Discuss blogs, online websites and more here.
I have finally gotten back into the blogging game. I know a lot of people blog on this forum. Iām not great at it so any tips would be great.
Can we discuss offline websites?
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Might want to start a new topic for that 
I need to get back into blogging. Itās been very hit and miss for me over the years. I find itās all about finding those few moments to write something up plus find something that is of interest to people.
As long as they donāt relate to sites belonging to media spy 
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This is technically off topic, but Iāve been meaning to start experimenting around with YouTube. Iām doing a journalism and international relations degree at uni, alongside some german, and after having watched a lot of videos online reviewing everything from Star Wars to video games to media ethics to political affairs over the past few years, I feel that Iād be missing out if I didnāt give it a go.
Iām not sure what I want to talk about though. The problem is that I canāt narrow down what I want to talk about yet. Anyone else find this?
And I know Iām committing employment-suicide for wanting to study journalism because of how terrible the industry is faring (and how lazy I am), but I do enjoy it. On another note, everyone who is thinking of blogging, if youāve got the drive, do it!
thatās actually a good thing - it allows you to experiment. Tag EVERYTHING you write about, and watch the stats closelyā¦ after a while youāll see a pattern that will tell you what people are interested in from your blog. Then you can move your blog to suit the needs of these people better, or you can continue to play the āeverythingā game and be an all-round blog.
Thereās no right or wrong way to do it reallyā¦ and as a journalism student, the best thing you can do is refine your writing technique. Tight, bright, out of sight. Do you need to use 8 words when 5 would suffice? Do you need to use more imagery in your prose? Do you need to knuckle down on your sourcing and crediting? It ALL helps! Any lecturer worth their salt would tell you - write, write, WRITE.
Good luck.
Thanks Mark, it isnāt writing, although I do have a position at a blog with some uni mates. Itās YouTube, however your advice is still excellent and Iāll take it on-board
I have a blog for my running adventures, need to update it more often if anything. Get about 2-3 people worldwide actually reading it which surprises me (Iād have thought nobody would want to read or watch my rants, given that sometimes I so a short video clip which goes on YouTube).
ahh shitā¦ didnāt see thatā¦!
It has taken me about 3 years since my āWisdomisedā blog. I had some inspiration that other day about what I can write about.
Iām not sure if I would feel comfortable about youtube. I hate the sound of my voice. But there is so many things that are successful on youtube. I always find watching a Sims channel where they tell stories about what their sims have been doing quite amusing. And I always notice it does quite well.
Apparently including an amusing pet in your video is popular 
However, please no more useless āunboxingā videos where the poster has no idea about the product! How to videos can be well done if you know the subject.
If you are interested in media some random thoughts. Critiquing media news websites might be interesting - one video per site with updates. A guide to how to avoid click bait? or Contemporary guide for the discerning on-line news consumer. What to look for in a good news website. etc
Probably could include twitter to link to the posts to help generate interest.
Putting content to one side, you might want to consider changing the typeface. Your current choice, Indie Flower, is quite difficult to read.
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This may help or not but anyways.
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Think of yourself as a brand (the @pelican brand). What would you want to be known for? Youāre doing a Journalism degree with a side of international relations, do you want to be known as a journalism student or something else
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Play to your strengths. If you want to talk about anything then itās your call (for instance talking about current issues or trends whether they be online or in the real world, happens a lot - take a look at Drama Alert, thatās generalised YouTube and social media happenings but can get into real social issues). If you know a lot about a topic and enjoy talking about that topic to anyone, then do it because there is always an audience for anything.
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Trial and error. If people donāt react to your videos in the intended way you want to do then mix it up and trial some new content and sees how they react towards it.
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See what fits. Think about the things you like to speak about or the ones youāre knowledgeable in, check whether the pros outweigh the cons by making a list for each topic you can think of and formulate which ones would be more fun to speak about for yourself and for others to view.
Bump.
A few interesting tidbits from The Australianās Media Diary today, including some possible legal dramas for a TV blogger:
Essentially it breaks down to this:
Someone created a fake email account for Darren Davidson, from The Oz. Media people fell for it and emailed ātipsā etc to itā¦ Kevin Perry from DeciderTV went to Channel 9 about an op-ed from Tracy Grimshaw that went missing, saying he got it from āa sourceā. Media Diary started putting two and two together and:
Grimshawās piece had been accidentally emailed to ĀDavidsonās impersonator. Perry told Nine he was preparing to run it on his blog with TV fanboy Steve Molk at DeciderTV. Clearly, the relevant email had gone to the āsourceā or Perry. Of course, the legal profession doesnāt react kindly to deceptive, fraudulent behaviour and handling stolen property. Lawyers acting for News Corp told Perry a serious criminal offence had taken place, and he quickly revised his decision to publish the aforementioned material. Perry issued a prompt couple of āno commentsā or two when asked to confirm or deny he was behind the illegal conduct.
Ouch.
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According to Radioinfo, Southern Cross Austereo has bought video gaming publisher press-start.com.au and appointed its founder and owner Shannon Grixti as managing director.
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Request for opinion/feedback. Do members with You Tube channels moderate the comments - at all, occasionally or strictly? Do you delete some comments, report some as spam or accept that they are all part of what YT is and perhaps who cares anyway? Any reaction to deleting comments?
Iāve never had enough visitors to worry about it! ļø
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