eJournalist in the Making

Bye-Bye Blogger

2008-04-14T21:08:00.002-04:00

Sadly, I've never become attached to this blog. At least this blog at this location with this layout and, well, everything about it. So often does it happen that I think of wonderful things to blog about, sit down at my computer and shrug my shoulders. My thoughts need a better vehicle to make their way from my brain to the blog, so here it is. It will serve as a central hub-de-Mallory with all my addictive posts, tweets, del.icio.us-ness, etc. Mosey on over there and scope it out.

Wine bloggers head to Twitter

2008-04-13T23:36:00.002-04:00

Dr. Vino, of Dr. Vino's Wine Blog (one of my favorite daily reads that doesn't have to do with journalism), had some chuckle-worthy commentary on his reluctance to join Twitter.

I can’t decide if this is a revolution in micro-blogging or a complete waste of time. So far I’ve learned various things such as: one woman was PMSing, another guy hates his job, another guy just finished 18 holes of golf, somebody else is at the farmers’ market (BREAKING!), and yet another guy is pinging his DNS server or some such. I have revealed trivialities as my confusion thinking New York State cider was different from mere apple juice...(read more)

And whether or not he actually wanted to read about the lovely monthly emotional tribulations of said woman, he did. I guess that's the point, stumbling across random ramblings and tweeting right back. The more people into the conversation, the better, I say! Follow me on Twitter.

Word Press or bust!

2008-04-11T10:18:00.003-04:00

I've decided to migrate this blog to WordPress. Not an easy task, I know, but I've been too intimidated to make the move until now. I want more design control. If I'm not going to redesign my Web site just yet, I might as well step up to the plate and redesign my blog. I'll even go out on a limb and say that having a more "fun" design might get me to update more. But maybe not since I've finally succumbed to the Twitter revolution.

Updates, updates, updates...

2008-03-26T18:00:00.004-04:00

It's been a while. Shame on me. What's been keeping me so busy, you ask?

1. Spring Break. Three girlfriends and I spent five fabulous nights on the Norwegian Jewel cruising around the Gulf of Mexico to the Cayman Islands and Cozumel, Mexico. It was my first extravagant spring break with real plans, and I couldn't have asked for a more relaxing or more fun vacation. It was the last spring break we'll probably ever have, and we went out with a bang.

2. School. Well, sort of. More like me getting used to the fact that I only have 35 days left to be a college student. There isn't much actual schoolwork left to do, but the energy that is taken out of me from stress keeps me busy enough. For now, I'll continue to live in denial.

3. Post-school. It's been hitting me harder lately that I need to get my butt in gear with some post-college plans. I'm sick of being asked that question without having a decent answer. Of course like anyone who has spent the last 18 of their 22 years going to school everyday, I don't want to do much of anything but be lazy. Not for long, either, but at least a week of absolute nothingness as some kind of reward to myself for making it here. I deserve it, don't I?
However, doing nothing also results is making nothing. As in money. And I don't want to be broke. So, I've submitted resumes for two positions at Washington Post.Newsweek Interactive (I'm so excited about this) and one at the Florida Times-Union in Jacksonville. And now comes my least favorite part of the job hunt, which is coincidentally my least favorite part of fishing too -- the waiting part.

4. Side Projects. My Flash-iness is being used for bits and pieces on a project that a TA of mine (shout-out to Gary!) is working on for the UF College of Law. Project My Voice is a social-networking style Web site that he is developing that is geared toward tweens between 11- and 14-years-old to get them engaged in politics and law. So far, his sketches are pretty darn cool and I'm excited to be a member of the team. I'll be working on some Flashtastic navigation and some other odds and ends.

And that's about it. Other than that, I've been trying to soak up as much of Gainesville life as I possibly can in the past few weeks. Every time I'm walking around campus I'm reminded of how much I have become attached to this place, and I never really thought I would say that. Four years has felt like four minutes, but ya know what they say -- (insert predictable cliche here ->) Time flies when you're having fun!

A question of ethics with the New York Times -- a j-student's perspective

2008-02-25T17:07:00.004-05:00

I've been thrown for a loop.

It was only a few short weeks ago that I decided to change my browser homepage from CNN.com to NYTimes.com, a move that was unquestionably overdue for someone like me who is fed up with entertainment and sensationalist headlines from what I no longer consider a credible news source. It makes little difference really, considering that the news I get comes from all over the Web through my RSS reader. I like the Times for the same reasons everyone else does (multimedia reporting, feature stories, etc.) despite its left-leaning rap sheet, but some of their recent news judgment decisions have left me, a journalism student whose brain is still being molded, confused.

By now everyone's either read or heard about the fuzzy article that was published last week about presidential hopeful John McCain's "troublesome" relationship with female lobbyist Vicki Iseman. The article, which made these claims using sources that would only dish the dirt on the condition on anonymity, prompted McCain to hold a press conference to handle questions and deny the allegations. So what? People use confidential sources all the time right? But I'm lost...

All UF j-students are required to take Problems and Ethics in Journalism. I did. I got an A, too, and after reading this article I pulled out some of my notes. For most journalism dilemmas we were given a checklist to determine if the decisions that are made can be ethically justified. Usually they are if at least a few of the conditions in the checklist are satisfied.
Here is the checklist we were given for using confidential sources:

All else being equal, identify all news sources fully.
The story should be of overriding public importance.
Always try to obtain the same information from sources who are willing to be quoted first.
Grand confidentiality only to someone who is relatively powerless or likely to lose the capacity to remain a solid information source.
Don't let anonymous sources use the cloak of anonymity to attack other individuals or organizations.
Make sure you are willing to tell readers how you got your information and why you're protecting the source's confidentiality.

And here is the attribution being called into question:

Convinced the relationship had become romantic, some of his top advisers intervened to protect the candidate from himself — instructing staff members to block the woman’s access, privately warning her away and repeatedly confronting him, several people involved in the campaign said on the condition of anonymity.

First, it's tough to think that a paper as big as the Times sucked all their sources dry before having to publish this story based on anonymous sources. If there were "several people involved," couldn't they at least be more specific and say what positions they hold in the campaign? With this attribution, they might as well have gotten the information from McCain sign-waver Joe Schmoe on the corner at the voting precinct. Second, could a story about a questionable romantic relationship of a potential presidential candidate years ago be considered an "attack on an individual?" Of overriding public importance? To me, it's not so overriding that it needed to be rushed to publication before more attempts at obtaining open information could be made. In this case, I'd also say that the Times did not openly explain to their readers the "how" and "why" behind the information. I think they failed the checklist.

This only leads me to my next troubling thought: Has most of the American public been conditioned NOT to question their news sources? The answer to this must be a resounding "yes" if channels like FOX News can sustain so many viewers, and this is disheartening.

Whether or not the article is true, and whether or not the voters would actually care if it is or not, was it a responsible decision for a news icon like the Times to publish an ultimately unsubstantiated story like this one? Based on my novice knowledge, I'd have to say no.

A blessing in disguise: What I learned from a redesign

2008-02-16T01:09:00.008-05:00

What began last week as a nightmare has ended in some lessons well learned. A while back I accepted the task of building a Flash site for a local company that specializes in customized school footwear fund raisers for high schools across the country. What the client wanted was very simple and fairly easy to build, but I will shamefully admit that my heart and soul was not fully into the design, and it wasn't my best. I even opted to leave it out of my portfolio.

When the time came recently for the client to want some changes and updates made, my computer decided to really ruin my day. No files to be found. And yes, I know, what the hell was I thinking without a backup? Of course, I thought I had made one but yet again, no files (I've had quite a few problems like this with my PC laptop - I think I see apples in my future). Long story short, a rebuild was unavoidable. I took those lemons that life tossed at me and squeezed them into a cleaner, more precise and MUCH more professional looking glass of lemona...I mean Web site.

BeforeAfter

ItsaShoeThing.com -- What do you think??

The rounded star in the left corner has been an adopted logo of sorts for the company, so I was excited to find this new header font that carried the theme. I spent most of today working through some PHP tutorials for building an automated e-mail form for the "contact" section, but I'm still ironing some kinks. On the upside, the client is happy and I've got a nice addition to my portfolio.

Morals of the story:
* It never hurts to make a backup of a backup of a backup.
* Upload backup files to your clients hosting server. (I realize this might be a "duh" for some people, but hey, I'm learning!)
* Before turning your laptop into a Frisbee and tossing it out the window during times of technological turmoil, step back, take a deep breath and make the best of the situation.

Short and Sweet Media Job Fair

2008-02-08T09:20:00.000-05:00

I have to give a lot of credit to our department of journalism. Not a day goes by that I don't receive some nugget of information in my e-mail inbox. If it's from Charles Harris (all UF j-students know this mysterious man, the phantom e-mailer/Director of the Knight Division), I know that I'll read about the happenings of our college. To my detriment, I've become the kind of e-mail-skimming zombie who mindlessly deletes things just so my mailbox doesn't become overwhelmingly overflowed, and admittedly, some of those journalism e-mails just do not get read (we get a LOT!). But I digress. Miraculously, instincts told me not to be so hasty the other day and check out a few, and I found this little gem of information.

Now I've only been to one job/internship fair. It was last year in our student union, and I don't think I've ever been more intimidated in my life. The Grand Ballroom looked more like one of those big spread-out office rooms you see in movies with the endless desks and cubicles. Minus the cubicles. Then throw a stone-faced editor behind each desk, all facing the entrance as you walk in and you can imagine the size of the knot that took root in my gut. I was lucky enough to snag an awesome summer internship that day with the High Springs Herald, but not after releasing a few beads of sweat.

Which brings me to why I am so amped up about South Florida's out-of-the-box idea for a job fair. Who in their right mind wouldn't rather dress up and go to a jazz club to mingle with some industry bigwigs on a more relaxed level than the stiffness and anxiety-ridden experience of a traditional job fair? It's being hosted by the South Florida chapter of SPJ (Society of Professional Journalists for all you non-JOUs who stumble on this), The New Times of Broward and Palm Beach and by South Florida Media Jobs. Plus it's on a Saturday, about a 10-minute drive from my folks' house. You'll definitely see me at this one, but I plan on leaving that annoying stomach knot at the door.

Washington Post reporter Anne Hull speaks at UF

2008-01-29T09:00:00.001-05:00

Rather than attending lecture for my editing class today, we have been given the opportunity to sit in on a talk given by Pulitzer Prize finalist and national reporter for the Washington Post Anne Hull.

For those who may not know, Hull, working in collaboration with Post reporter Dana Priest, is responsible for the story that ran in February of 2007 about the less-than-acceptable conditions of the Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital. The online version of the story is accompanied by three audio slide shows, featuring Hull as a narrator. I like the package as an example of how a top-tier prize-winning reporter can still dip their feet into the multimedia realm of their story-telling.

Other pieces by Hull include stories about gay youth, welfare reform, AIDS and immigration.

Further reading:
"Young and Gay in Real America" -
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV

Frontline special tonight: "Growing Up Online"

2008-01-22T08:11:00.000-05:00

There are very few TV shows that I like enough to actually work into my nightly schedule. With the writer's strike, it's even less. Tuesdays, I'll admit, are usually dedicated to the heartfelt and motivating weight-loss stories of NBC's Biggest Loser, but tonight I'm switching things up. (But still rooting for the Orange team!)

PBS's Frontline prides itself on "thought provoking journalism on air and online," and more often than not it delivers. Tonight at 9p.m. eastern they are airing a new special called "Growing Up Online."

In "Growing Up Online," FRONTLINE peers inside the world of this cyber-savvy generation through the eyes of teens and their parents, who often find themselves on opposite sides of a new digital divide. From cyber bullying to instant "Internet fame," to the specter of online sexual predators, FRONTLINE producer Rachel Dretzin investigates the risks, realities and misconceptions of teenage self-expression on the World Wide Web.

The documentary also glimpses into the phenomenon of social networking, plagiarism and the disappearance of paper media in schools; all relevant topics to a journalism student like myself and worth a watch this evening. Here's a preview from PBS:

Surfline.com

2008-01-13T20:37:00.000-05:00

It's pretty exciting when a cool piece of journalism comes from an untraditional soft-news source. Surfline.com is an online resource for surfers to scope out ocean conditions all over the world, check out sweet photos and stay on top of surf news. Other than a vertical drop-down style of navigation that bothers almost every one I know, the site is nicely done. I especially enjoyed "Eye of the Storm," an audio-backed photo story.

Gotta hand it to their staff for presenting some pretty standard-big-blue-wave-tiny-surfer-dude photos in a way that drew me in by adding some audio to the piece. Listening to the surfer being interviewed, I got to hear the actual "surfer slang" accent give some nice details on what it was like for these guys to be towed into enormous, potentially life-threatening waves. This could be the perfect example of a piece that could have been just as easily created using Soundslides, but I assume it is only a matter of time before that software becomes more popular outside of the journalism community.

Job Post of the Week: MTV News Production Assistant

2008-01-09T20:47:00.000-05:00

Job Post of the Week: MTV News Production Assistant

Where do I apply? How? When? They're not very generous on the job responsibilities details but it's MTV. I'll take it.

MTVNews.com is seeking a full time Production Assistant to support daily news operations (via both written stories and video). The Production Assistant reports to the Vice President of MTV News Digital and will work closely with the Senior Producer on a day-to-day basis.

The Basics --

Qualifications/skills:
- Some production/digital media experience (internships/student activities OK).
- Photoshop
- Avid / Final Cut Pro or similar non-linear editing application.
- Basic HTML (text formatting, tables, lists)
- Willingness to learn MTV News' digital content management systems
- Some background in writing/journalism a plus.
- Experience with shooting video and/or photos also a plus.

The ideal candidate is:
- Versed in web and video production.
- Interested and immersed in music, movies and popular culture.
- Energetic, dynamic and creative; reliable and punctual.
- Cool under pressure.

This one has been bookmarked and is on top of my pile so far! :)

Finally, a Bloglines CON

2008-01-08T08:47:00.001-05:00

I love Bloglines. I can read blogs minus the obnoxious ads (a necessary evil, I know) and confusing, distracting layouts. Text, links and photos with little mess. But this simplicity and cleanliness that bloglines delivers also sells the reader short. Side elements of a blog like a Blogroll, related links, archives, etc. are left out if a reader service is used, and some of my favorite time wasted online comes from clicking from blog to blog via, you guessed it, blogs! Once my Bloglines list was built I forgot that reading blogs and RSS feeds should be a changing and expanding network process. If you find something that tickles your fancy, click the link to the actual blog and see where it takes you. Don't be a slave to your feed reader!

Mobile media in action

2008-01-07T16:00:00.000-05:00

It may have been a longtime coming for me to ditch my old cellphone and enter the wonderfully portable networked world of a PDA phone, and I know I've already blogged about my Blackjack 2 once before, but, because my love affair with my new gadget is still in the honeymoon phase, here I am to rave again. Just wanted to take a minute and demonstrate the mobillity power gained from a device like this as I type from the seat of an RTS bus on my way home from campus on the first day of my last semester. Here's me, almost to my stop, taken discretely with my phone :)

Job Post of the Week: Staff Writer for TheStreet.com/MainStreet.com

2008-01-02T21:01:00.000-05:00

Job Post of the Week: Staff Writer for TheStreet.com/MainStreet.com

It's funny that my first Job Post of the Week is a staff-writer position at TheStreet.com. My ever-adventurous dad was just telling me about the Web site the other day after reading Jim Cramer's (of CNBC's Mad Money) new book "Stay Mad." TheStreet.com gathers investment advice, stock market news and trading information and presents it to the average Joe in an understandable way. Their new site MainStreet is set to offer an unusual combination of celebrity entertainment and personal finance. The job listing says:

MainStreet.com will cover breaking news, including celebrity and entertainment news, as a means to get into personal finance, i.e. Jamie Lynn Spears is having a baby…Suddenly finding yourself with an unplanned bun in the oven? Here’s how to start preparing yourself financially to have and raise a child.

The Basics --

Requirements:
• Great news judgment
• 3+ years of journalism experience
• Ability to flourish in a fast paced environment
• Good copy-editing skills
• Sense of humor
• If not direct experience, then interest, in learning about personal finance
• Experience with online publishing is preferred
• Interest in interactive media and the business side of editorial • Creativity

Description:
Write 300 to 1,000 stories and the occasional longer sections
• Come up with ideas both for stories and the promotion of video and interactive content
• Stay current with our subject areas. That means you are required to read both Kiplinger’s and PerezHilton (Yes, this is probably the first time that those two names have been in the same sentence.)
• Write and produce special projects as needed
• Make your stories web-ready (We’ll explain what we mean.)

Location:
New York, NY

Could you apply for this job? Sounds like loads of fun to me, but that 3+ years experience gets me everytime. It's almost discouraging but I know this is a business of working your way up and paying your dues in the beginning.

**Job Posts come via JournalismJobs.com in the online media section unless otherwise noted.

New Wednesday feature: Job Post of the Week

2008-01-02T17:49:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year! January is always a time for reflection and anticipation for me. I managed to get a lot of fairly important things done in 2007:

1. In April, through my Online Media Production class, I revamped my personal Web site with an updated resume and bought my domain name. (I'd really like to do a new TextPattern redesign, but I don't want to half-ass it so I'm taking my time.)

2. Spent the summer at the High Springs Herald as an intern and came away some clips that I was pretty proud of.

3. Built my first all-Flash Web site for my sister's photography business and started to get my footing in working with clients.

4. Learned how to use a TextPattern content management system through JOU4946. (I just have to implement it on my own site next!)

5. Invested in an Olympus USB digital voice recorder and a Nikon D40x SLR camera and feel fairly comfortable using both. (Money very well spent!)

Now that 2008 is here with a vengeance, I've made two resolutions that I hope will be easy to maintain and fulfilling to my soon-to-be professional career. (Graduation is May 4 and my job-hunting fingers have been firmly crossed for quite some time.)
First, I'm going to read more books. I'd like to make a habit of putting down the cute but purpose-less dress at the mall and using that money to build a nice library of reference books for what I'm doing on the Web. On my wish list so far? A good book on ActionScript and a beginner-level guide to PHP or working with databases. I'm an self-prescribed novice who looks forward to soaking up a ton of knowledge this year.

If I can't keep up that resolution (some dresses are just TOO cute to put down), then I'd like to start the new year off by blogging more, and using my blog more as a networking tool in the blogosphere. So often are we instructed to do this from professors at UF's J-School, and from the wise words of industry professionals, but I don't do it enough. And after hours of obsessive browsing on JournalismJobs.com and my excitement about getting a REAL-LIFE job pretty soon, I've come up with something to keep me on track. Wednesdays at this blog will now feature "Job Post of the Week." I'll link to and describe a job opening I've spotted during the week that I would jump at. Some may have requirements that are way out of my reach (It seems like 3+ years of newsroom experience is always hiding on the post somewhere), or deadlines that don't work, etc. but just checking in on exactly what editors are looking for and knowing that there really are positions out there for us keeps me motivated. I only hope that it can do the same for whoever may read this thing.

Best wishes for a prosperous and healthy new year to all!

The view from the mountains

2007-12-28T11:32:00.000-05:00

Long winter breaks like the one I am still enjoying up here in the Blue Ridge Mountains are such a tease. Unless I go into education (which isn't going to happen even though it runs in the family), this month-long vacation will be the last one I see in a very very long time. Naturally, I am soaking up every last moment before I have to turn my brain back on on Jan. 7. I am savoring these last few days during which I don't feel guilty at all for being lazy. Being up here in an enormous mountain house in Hendersonville, NC with most of my family isn't a shabby way to spend it either. Hope everyone is enjoying this time off and looking forward to the new year as much as I am.

Trial and error with embedded video

2007-12-23T23:49:00.000-05:00

As the end of the year begins to rear it's ugly head, my goal is to wrap up a few projects I've been working on, the main one being the Flash site for the Young Mansion that is for sale in my hometown of Hollywood. After a few rounds of proofing with my client, I only have a few minor edits to knock out until it finally becomes live! (Cue the flashing lights and show tunes music!).

Tonight's goal was to add a .FLV video clip of the house being featured on HGTV that the client provided. As any other fairly-web-savvy-novice-Flash designer with limited reference books would do, I turned to my good friend Google. With a simple search of "adding video in Flash," I came across a few helpful tutorials and pages. But to my surprise, the one that helped the most was this article from Adobe's own Developer Center. Over time I've grown accustomed to crappy FAQ sections on software's "help" Web pages, so this was a breath of fresh air.

With a few tries, I was able to embed the video into the "Press" section on it's own layer and keyframe, complete with a standard control skin. I then uploaded the video to the client's server so that it downloads progressively. If you have some time to spare, head to the site and make your way to the Press section to tell me what you think! (Seriously, feedback is appreciated. Did it work in your browser? Which browser do you use? Are you on an Apple or PC? Lemme know!)

My next learning goal: Learning more about streaming video and using Flash Media Server. Stay tuned!

My new toy: a Blackjack PDA

2007-12-23T01:00:00.000-05:00

Christmas has practically come out of nowhere this year, but I assume it only continues to fly even worse as I get older. We've still got 2 days left, but "Santa" thought it would be helpful if I helped him pick out my gift in person. So after playing with all the new shiny phones at the AT&T store, I am now testing out the convenience of blogging via my new blackjack pda. I'm still getting used to these tiny buttons (I think my longer girlie fingernails are going to have to go) but I fell in love with the fact that it runs on windows, so everything regarding navigating menus is relatively familiar. Even my own Web site, mallorycolliflower.com looked pretty decent in the browser, to my delight. Just in the time it has taken me to write this post, my finger typing speed has improved. Good thing Web browsing is unlimited! :)

What you don't know you're missing

2007-12-10T19:54:00.000-05:00

I have been thinking lately about how my bloglines page has become my dominant portal of information. For people who are still uninformed or completely naive about the wonders of the blogosphere, I came up with my three solid reasons to jump on the blog bandwagon and join in the community fun. Aside from the obvious reasons of being in-the-know about things that interest you and networking with other bloggers, here is what you're missing...

1. Free Stuff (seriously) - Getting my daily dose of good indie music I've never heard is one of the highlights of my day. At HearYa, they know good music and they want you to know it too. I can usually look forward to a free MP3 (or three or four) of songs by an artist who is trying to get stuff heard, and I can go buy more if I really like it. I can't say that I've been disappointed yet. I also signed up for my free subscription to Nylon Magazine (at least a $25 value), an offer being advertised only to readers of the Urban Outfitters blog. I know it sounds like I'm an advertisement, but why not take advantage of stuff people are giving away?

2. Sales You Wouldn't Have Heard About - If you're one of the millions of people who do most of their shopping on the Web and you always wish you had those discount codes that go in the boxes at check-out, start subscribing to some feeds. I've found more codes and sales from subscribing to SheFinds, Shopperism and Savotron (to name a few) than any Saturday newspaper ad insert. It's like signing up for those annoying store e-mail lists, minus the annoyance of a flooded inbox.

3. Better time-wasters - When YouTube gets boring and you've run out of online games to play during slow days at the office, you can count on blogs to save the day. Rolling Stone's blog recently posted the Almost-Impossible Rock & Roll Quiz. Do you know how many songs on The Beatle's Abbey Road album are credited to George Harrison? I didn't think so.

Mapping!

2007-12-02T13:17:00.000-05:00

I finally took some time out to play with Wayfaring.com and created a map of places that I've lived while in college in Gainesville. It actually got me thinking and I didn't realize that I'd gotten the chance to live in two different dorm buildings and two different apartments. It didn't feel like I had moved that much but I guess I did. It also made me very nostalgic and sad that I'll be graduating soon with no clue what I'm doing afterwards. I think I'm going to take a lot of time over winter break refining my resume, re-doing my portfolio Web site and really getting my LIFE organized. I know that process alone will get me more motivated to start applying for jobs all over. Of course I'll be taking the GRE soon, but it wouldn't hurt to start networking and what-not. I almost lost track of the purpose of this entry, which is my map!
I tried to add a little bit of data to the waypoints, including the year(s) that I lived there and who my roommates were. I'll have to think of some other cool places to map soon too.

New Web Project: The Young Mansion

2007-11-12T23:52:00.000-05:00

After finally getting my butt in gear and finishing up a simple Flash site for my sister's boyfriend's mother (6 degrees, I know) and her customized school-spirit shoe business, ItsaShoeThing.com, I'm so ready for a new project.

Right on cue comes a new client (how fun for me to be able to say "client!" Makes me feel very legit.). The historic Joseph Young house in Hollywood, my hometown, is up for sale again and the homeowners just happened to have their kids pictures taken by my sister. In turn, they saw her site, loved it, and hired me to build something similar to showcase their home. The house has real estate listings on the Web with a few pictures, but what he and I have in mind is something much more visual, focusing on the tiny architectural details that are tucked in every corner of that house that no one would notice from any real estate site.So far my dad and sister met with the realtor and took some great shots of the place. My job starts now, and I'll keep my progress up to date here. Big props to my sister Courtney, we're really working as a team on this and it wouldn't be happening without her help. I'm really honored in a way that little ol' ME got scooped up to build this thing. I just hope my work stands up to the challenge!

We have liftoff!

2007-10-23T11:36:00.000-04:00

For a moment today I was sad that I would be at work at 11:38, when the space shuttle Discovery would be taking off from Cape Canaveral. Then I remembered how good Florida Today is with their online multimedia having to do with the space program. I thought for sure I could maybe dig around and find a web cam of some sort and get a glimpse of the launch. What I found was even better! Right there on the homepage was an embedded Windows Media stream of the shuttle launch, LIVE! It was great, complete with mission control commentary and a full-screen option that didn't mess up the browser view or anything. Just below the video, there was a section of very cool interactive Flash features that were fun and informative to click through. They really know what their readers want, and did an awesome job serving it up today.

Read blogs please!

2007-10-05T15:59:00.001-04:00

Why don't more people use Bloglines? I've tried hard to get my friends and family to sign up for the RSS reader service, but to no avail. I'll never traditionally "bookmark" another page ever again, and I don't know why anyone would want to. If you haven't tailored your own RSS reader and personalized your feeds, do it. It's super simple and you'll never go back to the old ways, I promise you.

This leads me to the latest feed I've subscribed to that I really enjoy lately. Yahoo has been doing a series of videos called "People of the Web". The stories they find highlight people, some famous and some not, who are using the Web in unexpected or unique ways. One interesting segment told the story of the founder of FarmersOnly.com, an online dating service specifically for people living in more rural areas, with similar interests in farming, agriculture and the "cowboy" way of life. They are short videos, but surely the stories have plenty of journalistic value and are told very well. I get excited when my Bloglines tells me it's updated!

Find a feed that you like that will light a fire under your rear to setup RSS. Use Google Blog Search or Mozilla's Sage RSS add-on, to find people writing about ANY topic you could imagine. Check out what other people have on their Bloglines. It's addicting, but do it anyway!

Being picky with the NY Times online

2007-09-13T12:33:00.000-04:00

What a day for online news. I am disturbed and dismayed that there wasn't a set of eyes at the Times that caught the numerous typos in this interview. And not just any interview. A one-on-one Q & A with Florida's very own golden-armed quarterback Tim Tebow!

Copy and pasted (no edits):

A lot don’t have much hope or anything to look at as positive. I said, ‘Eveyrone looks at you all like you’re nothing.

Everything you’re doing for people, standing around and singing autographs. You’re making an impact on people.

Does the new media department not have copy editors? Or heck, even spell check?!? I, like most Florida fans who read the Times, was super excited to read this article! But what a disservice to Tebow. It kills the clip that his mother I'm sure would be cutting out and pasting neatly in his scrapbook.

And the Times isn't alone today in sports news slip-ups at Tebow's expense. The error in this story at ESPN.com is even more cringing:

Gators quarterback Jeff Tebow had seven carries for 29 yards without attempting a pass in the most recent matchup, but has been impressive both on the ground and through the air in his first year as the starter.

What. The. F$%K?! It's a SPORTS Web site!!!! This writer needs to be fired. Right now. He makes not only sports journalists but all journalists look naive, uneducated, careless and unprofessional. And that's just not cool.

When Web works...and when it doesn't

2007-09-05T11:52:00.000-04:00

Joe Strupp at Editor & Publisher wants you to learn from other newspapers' mistakes, but he also wants to tell you what they have been doing right in the changing game of online news.

In his special to the journal, Web Editors Reveal Online Flops or Failures, he outlines 12 DON'TS for online newspapers with examples from some pretty heavy hitters.

Editors at the Denver Post learned the hard way that "technology can pop:"

When The Denver Post's Web editors upgraded technology to allow an automatic refresher of the pages every 10 minutes, believing readers wanted the freshest news, they forgot about the die-hard crossword puzzlers. Many fans of the word game called and e-mailed complaints that every time the page refreshed, their work was wiped out.

He goes on with other tips and pointers, which all made perfect sense to me. Online news execs need to realize that just because there is a new feature or way for readers to interact with the paper online doesn't mean that they will WANT to or bother to take the time. I think Strupp gets the point across that it is a trial-and-error type of situation because everything IS so new. Time will tell.

Want awesome pictures of your kids?

2007-09-04T15:09:00.000-04:00

This might seem a bit off topic but it is 100% relevant to the skills I'm learning to use in journalism. I promise.
My sister Courtney is launching her children and family photography business, Candids by Courtney. If you live in the tri-county area in South Florida and would love some amazing candid shots of your kids running around and having fun, go here now! She's really found a knack for this, as you can see by the photos on her Web site. She is also keeping a blog. Snag her services before she gets booked up! She's that good!

And that's where the relevance comes in. Her new 100% Flash site was designed by, you guessed it, yours truly! For my first all-Flash site, I'm really pleased with it. But there are a few things I still would like to learn.

Anyone know how to make a Flash photo gallery with scrolling thumbnails? Good tutorials out there? I've been browsing around and all I can find are pay-for software that will build one for you. Not what I want. Especially for a site dealing with basically all photos, I want it to look crisp and professional.

As far as design goes, it's about as basic as you can get. I wanted to keep it simple for my first time, and focus more on working buttons and links, etc. So far everything works!

We've got it made...

2007-07-30T12:10:00.000-04:00

...or so I thought. But not according to Helen Popkin at MSNBC, who gave this rant about the havoc that technology is wreaking in the lives of today's mindless youths. Are her points valid?

Completely Unrelated

2007-07-20T01:04:00.000-04:00

Summer isn't just about internships and easy classes. It's time to take advantage of just that, free TIME! I like to paint every now and then to relieve a little stress. Thought I would share my latest, an ode to the Stones. Enjoy :)

Herald work

2007-07-17T01:28:00.000-04:00

Just a quickie to share two other slideshows I've done for the Herald. The first is from a memorial day monument dedication ceremony in Alachua back in May. I used Windows Movie Maker and a licensed song from a Grammy-award-winning gospel singer that my editor picked out.

After using Soundslides, I prefer it much more over WMM (which doesn't lend itself well to journalism purposes), but being at a small weekly paper out in the boondocks of northern Florida, internet connections and lack of Flash capabilities made it easier to just make a .wmv.

Alas, my most recent story is indeed a Soundslide (my most journalistic yet I think!) of a historical marker unveiling in Bland, Fla. I've racked up a nice amount of clips too, all of which can be found with a simple search for "Mallory" in the High Springs Herald archives. I'm nice and busy, but summer's almost over. Can you believe it?

9 Rules of Journalism

2007-06-04T16:06:00.000-04:00

This article came passed along from a friend. Michael Rosenberg of the Detroit Free Press gives an entertaining lesson in journalism practices. His satire stands out, but there are certainly some sad truths in what he writes.

Photo slideshows

2007-05-23T19:19:00.000-04:00

Here is a SoundSlide I did for the High Springs Herald of the Newberry Watermelon Festival. A fun afternoon indeed.

My dad let me know about this photo slideshow from the NY Times by Micheal Kamber about the search for the three missing soldiers around Baghdad. I'd love to do this for a living, but not there. I really like community news and events like the Watermelon Fest. Kudos to the journalists who have the guts to embed themselves overseas. They're doing things that were once unheard of in reporting the news.

Long Time No Blog

2007-04-30T18:28:00.000-04:00

Amen for the end of the semester. Summer is upon us in steaming hot Gainesville and the city is already clearing out. I'll be sticking around with an internship at the High Springs Herald in their Web department. It's a small town weekly with a community focus and I really can't wait to get started. In the meantime, I submitted my final Web portfolio project for MMC4341. I also ditched the old site at my domain, mallorycolliflower.com, and replaced it with my portfolio. Long story short, I've been busy as usual but the summer is a welcomed change. The hot Florida humidity does a pretty good job of slowing down the pace of life.

Flash 4 Exercise

2007-03-27T16:35:00.000-04:00

Took me quite a while to finish it, and I'm still not 100% satisfied of course, but here is my Flash 4 exercise. If only I had used a better camera the photos would have turned out a little nicer. I'm eager to learn to make some more exciting looking buttons too.

CNN does Flash

2007-03-19T09:22:00.000-04:00

CNN.com has a cool Flash peice on the new Air Bus A380 that just took its first trip across the Atlantic. It can hold up to 500 passengers and some airline execs are talking about cruise-ship style planes in the next generation of flying machines. But check it out for yourself!

TV Channel dedicated to viewer-created content

2007-02-22T01:41:00.000-05:00

I wish I had digital cable. I don't, but Nick does, and he drew my attention to Current, a cable television station dedicated to high-quality viewer-created journalism stories. The station has a Web site that offers all the content aired on TV to their online viewers. Current strongly encourages high ethical standards in the creation of their content, but acknowledge that citizen journalism is the direction the media is heading, if it hasn't already taken that turn. The stories are thought-provoking and entertaining. It's my new favorite Web site, and definitely worth a look.

Online Journalism Ethics

2007-02-21T20:07:00.000-05:00

Although its a few months old, this article from the Poynter Institute came from my Problems and Ethics in Journalism professor. It's 100 percent relevant to me and my classmates, and to any "citizen journalists" who contribute via blogs and online content. Enjoy!

Three-button Animation

2007-02-21T09:24:00.000-05:00

Just finished my second flash exercise. I'm pretty proud of it, especially that none of the images were imported. All were drawn by hand in the Flash program. I was having a little trouble with the LSU button. It seemed I could stop and start the tiger flash portion with the button, but I only want to be able to start it. I checked my Action Script and everything seems fine. It's driving me a little CRAZY! Any suggestions?? Thanks and enjoy!

Keeping Busy

2007-02-19T13:31:00.000-05:00

Been very busy lately. Here's why. I'm learning a lot though!

Below is a little recap of my work so far for Advanced Online Communications.
What do you think...?

CSS Exercises -
one: Basic CSS
two: Typography
three: Specifying Fonts
four: CSS Navigation and color palette
five: Positioning

And now the most exciting part! FLASH!
Flash Exercises -
one: simple two-object animation
two: three-button controlled animations

Fun Tech Photos

2007-02-01T15:24:00.000-05:00

Engadget recently hosted a photo contest for its readers, inviting them to submit any creative photos related to technology in some way or another. They've compiled their top 150 choices into a photo gallery that's really fun to flip through.

Free samples (some of my personal faves):

You're invited...

2007-01-22T15:15:00.000-05:00

...to James Brown's funeral.

Glancing at all my blog feeds, I stumbled upon Rolling Stone magazine's blog, particularly this entry about the Godfather of Soul. I clicked around and found myself a little taken aback at this photo in their photo gallery. It reminded me of this photo of Elvis.

I thought it was really cool that they published that photo and that I got the priviledge of seeing Brown in his final resting stage.

Editing savior

2007-01-21T21:56:00.000-05:00

I found a Web site that is going to get me through my reporting class. SparkNotes guide to common errors.

New Media + Politics = A Whole New Ball Game

2007-01-16T15:22:00.000-05:00

While it's certainly been years since the Internet revolutionized the way politicians campaign and raise funds, the massive flood of media throughout our culture continues to evolve. Some political hopefuls are keeping up with the game, while others are keeping the bench nice and warm. In case you've been living under a giant boulder, there's a presidential election in less than two years people! Here's a look at some who are doing it right and others who could learn from them. See for yourself:

DEMOCRATS

NC Senator John Edwards (officially running) - His Web site is very..."hip," for lack of a better word. You can see what he's currently listening to, the books he's reading and a list of his favorite links (he's a huge UNC basketball fan!) . In addition to a typed blog, he keeps an up-to-date video blog too! And if that's not enough for you, check out his MySpace, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube pages. He deserves the "cool-guy-who-gets-it" award.

Illinois Senator Barack Obama (committee formed) - A clean site with some well-produced video, including this one of his announcement to form a presidential exploratory committee.

Ohio Representative Dennis Kucinich (officially running) - His site is just shy of a jumbled mess, but to be fair, he gets points for his video blog too.

REPUBLICANS

Former NY Gov. George Pataki (expressed interest) - He currently uses the 21st Century Freedom Web site as an outlet for his political campaign (Wiki explains the conditions for listing a candidate and rules about Web sites). You can soak up all of his campaign news from his Podcast.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich (expressed interest) - Overly-busy Web sites like his make my brain (and fragile eyes) go crazy. He gets a nod for his Podcast, but minus points for broken RSS feed links.

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney (committee formed) - What I liked about his site was MittTV, his presentation of a series of videos (not just his TV spots) that are well-produced and get his ideals across. While similar to a video blog, I liked that it was sharp-looking and still user friendly.

Because of the rules and regulations regarding candidates and their Web sites, it will be interesting to see new domains popping up once official bids have been announced. Of course there are several other potential candidates from parties that aren't red or blue. Wikipedia's 2008 Presidential Election page breaks it down really well. Someone who's interested in the ever-changing role of the Internet in politics (and who has more time on their hands than me!) would have fun grading the candidates based on their level of "Web-savviness" and ranking them against each other. Has anyone else seen/heard/read/blogged about such a thing? I'm very intrigued!

The Abe Assignment

2007-01-16T13:00:00.000-05:00

After being totally ambitious (and bored) over winter break, I went ahead and got a head start on exercise one for my adv. online media class. It was due this morning and I really wish I had received my design textbook before I had to turn it in. I do believe that I am fairly creative, but assignments with unlimited creative freedom make my brain run in circles. I finally gave in to a really simplistic design layout. You can check out my final product here.

AT&T hanging up on Cingular

2007-01-12T08:53:00.000-05:00

Although not necessarily journalism related, I knew Cingular customers particularly in Gainesville would rejoice in the latest news from AT&T. Whether or not service will improve, my grudge against anything Cingular is slightly soothed by the fact that they're phasing out that name. It's a shame the amount of money spent on advertising for that stupid little orange stick figure and its commercials. Service with the most dropped calls?? I think not.

Gator MANIA!

2007-01-11T01:50:00.000-05:00

Fellow gators (and hopefully any college football fan) might enjoy this little tidbit from Monday night's Gainesville debauchery. This has got to be the best damn little city in the world.

No love for the Gators?

2007-01-09T16:30:00.000-05:00

After a long, long night of reveling in the glory of the Gators' miraculous win against Ohio State, I opened my Web browser and was a little troubled.

I am long-time CNN watcher for my news. I have their Web site as my homepage so I can browse the day's headlines before whatever surfing (or shameless Facebooking) that I do. But that may change real soon.

This morning amid their "Latest News" links I found out that Hilary Swank officially confirmed a rumored relationship. So glad she clarified that. I read that celeb socialite Paris Hilton pleaded not guilty to her DUI charge. Thank goodness that's settled. And in case you follow celebrity real estate, you may be interested that Suzanne Somers' Malibu house won't be going on the market any time soon. It caught on fire yesterday.

These three stories were not categorized among the headlines and were listed among stories about terrorism, politicians and international conflict; stories that undoubtedly belonged where they were.

Granted not everyone in this country is concerned with which university's football team reigns at the top for the year, but surely the outcome of the National Championship college football game ranks higher on the news priority list than Hilary Swank's newest love affair! Am I alone in my feelings on this? If CNN was a newspaper, would front-page photos of Chris Leak hoisting that beautiful crystal football be replaced with pictures of Paris Hilton? Seems like CNN could be the next big celebrity tabloid.

Finito!

2006-12-12T08:15:00.000-05:00

Old Projects

The Fall 06 semester has delightfully come to a close! Our final Web projects were turned in about two weeks ago and it looks like everyone came really far with their design skills. As I mentioned before, there were a lot of things I wish I could have added to or improved on, but that would have been difficult considering the other classes I needed to focus on as well. Bring it on Spring!

New Projects

A gentleman I work with on campus recently inherited the Web site of an area lake association that he belongs to. Sadly, the previous owner passed it on in a severe state of disorganization and chaos. With limited knowledge of Web design and knowing that my friend Christie and I just finished our Communicating on the Net course, he's adopted our help. We're not great, but we don't charge anything :) . If you stumble upon this and check out the link, Gary is looking for any type of comments or opinions of what would look best/most professional for a lake association Web site. They have many members who use the site as a resource in their legal battle against Florida mining businesses to save their beloved lakes. As a beginner in this area, my question is basically what should set organizations' Web sites apart from, say, a small business or a law firm or something of that nature? Are there industry standards for this sort of thing, or does anything go? There's no doubt the site needs work, as Gary acknowledges, but at this point it seems that starting from scratch might work best to achieve a professional look.

It's Crunch Time

2006-11-28T01:55:00.000-05:00

Final exams and projects have temporarily taken over my life! First on the list of priorities is my final web project for Communicating on the Internet. I'm creating a webpage/news story about the nation's recent fight against trans-fats in the average American diet. With more time and resources, I would have loved to include a video interview with a nutritionist on campus. I think I'll be lucky to get some good audio to use. Whatever the outcome, I'll post the link to all the student projects for whoever may be interested. Until then, it's back to the Dreamweaver drawing board.

From block party to blog party

2006-11-07T23:15:00.000-05:00

Bloggers can now accept their press passes with pride. CNN is hosting an election night blogger party for notable political bloggers to gather with their laptops and keep track of pour-ins from the polls. While most large news organizations do have an election 2006 blog of some kind, CNN's blog party shines the spotlight on independent bloggers and recognizes them as a bona fide media group. It will be interesting to see who follows suit.

be a concious consume(RED)

2006-11-02T14:32:00.000-05:00

I've been a huge fan of Oprah for as long as I can remember. I don't agree with every single thing she says or does, but her shows provoke my deep thoughts and there's no way to ignore her presence in the global society. She did a show about two weeks ago dedicated to the new (RED) campaign (specifically a business model, not a charity) that several major retailers have adopted in an effort to raise money for AIDS assistance in Africa.

The whole deal is that consumers don't have to go out of their way to donate money to a charity that they see no results from. This isn't like buying one of those paper shoes for $1 so it can be hung up at a CVS check-out register (not that those programs don't do good stuff, that's not the point). Gap, Armani, Motorola, Apple and American Express are marketing unique (RED) products that fit the company's signature styles and passing a percent of the proceeds on to buy anti-retroviral drugs for those with AIDS. This month Motorola is releasing a new (RED) Razr, and Apple's got a (RED) iPod nano already in stores. All you have to do is buy what you would have bought anyway. Their website goes much more in depth, and it's definiately worth a looksie. The (RED) blog has been posting real people stories about where the money is going complete with pictures of once-sick and now healthy school children smiling from ear to ear. Check it out. I dare you to resist those little faces. So go shopping. This time it's totally justified.

A consumer note

2006-11-01T15:51:00.000-05:00

And if anyone wants to get me an "It's the first of November" gift, this would be perfect. I'm not a huge fan of trance-y music, but the soundtrack to Project Runway just makes me feel fabulous, and would probably do the same for you. And who doesn't deserve to feel fabulous?

The Political World is a Scary Place

2006-11-01T11:53:00.000-05:00

Withholding any opinion about Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry's latest headlines, it's still a little frightening to think that saying one sentence could wipe your face all over national television and stamp your name on headlines all over the country. All hail the power of the media.

happy birthday, blog!

2006-10-31T22:43:00.000-05:00

After a visit from Mindy McAdams in our Online Communications lab tonight, I was inspired to take my online journalism education a step further. She teaches two of the next courses I'll be taking at UF's College of Journalism and Communications, and a renowned expert on flash. Her whole deal is with multimedia journalism and I was pretty drawn in to what she had to say. She talked about how these days, getting a job at a newspaper means answering interview questions about web design, XHTML and CSS, content management systems and blogging. She keeps her own blog and has had a really positive response. I used to maintain a blog on my Myspace page, but abandoned it some time ago. Time to get started once again. Here goes nothing!

If you've read this far, take one more click and check out Chevy's latest PR stunt. Their hosting "Livin Large in an Aveo" to promote their newest car in the perfect 18 to 24-year-old market. Eight universities have a two-person team living in a car until Friday, leaving only to go to class and take "body breaks." They're all keeping their own blogs, and you can peek in on their webcam. They're counting on voters, (like YOU!) to help them each win a new Aveo and a few cars for UF. Vote everyday! It's fun!

I'll keep posting fun or interesting stuff that I come across. You can check back for news stories that strike a chord, YouTube videos I might be playing on repeat or tidbits of journalistic multimedia that excite me about this road I'm on. Stay tuned!

And for fellow Wikipedia addicts: their page on Halloween
Happy trick-or-treating/scantilly-clad dressing up/typical college debauchery!