Number forty one

LECTURE WEEK 13! LAST LECTURE!

What's in it for me?

BLOGGING!

There were a few main points I found most important while listening to 'Molks' give his lecture on blogging and its impact on journalism today.

1. Today as journalism students, we have the opportunity to control what we write and 'put out there', using the internet as our basis. The huge range of mediums on the internet allows for development both personally and as writers, making experienced and highly employable journalists in the future.

2. The term "BLOGGER":

• is it really that cringe worthy?
• bloggers are becoming more and more important in how we come across and process our information
• to be a successful blogger you just need to GET WRITING
• consistently and intentionally work on writing and connecting with readers all over the world
• interact with those around you

3. As journalists, we are no longer locked behind what the media 'machine' tells us.

We can either purely trust mainstream media OR ask "the man" (source of information, topic of news) firsthand via social networking/communications (think: KRudd on Twitter)

4. HOW to be a success?

-Print, PR, radio and TV journalism success all stem from NOW and how you learn to create and connect with a story

-You can pitch a story however you like online, what you write could then be picked up by a major news company and you could be paid for your work

People who make the news control the story

-start to earn people's trust... politicians, celebrities, sports people... the people who you want to write about

5.START SETTING YOURSELF UP NOW

- write about things that are TOPICAL and INTERESTING

-write about what YOU want to write about

- eventually it will grow, people will read, people will listen, people will follow

-this is an opportunity to project your message

I think blogging is a really exciting force in the journalism and communication industry. I have a particular interest in fashion blogs and started reading them (to the point of religiously following some) towards the end of grade 9 at school. Bloggers like Rumi from Fashiontoast, Karla from Karlascloset and Alix from thecherryblossomgirl were my favourites, and back then, they were just pretty normal young women who wanted to share their style with the world and uploaded outfit shots and whatever else they liked, whenever they liked. And now! Wow! These women along with numerous other fashion bloggers out there have become so influential they are collaborating with clothing brands ands labels, producing clothing, jewellery and fashion shoots of their very own and making a living out of what was once just a fashion blogging hobby.