What I've learned after a semester of multimedia journalism

I know this sounds ridiculous coming from someone my age who has grown up using computers, but I kind of hate them. My hatred for computers stems from the fact that I’m not computer savvy. I don’t know how to use them. Honestly, before taking this class I pretty much only used my computer to send e-mails and write papers. I’m not claiming that computers aren’t useful. I use one every single day of my life, but now I see how much more relevant they are in my life now that I can actually use one to do something other that check my facebook.
After having taken this class, I have a new found respect for computers and technology in general. I no longer loathe computers because I’m so proud of the fact that I’m no longer computer illiterate. I have learned how to do so many cool multi-media things that are relevant to the direction in which journalism is now heading. All of the projects we have done on bobcat living are a testament to my growth. I did so many things that I didn’t think I would be able to accomplish. The hardest project for me I think was the first one. I had absolutely no idea how to put our stories into html because I didn’t really know what html was. (Sad, I know) I figured it out eventually with a lot of help from Cindy. My favorite projects were the photo essays and podcasts. The photo essays were cool because they were a creative way to tell a story without using words. I really enjoyed taking all of the pictures and putting the slide show together, even though I’m not a great photographer. The podcasts were fun because I got to interact with a lot of different people that I probably wouldn’t have talked to otherwise. I really like the idea of letting the subjects tell the story themselves.
One of the things that stuck out to the most to me over the course of this class was the prevalence of social networking. I had no idea how much social networking has changed the way we communicate as a society. I realize that social networking has grown to something that is so much bigger than just me checking my friends facebook accounts for new pictures.
I didn’t know blogs are as prevalent as they actual are. I don’t think I realized what blogs were used for before I entered this class and had to contribute to our blog. I am amazed that some people actually make a living doing this. I thought blogs were just something for lonely losers with nothing better to do. Now I understand that they are a huge part of the new journalism.
Also, I predict that Google will have taken over the world by 2013, at the latest, but most likely sooner. Heil Google!