This week I found an interesting interactive map USAToday.com posted on their website. When I scrolled down the left hand side of the page, I found a 2008 Census Map in which you can scroll over each state and a bubble will pop up with the population of that state. In addition to seeing that state's total population, you can chose what category of population you are looking to find out about. For example, you can see how many foreign-born American citizens are in each state or the average household income of that state. To see the interactive map, click here.
I found this map to be a great idea. It really turns all the numbers and stats into a visual. You can literally picture which states are more densley populated just in the color scheme. Also, the interactive nature of the map adds a fun, kinesthetic dynamic to it. The graphic was created by USA Today's Anthony DeBarros, Jack Gillum, Barbara Hansen, Paul Overberg and Juan Thomassie.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
USAToday.com weekly report
One thing I found interesting about USAToday.com is how the web layout, design and colors are consistent with the actual dead tree version. When I think of a USA Today paper, the first thing that comes to mind is color, graphics, diagrams and large pictures.
Well, the home page of their online version is just that. Lots of color, one large photo, then a selection of many photos. Another technique I found consistent with USA Today's style is the sectioning of the home page. They use several squares or blocks to demonstrate a different section on the page. This can be effective for those who need grouping to navigate easily. The only problem for me is that the eye does not easily scan the page left to right and it forces your eye to jump around the page to find what you want. Maybe this is more effective considering some say web readers read differently.
TROMP, a cultural look at street accidents
Members of the Cambridge City Council, the Cambridge School Department, and the Cambridge Police Department gathered on the steps of Cambridge City Hall, to support the cause known as the Travel Responsibility Outreach and Mentoring Project.
The non-profit, citizen-lead initiative promotes a safer and more respectful traffic environment through four phases they call orientation, education, warning and enforcement.
Following positive reception by Mayor Denise Simmons and other elected officials, Gina Tempesta, a TROMP board member and WBZ radio traffic reporter, announced the official start of the educational phase of the project. They will reach out to different sectors of Cambridge’s communities with information and training on appropriate travel behavior.
According to TROMP’s website, members will get the information out through public service announcements on local TV and radio, YouTube and Twitter. The site also shows that TROMP will have notices sent home from schools, informational packets given at car inspections, as well as add reminders in all City mailings.TROMP has been working with the Cambridge Police Department to get law enforcement involved. According to Matt Shuman, TROMP public relations representative, the plan is not to scold, it is to “reinforce good behavior.” He gave the example of a policeman escorting a jaywalker to the crosswalk and having a conversation about how jaywalking can upset traffic.
Lieutenant Jack Albert of the Traffic Enforcement Unit, said “there is no negative to this at all” as the community effort helps law enforcement as well as reduce accidents. “When I was a kid in Cambridge, they did a lot of training with kids as far as bicycle safety, crossing the tracks safety,” he said, adding that Cambridge needs to continue educating, “it’s the lack of courtesy that really surprises me.”
Albert also added that the initiative needs to spread itself nation wide once it is locally established because an outsider may come into Cambridge not understanding what TROMP is or what the values behind it are.
The idea for TROMP came from the founder and President of the Dance Complex in Cambridge, Rozann Kraus. Several who spoke on Monday, including City Council Reeves, said she got organized to form TROMP after her son was hit by a car. Kraus said that although “it makes a nice story for people,” it is not true. It just happened to be a coincidence that she was a member of the Cambridge Pedestrian Committee when the accident happened.
Instead, Kraus says that TROMP was born from watching many similar grass roots initiatives around her quickly lose support, she wants to create something that will thrive on its own. Today, TROMP is a non-profit organization that, according to Tempesta, receives its funding from grant money and donations only.
“It has to start somewhere, but at the same time it has to start everywhere,” said Kraus, referring to how the effort depends on the collaboration of all citizens of all commuting capacities, “everybody who travels has to understand everybody else who travels.”
Thursday, September 17, 2009
From my old Word Press Blog
USAToday.com and video
September 16, 2009 at 4:56 pm
I didn’t understand USAToday.com’s use of video. I was browsing the website to get a feel for what types of features are offered. Seeing as video is one of the highest visited areas online, I was curious to see how they have incorporated video. I was highly disappointed to be honest.
When you click on “videos,” it takes you to a page where videos are just automatically streamed. Rather than giving readers the option to click on different videos of their choice, they begin by streaming the videos. You have to scroll down to then browse the options. As a web user, I like to be able to make choices, and I like it when they are listed in such a way that is attractive, easy on the eyes, and logical.
In addition, the videos were actually AP’s work, which is a common strategy by USA Today. However, I would like to see some more original looking work like that of the NYTimes.com that is eye-catching and shows us USAToday.com’s potential. This is not to say they cannot use wire news services, but some more original work would show readers that USAToday.com is a legitimate and well rounded, news source.
USAToday.com versus print at a glance
September 9, 2009 at 4:37 pm
When comparing USAToday.com and competing print papers, there is not a world of difference when it comes to the writing, however when taking a closer look at the details that come with the articles–photos and reader interaction– the online version of the articles have a lot more to offer. To exemplify this, I compared the way USAToday.com covered Obama’s “back to school” speech to how The New York Times, The Boston Globe and USA Today covered it in print.
Essentially the writing was the same, they stated the facts and the controversies, however there were a lot more “amenities” that came with the online version. On the USAToday article were a link to a video of the speech, a link to The Oval–a USAToday.com blog that follows the news about Obama’s administration–and finally, a link to Faith&Reason–a blog that deals with “conversations about religion, spritituality and ethics.” Those three links enabled the online paper to generate more talk about the much debated speech and faster.
The speech happened on Tuesday, the Tuesday print papers could only speculate that morning. The New York Times, The Boston Globe and USA Today all wrote about what would be covered (USA Today literally just published a trancript), while USAToday.com was able to create a forum and live blogging, reeling in more reader interaction. The speed of the internet though has always been an obvious advantage to online publications, so it comes as no surprise that USAToday.com could provide readers with speed and linkes. The print versions were able to involve readers, but only in their Wednesday edition of the paper, in the op ed column.
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