Are WordPress, Blogger the next Angelfire and Geocities?

In the late 1990s, a host of Web sites democratized the Internet, giving the average Internet-user the chance to have his own online home.

In 2003, MySpace used the model and brought in a new age of social networking.

Last week I posted that MySpace is on the way out, and briefly mentioned that WordPress and Blogger are taking over the role of providing free, easy-to-manipulate Web presences.

Does that make them the next Angelfire or Geocities? Are they just another trend ready to be overcome?

Disclaimer: transparency on a journalist Web site

I have a disclaimer page on this Web site now.

Last week I wrote about my writing a letter on behalf of a mentor of mine. He is leaving my alma mater Temple University after being pressured out. This is a subject about which I have a personal investment.

All journalists should use their personal Web sites as a place to be as transparent as possible about just such an example of potential bias.

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In Washington D.C. for Obama inauguration, Franklin birthday

I am going to the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C. tonight, to get settled and look around town, where I will be covering the inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday.

More on that to come.

Obama left yesterday from Philadelphia to head to D.C., also making a stop in Delaware. Leaving from Philadelphia is a historic nod to past presidents, like Abraham Lincoln, and fittingly landed on the 303rd anniversary of the birth of Philly’s favorite founding father: Ben Franklin.

Celebrate that below.

Continue reading In Washington D.C. for Obama inauguration, Franklin birthday

Really, how crowded is the inauguration going to be?

Tomorrow I’ll be in D.C. to cover the presidential inauguration of Barack Obama on Tuesday.

It seems it’s all anyone is talking about in a way no inaguration in my short life – even the first inauguration of Bill Clinton, another young Washington outsider popular with young people.

Folks in D.C. are already complaining of the growing crowds. There might not be enough public toilets.  I filed a story for CampusProgress.org suggesting this inauguration may not only be the largest, but also might have more college students than ever before (perhaps disinegnous because there are more American college students today than ever).

But will the cold and these calls of crowd drop that total? Check here for details and for updates, check my Twitter account, where I hope to link to photos via Twitpic.

Photo courtesy of RPG.

Blavatar, banner for ChristopherWink.com

Mark this off the list of simple things I wanted to get done for this site.

I made the above banner, though I don’t have plans for using it as a header. Rather, it’ll serve its purpose as a focus when I need one, in places like on my blogging experience page. Something that no site in the world needs but will get action if it exists.

Continue reading Blavatar, banner for ChristopherWink.com

A German nod to ChristopherWink dot com for young journalists

Courtesy of Marcus Bösch.

I’m always surprised and really proud to see my unique visitors and subscriptions increasing and love nothing more than a fresh comment to help create a dialogue I try to highlight on this site.

Now, that has happily been a fairly regular occurrence for a good portion of this site’s one-year plus existence. Still, sometimes something happens that makes me smile, and, really, helps me to remain appreciative and in awe of the power of the Internet.

As I first Tweeted last week, a German blogger named Marcus Bösch linked to this site (danke!), suggesting aspiring young journalists – who speak some English – should check out my feed.

Continue reading A German nod to ChristopherWink dot com for young journalists

Disclosures

This is where I will post any potential biases or conflicts of interest. I do not feel the below work or relationships cloud my ethics as a journalist, but transparency is of the utmost importance.

If you have any questions or comments, contact me here. To see a more complete list of my work and professional experiences here.

  • I have contributed to uwishunu.com, an arts and entertainment blog for Philadelphia, that is a product of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism and Marketing Corp.
  • I worked with Eugene Martin, a filmmaker and Temple University professor, and he became a mentor of mine from January 2007 onward.
  • I volunteered at the Village of Arts and Humanities in the Fairhill neighborhood of central North Philadelphia from January 2007 to May 2008.
  • I have worked and volunteered in a variety of schools and programs administered by the Philadelphia School District, including, but not limited to, Freire Charter School and the Franklin Learning Center, between January 2005 and My 2008.
  • I reported for the Philadelphia Inquirer from December 2005 to May 2006 and again during summer 2008.
  • I attended Temple University and was involved in a variety of organizations, most notably The Temple News, from August 2004 to May 2008.
  • I have been politically registered as an Independent, affiliated with no political party, since spring 2004, when I first registered to vote.

I have listed the above facts because some may think they could affect my ability to fill my roll as a freelance journalist and blogger here.

On this professional site, I blog about being a young freelance journalist in Philadelphia – with central themes on pitching, writing, researching, networking and happenings in cities everywhere.

Creative Commons License

ChristopherWink.com by Christopher Wink is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United States License.

So late in claiming this site, others on Technorati

I am at least one year behind in claiming this site on Technorati.

I’ll bet you’re in one of two camps: either you think it’s ridiculous I’m only now understanding this process or you have no idea what I am talking about.

And, believe me, either way there’s a good chance you’re not going to care about this. But if you have a blog, a Web site or, Hell, I don’t know, a LiveJournal account, you ought to sign on to Technorati and “claim it.” So, come on, learn something if you are somehow even more behind in this than I was.

Because “claiming” your blog is for reasons I always vaguely knew but didn’t really understand, nor did I act on until just on Friday.

Continue reading So late in claiming this site, others on Technorati