iMPrint Magazine - Editor’s Blog

iMPrint updated once again for the first time this fall today, again starting a weekly cycle of news, sports, entertainment and life articles. I expect you will see a wonderful increase in the number of articles this semester, as well as the range of topics and the depth writers go to to flesh out those topics.

As always, we hope you don’t mind the site changing around you as you read. We’re still working on our final design, and as is apparent, it’s taken longer than expected. But this certainly isn’t our final look, and I’ll let you know when it’s done. For now, go ahead and enjoy some good reads.

Oh the greatness of a blog. I can be wrong! I just heard from our Web guy, Mike Potter, and he’s changing the look around again. So that new logo? Gone. (But I won’t promise you won’t see it again.) And we’re moving all the design elements around again.

What does this mean to you? Be patient, and hopefully we’ll deliver a look and ease of navigation that you’re looking for. Watch for this year’s first update of new articles in the coming week

The design is changing every which way, and the iMPrint Lounge isn’t ready yet, but we’ve got our bloggers in place. Meet Kaitlin Turner, Dan Cassavaugh, Aaron King and Erin Geismar, a group of talented writers (most of written for iMPrint before) who wanted to take on a topic of their choosing a few times each month.

So look for them to update constantly, and if they don’t, send them an e-mail. Because they are there for you. They are raw, unedited and straight from the college scene. What better way to get a look into what college life is really about?

As you probably noticed surfing on over to the Editor’s Blog, iMPrint is in the process of going live with its new look. The problem, however, is that it’s not quite all there yet.

Mike Potter, iMPrint’s Web guy, said he’s about 35 percent done updating the site. The new logo and the “tear out” look at the top of the page is clearly all there, but fitting the rest of the site into that look is still a work in progress.

So why are we doing this on the live iMPrint homepage? Well, the redesign is complex, Mike said, and the “test” server just wasn’t cutting it. So we had to sacrifice the live site if we wanted to implement the changes we’ve got coming.

Overall, we’re sorry for the “under construction” look, but believe me when I say the wait will be well worth it. We’re shooting for next week to launch this year’s first edition. But before then, I’ll keep the updates coming on the blog.

In the coming week, you’re going to notice iMPrint looking a little different.

Much of the layout will remain the same because, well, according to AEJMC, it’s the best online magazine layout in the country. But we’ve taken some of the judge’s suggestions to heart, including beefing up the font size and giving the overall look a little more flare.

Our master web guy, Mike Potter, has spent the last year working with myself and editors to make sure iMPrint has a strong, functional and flexible base. Now we’re working on giving it more attitude, more of a magazine feel, and of course, more features.

I’ve blogged about some of the ideas we’ve been working on, mainly the iMPrint Lounge. Most of the components are in place, except the arcade-style games, which we’re still developing. Speaking of blogging, keep an eye out for our four new bloggers this year. An announcement will be coming soon, right here.

…to all the new and returning writers that attended iMPrint Rush Night 2006 on Wednesday. The iMPrint staff is now at approximately 70 people, with more joining everyday.

Congratulations to our new and returning editors who will lead iMPrint through the Fall 2006 semester. This year’s applicants were the most qualified and experienced in both journalism and online journalism than ever before.

I’m excited to announce that the editors range in grade-level and have a wide array of interests, and have expressed ambitious goals for each section. As a reader, I think you can expect some terrific, engaging new content this year, beginning in September.

Co-editors will lead this year’s news section in an effort to bolster coverage and increase article output. In the past, Arts & Entertainment and Sports & Recreation have typically led in the number of articles per month.

Here’s a full list of this year’s editors:

News
Lauren Smulski - lsmulsk1@ithaca.edu
Max Winer - mwiner1@ithaca.edu

Life
Greg Ryan - gryan1@ithaca.edu

Sports & Recreation
Cal Borchers - cborche1@ithaca.edu

Arts & Entertainment
LuAnn Fong - lfong1@ithaca.edu

Multimedia
Aaron Arm - aarm1@ithaca.edu

iMPrint Magazine: College Life’s Internet Magazine, founded in 2004 at Ithaca College, has been honored for its quality and design by two separate organizations.

The Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) named iMPrint Best Online College Magazine, awarding the publication first place in its annual AEJMC Magazine Division competition.

Judge Laura Bronson, editor of award-winning realsimple.com, praised iMPrint for its features, design and functionality.

“While many of the entries in the Online Magazine category mix together words, images, video, audio to take advantage of the Web’s capabilities, iMPrint Magazine from Ithaca College uses the medium most effectively,” Bronson said. “That it was created as an online magazine and isn’t a print magazine that’s simply been repurposed for the web is evident in the site’s architecture and functionality.”

• 2006 AEJMC Magazine Competiton winners
• 2006 AEJMC Magazine Division judges’ comments

The magazine topped last year’s winner, The Devil’s Tale based out of Arizona State University, which took second place.

iMPrint Magazine was also named a winner in the International Student Media Festival (ISMF), sponsored by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. The yearly competition recognizes and celebrates outstanding student media.

Both awards are testament to the hard work and dedication of the magazine’s staff of editors and writers, who give many hours each month to produce the web’s best online college magazine, as well as the magazine’s adviser, Kim Gregson, of Ithaca College’s Television and Radio Department.

A new publishing year for iMPrint begins in September, featuring additions such as user-created photos and new stories told through multiple mediums.

That’s right. iMPrint Magazine, founded just two years ago, has recently been awarded first place in two competitions for best online magazine.

Want to know the details? Stay tuned for the official iMPrint release, coming in the next few days, on the competitions. (Look back at our original post about entering competitions…can you guess which two we took top honors in? Hint: one hasn’t announced its winners yet.) Of course, you’ll get all the details first on the blog.

The iMPrint Editor’s Blog will resume being updated beginning now. I have finished work on the America Online Web Innovation Project.

Myself and five other Ithaca College students worked intensively for six weeks on redeveloping the media giant’s shopping and travel portions of their Web site.

Shopping focused on connecting social networks to make online shopping social. Travel focused on an experience-based “Dream Vacation” built with pictures and an interactive flash video.

I’d love to tell you more…but AOL is now reviewing the project proposals and beginning to test the ideas. So I don’t want to reveal any big secrets. Stay tuned for more detail.