I have taken three classes with Professor Steve Klein, one for every semester I have been at Mason and the one thing that has stuck with me all this time is that he has always emphasized the FOUNDATIONS of writing for journalism. Whether it may be writing a story, doing carpentry work or climbing a mountain, one cannot rise to the top without knowing the basics.

In Mark Briggs‘ chapter one, his focus is on those basic foundations themselves. Here is a list of a few he mentions:

• Knowing the difference between bits and bytes.
• Knowing how web browsers function.
• Knowing what the hell an RSS feed is — and what it stands for.
• Knowing how HTML, CSS and XML work — don’t even bother knowing what they stand for.
• Knowing how to use FTP to transfer large files over the web.

The chapter is titled “We are all web workers now.”

What the heck does that mean?

Briggs is referring to the idea that everyone in this age is destined to utilize the web at some point in their life. Even my mother, who does not speak perfect English and had never used a computer in her youth, is addicted to Facebook more than I am. As for the young ones, they are even smarter and better at technology than me. My three-year-old nephew is working the web searching for games. The boy can’t read but he sure does know how to get to Nick Jr.  Just like the of us, he is, after all, a web worker.

Happy reading folks.

The many web browsers to choose from....

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 5:17 am and is filed under Briggs Chapter Summaries.  Tagged Briggs, HTML, Web browser, Web worker You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.