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The Elements Of Journalism: Review

By RD Bentley on October 3, 2011 in

Just what should newspeople be reporting? The book — The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, Completely Updated and Revised — tells us exactly what we should expect from our contemporary journalists.

This piece of work is an essential read for every concerned American citizen; especially those who wonder what today’s journalism is really about and what it should be about. Kovach and Rosenstiel shine a bright light on the core elements of journalism: obligation, loyalty, significance, relevance, honesty, triviality, transparency, credibility, and democracy.

This engaging, well-written book by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel analyzes what the encapsulation of journalism proposes to be, and its inherited flaws that deserve to be scrutinized. A growing skeptical audience should require more out of the commercially saturated press, because our time demands it.

One basic approach of journalism is objectivity, which is said to be an illusion by some media critics. Your call on this one.

The authors also make mention of political, economic, and romantic ties that invade the realm of what we call journalism. The decision is presented to you, the reader, to determine if these ties interfere with the quality of news.

Rosenstiel and Kovach provide examples about how professional journalists are writing stories with good technique.

Here’s an interesting quote right out of the book. Victor Neufeld, former executive producer of ABC’s 20/20, once made this remark to a committee:

“Our obligation is not to deliver the news. Our obligation is to do good programming.”

The Elements of Journalism: What Newspeople Should Know and the Public Should Expect, Completely Updated and Revised  is intellectually stimulating, informative, and a culminating example of where we stand today.

If you are enthralled by journalism, news, or writing of any platform, you will be totally absorbed and enlightened by this publication. Entertaining, delightful, and straightforward reading.

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How To Change Your Life Today

By RD Bentley on September 27, 2011 in

In order to change our lives we must change our everyday actions. If we do not take the appropiate steps that are necessary, we will not get the appropriate results in return. The change will not come without action.

Whatever your goal is — whether it is losing weight, making more money, finding a soulmate, or gaining more friends, you must change your actions in order to get results. What is preventing you from getting the most out of your life?

The number one thing that is stopping you is fear. Many of us are very fearful of things that stop us from achieving our ultimate goals. So then, it is fear of rejection, fear of failure, fear of criticism, or even fear of the unknown. Our fears often stand in the way of our success.

Have you ever made a New Year’s resolution only to break it later? Did you really try to take action? Or was it a feeble attempt to persuade yourself that something needed to be done in your life? Were you discouraged and focused on the negativity?

It is results that we are desperately searching for. Sometimes, we just don’t have a clear understanding that our actions determine our results. Maybe it is the problems in our lives that inhibit our thinking process.

Maybe we listen to those people that tell us we can’t achieve our goals. Maybe when we listen to family, friends, and those that are important to us, we cease to listen to our inner being. Our inner being should be the first place that we listen and not the last. This is not to imply that we do not need friends to help us, because we do need help. But action comes from within.

Why is it we repeat the wrong actions? Do we need to modify our actions? Do we need to learn what to do and what not to do? Why don’t we sit down and just assess our actions? Are we afraid of success? Have we been taught to fail?

The biggest problem is that we quit too soon. And then we resort to the same failed methods that we applied beforehand. This isn’t true change and we will not get the results that we desired.

The road of life isn’t easy. Success doesn’t come easy. Life is full of pain, insecurity, and loss. We have to overcome our pain and move forward if we intend to succeed. This means taking action.

Sometimes it is the lessons learned from others that inspire us into taking massive action. It might be a story or a call that motivates us.

Are you taking massive action?

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Financial Collapse Is Coming To America

By RD Bentley on September 26, 2011 in

Financial collapse is coming to America. The big banks are collapsing right in front of our wallets.

Here’s the phenomenally strange situation that is taking place in the United States. Protesting has begun in New York City. The slogan is Occupy Wall Street. The 99% crowd understands that the 1% crowd is not ever going to cooperate. Protestors realize that change must occur. They’re approaching this in a peaceful manner but are being met with ferocious police forces, paid with their own tax dollars. Ironic isn’t it?

In the year of 1905, a revolution came to Russia. The distinctive point to make — the working class was extremely dissatisfied. A peaceful attempt to create a solution to the people’s problems turned violent.

The political unrest led to strikes, protests, and rioting in the streets. This in turn caused terrorism within the government as a reaction. Discontent brought on more discontent. Europe was very volatile in the early 1900′s. Sound familiar?

In the early 1920′s we find a similar situation in Germany. The political leadership was swallowed up and hacked to pieces because of a major disconnect with government. We all know the outcome. Are we treading on the same grounds?

What does the mainstream media choose to do about the peaceful protests in New York? Nearly a media blackout. Peaceful female protestors were penned in and maced! What were they doing to break the law and why did they receive such harsh treatment? And once again, YouTube was and is the media.

Financial collapse seems to be eminent and it could be just around the corner. The protestors do get it, while a majority of those in America are totally clueless. Their vital senses seem to be taken over by strange powers from outer space. Only a minority truly understand the clarity of the circumstance set before them. Or the rest simply don’t want to believe it.

Hard truth is difficult to digest. There is a strong wave of denial, if not a downright sense of disbelief of what is going on. Look at the volatility in the stock market. A stock swing of 500 points in one day is not normal. This has been happening too often.

The so called financial experts have exhausted almost every means available to them. Those same experts (some call them financial terrorists) now are claiming that the economic situation is dire. Just a few months ago the same guys were talking recovery. Where does the lie start and where does it end?

The gap between the rich and poor has not been any wider in American history. The banks (i.e. Goldman Sachs) have completely taken the country over. The problems in Europe and the U.S. are pretty much unsolvable. The big ponzi scheme is coming to a close. The panic of 2011 is making history and the real financial experts have never seen anything like this summer before. The question is — what’s next?

The housing market is terrific if you are rich. This is for the 1% of Americans. On the other hand, the toxic debt in the real estate market is in the trillions of dollars. Not so terrific.

About 3.5 million Americans do not have a home, or a roof over their heads. About 1.5 million of that number is children. Increasing unemployment will only add to those numbers unfortunately.

All of the huge companies are liquidating, consolidating, and restructuring. The writing is on the wall and the big boys know it. Small businesses just can’t seem to make it. It’s not a growth economy and probably won’t be for a long time.

How to keep the momentum going? By injecting more fear into American’s hearts using mass media to do it. Spread the fear and people will buy into it. Air a story on a major television channel and Americans will take the bait, over and over again. College professors have a name for this — it’s called propaganda.

Protests are coming to America.

“Once again, you have to leave the country to find out the truth about us.” — Michael Moore on Twitter

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US Ranks 26th In Broadband Speed

By RD Bentley on September 21, 2011 in

A recent report by Panda Networks reveals that the U.S. rated 26th in broadband speed, compared to other countries around the globe. South Korea was rated number one, with the fastest internet speeds in the world.

The study was observed from January to June of 2011, and involved a total of 224 countries. Second place and third place fell to Romania and Bulgaria, in that order. Lithuania was 4th place and Latvia was 5th place.

South Korea dominated with internet speed of 2,202 KBps, while the United States was just above average, with speeds around 616 KBps. The average worldwide speed was 580 KBps.

Top Internet Speeds
1. South Korea — 2,202 KBps
2. Romania — 1,909 KBps
3. Bulgaria — 1,611 KBps
4. Lithuania — 1,462 KBps
5. Latvia — 1,377 KBps
26. United States — 616 KBps

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Adobe Delivers Photoshop Elements 10

By RD Bentley on September 20, 2011 in

Adobe North America delivers a new product — Introducing… Photoshop Elements 10! NEW!

Photoshop Elements 10: The #1 selling consumer photo-editing software. Photoshop Elements 10 software lets you turn everyday memories into sensational photos with a complete photo-editing solution.

Announcing Adobe Photoshop Elements 10. Easily edit, create, organize, and share your digital photos. Buy now.

•  Make every photo look its best with powerful options that take the work out of image editing.
•  Create photo books, cards, calendars, and other printed mementos that look just the way you want.
•  Quickly share your photos anywhere, including on Facebook and YouTube; and in fun, interactive Online Albums.
•  Enjoy your photos and videos virtually anywhere you are, and get automatic online backup with 2GB of free storage.
•  Enhance specific photo areas with dozens of new Smart Brush effects and patterns.

Top New Features:

•  Paint effects onto specific photo areas
•  Easily create stunning photo effects
•  Add curving, flowing text to your photos
•  Tag faster using your Facebook Friends list
•  Find photos that contain specific objects
•  Get better composition with crop guides
•  Enhanced management of even the biggest photo library
•  Get fresh looks with new templates
•  Save photo creations with greater flexibility

Free Shipping on the NEW Photoshop Elements 10 through November 20th only at Adobe.com

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Mobile Ad Uses 3D Printing Technology

By RD Bentley on September 20, 2011 in ,

[Press Release 09/13/11]

BURLINGTON, Mass. — You’re an art director making a video ad for one of the coolest brands on the planet. The setting is a quintessential American cityscape. You need a thoroughly original look – artistic, but also real and tangible – and not another CGI animation. What do you do?

You ZPrint it.

That’s what Grow Interactive, one of the country’s hottest digital design studios, did to convey the power of the world’s most advanced mobile search tool, the Google Search app.

Grow used a 3D printer from Z Corporation to create the Main Street for Google’s new AdMob rich media mobile advertising campaign, Uncover Your World, which illustrates the power of Google’s voice, visual and location-aware mobile search capability. 3D printing is the creation of physical objects from 3D design data much as a business letter is created from a word-processing file.

Grow used a ZPrinter® 450 to create all of the ad’s visuals (see the video of how the commercial was made). Every scene and interface element was custom modeled and 3D printed – even the sequence of paint drips that plays back in stop-motion to create a pouring effect. Grow assembled all of the parts into a 10-foot set, which it then used to capture all of the image and video components in stop-motion.

After deciding that 3D printing was the solution to its creative needs, Grow researched a range of 3D printers and obtained sample prints from all of them. “We explored and tested nearly every 3D printing technology on the market,” said Drew Ungvarsky, owner and creative director of Grow Interactive. “In the ZPrinter, we found what we were looking for: speed, color and high detail. The ZPrinter was the only device with the speed, resolution and surface quality we needed. And it’s the only one capable of printing in multiple colors, so that saved us time on painting.”

The team found the printer surprisingly easy to use. The staff is experienced with 3D design software, including Cinema 4D software used for this project, and quickly learned how to make their images printable objects. Carlton McFaden, managing partner at Anvil Prototype, a Z Corporation reseller, provided valuable support throughout the campaign.

“When you see the objects in the ad, you know they’re real, not digital, but you can’t quite put your finger on what they are,” said Ungvarsky. “And that’s what we love about them. We found the unique visual we were after: highly detailed and seemingly handmade. Since Google has a great tradition of representing its technology in the analog world, we found ZPrinting gave us an opportunity to continue that tradition but in a new and unique way. The client was very pleased.”

Google blogged on their campaign here: http://googlemobileads.blogspot.com/2011/08/uncover-your-world-with-admob-rich.html.

About Z Corporation
Z Corporation enables design professionals to create more. More ideas. More communication. More innovation. Wherever innovators use technology to develop ideas, we stretch the boundaries of what is possible. Product design. Architecture. Education. Even the leading edge of entertainment, health care, and retail mass customization. Z Corporation provides 3D printing and 3D scanning technologies used to create new products and services more effectively than any other means. We serve the world’s most productive designers and engineers, and are committed to making our solutions the fastest, easiest, most accessible, and most valuable. Z Corporation. Create more. www.zcorp.com.

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SEO Tip About Keywords

By RD Bentley on September 19, 2011 in

SEO tip of the day — Create keyword phrases for each page in your site, then optimize that page for the selected phrase. The goal is to add relevant keyword phrases without adding confusion to the page.

Start off with a small list of keywords that fit the subject the most. Then it might be a good idea to check on Google and see how competitive your keywords are. Try using less competitive keywords, but don’t pick keywords that are far too remote. Go for longtail keywords.

Another great idea is to make subcategories of the topics you write about. This means adding categories relevant to key topics, but in lower density. This is important.

You’ll want to recognize your best keywords without stuffing them into an unnatural presentation. Just let the words flow adding value to the page. Stop thinking so much about your competition and start thinking about content that you’ve added to your theme. It’s really the value that counts. Pretend that you are the reader for once.

Give information that you wouldn’t necessarily find anywhere else on another blog. Throw a few keywords in the post, but do it in a rational way. Always include keywords that match the title of the page. Try to focus on the topic you are writing about. Think about your keywords subconsciously.

Think subtitles, bold letters, bullets, etc. Break your information down to where it is easily digestible. Trickle your information like water dripping into a bowl. The bowl will eventually fill up if you try not to force it.

If you have keyword phrases that need to be added, simply create more pages to cover that topic. Keep breaking topics down until you’ve driven the key theme several times over. The most successful blogs use this direct approach. Use a circular flowing pattern of information.

It’s really a simple continuous process of beating the subject in the head over and over. This may seem all too redundant, but it’s not.

Just remember one thing — Google is based on relevant keywords and not extravant ones. Use glue every chance you can by keeping your keywords on topic as much as possible. Be natural.

Not sure what keywords are the most important to your page? Have you tried Google Analytics?

Image Credit:

Image: Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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Occupy Wall Street Protest Largely Ignored

By RD Bentley on September 19, 2011 in

The riots in Greece got press coverage as did the riots in London. There is a massive protest going on right now in New York, but the coverage will probably be minimal.

This morning’s stories included: Republicans refuse to budge against higher taxes, small talk about the Emmy awards, and… the weather. Anything about the protest in New York? Next to none so far. This may change.

There’s a Moore protesting but this time it’s not Michael. Her name is Michele Moore and she speaks of a website — Reporting Wrongdoing.

Roeseann Barr hasn’t lost the fire. She voiced her opinion to the disenfranchised participants. Are we going back to the 1960′s?

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Apps To Simplify The Day

By RD Bentley on September 17, 2011 in

Over 25 Apps To Simplify The Day

Here are some fantastic apps to help out with your day. There are some nice ones for kids, for teachers, and for the parents. These apps are mostly for the iPhone and iPad, made by Apple. It seems like we have an app for just about everything.

Do you have a favorite to add to the list?

1. Skype for iPad – Skype Software S.a.r.l — With Skype you can chat or videochat with friends for free if you’re both using Skype. Skype also has packages for small fees.

2. Meter Readings – Graham Haley — Closely monitor your meter readings and try to save money.

3. AroundMe – Attorno A Me S.R.L. — Helps to find gas stations and other places but you need a GPS device to allow this.

4. PocketMoney – checkbook, budgets, expenses – Catamount Software — Track your finances with this app.

5. 1Password for iPhone – Agile Web Solutions — Have you ever forgotten a password?

6. MapQuest 4 Mobile – AOL, Inc. — Your phone speaks to you, telling you when to make a turn. Easily search with a single click while on the go. Stay on schedule by checking live traffic en route. If you take a wrong turn, MapQuest re-routes you automatically. Download the FREE app today!

7. Pulse News for iPhone – Alphonso Labs Inc — A revolutionary news reading application.

8. Pulse News for iPad – Alphonso Labs Inc — A revolutionary news reading application.

9. Reeder – Silvio Rizzi — Great Google reader app.

10. Movies by Flixster, with Rotten Tomatoes – Free – Flixster — Movie Ratings and Reviews, Movie Trailers, Clips, and more.

11. Dropbox – Dropbox — Dropbox is a free service that lets you bring your photos, docs, and videos anywhere and share them easily.

12. Yelp – Yelp — User Reviews and Recommendations of Top Restaurants, Shopping, Nightlife, Entertainment, Services and More.

13. Wunder Radio – Weather Underground — WunderRadio plays thousands of streaming internet radio streams over your mobile device, enabling users to search for radio stations by worldwide locations.

14. Rhapsody – Rhapsody International Inc. — Rhapsody is the digital music service that allows you to listen all you want from wherever you are.

15. Doodle Jump – BE WARNED: Insanely Addictive! – Lima Sky — Doodle Jump is an electronic game developed and published by Lima Sky.

16. Angry Birds Rio – Rovio Mobile Ltd. — Angry Birds Rio version.

17. Cut the Rope – Chillingo Ltd — Cut the Rope is one of the most original and fun-filled games.

18. textPlus SILVER Free Text + Group Texting – GOGII — You can text for free sending text and pictures.

19. NYTimes for iPad – The New York Times Company — Read The New York Times on your iPad.

20. Dayta – Sahil Lavingia — Uses graphs and charts to analyze your data.

21. myHomework – Rodrigo Neri — Keep track of your homework by class, type of homework, and other items.

22. ScoreCenter XL – ESPN — Get the latest scores and info.

23. Teacher’s Assistant Pro: Track and Report Student Actions, Achievements, and Behavior – Lesson Portal, LLC — Keep tabs of your students and their behavior.

24. Read2Go – Benetech — Directly from within the Read2Go app, Bookshare members can find, download, and read books all on a single Apple device.

25. Motion Math Zoom – Motion Math — Motion Math creates fun learning games that let kids play with numbers.

26. Roxie’s Doors – OCG Studios — The award-winning storybook Doors, by Roxie Munro, is now available as a lift the flap 3-D search book.

27. ScreenChomp – TechSmith Corporation — Share a great idea… Explain a tricky concept… Help kids with their homework.

28. Historypin – We Are What We Do — Historypin is the place where people come together to share their historical pictures and stories.

29. WordWit – Ballpoint Inc — Refresh or improve your knowledge with hundreds of the most commonly misused words paired with their evil twins.

30. Kids can read- Barney The Dog – Kids Place — Join Barney the dog as he contemplates about his future profession in an interactive, intuitive and fun book for kids of all ages.

31. Flipboard – Flipboard Inc. — Flipboard is a fast, beautiful way to flip through the news, photos, videos, and updates your friends are sharing on Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, Flickr, and Instagram.

32. Google Earth – Google — Google Earth lets you fly anywhere on Earth to view satellite imagery, maps, terrain, 3D buildings, from galaxies in outer space to the canyons of the ocean.

33. Quickoffice® Pro – Quickoffice, Inc. — Access, create, edit, and share Microsoft® Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations.

34. Pandora Radio – Pandora Media, Inc. — Pandora Radio is your own FREE personalized radio now available to stream music on your iPhone.

35. Kindle – AMZN Mobile LLC — Free Kindle Reading Apps for your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, and Android phone.

36. Amazon Mobile – AMZN Mobile LLC — The Amazon Mobile App allows iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch users to quickly search, shop, compare prices, read reviews, and make purchases on Amazon.

37. Facebook – Facebook, Inc. — Facebook for iPhone makes it easy to stay connected and share information with friends.

38. Twitter – Twitter, Inc. — Stay connected with your Twitter friends.

39. Google+ – Google — Join friends with Google+.

40. Words With Friends – Newtoy Inc. — Experience for yourself why more than 20 million people are addicted to the word building, triple score seeking, chat bubble sending goodness of Words With Friends.

41. The Weather Channel® – The Weather Channel Interactive — Get a check of the weather with this app.

42. Dragon Dictation – Nuance Communications — Dragon Dictation is an easy-to-use voice recognition application

43. Barcode Scanner – BahnTech — Always find the lowest price ~ Top rated app!

44. PDF Reader Pro – YUYAO Mobile Software, Inc. — This one makes a good PDF reader on your iPhone.

45. Angry Birds – Clickgamer.com — Angry Birds paid version.

46. NOAA Weather Radio – Christopher Coudriet — National Weather Service in your pocket!

47. 5-0 Radio Police Scanner Lite (Free) – New & Popular — Tap into the largest collection of live police, firefighters, aircraft, railroad, marine, emergency, and ham radios. Be the first to know about important news, events, or any major crime waves happening in your town.

48. Awesome Note Lite (+To-do/Diary) – BRID — Take notes.

49. Photogene – Omer Shoor — Photogene is about improving your digital photos and having fun while at it.

50. Mint.com Personal Finance – Mint.com — Track, budget and manage your money on-the-go.

51. iBooks – Apple — iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books.

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Family Dollar Sweepstakes (Ends 9/25/11)

By RD Bentley on September 17, 2011 in

Enter for a chance to WIN the Suave Simplifies Sweepstakes — sponsored by Family Dollar.

Grand Prize (1):
•  One Samsung Galaxy Tablet PC™
•  One 8 GB Apple® iPod Nano®
•  One $25 iTunes® Gift Card
•  One $50 Family Dollar Gift Card

First Prize (100):
•  A year’s supply of Suave® products for a family*

Second Prize (5508):
• $10 Family Dollar Gift Card

Program runs 8/26/11-9/25/11.

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