Blog Fodder

The question of the day is, "What media do you have experience writing for or with and how might writing for other media be similar or differ? How might you make your strengths work for you? How might you work around your obstacles?"

First, what kind of media do I use? I use the Internet, a camera, and a recording device. Besides writing this blog, for my job I write for two websites and create and edit a newsletter. For both of those media, I try to be creative and give the facts but be concise. I realize that not everyone finds my work fascinating, so they won't want to spend a lot of time reading through endless paragraphs to find the information they want.

For the IUPUI Faculty Council, I helped design the site and then create all the writing and upkeep on it. I do the same for the IUPUI Staff Council. Go ahead. Take a look at the sites. Now, if you actually looked at the sites, you'll notice they are set up about the same way. That's because the university has a template that must be followed. What I truly designed on my own is the Staff Council Newsletter.

I really like writing content for the newsletter. I can be creative with my articles, or I can ask others to write a feature article instead. As I've learned in class, it's best to be concise as people tend to scan the newsletter for things that are pertinent to them. They can move on quickly if there is nothing they need information about.

I mention that I use a recording device. It's a Zoom numbered-thing-a-ma-jig I use to record faculty hearings. Once the hearing is over, I burn the conversations onto a CD.

If I had to write for television, especially the news, I think I would be fired within about one day. Why? Because I find that in the rush to get something on the evening news, the reporters don't always have time to get their facts checked. I would also have to cut out the question, "How did you feel when you heard your (mother, father, child, dog, etc) was hit by the train?" Come on, how would you feel? I don't think those types of questions even need to be considered! Then there are the stories that I don't consider giving the time of day to. Why do I care if Lindsay Lohan has been charged with theft? But, getting back to the questions! How is writing for television or audio any different than writing for the web? Not a whole lot actually. Both media need to be written concisely, scanned easily, half the word count of conventional writing, and using the active voice.

I think I write pretty well for the websites using what I have learned in this class and other similar ones. I use my knowledge of the university and the contacts I have to draw out things of interest to the faculty and staff. But, I also have obstacles that I have to cross. For example, a website without video or pictures is kind of blah. I use my iPhone 3GS to take pictures of events by the councils, but once I took the pictures, I didn't know how to make them more interesting or sharper for the audience. So, I took a Photoshop class a month ago! I need more practice, but I'm not as rusty as I once was.

All in all, I enjoy writing for websites and the newsletter. The newsletter especially lets me write as those I were having a conversation with my readers.  Just like I'm having a conversation with you here!

Blog Fodder

David Riordan says, "Infinite choice equals a database. Just because you can make a choice doesn't mean it's an interesting one."

Have you ever been to a website that just didn't make sense? Here is one that is a good example of a choice that isn't interesting. Go ahead, I'll pause while you take a look. Yeah, I heard your confused minds wondering just what it was you were looking at. Some of you may have recognized the songs, some may have wondered why you could move the thumb around the dial like you can on a regular iPod. The graphics were cool, but what were you supposed to see or experience when you made your choice?

When I write in this blog, in the Staff Council Newsletter that I write and edit, or on the websites I manage for my job, I need to be mindful of the audience I am trying to reach. I need to be sure that the articles I write or accept for publication are relevant, interesting, and provide something appealing to the eye. Usually this includes a piece of multimedia; some kind of link that takes the reader to another location for more information. Is the link interesting to me or interesting to all?

To answer that question, I need to again look at who I am writing for. Since I don't have a following in my blog at this time (...and will I ever?), I'm pretty much writing for myself and linking for my own pleasure. But in the back of my mind, I'm still wanting the links to be relevant. I don't want to link for linked sake! To be effective in my writing, I have some control over what I write, how I display it, and how busy the multimedia will be.

Let's think about going to The Cheesecake Factory. When I look at the menu, I see chaos or clutter. The same thing goes with their website.When you click on the "menu" tab at the top, you are taken to the same menu selections you see in the menu at the restaurant. Click on appetizers and you see a whole slew of them! I don't know about you, but there are just too many selections on the menu! I don't want my readers to be overwhelmed with writing or multimedia choices. I want them to be engaged but not overwhelmed!

My own opinion on this is that I don't like my life cluttered with too much choice. Therefore, my multimedia in my writing assignments won't be cluttered as well (never mind the length of this posting!).