Multimedia Tools

Enhancing Their Senses will Enhance Your Message

Multimedia can be used in a variety of ways in order to enhance our messaging. It is a great tool for conveying our ideas in a unique way that will capture and keep our reader’s attention. Multimedia can enhance our messages by making our communication digitally interactive. Writers can use PowerPoint presentations, images, flip videos, sound clips, or photo stories on their blog post to enhance its meaning.  When I go to a website or blog and just read a bunch of text with no images or graphics I become very bored and my attention begins to focus on something else. I may even click out of the page and find a new site. Multimedia is all about publishing quality content for readers to go along with your writing. Adding multimedia to your blog or website will not take away from the text. The visuals will actually complement the text and help readers understand your message better and come back to your site over and over again.

These visual tools allow us to share our deepest thoughts, greatest moments, and most thought-provoking ideas with our readers in an innovative way. As writers, telling a story using a multimedia platform will target the readers senses and impact them emotionally and mentally. This means that pictures and video can allow the reader to have a better learning experience and connect with the blogger. Below, I have used Microsoft My Photo Story 3 as an example to share my first 5k story with you.

Using Effective Multimedia Techniques

Today, we are all use to multitasking and are actually pretty good at it. Our attention span over the years continues to get shorter and we want our information faster and in an effective way. As I said in my previous post, clarity is very important when introducing a new idea or trying to make a point in your blog. Multimedia can give readers a clearer understanding of what they are reading. It can also help readers that are multitaskers or have short attention spans focus in on what you are trying to convey. Many people feel that a video is more effective than pictures and pictures are more effective than an audio clip. I think all of these can be effective in their own way, but here is my honest, personal opinion on each based on my use of them:

Audio Clips
In order for an audio clip to be effective depends on the website or blog. I am not too big on audio clips and find them the least effective. I think they work well on political websites or talk radio sites. Also, it is sometimes nice to visit a website and there is music from an audio clip playing in the background. Audio clips actually tend to distract me because instead of reading or seeing what is on the blog I try and listen to what the audio is saying and concentrate on that. I am a visual person, so I need imagery or video on a website or blog to be affected or influenced. 

 The best use of audio for me would be situations where I cannot sit down, read, or look at images. Audio can be a tremendous help in getting the information I need while still being able to multitask at work. I especially appreciate when bloggers or writers tape themselves reading their blog posts or use SoundCloud to record a part of the text. This can be extremely convenient to the reader. Thank you SoundCloud!

Slideshows, Photos, and Illustrations
Photos can be used on a blog in many different forms to enhance the meaning of the text. The most popular forms can be illustrations, slideshows, graphics, or infographics. Photos generally tend to flow very well with the text. They are so powerful because they can influence people and inspire them. Photos can be used with no added features such as sound or can be sorted and put into a slideshow that has music in the background.  Also, slideshows usually start on their own when visiting a blog or website, giving a reader the opportunity to browse the site freely without interruptions. Photos can educate, encourage participation,  or promote change.

A great example of the use of infographics is a blog I found a while back through The Huffington Post's Twitter account. It is called Chart Girl. She uses flow charts, pictures, and graphics to explain current situations in pop culture, rather they are funny or serious. Check it out here!

Videos
Videos do a great job showing the reader what the writer wants them to know. Videos are especially amazing tools to use for tutorials or when you are trying to teach your readers something. For example, explaining how to do a cartwheel will sound very confusing in text, but a video showing how to do a cartwheel will make sense. Videos can also make the writer more credible to the reader. This is because the reader gets to see with their own eyes what you are trying to prove through your writing. The downside is that with videos, the audience usually has to stop reading and play the video which can take them away for a moment. However, videos are still extremely effective because of all the different ways they can be used. Tutorials, event footage, on screen interviews, or documentaries can all be added to enhance the information on your blog or website. 

A great example of using videos on your website is my favorite beauty guru Carli Bybel's beauty blog and website. Her beauty blog is The Fashion Bybel and her main site is CarliBybel.com. She uses bright, lively videos throughout her website to discuss beauty, fashion, and fitness tips. Carli uses photos in her text and also posts a YouTube video tutorial that correlates to the text at the end of each blog entry.

As far as there being one multimedia technique more effective than another, I feel depends on the reader and what motivates them and on how the writer uses each technique to connect to their reader. 

References:

Sniderman, Z. (2010, July 28). How to: Add multimedia to your blog. Mashable.com. Retrieved from 

           http://mashable.com/2010/07/28/add-multimedia-to-blog/

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Press Release

                 For Immediate Release: 1/22/12

Joe Paterno Loses the Battle to Lung Cancer

State College, PA- At the age of 85, Joe Paterno known as “Joe Pa”, Penn State’s beloved and longtime football coach dies from lung cancer. Joe Pa died at Mount Nittany Medical Center at 9:25 am est and was surrounded by family.  The hospital stated that the cause of death was from the cancer continuing to spread.

The Paterno family made an official statement early Sunday confirming his death. The statement mentioned that, “He died as he lived; He fought hard until the end, stayed positive, thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life had been.” Paterno had an impressive career as Penn State’s Nittany Lions head coach for about 50 years making the football program an inspiration to many.

According to his son Scott, Joe Pa had been battling cancer since he was diagnosed last November during a bronchial illness follow-up appointment. Paterno had recently been in the hospital due to problems associated with his cancer treatments.

During his time at Penn State, Joe Pa guided about 350 players to the NFL. He also led the Lions to two national championships, 37 bowl games, and won about 400 games making him the most memorable coach in football history. He is survived by his loving wife, five kids, and 17 grandchildren.

Contact:

Kareta Johnson, Reporter

500-500-5000

Knowledge and New Media Newspaper

karetajohnson@knm.com

 ###

Facebook Post

BREAKING NEWS: Penn State’s Joe Paterno died from lung cancer today at age 85. Sources say he had been in the hospital since mid-January with complications from cancer treatments. You can check out more details on this story here! [link to story]

References:

Hiserman, M. (2012, January 22). Joe Paterno died as his lung cancer spread; his family releases statement. LA Times.  Retrieved from http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/sports_blog/2012/01/joe-paterno-died-of-spreading-lung-cancer-his-family-releases-statement.html

Joseph Vincent Paterno. (2014). Biography.com. Retrieved May 12, 2014, from http://www.biography.com/people/joe-paterno-9434584.

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Social Media Tools That Reach Audiences Effectively

Tool #1: Photo Sharing Sites

Picture sharing sites are a great way to give people a glimpse into your life and share some of your most enjoyable moments.

 Like sharing my fitness journey...

However, I have yet to grasp how to use Instagram or any other picture sharing site effectively for my field. Most of my pictures are of friends and events. Other people I follow have started their own businesses on Instagram by sharing pictures of their company products. This is extremely effective because people see what you have to offer. You are distributing your content visually, reaching your target audience, and retaining them.

I have also noticed that Instagram uses hashtags frequently. Hashtags are a great way to get new exposure. This is effective because you can reach so many more people from around the world. Reaching a broader audience is important because we can learn about each other. Influencing one another culturally will allow us to make an impact and a difference in the world.

My favorite travel photographer on Instagram is Murado Osmann from Russia and his photos have made a difference in me and my best friend's life. Thanks to his pictures, we made a list of places we would like to see and Italy is on our list for the fall. Osmann uses his girlfriend as a human prop leading him and therefore the audience through vibrant and enchanting scenes from the world's most amazing places. Photographers like Osmann embrace picture sharing sites like Instagram, so their photos can teach us about other cultures and allow us to see things we wouldn't normally be able to see. These photographers are effectively reaching their audience on a social, artistic, and even spiritual level.

Check out his breathtaking photos here.

I also find these types of sites practical when needing to reach your audience on a greater scale. This is because Instagram can work very well when you combine it with other social networks. For example, I post a picture to Instagram and just press the share button for Facebook and Twitter and ta-da! My picture is now on my Facebook and Twitter feeds reaching my other audiences as well.

Tool #2: Social Bookmarking

I decided to throw one in here that I have never used....well sorta. I use Pinterest religiously as a bookmarking site, but as you may know, it is mostly pictures of recipes or fitness tips that I find useful or interesting. And it is addictive! But what about using a bookmarking site to reach your audience in your work or education? I hear people talking about Delicious all the time and I have never used it or even checked it out....so here it goes!

If I come across a website that I like whether it is for work, school, or pleasure I either post it to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or save it to my Google Chrome bookmarking folder. I never thought to use a central location to put these things and here is why this would work for me. I cannot access my bookmarking folder that is on my laptop from my Kindle or iPhone. This is where I put most of the research I do for class. When I am out and want to work on an assignment, I have to re-look everything up or search for articles I previously found. With Delicious, I was able to post links I really liked and save them for class to be used on other assignments. I also saved pages that I have previously used for class that I may need to refer back to.

So far, I really like Delicious and may check out other social bookmarking sites. You can checkout my first attempts on Delicious here.

This site is effective in reaching your audience because you can connect Delicious to other social media sites and find your friends. This way you can reach them by sharing the same content across multiple social and digital platforms. I found a cool link on Delicious and decided to share it with my Twitter audience.

6 Tips to Boost Your Twitter Conversations http://t.co/7ir7iUjfux via @delicious
— Kareta Johnson (@KAY_thewriter) May 8, 2014

You can also use tags. This will help followers or others who search the same topic find your pages. If they like the items you post or find them useful, they can add you. Also with the tags, you can subscribe to them. For instance, I subscribed to the hashtag #socialmedia and now can see anything that comes through from other people that use this hashtag. So neat!

Even though Delicious is popular, I do not know if it will be a tool in my life everyday. I love how easy it is to add and share great links that are on there with my Twitter followers and other audiences. If there was a share button for LinkedIn I would probably use this more. I think I still need to get the hang of it, but it was interesting to try out. I can see why people view this as an effective way to connect with others and use as a social research tool. For me, it seems easier to save the pages I need to my Google Chrome bookmarks folder instead of logging into Delicious just to view them. However, as I said before the only downside would be trying to access research that is only on my laptop. Delicious offers greater options and will give me the access I need on other devices.

Tool #3: Social Network Sites

Out of all the social media tools, I think social networking sites can be the most effective way to reach an audience if used correctly. As of April 2014, Facebook had about 1 billion users from all over the world (Smith, 2014). I remember being a sophomore in college back in 2004 when Facebook was just for college students and we really didn't know what it was. Today, pretty much anyone and everyone is on Facebook and they use it frequently. As soon as I post something personal about my work or life, I will have over ten likes and comments within a minute! For example, as in this post:

Post by Kareta Johnson.

However, I noticed that when I post something serious like news for instance, I receive maybe one like or no likes/comments at all as in this post:

Post by Kareta Johnson.

What's up with that? In my opinion, people use Facebook because they want to participate in casual conversation, catch up with friends, and give updates about their day as in "Look at my new haircut!"  or "Just got a new car, yay!" People want to see what their friends did over the weekend, comment on it, and engage with each other. The neat thing is that even though only one person shared and no one commented on the news of the gunman on our interstate, I know that people saw it. I posted it so people would be aware of what was happening. With everyone posting stuff to Facebook every minute, what you post needs to stand out if you want it to reach your audience and impact them. Maybe I should have put a headliner like, "Hope everyone is being safe out there!" or "Check out this story I just found!" I also could have posted it to Twitter first and shared my tweet on Facebook to reach more people.

Twitter is considered a micro-blog and was listed by itself, I actually include it in this category for myself. This is because I have started to post pretty similar stuff to Facebook and Twitter; the only difference is my audience, or “followers.” The majority of people that I am friends with on Facebook I know from high school, church, and college. LinkedIn I know everyone from previous jobs. On Twitter, I really don’t know everyone I follow personally or who follows me, but know that they are important for my field. In other words, many of them are news outlets, writers, editors, and authors.

The great thing about social networking sites is that there is such a huge demographic of people that your post is going to affect someone in your audience. You can reach your audience by using collaboration tools or group forums that most social sites offer. On Facebook last month, I created a "Join My Color Me Rad Team" event page and invited all my "friends" on Facebook that I knew was on a fitness journey. Many of my friends invited their friends. I was able to meet people I didn't know before and we all ran our first 5k together! That little feature on Facebook brought a group of girls together that didn't know each other well, but shared a common interest and an experience we will remember forever. Social networking also allows you to instant message, email, provide links or videos, the possibilities are endless. So yes, I think this tool is the most effective because whatever you post reaches so many people that share and re-post over and over again.

References:

Smith, C. (2014, April 2). How many people use 416 of the top social media apps, and tools? (May 2014). Digital Marking Ramblings. Retrieved from http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/resource-how-many-people-use-the-top-social-media/#.U2u-OfldVgo

Logo credits:

Prager, D. (2014, April 11). Top branded Instagram accounts. Rival IQ. Retrieved from http://blog.rivaliq.com/top-5-branded-instagram-accounts/

Untitled Image of Facebook Logo. (2013, February 12). Facebook marketing 10 tips for a good fan page. Webwissen. Retrieved from http://www.webwissen.de/facebook-marketing/

Yuksel, M. (2013, March 28). D starting with the letter logos. Mehmet Yuksel. Retrieved from http://www.mehmetyuksel.org/d-harfi-ile-baslayan-logolar.html

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