in fact, can put themselves in those shoes, realizing the day-to-day difficulties of being under the 24-hour surveillance of the media.

Anderson Cooper. Screenshot taken from CNN.com

Now try being Anderson Cooper, a media member himself, who has reached celebrity status. As a well-respected celebrity journalist, Cooper is expected to be the perfect picture of ethicality and awareness. One slip up could avalanche into a great fall from grace.

Recently, the “silver fox” exposed himself to one of the easiest media frenzy targets; He had a Twitter tantrum. Reporting from the front lines of the Israili-Palestinian conflict, Cooper let emotions get the best of him when responding to disgruntled Twitter followers.

Here are a few examples of Cooper’s display of responses toward these “Twitter trolls” :

 

 

Screenshot taken from MailOnline website

Screenshot taken from MailOnline website

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cooper isn’t the only celebrity recently put under the spotlight. Chris Brown deleted his Twitter account after a graphic Twitter feud with Comedian Jenny Johnson.

Similar to Brown, Cooper responded after personal attacks to his integrity. For anyone who knows anything about the sharptoungued journalist or follows @andersoncooper on Twitter, they know this isn’t a new occurrence. Cooper often responds to Twitter trolls leaving nothing back.

In his response to the recent tweets in a video interview aired on his own show, Cooper said he “kind of felt bad,” in an unapologetic apology.

Cooper is constantly having to prove himself as a trustworthy, reliable source. At the same time, he must remain friendly and relate to his audience. While his Twitter responses were borderline inappropriate for a man of Cooper’s status, it isn’t uncommon to be a little less unscripted on Twitter, especially when it’s on a personal account, as opposed to Cooper’s @AC360, @AndersonLive or @CNN handles.

In every instance of this recent scandal, Cooper was defending his journalistic integrity. He could have left out the personal attacks, which may have cost him a few fans, but then again, isn’t unscripted Twitter talk what all followers want when following a celebrity’s personal feed?

New York Times Facebook Page Review

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The New York Times masters new technologies before other news organizations even hear about it.

This also goes for The Times‘ successful utilization of its Facebook page.

Screenshot taken from the New York Times Facebook Page

When it comes to providing social media followers with timely, relevant and consistent content, The Times delivers. With 2.5 million followers, the newspaper’s Facebook page is a hub for reader interaction. Many posts are liked, shared and responded to by thousands. Browsing the page,The Timeshas a good mix of video links, story links, featured images with links and teasers.

One way the publication differentiates the page to keep posts as varied as possible is to mix up the way stories are presented. As a way to draw more attention to a particular post, The Times sets it as an important event so it shows up bigger on the timeline. The paper also posts a picture with a description instead of just the link package, so it shows up bigger.
The Times has a number of sub-pages that cater to specific audiences including Soccer, Movies, Theater, Travel, Politics pages. Competitors like The Chicago Tribune also have sub-pages. This is a good way to create niche audiences and give readers exactly what they want. It is often a turn off to readers when a news site updates too often. By dividing the areas of interest, readers are updated half as often with more relevant information.
One of the publication’s choices when it comes to interaction is to leave the conversation mostly up to the readers. Conversations are started and finished by readers with little to no input from a Times administrator. USA Today has a very different strategy. When it comes to interaction, USA Today is possible over-exaggerated with feedback and individual reader responses.
The Times’ Facebook page is a very valuable tool for the publication. With a 2.5 million person following, not counting the paper’s sub-pages, the following is comprised of an audience the paper needs to reach in the digital journalism transition. The active followers on Facebook are most likely in a younger age group and more tech-savvy than the daily print product consumer.

What lies beyond the paywall

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Online paywalls, as they relate to news content-based websites, are shaking up the way news does business, and it may mean a shift in the way people consume news for the survival of the industry.

Paywalls, which have been hinted and threatened to Internet users since 1996, is a payment model for viewing online content. A threshold paywall, which is a popular model among well-read news sites like The New York Times, allows users to view a certain number of pages before being cutoff and forced to pay an online subscription. A hard paywall, most common to niche, business and technical publications, does not provide any content without first charging a fee.

According to a blog post written by Clay Shirky, the threshold paywall model is asking a lot from a minority group of loyal readers who are expected to pay for the news. No longer is the news organization selling a product to a large target audience. Instead, the news organizations that have implemented threshold paywalls are trying to sell readers the idea of becoming a committed, engaged reader.

At first, this paywall seemed like digital suicide. Casual users, who make up approximately 60 percent of the market, are turned off by paywalls. Even some regular users, making up 30 percent, could be turned off of a site that asks for a subscription. These readers are non-commiters and are not brand loyal.

This leaves the 10 percent of users who make up the core. These readers are the politically minded, RSS feed using, social media connected readers who live and breath news. With the paywall model, news organizations must convince the other 90 percent of people to switch over to this type of news consumption, and then some.

This, Shirky said, is not an easy task. It does not aline with any past model of selling the news. Threshold paywalls are asking for long-term, dedicated, politically involved readers who have the interest of the paper in mind when they decide to pay for a subscription.

Again, digital suicide threatened an early death for the new-formed model for the digital journalism industry. Newsday, a nationally renowned news organization, launched its first paywall in 2010. Three months later, a total of 35 subscribers were recorded. This resulted in a redesign, a financial loss and proposed pay cuts. The crumbling of the paywall idea was well underway.

In just two short years, things have changed.

Today, Newsday’s digital circulation now represents more than a quarter of its total circulation of 404,542. Most notably, The New York Times continues to blaze the trail, as it so often does, to online paywall success. Thanks to the NYT’s porous paywall, the organization collects 4,750 new subcribers on average each week. Other news sites took it up a notch too, like the Chicago Tribune, providing premium features and a new website redesign fit to transfer to a paywall method.

While NYT and other newspapers currently have paywalls, it is still in a stage of experimentation and perfection. One clear problem with the paywall is the disconnect with the traditional advertising model. When a hard copy newspaper came as a bundle of news, sports, entertainment coupled with print ads, it offered advertisers a product sold to a mass market.

Online, this bundling effect has disappeared.
Advertisers’ target audience does not match the target audience catered to by paywalls. Advertisers want non-partisan coverage, as to not eliminate any potential customers. Paywalls pinpoint users with the highest level of opinion and niche interests, which currently, is a small group. This means a larger number of people being turned away by paywalls lead to less potential customers to advertisers.

Yet there is a desirable benefit for advertisers behind the paywall. Once a user subscribes, an advertiser gets what is most coveted in the world of advertisement: niche customer information. For subscribed users, advertisers are guaranteed multiple advertisement views suited for an individual users interests. Access to readable, usable demographic information is what puts online advertisement in the frontline of the industry, as well as its most promising venture moving forward.

Although demographic information is desirable, the negatives still seem to outweigh the postives when it comes to paywalls. Shirky’s advice for this conflict of interest, wait. It will take time for form to follow funding. In order to ensure long-term survival, news organizations must find an incentive for committed subscribers, while continuing to perfect the paywall equation.

Mitt Romney’s Google Bomb assumption is ‘completely wrong’

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In what has made out to be the latest election scandal, Mitt Romney has recently shown up as the number one image, and number 36th for that matter, when the phrase “completely wrong” is typed into Google Images.

Typing in “completely wrong” will pull up pages of Mitt Romney pictures in Google Images. This screenshot was taken on Oct. 10.

At first, this coincidence seemed to be a Google Bomb. Google Bombing, which is a term used when a site is linked to a key phrase to artificially elevate the site in search results, is often politically motivated.

In this case, the image result was a legitimate link to Romney’s recent response to the “47 percent” remark made at a private donor event.

The presidential candidate’s statement to Sean Hannity on Fox News reads:

“Clearly in a campaign, with hundreds if not thousands of speeches and question-and-answer sessions, now and then you’re going to say something that doesn’t come out right. In this case, I said something that’s just completely wrong.”

The final two words of this excerpt “completely wrong” were then linked as key words to articles containing Romney images.

While the incident wasn’t a Google Bomb, Search Engine Land’s Danny Sullivan said it doesn’t make it any less embarrassing. The Huffington Post comments on comedian Rob Delaney’s tweet reading: “Ha! Do a Google image search of the term “completely wrong.”

Romney’s embarrassing moment wasn’t the only to occur on a Google search result page. President George W. Bush was a victim to a legitimate Google Bomb when his official biography was linked to the key phrase “miserable failure”.

More recently, President Obama’s image appeared with the key phrase “debate fail”. More vulgarly, Rick Santorum’s last name came up as a sexual biproduct in a Google search.

In Romney’s case, Google said it wasn’t a “fixable” problem, rather a “natural” effect of the algorithm.

Whether it’s deemed a Google Bomb or not, there’s no doubt it will receive feedback. Wisnefski told FoxNews.com, “The more attention such sideshow distractions receive only takes away from politicians’ ability to get their message out.”

Running for president in the digital age

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Background

Photo by Kevork Djansezian from Getty Images. Image from thedailybeast.com

This May, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was secretly videotaped speaking candidly at a private donor reception.

Mother Jones, a liberal magazine, was the first to post the video and the transcript, revealing a number of shocking statements made by Romney. His most criticized comment was in reference to 47 percent of Americans who are “people who pay no income tax” and “dependent upon government.”

According to David Corn, author of the Mother Jones article, the footage was taken on May 17 at the Boca Raton, Fla., home of Marc Leder, who is a financier. This was a $50,000-a-person fundraiser for Romney’s campaign.

Mother Jones compiled a list of other concerning comments made by Romney that night which include:

-Mocking United States immigration: “[If] you have no skill or experience … you’re welcome to cross the border and stay here for the rest of your life.”
-Mideast peace: “I look at the Palestinians not wanting to see peace anyway…and I say there’s just no way.”
-More on the 47 percent of Americans: “who will vote for the president no matter what.”
-Dividends of his anticipated Nov. 6 victory: “we’ll see–without actually doing anything—we’ll actually get a boost in the economy.”

This video footage and the Mother Jones article went viral in a matter of minutes. By the next day it was the lead story for almost every well-known news organization.

Romney quickly responded by holding an impromptu news conference in Costa Mesa, Calif., stating he stood by the comments he made, but that they might not have been as “elegantly” worded as it would have been in a more public setting. Romney said the role in which the small group of donors played in his campaign called for a more candid, off-the-cuff conversation.

Impact

According to Peggy Noonan’s heated blog post, this footage played a role in the predetermined defeat of the Republican Party in this year’s election. Noonan said not only is his defeat now certain, but it is a defeat “in a year the Republican presidential candidate almost couldn’t lose.”

Writing off 47 percent of the nation is what Noonan calls a rookie mistake. They way in which Romney categorized citizens as data sets instead of seeing them as unique, complex human beings is evidence that leads Noonan to say Romney isn’t sophisticated enough to be a leader in the political world.

Other news organizations have a different argument regarding the leaked video, including that of Columbia Journalism Review writer Brendan Nyhan. In Nyhan’s article titled “Jumping the gun on the Romney ‘47%’ video”, Nyhan calls out many news organizations for taking his “47 percent” statement out of context.

Nyhan uses the Boston Globe as an example, saying that the article written by Glen Johnson, which was only published online, gave context to go along with Romney’s claim. This context was that of the 47 percent of Americans who pay no federal income tax, “in roughly half of those cases, the people are senior citizens on a fixed income, and the remainder in the group include students and members of the US military.”

Nyhan references a number of other different publications, but in the end boils the underlying problem down to the assumption that Romney, and all politicians for that matter, have a “true self” that needs to be revealed. Yet Nyhan said there’s no saying this is the “true” Romney or if it’s just the modified donor version of himself. He concludes by saying there’s no way of knowing if what Romney said in that private meeting was an accurate representation of his true beliefs, and that journalists shouldn’t make any assumptions.

Dylan Byers of Politico argues that the news media jumped the gun, as they so often do, on the coverage and interpretation of the Romney video.

Byers uses Romney’s remarks regarding Israeli-Palestinian Peace as an example. In Mother Jones initial post, only a portion of the video was presented, which is what dozens of news organizations used to conduct a full interpretation of Romney’s remarks.

About 24 hours later, the full 49-minute video was posted by Mother Jones, in which Romney goes on to say “American strength, American resolve” will cause the Palestinians to “some day reach the point where they want peace more than we’re trying to force peace on them.”

Legal

According to an article written by The Blaze’s Jason Howerton, the secretly recorded video may violate Florida’s privacy laws.

Because Florida is classified as a two-party consent state, it is illegal to electronically record something unless all parties express consent. The argument is, did Romney have a reasonable expectation of privacy at this fundraising event held in a residential household? The argument whether this breaks the Florida privacy law also has to do with whether or not the videographer knew it was off limits to gather news at this event.

While many would agree Romney’s conversation was captured on camera and shared with the world in violation of this two-party consent law, Noonan points out that it was Sen. Barack Obama who first learned “there’s no such thing as private when you’re a candidate with a mic” after he received negative feedback in 2008 for his description of the working class culture.

More about shock, less about good journalism

Consider the impact this news would have had if Mother Jones hadn’t of posted the video and only provided the transcript. Chances are, it wouldn’t have even made the news. But there was a video, which was posted and seen by millions worldwide. Also seen by millions was the news stories and commentaries that followed.

One important role of the media is to provide the public with accurate, unbiased information to help people create well-informed opinions and decisions of their own. In this instance, many news organizations ran articles that were more about garnering shock than providing the entire story and its implications. This is partly because initially, Mother Jones didn’t post the entire video, but it also has to do with the news media salivating over the idea of a controversial issue to exploit. This, combined with the “race to be first” mentality of most digital journalists, is what leads to embarrassing situations similar to CNN’s false report.

There’s no doubt, the video of Romney was breaking news no matter the circumstances. News organizations should have used caution, while remaining timely, since the video was leaked and obtained in such a secretive way. This should have tipped many journalists off that this is a story that certainly needs coverage, but only after articulate fact-checking and accreditation.

Photoshop Assignment

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Before                                                                     After

Photo by Marjorie Etheridge (edited by Andrea)

Photo by Marjorie Etheridge

 

Before

Photo by Marjorie Etheridge

Photo by Marjorie Etheridge (edited by Andrea)

After

 

 

 

 

 

Before                                                          After

               

Photo by Majorie Etheridge                           Photo by Majorie Etheridge (edited by Andrea)

 

 

 

 

 

Thomas Friedman Article Review

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In Thomas Friedman’s “New Rules” column, published by The New York Times, Friedman argues that President Barack Obama’s commonly used phrase that if you just “work hard and play by the rules”, you should expect the “American Dream” for both yourself and your children.

Thomas Friedman’s “New Rules” article touches on an outdated Obama/Clinton phrase and a need for “ready now” workers. Photo from NYTimes.com

This term was coined by Bill Clinton and picked up by Obama, which Friedman said is not fitting for today’s world. Friedman said it’s not enough to just work hard and play by the rules, you have to constantly be learning and relearning just to stay in the middle class. Secondary education is more important than ever as the industry is looking for “ready now” employees.

A possible counter-point to this argument could be this: Although Friedman said advancements in technology have dissolved communication barriers, leading less and less Americans to “play by the rules” as people get smarter, some may disagree. There are many Americans in today’s world that work hard to get where they want to be no matter how they learn or what they have yet to learn. A genuine desire to get ahead in a traditional work setting is still not obsolete.

Taking a look at the journalism industry and how the world has shifted journalistic priorities and expectations, Friedman said today’s journalists need to be faster, smarter and talented on all levels. Obama’s phrase “working hard and playing by the rules” doesn’t apply when it comes news organizations looking for journalists who refuse to play by the rules, because the rules are outdated. No longer are news organizations looking for specialists; they’re looking for back-pack journalists, ready to complete assignments hours after its assigned.

In my opinion, Friedman is not just providing his comments on old news. He’s addressing the fact that the leaders of our country have out of date messages, leading to out of date actions. Because we are living in such a revolutionary time period with change around every corner, our leaders need to be just as fast-paced as the workers of the world have been forced to be. Revolutionizing the secondary education system is the next step, which is why I agree with Friedman when he says Clinton’s new message is much better suited to today’s world–“We have to prepare more Americans for the new jobs that are being created in a world fueled by new technology. That’s why investments in our people” — in more community colleges, Pell grants and vocational-training classes — “are more important than ever.”

Lifeasmom.com review

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This is the lifeasmom.com blog homepage taken from lifeasmom.com.

Overall: The overall purpose of Lifeasmom.com is to provide mothers and homemakers with helpful, useful material they can apply to their own lives. With the catch phrase “on the road to joyful motherhood” the author is conveying the message that finding happiness in motherhood is a journey. She breaks her blog into seven categories: home keeping, good eats, learning, family fun, budget living & frugal Friday, parenting & family, and joyful womanhood. By doing this, the author is making it easier for her audience to find something they want to read or would enjoy reading. Based on the content of her blog, the author’s target audience is stay at home mothers. Mothers who work, soon to be mothers and grandmothers would also enjoy this blog. Anyone who runs a daycare facility or babysits might also find this blog helpful and enjoyable to read.

Layout: The design of this blog is very fitting. The light blue/green and yellow color palette is very appropriate for this whimsical blog. Typeface choice also fits the theme. There are a variety of typefaces, ranging from Arial to cursive type. The “subscribe, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube channel” buttons are also unique to the site, which gives the blog original flair that might make viewers return to the site. As to layout, this site is very easy to navigate. Broken up into two primary columns, the left column contains blog post materials including title, date, blog entry, embedded pictures, links and other blog entries you might enjoy. The right column contains the categories box, ads, a disclaimer, a search bar, archives, recent posts, an RSS feed and links to her other blogs/websites. The site is meant to be organized and easy to navigate and emphasizes simplicity.

Content: The author’s tone is very conversational throughout the blog. Exclamation points are used in excess, she writes in the first person and she provides her own personal examples and opinions. Although she has a conversational tone, all of her posts are well-edited, well-researched and thought out. Every post has a picture or some type of graphic to accompany it. Three post ideas that would fit the focus of this blog are:

  1. Your child and the internet: How to encourage positive learning and protect your child from inappropriate sites
  2. How young is too young for your child to create a Facebook page?
  3. 10 ways to keep your sanity as a mother and non-traditional student

Competition: (three competitor blogs/strengths and weaknesses)

  1. 5MinutesforMom.com: This site is very similar to lifeasmom.com. What I think this blog does better than lifeasmom.com is encourage user interaction. 5MinutesforMom.com makes it easy for users to submit their own material, share ideas and have conversations with other moms. I do think lifeasmom.com has a more attract layout and design; 5MinutesforMom.com looks more like a new site than a blog and is a little more overwhelming to look at when you first visit the site.
  2. Dealseekingmom.com: This site is more specialized than lifeasmom.com. It’s more focused on consumer-like reviews and helpful articles rather than leisurely-written narratives. Lifeasmom.com is more laid back, whereas Dealseekingmom.com has a primary focus on bargains and tricks to save money. I think since lifeasmom.com is a more effective blog since it doesn’t focus on one specific thing as to appeal to a larger audience. One weakness lifeasmom.com has compared to dealseekingmom.com is that it might not do as much in-depth research to provide the most helpful information to its audience.
  3. Athriftymom.com: This blog is very focused on coupons and special deals on products and services that would appeal to moms. It has a specific tab on the homepage for moms to print coupons directly off the site. This is something lifeasmom.com does not do. Although, like Dealseekingmom.com, this blog doesn’t cover a wider range of topics like lifeasmom.com does.