Get started with a blog and with making videos

Mindy McAdams is an accomplished multimedia journalist who now teaches at the University of Florida.

Many professional journalists who knew nothing about the Internet or blogging have become proficient in digital journalism by using her tutorials. Here are a few that could be useful if you´re trying to get started.

Read blogs

Start a blog

Learn how to shoot decent photos

Learn to shoot video

Edit your movie with iMovie or Windows Movie Maker

Jaycut and Motionbox are two other free programs for editing video that are available online.

This is a 3-minute video I shot using a video camera that is the size of a cellphone, called a Flip camera. I edited it in iMovie.

I shot about 30 minutes of video and used about 3 minutes, and even that is probably too much. Individual shots that last more than 3 or 4 seconds will lose a viewer if they don´t have some compelling movement or activity.

For me, it takes about one to two hours to edit each minute of video. Shooting and editing video isn´t what I do best. I´m really a writer, editor and teacher. But I can do the basics.

Students in Monterrey create their own blogs

Here are some examples of blogs created by students at the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Monterrey for an Olympics of Digital Journalism.

You can get the idea of some of the possibilities for publishing not only words but photos, slideshows, video and graphics.

This entry has a light-hearted cartoon about the twin worries of contracting dengue or human influenza.

The blog rehiletee showcases student artwork.

The blog Jovenomía focuses on getting a debate going.

The blog Sugiere-me also is a space for debates.

Get over the fear, get started

It´s fairly simple to start a basic blog using Wordpress or Blogger. Get a friend to help you get started.

What I tell journalists is to start the blog and gradually add elements as you learn more. A blog can evolve over time and become more and more sophisticated.

My own blog has gone through several transformations. Some of the early work is a little embarrassing because it´s so simple, but it´s a learning process.