Can you see the water?

I can't! Woah.

The Nashua Telegraph

For websites in my area, I explored the NashuaTelegraph.com based out of Nashua, New Hampshire. This online site is an edition of The Telegraph, their daily printed newspaper.

The website seemed well done to me. There were news updates from surrounding towns, though not much about my town. They did do a nice job collecting nation-based articles from other papers like the Los Angeles Times and by using the Associated Press. As far as the local stuff goes, it was decent, but there were spelling errors that I noticed on the staff writing and sentences like:

“Nobody else was reported injured...” that were not to my liking. Nobody? Bleh. No one.

The website did, however, have a great layout with links to other sites and blogs in the area. It was well organized, and had lots and lots of ads. I would say the website should double check its proofing and put the top news from the area right at the top middle, with pictures.

The best thing they did on the site would probably be the latest updates column and the 7 Days tab, where you can check out the top news from the last seven days. It would be exactly what I would go for right when the page opened up: the latest news from my town/area and what happened that I missed.

As far as the site’s economic model goes, it seems to be following the selling advertising model, pretty traditional. Although, I do remember using the site about a year ago, and I’m sure I couldn’t access certain pieces unless I subscribed. Maybe they took away the value-added services model because people didn’t want to bother with it? Either way, just using the selling advertising model makes it easier for everyone. Oh wait! Somehow, my name is on the top of the homepage...I guess that means I did subscribe. Apparently they do also follow the value-added services model. Woops...

Tin in Congo

(NY Times)

When asked to find a slideshow, I searched many a website. The New York Times ended up winning the race for a great one, an audio slideshow called The Spoils: A Scramble for Tin in Congo.

In the pictures, the lives of poor Congolese are shown, working hard to produce tin from a mine surrounded by soldiers. Conditions are horrible for living and working, and with toxic fumes and tunnels caving in, it seems hard to survive as well. Workers have to carry heavy stones and 110 pound sacks on their backs for wealthy countries to use the tin to produce things like laptops and cellphones. Seeing the pictures of the people was much more than saddening, especially when seeing pictures of children working.

"It is the saga of much of Africa's riches: unearthed by the poor, controlled by the strong and consumed by a world oblivious to its orgins."

This quote really hit me. How can the world be so oblivious to this? How come we don't know? How can we learn about these things? Is there anything we can do?

Unbelievable

If you haven't seen Boston.com's The Big Picture, check it out. Now.

The pictures are just stunning. Seeing the pictures of the California wildfires was intense. After seeing what people are really experiencing, everything changes. The fires are no longer just a horrible story happening to people in California, but are a terrible disaster attacking people's homes, and destroying lives. Seeing the ruins pries at your heart. It's one thing to see it on the news, but when the photos are that detailed and clear, it's so much more real.

All of the photos posted are incredible. Antartica was my favorite, it's like another world.

Check it out.

Must See

My roommate showed me this video...

I laughed for a long time at the one that misses the trampoline in the beginning...

The music is perfect.

Journey's New Voice

I love this story, one that is truly inspirational and shows the power of youtube. From CBS Sunday Morning, here's how Journey found their new lead singer Arnel Pineda. Makes me cry every time.

Mmm humiliation...

My friends and I like to go to Applebee's for Sunday night trivia. They have half off appetizers and gift cards if you win, so we think of it as a win-win. Well, while there this past Sunday, my friends did the unthinkable.

Happily eating my half priced appetizer, I all of a sudden hear singing. Ohhhh no. Waitors were coming out of the kitchen with a dessert in hand. My roommate later described my face as sheer horror when my friends started laughing and pointing at me. No, it was not my birthday, and yes, I was mortified.

What does this have to do with anything? Well, for one thing, Applebee's dessert shooters are the bomb! Especially when they're free.. Besides this, I came across this photo while surfing the web a bit, and I thought to myself: yep, I would have the same facial reaction if I saw this unexpectedly. It's the second photo in the album, prepare yourself.

I love my friends.

Everything Has Changed

Barack Obama is the newly elected president. AHHHHH!!!! That was what most of us were doing here at UMass when we found out. We were screaming, crying, dancing, and watching in disbelief and joy.



As the New York Times put it, racial barriers have fallen because of him. It's history in the making. What an absolutely amazing time to be here at UMass, with my generation's first vote. I am so proud to have cast my vote and been a part of all of this.

I am so excited for everything to start changing. As a friend of mine said, we are a country again. Obama has united us all. We are proud to be Americans now, and are proud to have Obama as our leader.

Political Coverage

For this week's election-related assignment, we were asked to compare the sites Daily Kos and Instapundit in their political coverage abilities.

I really enjoyed both sites. Instapundit didn't have much in the way of photos or videos, but it wasn't really necessary. The headlines were enough to get me interested, and the stories were just as good. The site was also updated fairly often. Daily Kos was also just as good, especially with the live map of election results. With videos and statistics, my interest was kept the whole time.

Both sites seemed to play up stories on issues with the polls and stories for Obama. Being for Obama, I can't complain, but they may not have been completely fair to the Republicans. Daily Kos held my interest by putting up youtube videos of the candidates and Instapunit had the up to date stories everyone is interested in as well as the weird stuff that people love to read.