New Family Project

I explain what I know so far about my newest class project.

Newspaper Circulation

Infographics

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Arkyd: A crowdsourced satellite

http://techland.time.com/2013/05/30/arkyd-is-a-crowdfunded-orbital-space-telescope-you-can-control/
I saw this today and like the 3d printed food article I just couldn't ignore it. I have been stalking the tech section of google news lately and this is just what happens. But there is a major space craft company that has created a kick starter to put a satellite up in space that gives access to students and just people in general. I just think this is super cool and felt like it was awesome enough that I had to share it. You can contribute to the kickstarter here: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1458134548/arkyd-a-space-telescope-for-everyone-0 I'm actually really obsessed with kickstarter it is just such a cool idea that has been used to fund so many really incredible projects.

EDIT: there are also Arkyd infographics I mean what's not to love

Where I find infographics: Tumblr

Tumblr is a popular blogging site that I spend waaay to much time on. However over the course of the year I have been able to use this site as a source for infographics as well as inspiration for where I want to go in my blog. The blog visualgraphic.tumblr.com has a lot of really cool infographics and designs. The majority of the things posted there are minimalistic which is a really popular style for infographics. Here are some of the cooler designs I have seen posted recently.




Wednesday, May 22, 2013

First 3D Printed Food!

http://www.clevelandleader.com/node/20887
This isnt what I normally post but I thought this article was to cool to ignore. It is crazy how far science has come and how awesome it would be to eat a 3D printed pizza, even if its just protein layer flavor.

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

How News Sources Address Disasters

This is just how I have noticed that most news sources report on big disasters like the tornado in Oklahoma. This is mostly specific to TV and Internet sources.
1) Breaking the story- the reporter quickly explains the circumstances and any known details, there is often a lot of confusion and the details are not correct.
2) Continuing coverage- getting more details from people who are actually there, death/injury toll begins to more accurately reflect the truth. Especially on TV there is a lot of repetition to make sure new viewers know what is going on and to fill air time. This is also when #prayfor____ begins circulating around social medias and spreads more, often incorrect, details.
3) Sending the reporters- news sources end up sending someone from their syndicate to cover the story. This is usually around early night/afternoon before shows like nightly news.
4) National news- the show is basically all this event they show tons of different angles and reactions from the victims. By now basically everyone knows about it. The full destruction is understood and aid begins to roll in.
5) New developments, Aid, Conspiracy's, Manhunts, etc.- Basically any thing that needs to be resolved is during the next few weeks.
6) Going back- news sources go back to look at how the community has coped a few months later.

This is just the general essence of what I have seen happening in the news when something very dramatic happens.

How news must adapt for modern technology.

stateofthemedia.org/2013/digital-as-mobile-grows-rapidly-the-pressures-on-news-intensify/
The state of the media 2013 reports by journalism.org include a lot of really interesting articles about
problems facing modern journalists. It is definitely a long read but I have included the pictures because I 
think they summarize the article well. The graphs speak for themselves and if you don't have time to read
the article you should definitely check out these graphs.













Thursday, May 9, 2013

Family Project

I have been googleing some of my family members names to see if I could find articles about them. My cousin Kate is one of the womens softball coaches at Hofstra University and there have been quite a few articles written about the awesome season they are having this year. This is actually her first year at this position; she used to do almost the same thing at West Point and if I can find an article from her time there i will post it.
Hofstra Softball
This article is not directly about her actions but all the ones that were about her were from Hofstras news publication and I wanted to include an article from a seperate news source.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

What makes an infographic cool?

http://www.coolinfographics.com/blog/2013/5/8/tiago-veloso-what-makes-an-infographic-cool.html
This artice thing came from the website that I get most of the infographics that I review from. I like how they analyze infographics and the making of infographics. Anyone who wants to make infographics should check this and the whole website out because it does a really good job at analyzing infographics and their features.

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Family History Project

This website has a lot of information about my great-grandfathers ship and all of the things created about it.

Books about the USS Mason

Proud

DVD based on the true and heroic story of the USS Mason, a Navy battleship manned by an African-American crew during WWII, when segregation was still enforced.
Based on the book Proudly We Served by Mary Pat Kelly.

Proudly We Served
The Men of the USS Mason

by Mary Pat Kelly
This book tells the story of these brave African-American men and their contributions to the Allied victory. Their success had a direct impact on President Harry S Truman's decision to integrate all of America's armed forces after the war. Recommended in 1944 for a commendation for their heroic actions during a violent storm, the Mason sailors finally received that commendation in 1995, after the publication of this book in hardcover and the release of a companion documentary. The men and ship have been further honored by the Navy's decision to name a new destroyer (DDG 87) after the Mason and propagate its proud heritage into the twenty-first century.
Hardcover, 220 pages
List price $15.95
Better Than Good: 
A Black Sailor's War, 1943 -1945

     Author Adolph Newton became one of the very few African Americans to serve in the general enlisted ranks rather than as a mess attendant. In this intense, long-overdue memoir, he describes his life as a black seaman on an integrated warship, explaining how he dealt with discrimination and personal freedom and how, despite the difficulties, he developed a lasting affection for the Navy. Newton's story is representative of a generation of African Americans who came of age during the war, needing to prove themselves by fighting for a country that had denied them the full benefits of citizenship. A landmark work, it is the first memoir to be published by a black sailor in the forefront of Roosevelt's order to integrate the Navy. Based on journals he kept during the war, the book retains the raw emotions and expressions of a young sailor in the 1940s. He speaks candidly of race relations and how his views evolved from conversations with southern blacks, confrontations with prejudiced whites, and encounters with Europeans. And his story does not stop at war's end. Unable to find civilian employment that utilized his technical skills, he reenlisted in 1946 only to find the Navy more rigid than during the war. His reflections on life as a young black man who knew that just being good was not good enough make an important contribution to the record.
Hardcover, 208 pages
List price $28.95
On Board the USS Mason
The World War II Diary of James A. Dunn

Hardcover, 130 pages

I copied and pasted this from the website. I own the book Proudly We Served and I am going to look into getting some of the others for my project. 

Styles of infographics #2

Historical infographics are really popular. I believe this is because infographc are easily created from timelines and timelines are a huge part of history. These could also fall under the category of educational infographics but I believe these are so popular they deserve their own post.

Again if you cant see the picture very well check out www.coolinfographics.com because some images just don't handle getting put on blogger very well.

2000 Years of Continental Climate Changes
I really like how this one displays data so nicely and efficiently using almost no words.

The History Of Famous Logos

This infographic is more of a "fun" historical infographic it also has a really cool design and layout that makes it more interesting to read.