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POST 1:

Have you ever been online looking for information on a recent news topic and been overwhelmed with trying to decide which news website to go to that will give you the best information? I know I have. Have you ever found news websites hard to maneuver around, and just too busy and unorganized? I know I have. And have you ever wished there was a way to consolidate all the information you wanted to know into ONE site? I definitely have.
Newser answers all of the questions. It was founded by Michael Wolf a few years ago, the earliest news seeming to have been provided in early 2007. It was founded on the basis that with hundreds of news sites online, how can a reader decipher what they should be reading? Newser prides itself on dissecting all of the various news websites and finding the most important and influential news at the time. On top of this, the editors and contributors compile summaries of the news they feel is the most significant, basically making news very comprehensible as well as fast and easy to read, “Read less, know more.” Newser is also unique. It takes articles from unknown websites and makes them more noticeable in the “Off the Grid” section.
The great thing for Newser is there competition only lies in all of the other news websites out there. Why is this great? Because Newser is the only site that incorporates all of the websites from Wall Street Journal, BBC, and Washington Post, to People and TMZ. Their competition is very limited because of how hard they work to integrate the most important news from all of the various news websites people look at on a daily basis. The Newser staff stresses that they work hard to offer news that is free of bias, and reading the summaries regarding certain news topics the reader can tell that they are making a large effort to only report the facts of daily news. Every day there around 100 news briefs added. The home page is set up in a grid from, with each block having a news story with a picture and headline. Newser gives a 21st century twist different from regular online news by adding unique images and video clips to One of the things that I found most distinctive and interesting about this tool is that you can customize it to only show the news that you are interested in. You can say how often you want the “News Grid” to be updated, as well as control the amount of stories you want to be able to see at once.
The widget itself can show up to nine stories at a time and you can customize it at any point to include what you want to be seeing more of. Newser has done well because its user base is extremely broad. Entertainment news, political and economic news, international news, and incorporating social issues make this a site that is useful for almost anyone. On top of this, their slogan of “Read less, know more,” is going to gain the attention of people like me who want to read about important things in the news, but either don’t have time or don’t want to have to sift through pages upon pages of news to find what I am looking for. Instead I want to have brief yet concise information about the issue at hand, and that is what Newser does.


http://www.newser.com/



POST 2:

Newser made finding information on the Israel and Palestine conflict extremely easy. There is a section on Newser titled “Sections” in which each category of topics is there. The topics that apply to this conflict are “Politics” and “World”. When you click on these topics Newser supplies you with the most recent and popular information from hundreds of news websites. When I clicked on these sections I began to sift through the headlines and see if there was anything that applied to Israel and Palestine, but this takes time, and it is more for people who are just looking to find general information about things going on around the world. So instead I just searched “Israel Palestine”. In doing this there were over one hundred hits related to this topic from an array of news sources. New York Times, Daily Telegraph, Los Angeles Times, Associated Press, and that is only to name a few. On top of this, there is a summary under each of the headlines that tells you exactly what is discussed in the article, and I found some of the best briefings I have ever seen. After clicking on the one headline, “Israel Turns Right-And Away From America”, I read the summary and then found that on top of this, if the summary wasn’t enough for me, there was the link so that I could go read the actual article on the Associate Press website. After reading the summary, at the bottom of the page there was a button that said “Receive email alerts for: Israel Palestine.” Newser is very organized, and is set up in a way to allow a user to customize it in a way that no other news-based website permits.
Newser really does give the facts, and only the facts. The summaries are not only specific and detailed, but they are more helpful than reading an article in a newspaper that has so much rhetoric that it takes too much time to understand the point the writer is trying to make. It does something no other news site does, it gives you the information that YOU want to read about. Newser doesn’t create its own news, it takes from other news websites but gives you the information in a straightforward and direct way, and more importantly is easy to comprehend. Newser is designed for readers to get news in a faster and more efficient manner, and I have used Newser to find information on Israel and Palestine in this way. I like feeling in control of what I read, and being able to customize what I see and what I don’t. The organization and incorporation of such a plethora of news sites makes this a tool I will continue to use for a very long time, even for the purpose of just getting quick information on random news across the world to stay informed.

http://www.newser.com/

Newser

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COMMENT POST:

In the slide show I outlined exactly what Newser is. Compared to other widgets out there, I don't feel like Newser has very many flaws. It would be considered a relatively new tool since it has only been around for a few years, but it is one that has developed extremely quickly. The support it has by big name companies, as well as prominent news sites demonstrates how much of an asset people consider it to be. It has definitely been helpful to me with regards to my recent research on Israel and Palestine, but on top of that it has made it so much easier to find what I am looking for.
This isn't just a widget that I found, I actually use it on a daily basis. The concept of Newser is extremely creative. I used to have "The WallStreet Journal" as my homepage, and now I just use Newser. Most importantly, the ability to keep the summaries relatively unbiased and direct is exactly what I want from the news, and that is what Newser supplies.
Being in control of what you read and see is something I feel like everyone looks for. The way Newser is organized, it is fun to be able to pick and choose exactly what news you view, and more importantly which websites you want to be seeing news from.
I would recommend Newser to absolutely anyone. It is a beneficial source of information for a large amount of people. This tool is only going to continue to grow and become more popular as time goes by.

Read less. Know more.

Pageflake Tour

http://www.pageflakes.com/dmdraper/25985759


My pageflake is organized in a way that people looking through it would just think, “Crisis”. The war between Israel and Palestine is one plagued by crisis, and most of the sites that I found most influential and interesting are ones that focus on the day by day issues surrounding the war. I tried to put myselves in the page of a random person browsing my pageflake, would I be able to maintain their interest for long enough to have them want to continue looking for my feeds? I have a few news websites that I added to my pageflake. The ones that I included consistently have had thought provoking articles and headlines regarding the conflict. “Israeli West Bank mines ‘illegal’”, “Gaza Crisis,” these types of headlines are consuming many internet news sites daily. BBC as well as World News Report were two of the feeds that I added to my pageflake because of the validity of the conflict I felt it had regarding this war.
I also added some feeds purely for informational purposes. If I were someone looking for an array of information regarding such a prominent war, I would want to at least be able to read about what has gone on since the start of the conflict, especially if this were the first time I was researching such an extensive topic.
I included a variety of bibliographic references in Citeline. Each reference reflects a different aspect of the war that I feel is pertinent and of extreme importance. There are social, political, and economic facets of the war reflected in the combination of books as well as journals annotated in bibliography. I think that with regards to media coverage, and what is shared with the international public in general, there is not enough focus given to the long term affects that this war is having on the people within these regions. American government as well as international leaders wonder why their public is naïve with regards to international conflicts, and it is because not enough TRUE information is shared with public so that they are able to form their own opinions. There is more time spent analyzing the dresses worn to red carpet events on the news, than there is discussing what is going to happen in areas like Israel and Palestine. Because of this I chose feeds that were attention grabbing as well as informational, and thought provoking.
The blogs that I included were only ones that I actually view on a regular basis. The two are also polar opposite focuses. One is based primarily on the social disarray this war is causing, while the other is concerning the political turmoil that the war has brought.
The toughest thing I faced when constructing my pageflake was what words to type into the “Universal Blog Search”. This is not a topic that is easy to find a variety of blogs on, and especially when it is so specific. After trying every possible combination of Israel and Palestine that I could concoct, I instead decided to type in “gaza war”, in doing so I proceeded to find interesting hits about the war that is going on now. Since there is so much recent activity in Gaza, it made sense that this would be something people would want to be discussing.
The way in which I constructed my pageflake was so that when people walk away from reading it, they feel much better informed and even more interested about a conflict that is affecting more people than some would imagine. The concept of a pageflake was new territory for me, but the capabilities and opportunities to find and share things with others is really appealing, and at times almost addicting.

-Decibel

Social Bookmarking Soul Mate

I was happily surprised after a great deal of searching that I was able to find a social bookmarking soul mate. The process of finding a soul mate though, was much more intense than I thought it would be. Because the Israel Palestine War is a very specific topic rather than a more generic matter, finding similar tag interests to other people took a lot more time. I searched every possible variation of the Israeli-Palestinian War that I could possibly imagine, and it wasn’t until I typed “Palestine War”, that I came across my soul mate.
But I was able to find my soul mate, and his name is Kent. When looking at his bookmarking page, I immediately noticed his top ten tags. “2008, Israel, Palestine, war, politics, gaza, 2009”, all tags that were directly related to the Israel Palestine War. He has 712 bookmarks, and of those I looked through around 50 of them. Of the 50 that I looked at, he had commented on a little less than half of the bookmarks. But I don’t really think that the amount of times he commented on the various websites really has any correlation with how good the bookmarks actually are. I felt as though many of the bookmarks were not only very relevant, but also extremely informative. From the titles of his most popular bookmarks it is noticeable that many of Kent’s sites are regarding current events, and news articles about the war. At the same time, I also think that it is interesting that there are many different opinion sites with regards to the war that he has bookmarked, for instance there is an intifada.org site he references as well as the polar opposite, antiwar.com site. It is clear that through his bookmarks he wants people to make their own, well-informed opinions about the war by looking at many different sites concerning the issue. The issues surrounding the war that he has seemed to gravitate towards are the political and social issues surrounding this war. “Dissident Voice: Israel Asserting Middle East Supremacy: From Gaza to Tehran”, and “Those People in Gaza: Where Do They Come From, And Why Are They So Mad?,” two very specific titles of bookmarked sites that convey the theme of political and social issues that Kent seems to bookmark frequently.
It took a long time to find, but this was a very good soul mate match for me. His tags have introduced me to some sites that I don’t think I would have originally found.

-Decibel

BLOGGERAMA

HELLO POST

Hello. My name that I will be using while sharing my thoughts via blog is Decibel. I am known for being pretty loud, and someone who is very comfortable voicing my opinions to people. I have studied the history behind the Israeli-Palestinian wars since I was in high school, and my interest has only grown as the situation has between these two regions has become a priority to the international community. As I studied this conflict in-depth my opinions regarding the conflict are very strong. The rollercoaster of relations between Israel and Palestine are growing to a point that many people think the situation is about to hit a point of no return. Consequently, it has made this issue a priority, and has set a precedent in the international system for being the longest standing violent feud between regions in the history of global conflict.

This is the first of many posts in which I will be discussing a war that has lasted much too long between Israel and Palestine for decades. Not only is this an issue that covers pages of newspapers on a daily basis, but it is one that no one has been able to effectively suppress. International conflicts have always been an interest of mine, and this one especially because of the history behind it. The amount of deaths, and the societies that have been destroyed because of the inability to develop peace between these two Middle Eastern territories is frustrating and difficult to watch as no solution is found to solve the many deep-seated issues this regions have with each other.

I plan on reacting to not only the news that is broadcast to the American people, but also the news that is shown to those in both Israel and Palestine. I am going to look at the issues that are dealt with on a daily basis with these two territories and analyze why the peace process is being hindered. I want people to understand the concerns held by both the Palestinians and Israelis. Due to the fact that this conflict has lasted so long, American society has seemed to take more sympathy for the Israelis, but I want people to understand the deep-seated legitimate reasons why Palestinians are as angry as they are. There are so many aspects of this battle that I want people to recognize, and I plan on addressing them in my posts. One major issue is that historians, governments, and people in general think that it is important to take a side in this conflict, but what I want to stress and convey is the importance of both sides taking responsibility for their actions. “It takes two to tango”, and this crisis would not be growing worse if one side or both was legitimately willing to secede in the name of peace. So the question is, how important is peace to both Israel and Palestine? And what is it going to take to convey the significance of peace, diplomacy, and nonviolence to these governments? I am going to focus on international efforts and what really needs to be done to make peace a plausible solution in the near future. Focus needs to be given to development, human rights, and most importantly how to maintain a cease-fire. There are so many unique problems regarding the Israel-Palestine war, and I plan on tackling all of them as I write my blogs.




PROFILE BLOG

Wow, was one of the first words that came to mind after reading some posts from this blog. I was surprised.
The blog that I found titled "Israeli-Palestinian Conflict" is one of the best blogs that I have seen in awhile regarding this issue. The information in the blog is contributed by a man, Shimon Zachary, who is living in Israel and has since 1974. Although there are some aspects of this blog that I expect will be biased since it is a man that is living in Israel, it is also extremely informational and gives insight to the progress or lack there of with the situation. The blog itself has a variety of links related to peace and how important it is. Zachary is a member of a group called “iPeace”, and it is definitely evident in his posts that this is his concentration regarding the conflict. His primary focus on peace is what stood out to me the most. Most blogs I have come across are concerning the anger, the hostility, and the violence that Israel and Palestine have created, instead of talking about what needs to be done. This was the first blog I found that was solution-based. He posts every week or so, basically whenever there is a huge event that has occurred in the territory. His “most viewed blogs” are all blogs concerning this topic, and he is obviously extremely passionate about it. The blogs he looks at are much more informational rather than emotionally geared.

The most recent post was dedicated to the Gaza Strip War, one that has been ceased and begun again more times than I can count, but this post reflects the recent effects of this war. The most obvious aspect of the war that is discussed is the negative influence that the radical terrorist groups are having on the people of both Israel and Palestine. It brings up a point that I plan on addressing, which is how are the governments of both Israel and Palestine going to find a way in which to control these radical groups?
In recent months, Hamas has been one of the most threatening and dangerous terrorist groups of that region. Israel has retaliated on multiple occasions because of the attacks that Hamas has made on Israel, which consequently has only hurt innocent Israeli and Palestinian civilians,
“This war was the last thing that the people of Gaza needed. Hamas had brought it on their people. While Israel has a right to defend its citizens against Hamas terrorism in the south, it does not have the right to inflict injury on innocent Palestinian men, women and children as this war progresses…”
There are two things that I like about this comment. One, he is addressing this issue in a very non-biased sense, and secondly he is pointing it out in a way that people reading can understand both sides of the situation more clearly. His blog is very thought provoking; it brings up the question that if Israel and Palestine cannot control terrorist groups, and their governments are not strong enough to find a way to suppress them, then does their need to be more international efforts made to stop the deaths that are being accumulated? This is a key part of this ongoing war, and is an interesting thing to think about when looking to the future.
Zachary utilizes video clips very effectively in his blog as well. For instance when he focuses on the war he shows the actual damage that it has had on the innocent people he feels are being most harmed. He doesn’t digress. He addresses most aspects of the issue, and he is obviously well educated regarding this conflict. He bolds sentences that he feels are important. The flow of his writing is also something that is noticeable. It seems standard, and very structured, but he strategically places sentences of the most importance in the middle of paragraphs, and they definitely stand out.
“…The leadership of Hamas is sheltering in bunkers under the ground. They are surrounded by human shields of women and children which explains the high casualty rate. This is the way they defend themselves!”
I think that this is crucial because he is verbalizing his emotions, rather than just sharing facts. All of his angst and frustration with this conflict are reflected in the bolded words.
I know I also enjoyed this blog because I feel as though we share generally the same feelings about the groups involved, the effects it’s having on many communities, and that drastic measures need to be taken at this point.
“…Hamas has continued to fire rockets into Israel indiscriminately. They had no intention of acting responsibly towards their own people.”
Zachary is very blunt, which is another thing that I appreciate. His words aren’t subtle; they convey a sense of angst about such a bad situation in an intelligent manner. Especially regarding this problem, beating around the bush gets us NOWHERE, and with the conflict between Israel and Palestine there has been DECADES of beating around the bush that has lead to absolutely nothing.
This blog is also not too extremist, but yet pushes the envelope enough to instigate reactions. He is a thought provoking writer and I am looking forward to his future posts.

http://shimonzk.blogspot.com/2009/01/aftermath-of-gaza-war.html





VOICE BLOG

The title of this blog alone, “Raising Yousuf and Noor: diary of a Palestinian mother” lets the reader know that this is going to be a blog with a much more emotional spin on the war. And my first thought was, great, this is going to be a mother's naive interpretation of the war around her. BUT it proved me wrong. This blog is written by a Palestinian mother living in Gaza. Compared to other blogs regarding the Israeli-Palestinian war this one conveys many heartfelt and deep emotions. Although some of the posts include basic facts about what is going on, and how to solve this issue, much of the writing is regards to how the conflict is affecting her and her family. She is a journalist which is another reason why I really like this blog. She involves many different forms of viewing capabilities so that the reader’s can almost feel as though they are there. She has videos, pictures, and family stories all in one. It is truly hard to not feel sorry for her family and the people in Gaza after reading only one of these posts.
“…Everytime I rub his little almost-5-year-old head after he wakes up from an afternoon nap, when his face is still warm, I remember how we huddled together in my bed in Gaza as our windows shuddered from nightly shelling…”
A strategy that Laila El-Haddad uses over and over again is including actual dialogue that she has witnessed between families, seen on the news, or heard from people around her.
“ ‘…It will all be ok I promise, don't worry too much about such things. Leave that to me and take some pictures of the present, so you can remember your happy times.’”
This quote came from a mother to her son, one of the most emotionally driven things that I think she could have done was add quotes from families with small children. If you want to get a reaction out of parents, or make this situation more relatable to people around the world, this has definitely done the trick. El-Haddad uses this tactic to invoke feelings within the readers, and make them see this issue as less of just a problem that is far away, but more of something that might hit closer to home.
The blog isn’t consistent. It doesn’t just discuss her family, or the history of the conflict, she instead also reflects upon news articles, analyzes solution-based ideas and proves why certain articles she comes across are either completely inaccurate or blatantly correct. She definitely has clear opinions. El-Haddad uses many different news resources internationally, and uses these resources to prove her points regarding Israeli and Palestinian involvement in this war. I think it shows she isn’t as close minded as I would expect from someone in her position.

“…In the meantime, I'd like to share this article I came across in Haaretz, which once again lends credence to what I have argued is the morally bankrupt way the Israeli occupying army was acting in Gaza, with no impunity whatsoever…”

She is completely biased and feels as though the Israelis are doing everything in their power to make peace an impossible mission. But at the same time, what would you expect from a mother protective of her family? Most of the titles of her posts share this idea. Being biased is expected from her, and I think the bias helps to understand different sides of the conflict. She has posts titled “The Children of Israel’s War, and the “Seize” Fire”, and “GISHA: Israel deliberately withholding supplies”.
The blog is formatted in a way that you can tell she is extremely educated. She uses complete sentences consistently and structures the posts so that it is very easy to read. She likes to use asterisks, quotations, and numbering, to make her main points stand out more, and it definitely works which I think is very interesting.
She has a very strong voice; her opinion about the issue is very clear and unwavering. She keeps the reader very engaged, and it is one of the most comprehensive blogs I have found regarding this topic.
I walked away from this blog feeling as though I was completely naïve. You can hear the news, you can read the paper, but you can never understand what is really going on in a situation like this one unless you are experiencing it yourself.


http://a-mother-from-gaza.blogspot.com/

- Decibel