Happy Autumn and I Love "Web 2.0"

It's been awhile since I've posted, but I finally have motivation to do so: NeighborMedia participants are now banging out the media! Check it out at www.cctvcambridge.org/neighbormedia

Wondering why there are so many text-only blog entries and not as much video or audio or even images? Well, we're working on it. Most of our citizen journalists, though, are reporters first and media-makers second, and even if they get up to the phase of shooting video, it takes awhile for anyone to get familiar with digital editing enough to actually submit their finished products. In meeting with one of our citizen journalists, I showed her how to take pictures with her cell phone and even record audio with it, which will be great tools that will let her avoid having to take out a videocamera or one of our old-school still cameras every time she wants to get a little media other than text.

As far as the youth go..It finally occurred to me that the best tool for video distribution and outreach at Cambridge Rindge and Latin High School is...drumroll please....

Facebook! I was very excited when one of the students started a Facebook group, and then the lightbulb went off in my head that this is the way to get more people involved in the show. It's hard to imagine that any of them actually watch Cambridge Educational Access channels 98 and 99, so once we post the video online, we'll Facebook message all 40+ people in the Youth View Cambridge group with the link to the video on the CEA website.

For other Web 2.0 tools we're experimenting with for youth, check out a recent blog entry of mine at http://www.cctvcambridge.org/node/1923

Want to see the first episode of Youth View Cambridge when it goes up? Join the facebook group! No, students can't access social networking sites like Facebook from the HS or media arts studio. But, it's OK, 'cause we all know how much time they spend "facebooking" (myself included) from home.