Gamification: Does it always work as a motivational tool?

“Scrabble_Gamification” by grahamsholt. (CC BY-NC 2.0)

We might not realise it, but gamification is all around us.

The market is saturated with gamified apps designed to do everything from improving health and wellbeing to keeping track of household chores, helping your children learn to read, and tracking your newborn’s sleeping habits.

While these apps cover a diverse range of topics, they all have one thing in common: they feature gaming elements, even though they are not actually games.

Sailer, Hense, Mandl and Klevers (2013, p.28) define gamification as ‘the use of game elements in non-game contexts to foster motivation’.

They contend gamified apps typically feature key gaming elements such as points, badges, leader boards, progress bars, quests, avatars and profile development (2013, p.30). Furthermore, Sailer et al state gamification usually requires users to set a goal (2013, p.29).

Gamification elements. Created by Laura Michell.

They argue that ‘gamification is supposed to be an effective instrument to foster motivation’ (2013, p.29) and encourage users to complete a task they would otherwise be reluctant to do, noting that such features motivate and engage users by providing positive reinforcement, fulfilling the need for success, fostering feelings of competence and competition, and helping set goals.

One of the most popular uses of gamification is in health and fitness apps- think Couch to 5K and Zombie Run. I took a closer look at one particular app- Drink Water – and how it uses gaming elements to motivate users to stay properly hydrated.

The app requires users to set a daily water consumption goal and offers regular reminders to drink up. Users can determine how frequently reminders appear. The app also features progress bars, badges and timelines outlining your ongoing success (or lack thereof).

The premise behind the app is its gamified elements should motivate you to achieve a goal you’ve been otherwise struggling to conquer.

It aims to do this in a number of ways. The progress bar serves as a visual reminder of your daily progress, while the badges reward you for your hard work and appeal to your need for success. Mekler, Bruhlmann, Tuch and Opwis contend features such as leader boards and badges ‘may afford feelings of competence and hence enhance intrinsic motivation and promote performance gains’ (2017, p.525).

Furthermore, Johnson, Deterding, Kuhn, Staneva, Stoyanov and Hides argue gamification is often used by the health and fitness industry because features such as leader boards, points, badges and progress bars help generate positive user experiences and promote wellbeing, positive emotions, user engagement, meaning and a sense of accomplishment (2016, p.91).

So did the Drink Water app’s gamified elements work for me? Well, no.

I found the presence of the leader board was not enough to encourage me to drink more water each day, nor did the promise of badges for achieving my goal urge me to stay hydrated.

Essentially, the gaming elements included in the app were not enough to motivate me to be successful, and eventually I found the reminders pretty easy to ignore. The app’s features were unable to keep me engaged long enough to achieve my targets.

Johnson et al describe this as a ‘mismatch’ between gamification techniques and users (2016, p.101). They contend it is imperative health and fitness app creators tailor their app’s gamified elements towards their intended audience, ensuring they only feature elements that will appeal to their audience. The concept of a mismatch between audiences and gamification techniques is supported by Mekler et al, who contend the success of gamification depends on the gaming elements deployed and what drives the user to achieve goals – i.e. a need to succeed, the urge to be the best, or a desire to learn more – and ultimately, stay engaged with the app (2017, p.525).

In the case of Drink Water, perhaps the ability to establish a competition with my husband or friends to see who could reach their hydration goals most often over the course of a week, earning the winner bragging rights, might have made a difference to my engagement levels. Or maybe being able to start with small goals and increase them as I achieved each level might have been a more powerful driver of change than a progress bar.

“Gamification Tool” by Emma Chen. (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

Alahaivala and Oinas-Kukkonen further contend the gamification approach is not suitable for everyone, noting that age, gender, experiences with technology and games and lifestyles could impact on the outcome (2016, p.68). Based on this – and  given my historical nonchalance towards gaming – it is likely apps like Drink Water are just not for me.

And, there are several other reasons gamification may not work. Alahaivala and Oinas-Kukkonen contend people need to have the mindset for behavioural change for gamified apps to work (2016, p.67), while also noting that users may respond negatively to attitudinal messages if they are delivered too strongly, thus failing to drive a change in attitude (2016, p.67). While Mekler et al also found that game elements could ‘diminish’ a user’s intrinsic interest – that is what is naturally satisfying to them – and lead them to stop engaging with the application (2017, p.528).

The issue of engagement and maintaining users’ interest is further explored by Koivisto and Hamari (2014). They contend that gamification can only succeed if gaming elements can be used to help users remain engaged with the app. Koivisto and Hamari found ‘perceived usefulness, enjoyment and playfulness’ tends to diminish with time (2014, p.183).  This is definitely an issue I encountered while using Drink Water. Koivisto and Hamari found gamification could have some novelty value, leading to perceptions of usefulness and enjoyment at the start (2014, p.183). However, the app’s usefulness and a user’s enjoyment from it began to fade the longer they used the service, resulting in boredom and ultimately disengagement (2014, p.183).

So while in many instances gamification serves as a motivational tool, helping to keep users engaged and spur them to achieve goals or complete tasks they would otherwise be reluctant to do, it is not failproof solution. There will be instances where gaming elements are not enough to push users towards their goals or help them to achieve a change in habits. However, that doesn’t mean gamification doesn’t have its uses – or a place in society.

References

Alahäivälä, T & Oinas-Kukkonen, H 2016, ‘Understanding persuasion contexts in health gamification: A systematic analysis of gamified health behavior change support systems literature’, International Journal of Medical Informatics, vol. 96, pp. 62-70.

Johnson, D, Deterding, S, Kuhn, K, Staneva, A Stoyanov, S & Hides, L 2016, ‘Gamification for health and wellbeing: A systematic review of the literature’, Internet Interventions, vol. 6, pp. 89-106.

Koivisto, J & Hamari, J 2014, ‘Demographic differences in perceived benefits from gamification’, Computers in Human Behaviour, vol. 35, pp.179-188.

Mekler, ED., Brühlmann, F, Tuch, AN. & Opwis, K 2015, ‘Towards understanding the effects of individual gamification elements on intrinsic motivation and performance’, Computers in Human Behavior, vol. 71, June 2017, pp. 525-534.

Sailer, M, Hense, J, Mandl, H & Klevers, M 2013, ‘Psychological perspectives on motivation through gamification’, Interaction Design and Architecture(s) Journal, no. 19, pp. 28-37.

Creative Commons materials

“Gamification Tool” by Emma Chen. (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

“Scrabble_Gamification” by grahamsholt. (CC BY-NC 2.0)

People watching people

“Facebook Cover Images” by Kobus Faber. (CC By NC 4.0)

The idea of our digital lives being used for surveillance is something that fascinates me.

I think it would be fair to say we are all aware the information we give online can be used by marketing companies to target their advertising towards our interests. In other words, they are surveilling us.

We are likely all aware social media platforms are used by police to track people of interest, or that political parties use social media to garner public opinion- particularly during elections. Again, both forms of surveillance.

But as I began to delve further into digital surveillance, I realised the simple use of social media was in fact surveillance. Using social media to keep tabs on friends, family and acquaintances is social surveillance- and something we all do regularly.

But is social surveillance a good or bad thing?  This is something I wanted to explore in the latest episode of Sociable the podcast.

Professionally, social surveillance has changed how I do my job by making it easier to monitor people with public profiles and learn more about sources.  On a personal level, it helps me stay up-to-date with friends and loved ones.

But a downside to social surveillance is I am conscious that I too am being watched, resulting in the filtering of the information I share online. And I wonder, do other people feel the same way?

So, how did I go about making the podcast?

While I find that creating a podcast gets easier with practise, it also helps to do your research.

Two scholars in particular- Alice Marwick and Mark Andrejevic-formed a significant part of my research for this episode of Sociable, with their articles in the journal Surveillance and Society providing guidance about the pros and cons of social surveillance. Their work is referenced in the podcast to reinforce points raised and to provide the framework and additional talking points in the discussion. Neil Thurman, who has written about social media use by journalists, also helped guide my research into social surveillance by the media.

The episode also features Creative Commons music by From the Dust, which is the same track used in other episodes of Sociable to maintain brand consistency. The podcast incorporates Creative Commons sound effects such as typing and camera clicks to break up the episode and accentuate key points.

Despite having previously recorded a podcast, I encountered a couple of challenges while recording the latest episode. Firstly, it was difficult to find somewhere quiet to record, resulting in several takes. But I persevered, determined to create quality audio to enhance the listener experience. When editing, I found it challenging to layer music and talking tracks in a way that ensured the words weren’t overpowered by the music. But again through trial and error, I found a solution to the problem.

I found creating a podcast to be a rewarding experience, which pushed me outside my comfort zone. And I learnt, that sometimes, a bit of social media sleuthing is OK.

References

Andrejevic, M 2004, ‘The Work of Watching One Another: Lateral Surveillance, Risk and Governance’, Surveillance and Society, vol.2, no. 4, pp.479-497, retrieved 3 January 2020, <https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-and-society/article/view/3359/3322>.

Marwick, AE 2012, ‘The Public Domain: Surveillance in Everyday Life’, Surveillance and Society, vol.9, no.4, pp.378-393, retrieved 5 January 2020, <https://ojs.library.queensu.ca/index.php/surveillance-and-society/article/view/pub_dom/pub_dom>.

Thurman, N 2017, ‘Social Media, Surveillance, and News Work’, Digital Journalism, vol.6, no. 1, pp.76-97, doi: 10.1080/21670811.2017.1345318.

Creative Commons materials

‘Stardust’ by From The Dust, youtu.be/mRBat426QHo. (CC By 3.0)

‘Nikon D800 sequence 5x.wav’ by Hmilleo, https://freesound.org/s/404843/. (CC By 1.0)

‘Keyboard typing’, by Trollarch2, https://freesound.org/s/331656/. (CC By 1.0)

You are what you tweet

“SteupRightUpTweetPoster2” by The Daring Librarian is licensed under CC BY NC 2.0

As a journalist, I pride myself on my reputation and being seen as someone who reports with fairness, accuracy and without bias.

In fact, the MEAA Journalist Code of Ethics instructs journalists to commit to reporting with impartiality and fairness, putting personal opinions and beliefs to one side to ensure they do not taint our reporting.

This is perhaps why I find Twitter to be the most challenging social media platform to use.

On Facebook and Instagram, I am comfortable sharing my personal life and opinions with my family and friends. But this is not the case on Twitter.

The code of ethics are important to journalists. Created by Laura Michell using Canva.

While I use Twitter for work and study, I identify first and foremost as a journalist (as you can see from my Twitter bio). I use the platform to promote my professional brand, and I’m not alone in doing so.

In a 2017 study of the Twitter profiles of more than 4000 Australian journalists, Van Hove, Asdourian and Bourgeois (2018, p.267) found the majority of reporters identified themselves using professional attributes rather than providing personal information.

This is certainly true for me. My Twitter account offers little insight into my personal life as it does not fit with my professional identity. From looking at my Twitter profile, you can easily tell I am a journalist in Melbourne’s northern suburbs. You might even be able to tell I am a communications student. But you are unlikely to work out that I am a mother, a soccer fan or that I wasn’t born in Australia- all details I’m happy to share on other platforms.

So just why have I chosen to only use Twitter for career-related matters? And why does it matter if I write a tweet exposing an opinion? After all, isn’t the whole point of Twitter that you are meant to express views and judgements (Van Hove, Asdourian & Bourgeois, 2018, p.263)?

I mainly use Twitter for sharing news.

Twitter has long been seen as a medium for journalists to break news, connect with sources and promote their stories (Molyneux, Holton & Lewis, 2018). Essentially, journalists use the microblogging site to gain ‘economic and social capital’ (Hanusch & Bruns, 2017, p.26), building on their offline achievements and further enhancing their reputation.

For me, this means the persona I present on Twitter must be aligned with my professional identity. While some journalists have found a way to blend their professional and personal lives on Twitter (Molyneux, Holton & Lewis, 2018, p.387), I prefer to keep content professional. That way, I can limit the damage to my reputation if someone misconstrues what I tweet. The last thing I want is for something I tweet to be construed as a sign of bias or affect my ability to report on an issue with impartiality and fairness. After all, ‘you are what you tweet’ (Lakshmanan, 2017).

With stories like this, I can’t be seen to have an opinion.

Every tweet I send, every account I follow, every post I retweet is done with careful consideration. What message is this tweet sending to the world? What are the implications of following this account? Am I comfortable being seen to support this point of view? These are just some of the questions I find myself asking each time I log on to Twitter. I am acutely aware that the Twittersphere is a very public domain.

I am not the only journalist who censures what they tweet- our entire profession is built on the notion of objectivity- something that has long been viewed as the ‘holy grail’ of journalism (Hanusch & Bruns, 2017, p.27) – and journalists can’t stop being journalists just because they are on Twitter (Van Hove, Asdourian & Bourgeois, 2018, p.271).

My employer also plays a significant role in the creation of my Twitter persona. While I could simply build my identity as a journalist, I have chosen to reference the organisation I work for and provide a link to its website in my bio. I feel this helps add a level of authority and authenticity to my profile, helping to build my reputation.  This means I am also acutely aware that including my employer’s details means I am also representing them on social media.

Created by Laura Michell using Canva.

Van Hove, Asdourian and Bourgeois (2018, p.266 ) state that journalists on social media are viewed as brand ambassadors for the organisation they work for. They contend this means that a journalist’s tweets are not their own, noting that ‘by commenting on news and sharing personal opinions, journalists expose their employers to reputation damage’ (2018, p.271). As Lakshmanan (2017) puts it ‘one sloppy tweet’ can have serious ramifications for myself and my employer.

So what do you think? Am I overthinking it? Do people actually care if journalists put objectivity to one side and share their opinions and judgements with the world? Or should I continue to stick to the journalistic principles and keep my thoughts to myself?

References

Hanusch, F & Bruns, A 2017, ‘Journalistic Branding on Twitter’, Digital Journalism, Vol. 5, no. 1, pp.26-43, DOI: 10.1080/21670811.2016.1152161

Lakshmanan, IAR, 2017, ‘Twitter dustups are a reminder: Journalists, you are what you tweet’, Poynter, 20 September 2017, retrieved 13 December 2019, < https://www.poynter.org/ethics-trust/2017/twitter-dustups-are-a-reminder-jo. (opens in a new tab)”>urnalists-you-are-what-you-tweet/ >.

MEAA 2019, Journalist Code of Ethics, retrieved 13 December 2019, < https://www.meaa.org/meaa-media/code-of-ethics/ >.

Molyneux, L, Holton, A & Lewis, SC 2018, ‘ How journalists engage in branding on Twitter: individual, organizational, and institutional levels’, Information, Communication & Society, Vol. 21, no. 10, pp.1386-1401, DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2017.1314532

Van Hove, F, Asdourian, B & Bourgeois, D 2018, ‘My tweets are (not) my own! “Normalizing” journalists’ branding and digital identity on Twitter’, Popular Communication, Vol. 16, no. 4, pp.263-275, DOI: 10.1080/15405702.2018.1535659

Creative Common material

“SteupRightUpTweetPoster2” by The Daring Librarian is licensed under CC BY 2.0 .

To tweet, or not to tweet?

“Twittering Tweets Mural” by cobalt123 (CC BY 2.0).

Twitter- it seems to be the social media platform that people love to hate. I myself have a love hate relationship with it.

I know you’re thinking “but, you’re a journalist and journalists are meant to LOVE Twitter”, but the reality is I just don’t find it that useful for work. The majority of my paper’s audience prefers Facebook and so I find it a much more useful tool for gauging the interests of the communities I report on.  But that doesn’t mean I’ve given up on Twitter.

“Social Media apps” by Jason Howie( CC BY 2.0 )

It’s fair to say Twitter isn’t Australia’s favourite social media channel- in fact it doesn’t even make the top three according to the 2018 Sensis Social Media Report. According to the report, Facebook is the champion of social media in Oz, with 94 per cent of survey participants saying they use the site. Instagram (46 per cent) and Snapchat (40 per cent) rounded out the top three. Twitter placed fourth, with 32 per cent of those surveyed saying they like to tweet (2018).

This 2016 Guardian report goes someway to explaining why the platform isn’t as loved as others, noting complaints that Twitter has too many arguments and it feels too difficult to join in the conversation. Other people have complained it’s too confusing or creates too much/too little attention (Yadron, 2016).

But it’s not all doom and gloom for Twitter. Hootsuite reports the social media platform’s user base is growing, leading to a comfortable 17 per cent jump in daily active users (Cooper, 2019). And I’m trying to be one of them.

I’ve had a Twitter account since 2011 and for a few years there, I was a regular tweeter. Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t a tweet multiple times a day kind of person, but I had a presence.

I went on maternity leave in 2015 and for a while, I didn’t have the time/didn’t feel inclined to check Twitter. After a while Instagram became my social media of choice (#mumlife).

And so my Twitter account sat there collecting dust until I gave it another crack in 2016.

Full disclosure: I managed four tweets all year.

I didn’t log in again for two years.

But earlier this year I found my way back and this time, I’m trying to make Twitter work for me. While I still don’t find it all that useful for work, it is increasingly useful for my studies.

Trying to take my own advice…

As an off-campus student, I found myself feeling slightly disconnected when I began my studies. But after enrolling in a unit on social media- and being asked to use Twitter to engage with my peers in the unit- I found myself building a little network.

Fast-forward four months and that network has grown a little bit bigger- and I’m starting to believe Schools (2018) when he said Twitter was the ‘dark horse’ of social media.

Sources:

Sensis 2018, Yellow social media report 2018: consumers, viewed 20 November 2019, < https://www.yellow.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Yellow-Social-Media-Report-2018-Consumer.pdf >.

Cooper, P 2019.,25 Twitter Stats All Marketers Need to Know in 2020, Hootsuite, viewed 19 November,< https://blog.hootsuite.com/twitter-statistics/>.

Yadron, D 2016, ‘Why do normal people struggle with Twitter?’, The Guardian, 18 February, viewed 27 November, < https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/18/twitter-problems-jack-dorsey-silicon-valley-technology >.

Schools, D 2018, ‘“I Don’t Get It”: Why Everyone Should Be On Twitter and How to Enjoy It — Even If You Only Have 2 Followers’, Medium, 23 February, viewed 20 November, < https://medium.com/@DaveSchools/i-dont-get-it-why-everyone-should-be-on-twitter-and-how-to-enjoy-it-even-if-you-only-have-2-653ce5dd1c83 >.

“Twittering Tweets Mural” by cobalt123 (CC BY 2.0).

“Social Media apps” by Jason Howie( CC BY 2.0 )

Let’s talk about social media and local government…

Social Media Icons (free vector set)
“Social Media Icons (free vector set)” by George Tsolakidis (CC BY-ND 4.0)

Hands up if you follow your local council on social media? Perhaps you follow their Facebook page to stay up-to-date with local events, or fire off a tweet to report an issue in your neighbourhood. Or maybe you just like to know what’s happening in your suburb. You’re not alone. The age of digital media is making it easier for us to connect with organisations like local governments when we want, in a way that suits us. It’s also changing how councils engage with residents but is this making communication easier or more complicated?

Social media is a ‘useful and powerful tool’ (Fillmore 2012, p.22) which can present local government with myriad ways to communicate with the community. Victorian councils are demonstrating an understanding of the important role social media plays in the effective communication of messages, activities and values through their use of Facebook and Twitter to keep residents up-to-date, while some prefer to showcase all their municipality has to offer on Instagram. Other councils have branched out into YouTube, broadcasting council meetings and advocacy videos.

Councils are using a variety of different social media platforms. Photo: “Social Media Applications – iPhone X” by Salm3n (CC BY 2.0).

Graham, Avery and Park (2015, pp.386-387) contend social media helps local governments to promote services, garner feedback, and results in accountability, improved trust and democracy. Moreover, they found that social media eliminates barriers to communications by making it easier for residents to contact their council (2015, pp.387). As discussed in the latest episode of the Sociable podcast (below), social media is changing how people reach out to their local council. According to City of Whittlesea media and online communication co-ordinator Sarah Oldman (Sociable 2019), the council in Melbourne’s north has recorded an increase in customer service requests via social media. As a result, the council is beginning to widen its use of social media from purely a promotional platform to a customer service channel as well.

Music: From The Dust – Stardust (CC BY 3.0) youtu.be/mRBat426QHo

Another reason social media is beneficial for councils is the ability to reach a wide audience. As shown in the graphic below, the City of Whittlesea has strong followings on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn. This enables the council to interact with a large, diverse and engaged audience.  Furthermore, Oldman (Sociable 2019) says the council’s presence on all four platforms enables it to interact with residents when they want, in the way they want. However, she contends that there is also a downside, with residents expecting immediate responses. Hemsley (2012, p.19) notes this can be problematic for local governments if they have yet to invest time and personnel into social media. Omar, Stockdale and Scheepers (2014, p.667) however perceive this to be a benefit of social media, adding the immediacy of social media interaction promotes personalised engagement and feedback.

Created by Laura Michell using Canva.

Social media can assist councils to distribute information quickly in times of crisis or emergency, as it allows for regular updates to be provided to the community in an easy to access form (Graham, Avery & Park 2015, p.388). It also allows people to ask questions as they arise (Fillmore 2012, p.17). Whittlesea council’s recent use of Facebook to keep residents updated on the recycling crisis affecting 33 councils across Melbourne has been an example of such use of social media in a crisis. The affected councils have been sending their recycling to landfill since July after their recycling contractor, SKM was declared insolvent (Clure 2019). Oldman (Sociable 2019) said that without social media, the council would not be able to provide residents with updates on the situation in a timely manner.

Twitter and Facebook are useful tools for councils in a crisis or emergency. Photo: Twitter/ @_lauramichell_

It appears there are benefits and challenges for councils as they navigate social media and attempt to find new and engaging ways to connect with their communities and streamline their communication efforts.

References

Clure, E 2019, ‘SKM declared insolvent after creditors chase $5.5 million in debts from recycler’, ABC News, 2 August, retrieved 29 August 2019 < https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-02/skm-recycling-declared-insolvent-by-supreme-court-of-victoria/11377446>.

Fillmore, CC 2012, ‘Riding the wave: Social media in local government’, New Hampshire Bar Journal, vol.52, no. 4, pp.16-23.

Graham, MW, Avery, EJ and Park, S 2015, ‘The role of social media in local government crisis communications’, Public Relations Review, vol.41, no.3, pp.386-394.

Hemsley, P 2012, ‘Socialising local government media’, Government News, vol. 32, no. 1, pp.8-19.

Omar, K, Stockdale, R, and Scheepers, H 2014, ‘Social media use in local government: An Australian perspective’, International Journal of Public Administration, vol.37, no. 10, pp.666-675.

Sociable 2019, podcast, Laura Michell, 1 September, retrieved 1 September 2019, <https://soundcloud.com/laura-michell-93834954/sociable-social-media-and-local-government>.


Laura makes a video…

social meida
Photo: Unsplash

Making a video about yourself is not an easy task. There’s numerous challenges to overcome along the way, ranging from nerves to weather and technical issues. And, there’s a lot of decisions to make, such as what should I talk about?

I decided the best way to approach this task was to focus on the thing that has shaped my life for the past decade: journalism.  I started in newspapers 10 years ago on the cusp of the digital age. The first newspaper I worked at had no social media presence and a website that was little more than a platform for sharing stories printed in each edition. So in my video, I wanted to explore how the industry has evolved, how important social media has become and how I have learnt to embrace it over the years.

Next up: who would watch a video such as this? Given the importance newsrooms place on social media, and the increasing need for journalists to demonstrate digital competency, the likely audience for my video would be future employers.  I set out to produce a piece that could help build my reputation as a digital journalist. Therefore it was important I appeared authoritative on the issue of social media in journalism. I felt the best way to achieve this was by sharing examples of my experiences with social media over the years and how my use of platforms has evolved.

Now I had determined the type of video I wanted to create and its purpose, I turned my attention to how I was going to do it.

Initially I was keen to shoot in landmark locations throughout the community I report on, as my community is integral to my job. But I quickly realised this was a terrible idea; the wind destroyed any chance of recording quality audio. So instead, I found myself searching for an appropriate spot to film in my house, which led to problem number two: it seemed every spot I considered was just not right. I envisaged the set being styled for an interview, but each location I tried had a problem: the lighting was terrible; the background too white; or the space was too cramped, placing me in the centre of the screen.

I eventually found a spot where I could play around with the lighting and add to the background, while also remaining off-centre, in keeping with the all important rule of thirds. In creating my set, I wanted to ensure I could display the tools of my trade (a trusty notepad and pen) and a collection of newspapers- as all three items are integral to who I am.

Then there was the matter of engaging with my audience, which I aimed to achieve by looking directly at the lens of the camera, altering my tone, having fun with the recording and leaving them with a question to consider.

With the set decided and 10 or 20 takes under my belt, it was time to edit. I decided to include overlays of stories from my early reporting days to personalise the piece and add another layer of authenticity. I also wanted to include a shot overlooking the community I report on, given its prominence in my day-to-day life. The overlays enabled me to add voiceover audio in the style of a news report. They also proved useful transition tools.

Lastly I selected opening music that is regal and attention-grabbing, like the theme songs for news broadcasts to drive home the focus of the video.

Getting started

Photo: Unsplash

I’ve wrote almost every day for the past 10 years, yet somehow, I had no idea what to write when a teacher for a new unit at uni recommended I start a blog.

You see, for the past 10 years I have been writing about the news- the cold, hard facts (and occasional colourful fun)- about what’s happening in the communities I have had the privilege of reporting on. My opinions haven’t been important. Rather, fairness, balance and accuracy ,and keeping the community in the know have been the end game.

So what do I write about when I don’t have a story to report? I thought about this for a few days before it came to me. Clearly I should write about what I know best- my life. So here it is: my blog on life as a journalist, a student and mother; my blog about the ups and downs of juggling all three roles at the same; my blog about the news I come across that leaves its impact on my life; and my blog about the trials and tribulations of trying to navigate unfamiliar social media (such as blogging and Twitter).

Hope it provides you with some interesting reading!

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