The History and Impact of Infographics

I was going to write a great post about how this infographic relates to my "people like reading information more when presented in an infographic"  theory but I have been sitting at the computer for half an hour and everything I type is awful. Nevertheless this is a pretty self explainable infographic.  People like to see pictures so they share them with their friends and so on and so forth. 

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Oberhaeuser Info Graphics

Oberhaeuser a company that seems to be based out of Germany has produced some of the best info graphics I have ever seen. Their slogan "Information is beautiful" doesn't even begin to describe the quality of some of their work. The mix of unique design, simplicity, and bright eye catching colors make their designs really stand out among others that I have seen.

This image which displays a calender is really intriguing. Each ring represents a month and important holidays are marked in a different color. I have seen a lot of really unique calender designs and I think this one stands out as one of my favorites because it looks like a piece of art while still maintaining the functionality of a calender.

My favorite design is this encyclopedia. It combines the structure of a book with the key features of a book. As a child I loved to read books like these because they taught me things using images and words. I feel like as you get older books with these features become looked down upon. With the popularity of new news medias and the unwillingness to read large blocks of text I think, or at least hope, books like this will become more popular. They engage the reader so that they are interested to learn and make reading an encyclopedia seem less like a chore and more like a hobby (activity?). 

As I write this it seems like I could be explaining a children's book. They tend to use the same techniques as I am describing here. Learning is a very important part in childhood, maybe if more books were structured this way people would be able to learn complicated concepts easier. 

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Journalism Analysis Project: Beginning

In this post I am going to explain this mythical journalism project I have been hinting at and have made a page for. So far this year I have explored some of the characteristics of modern news. Now I plan to compare modern news sources, ways the news is presented, and whether print journalism produces news similar to all digital formats.
A common thread has been found in each article, and report I have chosen. They are all reports on the events of the Newtown shooting. I chose this topic because it has had a great impact on modern life and was reported on my many sources.
I have saved a newspaper, several online articles, infographics, and videos that have this topic. In the end I hope to have a better understanding on the quality of different publications, and the medias in which they present news; whether it is wise to still directly pay for news in the modern age; as well as which forms of media provide the most in depth, balanced, knowledgeable news.

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Cool Infographics

http://www.coolinfographics.com/
Cool info graphics really lives up to its name. This website collects and  displays a ton of info graphics from a variety of topic. I love how so much can be presented in this format. Utilizing info graphics is an important aspect in modern news as it brings a lot of information to the public in a way which is visually appealing and interesting to the viewer. I will definitely be posting new things I find on coolinfographics.com. 

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Raising Prices on Mobile Subscriptions

The following is an article I wrote for my group writing blog thirdquartet.blogspot.com. I'm focusing on displaying the theme through the "narrators" thoughts on the topic. I tried to tie this writing into my analysis project which will begin next week. In the article I attempted to keep a structure similar to that used in news articles. A more in depth analysis of this work and the work of my group mates will be posted next week.
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This week it has been reported that The New York Times may be significantly increasing its subscription prices for mobile readers. It unclear whether or not this change will be implemented but if it is this change could mark a significant change for the publication.
Many factors could be attributed to this change; costs are being cut to compensate for lack of revenue, and as more and more people are getting their news online it can be important to benefit from this format.
Although I agree that if subscription based news is better than its free counterparts it deserves to come at a price. The problem comes when the same content is found on both free and priced news publications. If the New York Times rises their subscription fee but does not provide superior services its readership will certainly go elsewhere for its news.
Many people are not willing to pay to obtain news content. More and more news is in fact free and the sites that provide the best free content are getting more viewers. If the New York Times raises its mobile subscription cost the people who were willing to pay for it might consider going elsewhere.

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Where Journalists Risk Their Lives to Report

This article by the PEW really opened my eyes to the danger journalists can face and the risks they are willing to face in order to deliver the news. I am definitely not surprised that the most deaths come from the middle east. Its danger creates some of the most interesting and important news, but at what price? As conflicts run their course it seems there is constantly a new one to take place of the last.
The major conflict this year, in Syria, drew a lot of journalists from all around the world. If there wasn't such a thirst for knowledge pertaining to these conflicts the amount of deaths would certainly be much lower. The digital revolution of journalism plays an important role in the deceased peoples lives and their untimely deaths. Never before have their been more news outlets as well as more journalists needed to cover the news.
Killings are also being published much more. When a mass shooting happens many people speak out about copycat killers which can get ideas from the extensive coverage of these events. Although I believe that it is important for people to know what is happening in dangerous war zones such as the ones portrayed in this article. The coverage of these events could be encouraging more people to commit similar acts.
Regarding the design of this particular infographic, I like that there are many types of graphs but they aren't all suited to display the information well.

Where Journalists Risk Their Lives To Report

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Semester wrap up

So this semester is basically over. The year, and possibly the content on this blog, is half done. I wrote a reflection on what I've done this far, but I don't think I'm going to post it here. I feel like I have done really well this far. I've established leadership roles in my group projects, expanded my knowledge on a bunch of topics, and learned about the whole concept of "giftedness." As a whole class I have learned about a bunch of my friends topics as well. The blog format, which has troubled a lot of my other classmates, seems to be a good outlet for my work. Despite the troubles I had with all the template stuff, my blog seems to have worked out pretty well. Honestly I don't know whatelse to post. All the other evidence of my work Is in my blog. All the research I have done, or lack of it, has been documented. I guess all you can do is wait until I start my new projects second semester.

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Update

I feel as if someone reading this blog thinks I forgot it. In reality I have just been really busy trying to set up the new design. The html stuff is getting pretty difficult, I may just leave somethings the way they are as opposed to going crazy trying to fix them.

My analysis project will begin the beginning of second semester by the latest. There will also be a new original composition crossposted from my first group blog soon as well.

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