Online Class 7: Zines

Assignment:
Develop an e-zine article.

Initial Thoughts:
Whats the difference between zines and blogs anyway? Apparently quite a bit.

• While both can be about a variety of subjects, e-zines typically have an editor who filters out content.
  
• As the Zoning in on Zines article explains, e-zines originated out of fanzines which are

  homemade publications that usually have a staff of one and are produced as entertainment and not for profit. They generally don’t have regular publishing schedules, and they’re usually traded or sold through the mail.

• A trend in online publications is for major print magazines to post online. Off the top of my head some examples are: ELLE, The Economist, Wired, and all the other Conde Nast Publications, some of which are purely digital (epicurious).

My E-Zine Article
There are several different topics that I am considering for my e-zine article.

• FOOD. Being a major foodie. I would love to create an article for Epicurious. Maybe a recipe or cooking experience. Since I am new to cooking I have plenty of disaster tales to write about. Another take on this topic would to review my favorite restaurants in Arizona. The Phoenix New Times features a zine/blog that I love called Chow Bella that would be perfect for a restaurant review piece.
• Occupational Safety and Health. I know it seems totally random and super boring but I work for a consulting company specializing in occupational safety and health. I am the marketing strategist for the company responsible for establishing the company brand. For the Zine project I could write an occupational safety and health article much like the ones featured on on EHS Today and OH&S.
  
• Fashion. I have recently developed an interest in fashion. While I don't feel like I'm super fashionable I think I can bring a unique perspective to the fashion world.
  
• Others. I am also considering doing an article on fun random facts, China business, cheap travel, personal finance, and personal development.
  

Final Note:
Having read the article Writing for a Web Audience, I have tried to incorporate the techniques in constructing this blog post. Did you notice a difference?

Do citizen journalists provide a more diverse source of media?

My boyfriend is a political junkie and reads a lot of political blogs. He claims that the only major media program he watches for news is the News Hour with Jim Lehrer. He thinks that all the other major networks clutter their news with unsupported and biased analysis. He wants the facts and he wants to make the interpretation himself.

I can see why he's frustrated. But his solution is turning to online blogs because he feels that bloggers, while giving their opinion gives a more unbiased fact based analysis because they are not profit driven. I would like to agree but fundamentally I just don't think he is correct.

First of all, many blogs are profit driven, though its a smaller bottom line. But I find it hard to distinguish writing that is experience based in comparison to readership driven. Who's to say bloggers don't write what they think readers want to hear?

Second, I feel that as a blog reader you tend to read things that reflect your way of thinking. In this way, you aren't accessing a more diverse source for your news. So then are you benefiting from relying on blogs for information?

Finally, I think my boyfriend believes that the blogs he reads are so much better than network news because he reads blogs that reflects his opinions and views on life. I wonder if he would think as highly of a blog source if it provided opinions contradictory to his.

I guess the only factor that makes blogs more "real/true" is the fact that there is so much competition out there bloggers have to provide good, fact based analysis or else they won't get much readership.

Online Class 6: I'm in LOVE with the Internet

Once upon a time, I hated the internet. I know its blasphemous to say so, especially for a blogger but when I was younger I didn't really see much value in it and I especially hated having to type.

But now, I can't imagine my life without it. The internet has changed me as a person. To the extent that I consider it one of the most influential forces in my life. Pretty soon it'll be nature versus nurture versus the internet as the competing forces that shape each and every one of us. The following is a list of how the internet has made me who I am today...for better or for worse.

• Typing has made me a terrible speller. I also have terrible handwriting. Imagine reading my grocery list. :-(
  
• Ever since Hulu, I have no use for a TV anymore. Why be entertained on the network's schedule when I can watch 5 episodes of Bones in one sitting at 4 am in the morning?
• I also don't buy workout tapes, books, music, or movies anymore. Not that I did in the first place but I have so much access to content I don't even know where to start.
• I have learned how to do many things online including but not limited to: making a kitty liter facial scrub, making a messenger bag out of trash bags, and how to speak Spanish.
  
• The idea of working from home and telecommuting isn't so foreign and mysterious like it once was. Currently, I work for a firm based in Trinidad but I live in the United States. I Skype with my boss and use OfficeLive to coordinate work. I've only been to the actual office twice! Now that I know I can work in a virtual office I'm thinking of moving all of my work online. Before, I thought working 9 to 5 in a cubicle was the norm but having worked in a dynamic environment, I would much rather work from home on project based work. The internet in essence has changed my outlook on career options post college.
  
• I study marketing and I've realized that because of the internet there is a whole new component to marketing that is very fascinating. I definitely have a lot more to learn about SEO and online marketing.
• The internet has also forced me to go outside of my bubble. I recently went to a Meetup event where I learned to knit with a bunch of girls I have never met before! They were really nice and I learned something new! I definitely wouldn't found a group like that without the internet.
• Google maps has reinforced my inability to navigate. If the internet was to go down I would be lost both metaphorically and literally.
• The most important way the internet has changed my life is that it has allowed me to access a variety of information in a condensed format (wikipedia, rss feeds, about.com). I feel empowered by the internet. I feel as if I can do anything and if I don't know how I can just Google it and find out.

Basically it comes to the fact that I LOVE the INTERNET. I would totally marry it.