Posts filed under “Web development”
News site needs new, innovative user interfaces
We can all agree that the Web is a vastly different medium than print. Which is why I can’t understand why almost every news site tries to emulate the user interface of a newspaper. The mediums are nothing alike, and they each have much different strengths and weaknesses. Why are we still making dynamic Web [...]
A hyperlocal/beat blogging experiment
Sometimes the best way to learn about a subject is just to go out and experiment. With that thought in mind, I’ve launched a hyperlocal/beat blogging experiment, Chagrin Valley Sports. My goal is simple: provide better and more in-depth coverage of local sports in the Chagrin Valley area utilizing a beat blog. I’m starting out [...]
The long tail and SEO work
On May 8th, I made a post about how a previous post from a year earlier had a resurgence in traffic. I thought that traffic would eventually subside, but I was wrong. In less than 3 months, that post has almost doubled the amount of page views it has: I’ve said it before and I’ll [...]
A little HTML never hurt anybody
A whole debate has sprung up on whether or not journalism schools should be teaching Dreamweaver and the basics of Web design. I’m not going to touch that debate today, but I am going to argue that every journalist should know a little HTML. Every journalist should know how to make a link, whether using [...]
Mobile is the future of the Web and news
The Internet and the Web are here to stay, but how we connect with both will be changing. The personal computer isn’t going anywhere, but people are increasingly accessing the Internet and the Web via mobile devices like smartphones. The iPhone in particular was a watershed moment for the mobile Web because of the power [...]
Some sites that use Drupal
Not convinced that a free, open source project could work for your company? Here is a list of some companies that use Drupal as a content management system: The Onion – The Onion was founded on a college campus. So, you know it’s good. The Onion publishes a myriad of content from written to video, [...]
Drupal 6 is an even better CMS option
Drupal 6 officially launched yesterday, bringing new features, better security and faster performance, while being easier to use. This is great news for news organizations looking for a cheap and flexible CMS option, especially college newspapers. If a college newspaper has the right staff in place (Web developers in particular) Drupal is a very strong [...]
My advice for j-students who want to make a difference (and get a job)
I just told you how journalism is not a good career choice for most of you, but I know many of you are going to attempt to change journalism and I salute you. Therefor, I would be remiss if I didn’t offer you advice on how to get a good journalism job and how to [...]
You know, you don’t have to do video
Apparently every newspaper that has a bad Web site got some sort of memo that said, “if you just put video on your Web site, you’ll get tons of traffic and be a modern newspaper. It’ll be totally bitchin’.” But here is the thing: Doing video poorly will only hurt your newspaper. It will cost [...]
Every newspaper should pay attention to EveryBlock
EveryBlock is ChicagoCrime.org on steroids, and it is officially here to change the face of journalism forever. EveryBlock strives to put data into the hands of citizens down to the block level. It strives to give users a much better portrait of the world around them. From the introductory blog post at EveryBlock: For a [...]