Wednesday, April 9, 2008

Need to know

I see journalism students every day. They are all asking me the same question right now -- how do we get web skills? Two answers. First, you schedule a class on web building to learn it the hard way, then you log on and create a free website and/or blogspot. Viola! It's done.

By the way, you don't have to take the class before you start exploring online. The class helps in the development of your skills.

This blog literally took three minutes to put together. Why Whosiwutzits? In journalism, we stress the 5 Ws and the H. In order for me not to constantly have to say "the 5 Ws and the H" or "who, what, when, where, why and how," I always say "whosiwutzits." Students laugh at first and probably get tired of it as I go along. I say it a lot during the semester.

Lesson number one: get online and do it now. Keep it clean and informative. You will be "googled" when you apply for a job. Go ahead, give yourself a Google and see what you get. If you find something you're afraid might show up in an interview later, see what you can do about getting it down. Cleaning up the Saturday night party pics on Myspace and Facebook will not ruin your life-of-the-party reputation, and it may help first impressions later.

The world is your wide web. Enjoy.

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