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So I have been thinking a little bit about what to post on this blog that is 'personalised' - what do I want it to represent? What do I want to be known for?
Honestly, I have found it difficult because I already have a personal blog where I fulfill this, and then I thought, hey! That is something I love: blogging. And not just that but discovering other blogs. So throughout this semester I am going to share with you some of my favourite little slices of the internet. Here goes nothing!

Growing up with a mum who is an artist has definitely allowed me to be more appreciative of all different kinds of art. However, my favourite art is the stuff that challenges society and has a dry sense of humour. Blog world, meet Marc Johns. As soon as I saw his artwork, I felt at home. I thought 'this is me'. Some of his artworks I can relate too a little too well, but every time I visit his blog I find myself in hysterics. Here are some of my favourite artworks of his.

(Definitely pokes fun at the first world mentality that goes 'I didn't need it but it was cheap so how could I not buy it?')

I also posted about this on my personal blog, here. Pop over and visit!

Writing truthful stories...

I found this fantastic post about the National Star Chronicle from March 8, 1965. Read it, but basically instead of admitting that police had found the perpetrator dead, they claimed that he had been dragged off to jail and that they got an exclusive interview with him. Hm, dodgy much?

Read the article here.

There goes the reporter and newspaper's credibility. Imagine if we could get away with that nowadays? Who knows what journalists would make up.

Week 3 lecture - text

I found yesterday's lecture really interesting; it was all about text in the media. I suppose it is obvious that text plays a huge role when it comes to journalism, but often I forget just how important it is. For example, even just key words that are used to identify articles on the internet (or 'labels' for any of these blog posts). If people are going to search for something, those are the words that will lead them to it, and I guess I forgot how powerful just one word can be. I guess the lecture was also a lot about grabbing the readers' attention using your words, and appealing to the mass whilst at the same time being concise.
Personally, I have always thought that text, and even just words, are extremely important to society. Especially after having read George Orwell's 1984. It scares me to think that a whole society could be reduced and contained by eliminating their ability to communicate. To not be able to express how they are feeling and what is happening in the world around them. In that way I hate to use 'text language' - gr8, brb. They have real proper words for those abbreviations, guys. Use them. Honestly, after years of texting you should be able to text fast enough that having to use seven extra characters will make less than a second of difference. And just imagine if you couldn't describe how the government was treating you badly, not just because you weren't allowed to, but you didn't know how to. Words are good, extremely important. Learn to use them.

Some helpful blogging tips

So it is no secret (except to my closest friends and family) that I am an aspiring fashion blogger. Fat Mum Slim  has some awesome tips on how to run a successful blog that I have found useful, and I hope you do too!

Welcome back to reality! (week 1 lecture)

So the first two weeks of uni I spent rushing around trying to keep up with myself. Have you ever tried running down a hill, and your legs are moving faster than the rest of your body and you think you might face plant? Yep, this is what it has felt like. I knew that after taking a gap year it would be a little bit difficult to get back into study, but I had no idea it would be this hard.

One lesson learnt the hard way  - check blackboard. Because when your Jour1111 lecture has moved rooms it is important to research where that room is before you have to be at your lecture. And it also helps if you know it has moved an hour earlier. This would have also meant that you would have avoided running into your ex on the bus, and the anxiety attack that followed.

I learnt a lot about journalism this week, and one thing that has really made me think is the idea that the purpose of journalism is to spread the word, not just to word vomit all over the internet (guilty). Once I heard Bruce talk about that in my first lecture, I really started to notice it more on social media. First example is the Stop Kony 2012 Youtube video that went viral, accompanied by the #stopkony twitter trend, shared by famous names such as P Diddy, Kim Kardashian etc. And then there was the inevitable criticism against the charity, some of it warranted, some not. The most naive reply I have seen to this was a Facebook post ending in "stop posting this Kony 2012 carry on because clicking 'share' is not causing any difference". Well, yes it is, because did you know about what was happening before you watched the Youtube video? No? And you do now? Well it has served its purpose then. And if you choose to sell your house and give all that money to the Invisible Children charity, and if you choose to do nothing after watching it, then that is your choice. But the point is that you are now aware of the issue.I also saw on Facebook this week a photo that was posted by a girl's mum within an hour of her going missing on the Gold Coast. By lunch time the photo had been shared hundreds of times and the girl was located.

Another wake up call this week was from one of our readings, Convergent Journalism  by Steven Quinn and Vincent Filak. It made a point in there, that to become a good writer and produce good quality stories, the information you have is never enough. If you have the opportunity to obtain more information, take it! This really hit home, as I know I often do the bare minimum and I don't always push myself to do that extra study.

I also love that blogging is part of our assessment, anyone else share my excitement? I already have my own personal blog, where mostly I take photos of myself (I know, Bruce, don't get caught in the ego trap).