We're ONLINE

As you may have noticed this is a special upload. Normally I share one blog post a week on a Friday but with KJB222 - Online Journalism 1 (a Uni subject at QUT for those confused) we are required to contribute one blog post a week throughout the semester. I have decided that instead of changing the content of my regular posts I will share two a week with Monday's content dedicated to the unit and Friday's left for whatever I deem appropriate.

Without further a do I'm going to recap a little of last week's first lecture and share my thoughts on what I think it means to be an upcoming journalist in this new age of technology.

My lecturer started the semester with the usual introductions before giving us the opportunity to go crazy on Twitter. As future journalists we are required to tweet as well as write news bulletins and file stories so it makes sense to live tweet during lectures. Quite proud that I was the first to take advantage of the hashtag and beat my fellow students. Of course I had to attach the said tweet in an attempt to incorporate visual elements (I'm assured we will be learning more about what it means to work in an online space and use this technology to our advantage, hence the dramatic emphasis on the below screenshot).

Like usual we were informed of the upcoming assessment (some of which I am already dreading and others I know I will enjoy, including writing this actually). There was also the mention of a few guest lecturers, the most exciting? Leigh Sales for the ABC's 7:30 Report. Even though I don't tune into her show often, (I know as an aspiring journo that makes me sound pathetic) I understand how much of a big deal it is to have someone of her calibre travel to QUT and chat with us. As she is renowned for her political interviews with some Australia's toughest politicians I am excited to hear what she thinks about this new age of technology especially in regards to her own podcast "Chat 10 Looks 3" with Annabel Crabb.

I loved this tweet from @mylesholley and couldn't agree more.

All in all I am very excited for this unit and to learn more about the digital space. I think it's so important to be online and create your own brand which is the main reason I continue to upload blog posts, manage my website and waste time on social media. This new wave of technology has such a huge impact on my future career, which is why it is so important to understand it. Wearables are definitely the next big thing which I find super strange. Soon the world will be wearing their news on their wrists and it might just be me putting it there.

#ashleighdwan #beyondthestory #journalism #onlinejournalism1