Website Design
Website Design
Embedded Files
A New Look
A New Look
One of my biggest initiatives as editor-in-chief was to redesign Denebola's website to appeal to a greater audience. As a result, I strengthened our digital media team to create a layout that is easier to navigate with more features... like games!
Minigames
Minigames
I, just like many students across my grade, love to play the New York Times word games. I found these games to serve as a basis for forming new bonds with others by solving puzzles, such as the Crossword or Connections, together. Yet I also noticed that the majority of my friends frequently visit the New York Times website not only because of the stories they offer, but because of the games. This gave me an idea that would ultimately result in more students gravitating to our site: creating our own games page with the help of our webmaster, Linden.
As the New York Times Games creators established a picket line, I thought of adding one of Denebola's biggest website additions: the Denebola Daily. A word game similar to the likes of "Strands" and "Spelling Bee," the Denebola Daily was a result of weeks of collaboration between us editors-in-chief and our webmaster, and it soon became another online game students like to play in their free time.
Social Media
Social Media
Growing Our Viewer Base
Growing Our Viewer Base
Social media platforms like Instagram are our best friends. For an online publication in a school with multiple other print publications, expanding our reader audience has become our biggest challenge. How will we get more students to read our work online?
One of the biggest pieces of leverage we had was our Instagram presence, since we post every day. The social media editor Clio and I both joined forces to create more content and began advertising our articles on the Instagram page. Our increased activity on social media was complimented with increased website and article views.
I found this to be one of my biggest accomplishments as editor-in-chief because for a long time, Denebola was negatively impacted by an assumption that none of the articles posted on the website would be read or reviewed. This demotivated our writers and editors for volumes, giving them the thought that their hours-long work would never receive hard-earned views. And, most importantly, the assumption that we had a lack of viewership is what caused many members to ultimately gravitate away from Denebola.
After installing our viewing tracker and expanding our social media presence, I saw firsthand that this assumption was false, a step towards rekindling the spirit and support from Denebola's members.
Vlogging
Vlogging
One of Denebola's biggest, widely-known traditions is Fit Check Friday, where we interview students across the school for Every week, Clio and I roamed the halls during our free blocks to get the next interviewee for our videos. Those moments are what built our friendship and gave us the motivation to generate more creative visual media to display to our followers.
Filming these videos was one of my favorite parts of being on Denebola because I saw firsthand how our media led to school-wide connection. Every week, people would see us walking the halls and ask for a feature on the latest Fit Check Friday video. This series was so popular among Newton South students to the point where students made a routine watching videos as soon as they release. Yet most notably, I see tens of students commenting on each of our videos, supporting their friends who were interviewed. Fit Check Friday, and our newest vlog, Tunes Tuesday, where we ask students what type of music they listen to, is one of the only ways students could present themselves to the school community online. The fact that the featured students are so excited to be featured, and how they are so widely supported by their friends, shows how something as simple as a video interview can cultivate school spirit.
The widespread success of our Instagram page prompted us to create more vlogs designed to highlight school and local events. Through these videos, we hoped to further strengthen school spirit.
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