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You-Tube tailors itself for Korean Legislature

I chose this article for this week to showcase the vast differences within our changing world in relation to technology.

The article titled "You-Tube Cripples Itself to Protect Korea Users" talks about how a recent legislation in Korea demands You-Tube to make it mandetory for all users, from those commenting to those uploading videos, to enter their citizen identity numbers before using the site.

Google, seeing this as an invasion of privacy, simply responded by disabling all comments and video uploads in order to avoid conflict. They even notified Korean users that they could just change their "location" to a different country and once in their new account, change the language to Korean and upload and comment on videos as usually while still being anonymous.

I thought this was significant because we talked about privacy in our class and this article related to it. We are very lucky here in the U.S. that we have freedom of speech and honestly, I agree with the fact that a large company is fighting for the rights of individuals in other countries. i think it's great that a major company like Google is helping to branch out and support that in other countries that do not believe what we do. That way, the country's individuals can still have a voice...and aren't responsible for what they say or upload as long as it's not illegal.

(By illegal, i mean by U.S. standards because any kind of touchy subject would be illegal in Korea whereas here, for example, we can openly talk about pro-life or abortion, etc but it would be illegal to post a video threatening to kill the president, etc.)

Either way, I believe that Google handled the situation tastefully and hopefully there will not be any conflict over it.

Visa Phone?

A new way to pay for things has been created by Visa in the form of the Visa Phone. Visa has produced a way to pay for transactions by linking your cell phone to your bank account through the internet access on your phone. when you are checking out, just wave your phone within 4 cm of the credit card device and it will scan all your info. Thus, charging your Visa card with you cell phone.

Currently only used in Malaysia, but plans for expansion will soon see it more places. The scanning system is similar to RFID, the radio frequency identification system already used in some stores in the U.S. It uses thin electronic stickers to transmit your card info over radio frequencies to charge your account. These stickers are often places on key chains or on the cards themselves and by waving them in front of the terminal device, they pay for the transaction.

I thought this article was significant because this provides a new way of paying for things rather than cash, check, or swiping a credit card. I believe it comes with many questions though such as;

1-Will it be easy for a thief to create a similar swiping system and steal my credit card number?
2-What if it doesn't work properly and I have no other money on me?
3-What if a thief steals my cell phone and starts waving it all over town buying things? Does it at least require a signature?
4-Could this possibly make it a little too easy to spend loads of money? If it's easy to swipe, consumers may not give it a second thought...which is good for manufacturers but not for your bank account.

I agree with this new technology just because it provides convienance but I don't agree that it's the best option. I think there are alot of question to be asked and answered of it in order for many people to feel comfortable using it.

Skype App Introduced on Iphone

Skype has now created an app for Iphone. In the article on the New York Times technology section of their website discussed how Skype was better than the two other existing apps for Iphone that do essentially the same thing.

Apps like "Fringe" and "Truphone" already deliver cheap skype VoIP to the Iphone but the major difference is that Skype on Iphone will be able to integrate your existing contacts into Skype. By just selecting a contact, Skype will open and connect as long as you are connected through Wi-Fi. You can also upload new profile pictures for Skype with the Iphone camera while experiencing clearer quality.

The only bad thing is that the phone requires the Wi-Fi connection when using Skype and won't work over voice and data frequencies on the phone.

I thought this was significant because Skype is a major tool used in a busy world where business trips and studying abroad as a student make communication a little easier. Those who have an Iphone and do alot of international or coast to coast communication with clients or even family and friends will find it easier with this free app through Skype.

I agree with this because next spring i may be abroad in Salamanca, Spain and will most likely be using Skype and any utility that makes it easier for me to contact my family and friends while i'm away would be beneficial. Although I do not have an Iphone, perhaps by then, the service will be available through other cell phone providers.

Photoshop Disasters!

The website i chose this week is about Photoshop Disasters.


The image above is from JCpenney and shows a girl missing her lower jaw! I thought that this site was important considering that we were working a little bit with photoshop. The site names 20 of the biggest photoshop disasters of 2008.

It is important to be aware of the mistakes made by major companies with photoshop because it means that even if a professional company is working on a graphic, mistakes can still happen.

I agree with this because anytime you create a graphic or even an article (in the case of a journalist), it is always a good idea to have an editor or peer look over your work. It is easy to miss a mistake in something that you've been looking at for hours and hours as you work on it. It's significant because if you are aware of common mistakes made, you can avoid the mistakes yourself.

Favorite Things

Here are a few of my favorite things.

• Puppies!


• Shopping for vintage, 1950's clothes on Pinupgirlclothing.com
  
  
• Spending time with my family and friends

Annotated Bibliography: Library Digital Initiative

My annotated bibliography for IMS 201 was based on digitalization, preservation, and digital initiatives. I became interested in it after we toured the digital initiatives office at Miami and thought that more research on it would be interesting as well.

My article, which describes Harvard's digital initiatives program, talks about how the program was created, funded, and how it functions. The program was created in 1998 and will continue to receive funding until 2010. It was created to support the large amount of resources that Harvard continues to collect in an organized, coordinated way.

I thought this was an important article for my topic because it provided another example of another school that uses digital initiatives to organize their history.

Pug Photo worked with in photoshop. So ugly yet amusing.

Free I-Phones in Japan

The article i chose this week is from CNNmoney.com and discusses how I-phones are now free with the signing of a 2 year contract in Japan. The article talks about how Softbank Mobile, a cellular provider in Japan, is reducing monthly fees for the I-phone less than a month after it's debut in Japan.
I agree that Softbank should decrease it's price, especially if the product isn't selling, in order to make any kind of profit. If the Japan is not interested in the I-phone because of different reasons, maybe a cut in price will help them to like it more.
Some reasons why people in Japan dislike the I-phone ranged from one thing to the other. One reason was that it's too difficult to put cute emotion faces in on it, which is popular in Japan. Another was that women in Japan often have very long fingernails and using the phone is too difficult. One more is that the I-phone lacks the "FeliCa" option which is a type of electronic debit card used in Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. Some feel it's not that technologically advanced compared to alot of the things that Japan has.
Overall, the I-phone doesn't fit some individuals' lifestyles. I think this is a very significant point because the West (i.e. USA) sometimes just assumes that everything we do and feel here applies in all areas of the world. It's a very arrogant thing and although the I-phone is very useful in our busy "on the go" world, it may not work everywhere else. Once this is understood, I believe that maybe Apple could go back to the drawing board in order to make a different version of the I-phone that is more tailored to Japan's needs. If they want it to succeed in Japan, they'll have to do more than cut down the price i think. It has to be an instrument that is valuable and useful to the people of Japan.

The Lost City of Atlantis...Found by Google Ocean?

The above photo is from The Sun and the article I chose for this weeks post is from The Daily Mail.

Google Ocean, a feature on Google Earth, has been the subject of many conversations today. A British aeronautical engineer who was using the program reportedly found a"man made aerial map" under the ocean near the coast of Africa. It consists of many circuits and roadways and is about the size of Wales.

The lost city of Atlantis was first described by Greek philosopher Plato in 355 B.C. as a highly sophisticated city that sank into the ocean around 9600 B.C. The city had a diverse culture and even had hot and cold running water.

Representatives from Google state that it is not Atlantis and that it is a flaw/blemish in the program used to map the ocean and earth but others believe that this is a cover-up.

I'm not sure if i agree with this or not. I would really like to believe that Atlantis had been found by our advanced technology but along with technology still comes various flaws. I think it's a toss-up right now that requires even more technology in order to evaluate it.

I think this is significant because if we possess programs that are able to view these kinds of things from miles away, we have truly crossed a threshold into a new realm of technology. Google earth has also been able to view a sniper walking around in Pakistan and supposed andriods of the u.s. army. I'm not sure if this is true but imagine the possiblities if these statements were correct. Talk about an invasion of privacy...but that's the kind of problems that technology creates. Technology brings about the good and the bad but the way that individuals use it is what makes it valuable.

Daily Lane Closures Due to Zombies, Sign Hackers Play Some Pranks

In Collinsville, Illinois, Hamilton County in Indiana, and Austin, Texas....officials are not amused. Several electronic road signs have been hacked into and re-worded with phrases such as "Daily Lane Closures Due to Zombies", "Raptors Ahead---Caution", and "Nazi Zombies!! Run!!". While some may find these phrases funny, the fact is that the phrases have replaced important warnings such as "Slow Down, Construction Workers Ahead" and "Caution, Guardrails Being Replaced Ahead". Officials are concerned about accidents being caused due to "funny" signs that catch drivers off guard. They suspect that the hackers are actually cutting the padlocks on the back of the electronic signs and re-programming the message at night. If the hackers are caught, they face misdemeanor charges and fines that range from $250 to $5000. (See the article for yourself here.)

I agree with the officials on this one. Construction workers lead most of the dangerous jobs in our society and for tech-savvy kids to use their knowledge of computers and basic technology to manipulate technology that has been created for safety is astounding. Yes, it may be funny...but what's that saying your mom always said? "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." This applies in this situation.

I felt this story was significant because every city has construction workers and while they are often seen as "blue collar" the men and women of construction work are the toughest i know. It's not an easy job, it requires endurance of the weather elements, and dangerous work out on highways, railways, and pipelines. They work with large, dangerous machinery and on top of all of this, they must deal with the traffic skills of the general public. The signs are essential to the safety of a construction worker. I used to work at Lowes and in my 3 years of work there, i met many hardworking men and women who had spent their lives doing this hard work. It is unacceptable to think that some rich, disobeying teen feels like it'd be funny to mess with the signs that provide safety to people just like those i got to know in my time at Lowes.

This story of hacking also relates to me because my brother in law is in construction and because of family ties to him, i hate to think of the devastation his injury or death would cause on my family...especially if it was due to this "funny" reason.

Overall, this article was striking. It's so easy to think of all the wonderful things technology has done for the human race such as keeping friends/family who live hundreds of miles away in touch with ease, providing information about literally anything, and providing convenience in the form of online banking, college courses, and job searching (to name only a few)...yet sometimes we fail to see the bad that technology has brought as well, such as identity theft, online predators, and knowledge about anything (bomb building, personal info, etc.) What is also striking is the fact that children younger and younger are becoming totally fluent in technology. I remember in 6Th grade starting typing classes and thinking how stupid they were...now i watch my 9 year old niece show me things on youtube. Along with that fluency in technology comes the immaturity in the age of those who are learning the technology. I assume these problems with "pesky kids/hackers" will continue to grow as time goes on.

Mashup Example

For our class activity, i chose the following as an example of a mashup. It is a combination of Eric Clapton's "Tears In Heaven", Lionel Richie's "Say You, Say Me", Bob Dylan's "Workingman's Blues #2", Aphrodite's Child's "Rain and Tears", Blues Traveler's "Hook" & Fredrik Kempe.

Take a look and click on the link on the Mashup Town webpage.

Norwegian Recycling

Technology Usage Broken Down by Country Shows Surprising Percentages

In the article titled "UK Housewives Rule in Online Time" off of the BBC news website (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/7789494.stm) , the percentages shown seem surprising.

The survey, consisting of 27,000 web users in 16 different countries placed China at the very top of their list. China's percentage of leisure time spent on the computer was 44% which is nearly three times that of a web user in Denmark.

The survey also broke respondents into age categories with an average of all countries' users under 25 spending 36% of their time online. On average, China's under 25 users spend 50%.

Along with the age category, results were also broken down by occupation and focused on the UK which showed that students spend 39% of their time online which is more than those who are unemployed at 32%...yet was less than what UK housewives spend on the Internet.

Along with these findings, the U.S. spends 30% of it's leisure time on the Internet and in response to the second question, which was "Have you ever met in person a person who you first met online?". The answer from the U.S. was a meager 56% that said yes. Compared to Germany, France, and Sweden's 75% that said yes, it was surprising that only 56% of Americans had done so. China's answer was even lower at 40%.

Overall, each country answered in it's own way and after looking at the findings carefully, i can start to understand why the results came out the way they did. First of all, the volume of people survey was not really a huge amount considering how many people live in just the U.S. and China alone. The U.S. answer of 56% could be more like 75% had more American's been surveyed. Second of all, the social and political conditions in any given country would affect the findings of this study given that not all people own computers or have regular computer access everyday. There are many different factors that could prove this study of technology not so accurate and therefore, I'm not sure i completely agree with it.

I do feel that this study is significant because it puts things into perspective for everyone, no matter what country you are from. Technology has really changed everything from economies, politics, and education to health care, communication, and relationships...the real question is if it's all for the good of everyone.

I can relate to this study just in thinking about how much time i spend on a computer. I use it for homework, research, a way of contacting old friends and family, and i even use it at work. There are not many places that you can go nowadays that doesn't have a computer of some sort. I remember being in 6Th grade and being forced to take a typing class. I remember thinking how stupid it was...now I'm so grateful that they forced it on us. The younger generations are becoming more and more technological everyday. As i watch my 7 year old niece play games on her computer, it all seems a little surreal. When i was her age, i was being old fashioned and playing with Barbies and My Little Ponies...so much has changed just in the last few years. It just reminds people that things never stay the same for too long and because of these strides in technology, we are able to live the lives we live.

Digital Dogs

Who thought it would come to this? The picture on your left is featured on http://hubpages.com/hub/High-Tech-Gadgets-Dog-Lovers and is a "pet cell phone"(bottom picture). The device enables dog owners to actually call their dog and talk to it on speakerphone. Now, for those of us that don't talk to their dogs, it also has a "call owner" button and a GPS tracker just in case your lovable pooch decides to have an adventure. As extreme as the phone part seems, i think i would definetly consider the other features for my dog. (top picture).

Other items included on the webpage were similar to the cell phone except one was exclusively a GPS tracker, one was a PDA to use to organize your dogs appointments and important phone numbers (groomer, vet, etc), and the last one, my personal favorite was the "doggy doorbell". As goofy as this idea sounds, it's pretty smart. Some dogs don't really let you know when they need to go out but training combined with this device make it easier for them to give you a heads up. The device is a wireless remote that sets off a doorbell chime when the dog steps on it, letting you know that they need to go for a walk.

Although these devices may be a little too far fetched for people who don't own dogs, I can see fellow dog owners who are completly obsessed with their pets rushing out to buy these items. I think they're significant because there are alot of people devoted to the well being of their pets and especially since many people now work long hours and aren't home as much as they'd like to be, it's important for them to stay organized with their pets' care. (for example, the pet PDA device) Due to how busy people have become, any device, whether it be for a dog or human, that is going to create conveinence is going to be beneficial.

The link below is an interesting youtube video showing a pug using the doggy doorbell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=975pBcPGTew

Laptops for Those Who Have Less

In regards to the article, "One Laptop Per Child: Then What?", many issues were addressed. There were two sides featured within the article which gave the reader a chance to see both pros and cons of the laptop program. This program, which gives out free computers to children in third world countries in Africa mostly, aims to educate the children who are severly disadvantaged in our world. A noble cause yet is it technologically unequal?

I agree with many things in the article. I believe that every child should be given a chance to thrive and succeed. Yet, because of the way these children have been raised, socialized, and educated thus far, throwing an odd contraption into things and claiming that "this is your future, you must learn it" seems slightly arrogant of technology and doesn't take into consideration the long term affects of a child who will learn these skills in order to gain employment as an adult. The child will learn quickly, as many children do, and as the child matures into an adult, what jobs will be available for him or her? In a region devasted by so much economic decay, technology is a nice and cheery thought but it really means one of two things; the individual will realize that they have no where to use these skills and leave the country in search of applicable jobs elsewhere adding to the original economic decay of the country or the individual will have spent all this time trying to learn the ways of the computer only to realize that he or she really doesn't get it. These two examples i just named were mentioned in the article as happening in Peru. These are issues that are not only predicted, they are actively happening.

I also disagree with the fact that if the computer breaks or is in need of repair, the family has to pay for the repair. Many of these families simply cannot afford to fix them so the generous gift bestowed upon them becomes a piece of junk causing disappointment to those who created the computer and those who were destined to use it.

This article was significant because it addresses the huge divide between the "haves and have-nots", a age-long battle. Everyone should have equal access to technology yet because of the extreme divides between societies, cultures, and countries, that access is going to be harder to provide to everyone. This laptop initiative is a valiant attempt to "close the gap" but there are still major issues to address in order for it to work and unfortunetly, addressing issues costs money. All that one can hope is that this is a step in the right direction.

This article is directly relatable to me due to the fact that I am fortunate enough to be reasonably well educated in technology yet that is part of the problem. I know for a fact that there are 21 yr olds out there that have no idea how to use a computer, although they may not be in the U.S. That constant divide, which occurs in all genres of life, is what creates prejudice and misunderstandings among cultures. I believe that everyone needs to get on the same page yet the question is how? Chances are, technology is a good start but there needs to be some new developements in society as well.

The Two Towns of Jasper; Deep Print V.S. Intense Television

With such an intense tragedy such as the one in Jasper, it is hard to convey feelings in any way simply because there are so many of them. Fear, anger, resentment, guilt, sadness, etc.
The written accounts covering the death of James Byrd, i believe, show more depth to the story simply because the second article related the story to the whole town in interviews with neighbors, a teen he was teaching piano to, and his family. There were also comments about Byrd's close friend who was supposed to take him home from the party he attended on the night of the incident. As far as these things go, the print version gave a good review of the community's reaction. Some things that the print version lacked was an intense description of what actually happened to Byrd whereas the television version was very descriptive and actually followed the road that it happened on. This is only because of the difference in media though, obviously you couldn't take numerous pictures of the road for a newspaper and expect them all to be published. Theres just something more intense about a sheriff walking down the road of a scene of a crime and trying to re-live what happened. It's not easy to convey those kind of feelings in print.
Although the television version had it's strengths, it also lacked in the personal relationships that Byrd held with his community (for example, the girl he was teaching piano to and his close neighbor and friend). These relationships are good to display because it's one thing to cover the emotions of a grief stricken family but to also cover community members who are just as upset, wether they personally knew the subject or not, brings more to the story.
I would say that the print version had good depth but the television version was more intense and although both of these are great strengths, i would personally pick the television version over the articles simply because of personal preference and interest in seeing emotion on peoples faces and how they convey themselves and their emotions.

Hot air carries journalism to new height

In review of Malkin's website Hotair.com, i found three things; opinion, new perspective, and suggestions.

I really like the main part of the site that has the headlines. i like that they picked out what they thought people would be interested in and advertised them in a way that people could choose what they wanted to read within the site. these suggestions right of the bat present people with a choice in what they want to view and it's nice to be able to do that. everyone has the freedom to read whatever they want but newspapers usually throw the subjects right in your face on the front page, this site doesn't do that so if you feel that all the headlines sound like they're "garbage" then you can skip them and get to whatever it is that you are interested in. It's a delightful option.

The layout of the sight presents a new perspective. It's cutting edge and presents information in a way that would appeal to ages 18 to 40. That wide range is very beneficial to the success of the website. I like that there are 3 blog writers that write from different perspectives and that you can tell which ones are doing a great job in the way they present their "top picks" according to number of comments, etc. Allah Pundit and Ed Morrisey do a great job in blogging about issues. (examples: "fox news drops another load of dirty laundry on palin" quote= I assume this is a sign that Maverick’s headed back to the center, because if he thinks the base is sore at him now, wait until his cronies’ attempts to scapegoat their idol start percolating.) That example made me happy. It's creative writing meets politics.

Of course there is opinion. Blog pretty much equals opinion..but the difference with this site is that it doesn't throw the opinion in your face and force you to believe it. It's presented as being accompanied by information designed to back up the opinion which makes it better than a weightless statement like "i hate palin" or something similar to that.

Overall, the headlines are strong and unique, the graphics and set up of the site are done well and appeal to the reader, and the modern views and look of the site makes it marketable to a large range of people. it's the perfect example of a young entrepreneur doing business in a journalistic way.

The NY Times - Quality at it's best.

A little late but worth the wait.

A review on the NY times showed me that they do everything well, whether it be their short, informational articles or their more in depth, multimedia articles. All are organized well and cater to the readers needs.

My first article was about the TV anchor in Arkansas that died of "Beating Wounds" and although meaty, it was a bit short but i think that is mainly because not much is known of the case yet. There was a good flow of info and was obviously organized in inverted pyramid style which provided the reader with what was most interesting first off. the quotes from the victim's parent's display emotion which keeps the article from being too cold or generic which contributes to the story telling of the piece. Overall, it was well written and gave you the info quickly.

The second article i took a look at was "For some in the Military, Danger is Seen Off Duty" by Sarah M. Richards which was about armed forces individuals dying in motorcycle crashes when they're off duty. This article also had good organization yet seemed more informative than personal in comparison to the previous article. I believe that this is only because it's on a broader subject matter than an individuals occurrence. there was a good and vast flow of beneficial info from how many have died, to which armed force they were in, to what program is being developed to prevent the deaths. There were many different informative facets to this article which made it seem credible and interesting to read even if the subject wasn't related to anything in the readers life. there were also good examples of real people that currently fall into the "at risk" category and good forms of storytelling throughout.

The last article i looked at was a multimedia PowerPoint called "A Retirement Chasing Butterflies" (see photo above) which was about an retired gentleman who has devoted 14 summers to chasing and classifying different species of butterflies. One element that stuck with me was the fact that it was a personal story of one man's life after retirement from a company and desire to do something completely different than the job he left behind. The photos in the PowerPoint gave a face to the story being told and served as an emotional appeal. I honestly feel that pictures make you think more deeply about the subjects that the article is about because a photo proves to your mind that there is a "real" person going through this. the only thing i would say was a weakness was that there wasn't that much info about the subject and i would have liked to have seen more pictures. Perhaps that's just because I'm a visual person but there are lots of others like myself.

overall, the website was organized well and i think it was very easy to navigate without being annoyingly like an advertisement site. MUCH better than the huffington post, but i wouldn't expect any less.

SI on Campus A.K.A. super crazy college sports E-party!

So....I just finished looking at Sports Illustrated on Campus and I came to one conclusion. They created a CD rom that was the exact crazy, sexist, sports oriented male paradise and inserted it in the CD drive and POOF! SI on campus was born.
Besides being completley not interested in sports, I have tried to hold that opinion aside and look at SI from an unbiased point of view. I found that it was put together well and it had plenty of interesting topics about every male sports genre'. It has a "something for everyone" approach that seems to be geared to young males in college or sports die hards. They offer evaluations of teams, comments about their coaches or schools, and even ticket sales for the next big college game. Their approach is also very "shock and awe" with pictures of intense fans and action going on everywhere on the site. They also appeal to the young man's mind with the stereotypical cheerleading pictures because..hey? what guy doesn't like a dumb hot chick? They even have an article featuring Miss October who is a junior Public Relations major at Gainsville who suddenly found herself on the front cover of playboy and felt that it would be a great time to take a "haitus" from her college education to live the Playboy mansion life. Lets just say that it's interesting that this is a CNN affiliate. Kind of makes me giggle...so much for being conservitive.
I would say it was an accurate news source because you do have many columnists on the site that have very well informed articles that they've obviously worked hard to publish their pieces. I believe that they are devoted to their passions and the guys that take the photos of the ditsy cheerleaders are probably pretty devoted too although they completely demean the women they're reporting about...but i bet they don't make as much money as the guys that actually work hard to produce a good, juicy column. Also, the whole exchange between the demeaning of women and women being demeaned doesn't happen unless one of the two parties allows it to (the women! come on girls, you can still be gorgeous and super smart too!)
Overall, I liked SI because they were smart about what appeals to young men. I'm sure the website was created as way to reach the demographic they were having the most trouble reaching and i'm sure it worked. Girls, sports, and tickets to games...sounds like a internet paradise except for the young mens inability to E-Drink at the same time. I'm sure theres ways around that though...like doing it in the real world while you take in the glories of SI on campus.
My Vote; smart website. :)

A review on the "Huff-a-ton" post....

On Saturday afternoon after work, I spent a majority of my afternoon picking apart the Huffington Post in search of the good, the bad, and the evil.The Huffington Post created by Arianna Huffington seemed for the most part well done. The political articles such as "U.S. Weekly Palin Cover Causes Scandal? Maybe not...Update" and "Republican National Convention Ratings: John McCain speech ties with Barak Obama's" were presented well for the most part yet had some distractions surrounding the articles themselves. I found that the Huffington Post was chock full of information yet so much so that one might loose sight of which stories are genuinely important and which ones are serving as "fillers", which also depends on whether the subject is in the eye of the beholder of course.
The follow-up article concerning Palin seemed valuable to me yet may have been glanced over by others my age who, even if they are into the current presidential race, may have overlooked it. The article spoke of Palin's pregnant daughter and openly questions Palin's parenting. It was nonetheless interesting to hear of the influence that the front cover had on the general publics' decision to subscribe or unsubscribe to U.S. Weekly due to this controversial cover. One form of fuel that this article had was the fact that U.S. Weekly seems to be a publication geared towards a demographic between the ages of 20 to 35. Because of the increased interest and attention generated by the front cover of U.S. Weekly, it shows that any publicity is good publicity....which we all know is a creed to live by if your name is Britney Spears. Another interesting idea is that U.S. Weekly was simply reporting on an issue that was already out in the open and in turn, the Huffington Post was reporting on U.S. Weekly's reporting thus creating a grim circle of coverage that keeps stating and restating the same thing. One reader under the screen name of "Yudit" commented on the evil circle of coverage; "I am at a loss with all this talk of the surge....isn't that like patting yourself on the back for closing the barn door after the horse got away?"
Yudit has a point yet this reporting and re-reporting is commonplace for media. It is the fuel for the media's fire and in the end, the writer will reap the benefits for pumping up and reporting on an issue from a different angle than one that has already been done. If that angle is interesting enough, you will beat out all the other magazines and papers on the stand or on the "net" and the consumer will choose yours. This article by the Huffington Post does a very good job of re-reporting and huffing up the story once more.
The second article I took a look at was about the Republican National Convention. This article was presented much better that the Palin one in the way that it had more meat to it. I understand that the Palin article was just a follow-up but it was lacking the gritty details that needed to be included with a follow-up article. The second article about the Republican National Convention had better details and not as many distractions surrounding the article on the web page. The Huffington Post addressed this article in a very unbiased manner and it was presented well.
The last article on the Huffington Post that I took a look at was "Justin, Miley, and Charlize Among Stars at Fashion Rocks" located in the entertainment section. The article spoke of a special that will be on television called "Fashion Rocks" and it serves as a type of fundraiser to fight cancer. I support the good cause yet it is well understood that for some unknown reason, celebrities hold the power to many young peoples lives so in order for the Huffington Post to reach the younger audience they are lacking, they've created the entertainment and style sections of their website. It is obvious that a 45 to 50 year old would not be interested in this kind of news so it was smart for the Huffington Post to create this sections to reel the younger crowd in to boost ratings. As disgusted as I was to see these untalented celebrities in the pictures accompanying the article, i reserved my judgements of them due to the fact that this is for a good cause and the coverage that the Huffington Post provided for this event will hopefully help in the fundraiser. Despite the fact that these celebrities are using their falsely awarded fame to raise money for a good cause, i still feel this is a negative form of publicity due to the fact that the Huffington Post is attempting to gain younger viewers in this manner.
Overall, I would say that the Huffington Post is smart. They have used certain techniques to gain popularity, they cover issues from different angles, and they huff up scandals while still providing credible news. The Huffington Post provides insight to the general public about political issues and fills in, where appropriate, with tabloid like info which is to be expected. In comparison to MSNBC.com, I would say that the Huffington Post still has much to learn about being credible and mature about issues. If a consumer wants mindless tabloid garbage, there is always a whole world of nonsense just within the checkout line at the grocery store.