Cyberbullying

Although new media tools allow anyone to publish on the Web, you should still be ethical and courteous when writing to or about others.

An emerging problem with online writing involves cyberbullying.

Consider this case of a Missouri ninth-grader who was arrested for creating a website in which she posted mean and disparaging remarks about a fellow classmate.

Because of her site, the teen was arrested and faced possible charges in juvenile court.

You can read the entire article below.

Teen Arrested for Creating Website to Bully Other Teen

First-Person POV Advertising: Wear a Life Jacket

The New Media Writer looks at several create advertisements that attempt to get the viewer's attention. Most of these ads try to make the viewer identify with the images in the ad, or place themselves with the scene of the ad as the main protagonist.

However, this public service announcement, Sortie En Mer, takes things a bit further. Directed by Guy Cotten, the ad provides a first-person point of view perspective for the viewer to give them a sense of what it would be like to fall overboard without wearing a life jacket. It's message is clear: always wear a life jacket when on the water. However, the first-person perspective, and the interactive controls in the video, give it a more personal feel.

View the advertisement here:

Drowning Simulator

Do you think it's effective? Why or why not?

Cut! Get out of the shot!

In Chapter 11 on editing, The New Media Writer discusses editing for visuals, and covers the different kinds of errors that often appear in films.

MoviesTalk has compiled a list of the 10 most "disastrous" crew mistakes that occur when a member of the film crew are in the view of the camera.

These aren't "low-budget" films, but some of the biggest blockbusters in the last 10-20 years.

Look closely next time you watch a movie and see if you notice any of these errors.

10 Disastrous Crew Visible Mistakes in Movies

Breastfeeding Dads Go Viral

Hector Cruz, a photographer in Clarkesville, Tennessee wanted to support his wife’s breastfeeding of their newborn daughter. Although he wanted to attend breastfeeding classes and learn with her, he was often turned away from these all-female groups, sometimes for good reasons. However, he felt helpless to support his wife. In response, he began taking photographs of new dads “breastfeeding” their infants. 

Cruz offers an example of how “visual rhetoric” combined with digital technologies can be used reach audiences in far distant places from his Clarkesville home, and making his campaign go viral.

Cruz was just a humble dad in Tennessee who had a claim to make, and through the use of new media tools was able to reach and convince a much larger audience than he would be able to otherwise.

See the full story here: 

Dad's breastfeeding campaign goes viral

Misleading Maps

As discussed in The New Media Writer, texts that may seem simply "informational" must change depending on their audience, use, and purpose. As you might have already read, a driver on the interstate needs a different kind of map than a hiker in the woods, even though these maps might cover the same area.

Consider the discussion linked below of how common maps often significantly distort the relative size of Africa compared to other continents. In the clip from the TV show The West Wing, what do the cartographers state as some of the reasons for this distortion? Conduct your own research about how navigational maps have been designed over time, and how modern map makers make decisions about how to create new maps.

The TRUE Size of Africa – Have Our Maps Been Misleading For Over 500 Years?

Drinking Glasses Only

When shooting your own images or video, you have to sometimes be careful about where you shoot, if you need permission, and what you're shooting. For instance, you usually need permission when shooting video on private property, and some locations may ban photography or videography.

Recently, a woman wearing Google Glass in a San Francisco bar was confronted by other patrons when they realized she was wearing Glass and recording at times. Because of this altercation, the bar has banned anyone from using Google Glass when inside. Other bars have also adopted this policy.

However, they haven't banned the use of smartphones, which could just as easily be used to record in these locations. What do you think this ban on Google Glass says about our general adoption or comfort with new technologies? Can you find other writing/recording technologies that have been initially banned?

The full story is here:

Bars Banning Google Glass

Ten Funny Proofreading Mistakes

As discussed in Chapter 11 of The New Media Writer, editing is an important step in the writing process.

However, sometimes too much attention can be paid to the big picture of editing and revising, and not enough to the smaller errors that proofreading can find.

Here are some of the funniest proofreading errors in a variety of media. As a general practice, keep your own database of proofreading mistakes and share them with the class as you locate examples.

Top Ten Funniest Proofreading Mistakes