Our task: How does multimedia enhance our messaging? Are certain multimedia techniques more effective than others? Provide examples using multimedia tools and post the links to the blog to support your thinking.
Adding multimedia to a blog or article can significantly enhance its effectiveness and how the story connects with the reader. As Zachary Snideman puts it, "A website without multimedia is like a cupcake without icing: Functional but lacking," (Sniderman 2010). I couldn't agree more. You can still get your point across, but why not add some frosting to hammer it home?
Multimedia such as photos, video, audio, and graphs, can have a tremendous impact on readers, especially those who learn more efficiently with visual tools. For example, when talking about the power and enormous reach social media has, I could simply write that social media is now the number 1 activity on the web! Or I could tell you that 14.4 million people used social media last year to find a job, and that one million new blogs come online every month, (social media Revolution 2014). But, these numbers and dramatic stats may come across more clearly and pronounced in a fast paced graphical video. See below!
I also enjoy when bloggers and writers utilize audio and podcasts to covey and disseminate information. These can easily be embedded into blogs to give readers additional information about topics and links to other sources. Below is an interesting podcast via SoundCloud from AskPat.com which talks about blogging, websites, and other marketing issues that could be helpful to those seeking more information on utilizing multimedia.
Last week I blogged about an L.A. Times writer and blogger who utilized multimedia brilliantly in this article about a unique antique and collectibles store in Los Angeles. The blog utilizes great photos, a photo gallery, a video, and pull quotes which could easily be shared on social media. In my opinion, this was an ideal use of multimedia in a story. The video featured an interview with the eccentric store owner, and shows many more images of his unique collectibles which really gives the reader a sense of almost visiting the store themselves. The use of video I feel is the greatest multimedia tool in regards to providing a different and often times more accurate context of a story. Video I believe is the most effective multimedia tool, but when that's not a viable option, other multimedia like audio and photographs should be utilized whenever possible.
Zachary Sniderman (2010). How to: Add multimedia to your blog. Mashable.
http://mashable.com/2010/07/28/add-multimedia-to-blog/
YouTube (2014). Sociall media 2014 revolution.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYedZth9ArM
Ryan,
ReplyDeleteYour page is very appealing to the eye! I agree with you about multimedia tools driving home the message. The videos you chose were very appropriate and really emphasized the message. That's exactly what multimedia tools are supposed to do.
I like that you embedded the example video "Social Media 2014 Revolution" in your post to illustrate the effectiveness of a video presentation compared to a few lines of easily overlooked statistics in the midst of a paragraph of text.
ReplyDeleteI think redundancy is helpful, too -- the video shouldn't simply *replace* the text-based message as much as *complement* it. I admit that I may miss information in an embedded video, choosing not to click on it as I read through the remainder of the web page.
One feature I took note of in the New York Times multimedia feature "Snow Fall: The Avalanche at Tunnel Creek" was a video that automatically played when the user scrolled to a certain point in the page; that functionality reduces the likelihood of a user scrolling past the video as I described.
Ryan, I like the pictures that you added to your blog. It really makes it connect with readers. I love the fact that you included a podcast that gave information about blogging and websites. I really enjoyed listen to it “Ask Pat.”
ReplyDeleteRyan - You did a great job on this blog post. I like your examples and your point about social media being so popular.
ReplyDelete