The Effects of Accessibility. . .

When I think of blogs, I think of my own personal blog Black Attire Aficionado, The Blonde Salad, The Finance Bar,Ā Business Insider, Buzzfeed, Elite Daily, J. Crew Blog are just some of the ones that come to mind. The blogs above are diverse in many ways, I never thought of them as a discourse community until now. What these blogs hope to achieve is to bring users together to engage in variety of topics and give users a chance to engage in discussions and connect through doing so. As a blogger myself, I realized lately Iā€™ve failed in the consistency department. I have been extremely busy over the past four months and have not had time to contribute to my blog that I love so much. In chapter 7 of the Carroll textbook, he creates a list of the ā€œTen Steps to Better Blogging,ā€ it goes as follows, write everyday, schedule your blogging time, be authentic, carve our a niche, be curious and take lots of notes, engage, learn the software, promote yourself, breakup the text and be ethical. The list is sort of the undisputed rules of successful blogging. Since many of your materials exist online it is essential to practice these rules. I think if each of us can practice and perfect these rules, we will be very successful in our careers.Ā 

During 2009-10 there was a massive rise in fashion blogsā€” it was unprecedented! Back then fashion bloggers suffered from not being seen as an authentic source or credible source for information. It was seen as a ā€œhobbyā€ to take photos of your outfit, write silly posts about trends. In the infancy phase of fashion blogging, many bloggers like The Bryan Boy (the forefather of fashion blogging) were not taken serious. Many fashion houses and photographs discredit as an enterprise. Fast forward to today, fashion designers are begging bloggers to promote their brands. The fashion designers send bloggers free clothes/accessories, invitations to shows, getaway trips, you name it they do it. Additionally in on page 197 (Carroll), he poses the question is there a major difference between journalist and bloggers? Is one not the other and vice versa? Just like the fashion bloggers who have changed fashion due to social media and other technologies, are they less credible? For instance when I take a photo on my iPhone and then edit it and post it to Instagram and I receive likes, am I now a photographer? Is calling myself a photographer and in doing so, does it discredit ā€œprofessionalā€ photographers? In some ways it makes us equal but Iā€™m sure a few would say that Instagramers have ruined or taken away from the true art of photography, that moment of waiting for a perfect shot whether its been hours or years. . . Maybe everything is becoming to easy in this world. How can any decent work of art be consider a work of art if it is so easy/ accessible now? I think perhaps that is the true challenge for any writer, is to stand out in a sea of look a likes . . .

Maybe for all fields, there will always be a fight for individuality, to be unique, to have a gift unlike anyone else.

Digital Journalism

Since the explosion of digital media, writing is more so referred to as the dying art. The shift from print to digital has severely affected writers of every medium. New media, digital media, digital journalism has changed the way stories are told, especially the ones told on the web. Although there are a few affordances that new media has contributed to there are constraints to it as well. One major affordances of digital journalism is it gives an author a chance to create content and have it distributed via the internet to millions of readers.

The world of journalism has changedĀ drastically, journalism is not what it used to be. Nowadays, journalism is one of the most dangerous careers. Many journalist who want to report on foreign news are being tried overseas and many times killed. The ones who report domestically still face many of those problems. Journalists are also facing a hard time because many of the jobs are becoming contract based so there is no reason to have an in house journalist. The way journalist report current events has changed because of new technologies. Long ago, people relied heavily on receiving their news via major TV broadcasting channels or radio now many people receive there news via SMS, Smartphone Apps., emails, online forums, there is so much competition for journalist all around the world. Many of the ways we once communicated has seen a unforeseen change. The way information was once “fed” to readers/listeners has changed the way readers/listeners internalize information and use it. The amount of information that is availableĀ out there is terrifying. We are in this era of mass digital literacies, content overload, and big data that companies are spending billions of dollars to access information about their users like never before. Some of the information they pay to access and they become aware of may be detrimental to our health. As I think about the impact that these digital literacies has on the readers/listeners, I can’t help but wonder if our minds are becoming less stimulated and if the information seems mundane to us. It makes me think if we are really ever evolving with the internet. Certain sites have become so ordinary that the user may become disengaged and just passively surf the site. It could possibly affect the “mental” user experience. . .

As I read through “Photojournalism in the Age of New Media” by Jared Keller, I came across a quote that stood out, it read “News agencies are often happy with random snapshots from Egypt and they don’t necessarily need professional, thoughtful content all the time.” It made me think if images needs the content to explain it. For instance what if Frida Kahlo or Andy Warhol or Picasso had content to explain their works. . . would things have been different? Maybe pictures need words and vice-versa.

In essence digital media affects every career possible, each and everyone of us have to conform to the new technologies. Journalists have to wear many different hats than once before and social channels like Instagram and Periscope are making it incredibly easier to “showcase” your craft. It is a constant battle for journalist to create a authentic story that represents their uniqueness. To be honest, I miss the good ol’ days of when journalist strictly reported on current events instead of celebrity gossip and showing viral animal videos. In many ways they have lost a little of their credibility—what made them unique.