I’ve used computers all my life and I’ve always been known to be one of the most knowledgeable people when it comes to how they work in general. However, I’ve never been a wizard in programming, but I have been able to use my limited skills in programming a website I use for journalism. It wasn’t an easy road to master but it was well worth it.

I’ve never been an enthusiastic programmer, but I always knew a lot about computers. I’ve been using computers since I was at a young age. I’ve always been a great and very detailed writer, as well as a fast learner in school. These would all come together in the future, where I began to express myself through these talents.

When I first began to program in Ninth grade, I wasn’t a fan of it, since it was a bit too complex for me to master, so I gave the reins to another person. I had no idea how it worked, no idea what was right or wrong, or had any experience with programming at all. I was not willing to throw myself out there, but I did throw myself into creative writing and journalism, including for Robotics. I just didn’t feel good about programming.

Then, in November of 2015, I attended an event called “CHE Hacks”, which was a school sponsored event run by some students to allow kids to learn the world of programming websites, games, and other technology. I was eager to learn about it this time, so I attended. Turns out, it was easier than I had imagined! It was a bit tricky to learn some aspects of programming and doing it right, but once it became clear, it was easy as pie.

Then, when I began to cover the 2016 election season, I created my own website in order to write articles and provide information to the public about the most recent news everyone needed to know. It was then and there I began to put my skills together and benefit not only my talents, but the community in general.

I also leaned to get accustomed to social media sites, such as Twitter and Facebook to convey Ideas. I had never really used these platforms to convey and spread my opinions and ideas to others, but rather for entertainment. Once I started to convey ideas and info to others, people began to see me as a legitimate source of news. And hence, that is one of the reasons where I am today.

You need to have these traits and skills to begin to build your status as a journalist or a citizen journalist:

• Programming
• Coding
• Social Media

And a lot of other things that are necessary to start building your reputation as an online citizen journalist.

While programming is not that easy at all, it is a skill most independent journalists need in order to have a platform to voice their articles and opinions on and portray them to the entire internet community. The language of programming is important for me, since it opens a whole lot of doors that I need to access in order to start my own news outlet on my own, make it appealing, user friendly and many other aspects that are important to running a website.

It is especially important to most journalists, since the coding and scripting language is important to open their websites to the community, instead of using a cluttered platform like Twitter and Facebook to convey ideas or news articles. Take the Drudge Report for example. This website has a very basic format that is actually very organized and easy to access. The Drudge Report website is one of the simplest websites to exist, but is the most organized, which allows people to convene in one location and click on links taking them to stories of the parent website.

Scripting is also essential, since it is also necessary, if you want, to design a web-page that is creative, appealing, user friendly and easy to navigate with a few clicks. The design must be user friendly to save aggravation for the user and for people to find what they need without the hassle and time consuming navigation.

Coding for HTML is also important, as it needs to be nearly flawless in order for a page to look as it is intended. That is a major problem for those who have no clue how to code at all and try to do it without any help whatsoever. Without help, an inexperienced journalist who tries to create a website would possibly look like a total mess. It is important for journalists who wish to start their own news sites or organizations to learn coding and scripting in order to build their name and news sites.

Also, social media outreach is one of the main aspects of getting a base audience and having an outreach to convey your messages and ideas. While a decade ago, you had to use the word of mouth on the streets, now you can convey your message by word of mouth at the tip of your fingers. While it may seem hard to use, it will be beneficial when you get into it. Trust me, there are a lot of positives to social media if you do it right.

It can be concluded that journalists who wish to start their own projects, sites, or any news articles on the web need to know the coding and scripting languages to have a site that people would continuously come back to. Without the language of coding and scripting, it would be a waste of time, resources, and a complete waste of talent to do it yourself if you are not experienced.