Gawker
By: Annie Li
For those who spend life outside of school on the computer, blogging has become a daily routine in addition to checking emails and hanging out on Facebook. What do blogs offer? They offer the personal and interactive touch that's accessible nowhere else, not to mention the opportunity for anyone, anywhere, to achieve a global audience with a shoestring budget. Fifteen of the Internet’s biggest publications – from Gizmodo to Defamer, are managed by Gawker Media, which also publishes the eponymous Gawker. These websites are where more than 30 million readers stake their territories every month.
The managing editor of the Gawker Media Network is Noah Robischon, who’s been an editor and writer for nine years. His works appear in The New York Times, Business 2.0, Stuff, GQ, People and Entertainment Weekly, where he worked as a senior writer for five years. For those who just happen to watch New York 1 News, he does a Digital Living Review each week.
My Interview with Noah Robischon
1. What inspired you to go into writing and blogging?
I started my career in radio and documentary filmmaking. The lure of online media is that it combines writing, video and sound in new ways.
2. Please share with us your experience with Gawker Media and the things you've learned from being in this job.
It's a world apart from the glacial pace of mainstream media. The days are fast-paced, exciting, and I go home feeling that something has been accomplished.
3. What do you like most about your job?
Working with the editors and writers in our network of blogs.
4. What is the most difficult aspect of your job?
Working with the editors and writers in our network of blogs.
5. Can you give us some insight into your day-to-day life as Managing Editor of Gawker?
This morning I handled a reader complaint, worked with developers on a new design element that will appear on the sidebar of every site, gave an editor notes on yesterday's posts, estimated next month's budget numbers, and created an account for a new writer.
6. What's the best way to get into the writing/journalism field?
Network with peers. Keep pitching yourself and your stories, and don't be afraid of getting turned down.
7. As technology continues to develop, what role do you think blogs and Internet publications will play in the media sphere?
Blogs in some form will be the dominant force in daily news coverage. Readers are already shifting away from print and television to online. It's more participatory and accessible than any other medium.
8. Many people are apprehensive towards information on the Internet due to user-provided content. How does this trend impact your work and industry?
Reader participation is a blessing more than a curse, but it does have drawbacks at times. Still, I prefer having active readers and dealing with those problems than being alienated from readers the way writers are at many print publications.
9. Just for fun, please share a high school memory with us.
I played Scrooge in my HS production of A Christmas Carol.
10. Do you have any advice for the students of Martingrove?
"The best writing is rewriting." - E.B. White.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Friday, September 26, 2008
Manga Review: Do You Want to Try?
Shoujo: Do You Want to Try?
Author: Cha Kyung Hee
Genres: Romance, Drama, YA
Rating: 6/10
I started reading Do You Want to Try? today, and I have to say that I don't mind the style. In fact, after the first chapter, I really started getting into the plotline and the characters. I like the main character, who is assertive and even agressive when the situation calls for it. The main male character is also quite attractive, and as an added bonus, his personality reminds me of Jaewon from Conversations Between Us.
As for the artwork, I'm not going to sing praises about it. I don't like it as much I should (I try to appreciate everything I see in its own style), but let's just say it's similar to (but still a notch below) Hwang Mi Ri's. One of these days, I really wish I would be able to encounter stuff like The Bride of the Watergod or Red River, because even if the plots were horrible (they are not), I'd read them to enjoy the artwork.
Overall, the tone is optimistic, so I'm not really expecting a sad ending. However, it deals with tough school leaderships (which remind me of gangs), and in that way, who knows what can happen? In regards to the story, I think what started off as cliched is no longer as predictable. The interesting parts always stem from originality, and I see the potential for new development. I haven't been able to get my hands on more than perhaps 2 volumes, so I can't say that much more. Check it out when you have the time, but don't expect too much.
The Internet Summary:
When the hot-tempered Han Hye Won accidently insults the handsome jjang of Han Hwa Go, Sun Woo Bin decides to pay her a visit... with his entire motorcycle gang, ready to see some blood. So how does that lead up to a kiss and the infamous captain begging for a date? Do you want to try?
- Annie
Author: Cha Kyung Hee
Genres: Romance, Drama, YA
Rating: 6/10
I started reading Do You Want to Try? today, and I have to say that I don't mind the style. In fact, after the first chapter, I really started getting into the plotline and the characters. I like the main character, who is assertive and even agressive when the situation calls for it. The main male character is also quite attractive, and as an added bonus, his personality reminds me of Jaewon from Conversations Between Us.As for the artwork, I'm not going to sing praises about it. I don't like it as much I should (I try to appreciate everything I see in its own style), but let's just say it's similar to (but still a notch below) Hwang Mi Ri's. One of these days, I really wish I would be able to encounter stuff like The Bride of the Watergod or Red River, because even if the plots were horrible (they are not), I'd read them to enjoy the artwork.
Overall, the tone is optimistic, so I'm not really expecting a sad ending. However, it deals with tough school leaderships (which remind me of gangs), and in that way, who knows what can happen? In regards to the story, I think what started off as cliched is no longer as predictable. The interesting parts always stem from originality, and I see the potential for new development. I haven't been able to get my hands on more than perhaps 2 volumes, so I can't say that much more. Check it out when you have the time, but don't expect too much.
The Internet Summary:
When the hot-tempered Han Hye Won accidently insults the handsome jjang of Han Hwa Go, Sun Woo Bin decides to pay her a visit... with his entire motorcycle gang, ready to see some blood. So how does that lead up to a kiss and the infamous captain begging for a date? Do you want to try?
- Annie
Interview: Kyle MacDonald
One red paperclip
One house
One year
By: Annie Li
Everybody has heard of them – from the 17 year-old millionaire to the 12 year-old novelist. Most people have dreamt of or even came close to realizing these potential achievements, but it’s much easier said than done. Just how many times have you imagined becoming a millionaire overnight, being the CEO of a successful company or starting the next trend in our technologically dependent society? Actually, there’s just one thing from stopping your dreams from coming true.
An idea.
A creative idea that is so powerful and moving that it will undoubtedly sweep everyone off their feet and into an obliviously satisfactory contentment. The red paperclip is an idea of similar magnitudes.
In the hot summer days of 2005, a man named Kyle MacDonald in Montreal had the light-bulb idea of trading one red paperclip that he had sitting on his desk for “something bigger and better”.
He posted this idea on the Internet and the next thing he knew; two people from Vancouver had called him up and were offering to trade a fish pen for the paperclip. He gladly accepted the trade and proceeded to trade the fish pen for an even better object. Thus began his journey to gain objects that were more valuable.
Kyle’s idea began to gain momentum and it was only a matter of time before he gained a one year lease to an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona. He traded this for “an afternoon with Alice Cooper” with an employee of the rock star who saw the apartment deal as her big chance for free rent.
Amazingly, Kyle then traded the afternoon with Alice Cooper for a snow globe, which seemed quite insignificant at the time, but proved itself to be worthy when it garnered a role in a movie. The trade was made with Corbin Bernsen, an American actor who happened to be one of the biggest snow globe collectors on the planet. In return for the snow globe, Kyle received one paid, credited and speaking role in a film by Public Media Works, room and board during filming and return airfare from anywhere in the world.
At this point, you might wonder, was Kyle satisfied? What more could he have wanted? Well, his bartering wasn’t over just yet. During the whole process, his one and only goal was a house. Since he wasn’t rich enough to buy a house with a snap of his fingers, he proceeded to achieve it through another way. Approximately one year from the emergence of his idea, his dream came true when he was offered a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan for the movie role. In fact, he was even given the Key to the Town of Kipling. Kyle immediately accepted it.
The manifestation of the concept of the one red paperclip received a swarm of media attention, and a large number of people tracked his progress online. It was an inspirational idea in which people were attracted to it as moths to a flame. In the end, one seemingly unimportant idea had blossomed into a life-sized reality for not only Kyle MacDonald, but also for those whose lives had been touched by his venture.
Needless to say, it’s possible that one of your own far-off fantasies might spring to life, and all you need is a key to unlock it. So when you feel like an anchor plowing through the depths of the seafloor while your ship sails on overhead, use your mind a little more, and perhaps your next inconsequential thought just might be that key.
My Interview with Kyle MacDonald
1. What gave you the idea of one red paperclip?
It was actually morphed from a game that I played when I was young. It was based on the same concept: asking for better things to trade than what you had in the beginning. When I saw that red paperclip just sitting there, I decided to try the idea online. As you can see, it turned out pretty well.
2. During your trades, you traded one afternoon with Alice Cooper for one snow globe, why?
It was actually prearranged.
3. So you knew that if you traded the afternoon for a snow globe, Corbin Bernsen would trade with you afterwards?
Yes. I had already planned out the next trade.
Note: That really surprised me. No wonder he did something like that, and I thought it was only a stroke of luck!
4. Can you give us some insights regarding your trading experience?
It was an extremely fun experience; I got to meet many people. In the end, I think it made a lot of people happy, which is what matters.
5. What did you aspire to be when you were in high school?
I had no idea – I still don’t. It was just finishing up school and seeing what life was willing to offer.
6. How has the one red paperclip made an impact on your life?
Well, now I’ve got high school reporters from Toronto calling me up. Haha. There was a lot of media attention. I would get recognized while walking down the street or just going about. I have a new house now, and it’s a pretty sweet story to tell. Though since so many people know about it, just a mention of the red paperclip and they’d go “you’re the red paperclip guy?” It made a lot of things happen in my life that wouldn’t have otherwise.
7. Do you have any advice for the students of Martingrove?
My biggest advice would be to keep your options open. It’s good to have one goal and know the one thing that you want to do, but make sure that you have back up plans. A lot of people walk out of the school with their mind made up of what they want to do for the rest of their lives, but that type of thing almost always changes. So be open-minded about the opportunities that are in front of you and be aware that you should hope more while expecting less.
One house
One year
By: Annie Li
Everybody has heard of them – from the 17 year-old millionaire to the 12 year-old novelist. Most people have dreamt of or even came close to realizing these potential achievements, but it’s much easier said than done. Just how many times have you imagined becoming a millionaire overnight, being the CEO of a successful company or starting the next trend in our technologically dependent society? Actually, there’s just one thing from stopping your dreams from coming true.
An idea.
A creative idea that is so powerful and moving that it will undoubtedly sweep everyone off their feet and into an obliviously satisfactory contentment. The red paperclip is an idea of similar magnitudes.
In the hot summer days of 2005, a man named Kyle MacDonald in Montreal had the light-bulb idea of trading one red paperclip that he had sitting on his desk for “something bigger and better”.
He posted this idea on the Internet and the next thing he knew; two people from Vancouver had called him up and were offering to trade a fish pen for the paperclip. He gladly accepted the trade and proceeded to trade the fish pen for an even better object. Thus began his journey to gain objects that were more valuable.
Kyle’s idea began to gain momentum and it was only a matter of time before he gained a one year lease to an apartment in Phoenix, Arizona. He traded this for “an afternoon with Alice Cooper” with an employee of the rock star who saw the apartment deal as her big chance for free rent.
Amazingly, Kyle then traded the afternoon with Alice Cooper for a snow globe, which seemed quite insignificant at the time, but proved itself to be worthy when it garnered a role in a movie. The trade was made with Corbin Bernsen, an American actor who happened to be one of the biggest snow globe collectors on the planet. In return for the snow globe, Kyle received one paid, credited and speaking role in a film by Public Media Works, room and board during filming and return airfare from anywhere in the world.
At this point, you might wonder, was Kyle satisfied? What more could he have wanted? Well, his bartering wasn’t over just yet. During the whole process, his one and only goal was a house. Since he wasn’t rich enough to buy a house with a snap of his fingers, he proceeded to achieve it through another way. Approximately one year from the emergence of his idea, his dream came true when he was offered a house in Kipling, Saskatchewan for the movie role. In fact, he was even given the Key to the Town of Kipling. Kyle immediately accepted it.
The manifestation of the concept of the one red paperclip received a swarm of media attention, and a large number of people tracked his progress online. It was an inspirational idea in which people were attracted to it as moths to a flame. In the end, one seemingly unimportant idea had blossomed into a life-sized reality for not only Kyle MacDonald, but also for those whose lives had been touched by his venture.
Needless to say, it’s possible that one of your own far-off fantasies might spring to life, and all you need is a key to unlock it. So when you feel like an anchor plowing through the depths of the seafloor while your ship sails on overhead, use your mind a little more, and perhaps your next inconsequential thought just might be that key.
My Interview with Kyle MacDonald
1. What gave you the idea of one red paperclip?
It was actually morphed from a game that I played when I was young. It was based on the same concept: asking for better things to trade than what you had in the beginning. When I saw that red paperclip just sitting there, I decided to try the idea online. As you can see, it turned out pretty well.
2. During your trades, you traded one afternoon with Alice Cooper for one snow globe, why?
It was actually prearranged.
3. So you knew that if you traded the afternoon for a snow globe, Corbin Bernsen would trade with you afterwards?
Yes. I had already planned out the next trade.
Note: That really surprised me. No wonder he did something like that, and I thought it was only a stroke of luck!
4. Can you give us some insights regarding your trading experience?
It was an extremely fun experience; I got to meet many people. In the end, I think it made a lot of people happy, which is what matters.
5. What did you aspire to be when you were in high school?
I had no idea – I still don’t. It was just finishing up school and seeing what life was willing to offer.
6. How has the one red paperclip made an impact on your life?
Well, now I’ve got high school reporters from Toronto calling me up. Haha. There was a lot of media attention. I would get recognized while walking down the street or just going about. I have a new house now, and it’s a pretty sweet story to tell. Though since so many people know about it, just a mention of the red paperclip and they’d go “you’re the red paperclip guy?” It made a lot of things happen in my life that wouldn’t have otherwise.
7. Do you have any advice for the students of Martingrove?
My biggest advice would be to keep your options open. It’s good to have one goal and know the one thing that you want to do, but make sure that you have back up plans. A lot of people walk out of the school with their mind made up of what they want to do for the rest of their lives, but that type of thing almost always changes. So be open-minded about the opportunities that are in front of you and be aware that you should hope more while expecting less.
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