BETTER LIVING THROUGH CHEMISTRY
Posted by aranya
I spent three months blogging about our culture’s obsession with pharmaceutical drugs for my spring 2008 Interactive Journalism class. I am no longer maintaining “Better Living Through Chemistry,” but I did want to keep it around for historical purposes… and by “historical,” I mean that I want to have it on hand for any potential employers who are interested in seeing my blogging/multimedia capabilities. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t proud of myself — I learned a lot in that class (thanks Liza & Matt!). So I’m certainly not going to hit delete and wipe all of my hard work off the grid. Better Living Through Chemistry is proof that I am a journalist who knows how to navigate these online-driven times. All posts written before February 2009 are pharmaceutical drug related. To see my multimedia homework assignments and final project, check out the page links at the bottom right of my home page. The memory of Better Living Through Chemistry lives on =)
April 28th, 2008 at 2:59 am
Overall I think you have a blog topic that will be a treasure trove of stories because prescription drugs are such a way of life in the US now. With mainstream douchebags like Rush Limbaugh, one of our national conservative icons, jumping off the deep end with oxycontin … hell that’s got to be just the tip of the iceberg.
I really liked your post detailing the side effects of new drugs (http://aranyatomseth.com/2008/04/21/the-new-kids-on-the-block/)
It reminded me of the SNL “happy Fun Ball” sketch:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7358768984043835546&q=happy+fun+ball&ei=DjsVSN3OJI7k4ALxgoDVBA
Keep using multimedia as you have already for scan-ability.
You might want to edit your sidebars to incorporate a calendar, some del.icio.us links and some tags or categories so its easier to navigate once you have more posts.
April 28th, 2008 at 3:05 am
Posts that kicked it:
I liked “Concentration in a Pill,” and “Oh, just take half a Lexapro and you’ll be fine.” They both integrated your personal experiences and offered commentary on a tight topic that people care about: using drugs in ways they were not perscribed.
For similar reasons, I liked “What Happens When A Pill Does Its Job A Little Too Well.” Side effects are topic that people care abot – they impact your life.
I’d like to see your blog do more posts like these. A series of posts on side effects would be excellent. Pick a new drug once a week or something. Same for recreational/other was folks are using pills. They’re easy formulas to write to and a series would bring readers back.
A post that needed work:
“Chris Rock Hits It Right On the Mark” would have been better if you embedded the video. I’m glad you included the warning – though I’d shorten it to NSFW, the bloggy term.
Overall critique:
I enjoyed reading your posts. They’re funny and well-written.
Be sure to check your links. “Concentration in a Pill” has a link that does not work. I check mine for each post by previewing it and clicking each one. I screw them up all the time, but I catch it then.
“Heparin” would have been more scannable if you put the long quote into a blockquote.
You’ve got to get rid of the Wordpress default blogroll, which you have on your page not once, but twice.
Your linking technique has gotten better over time, but I’d tweak it slightly. In “Ass-backwards System,” your link is on the words “New York Times.” That looks like a link to the NYT main page, not to the “April 14 article” that should have been linked. You do this better in your later posts, but I’d like to see more than “AP article” linked. In your most recent post, I would have linked the words “It looks like yet another miracle pill may be falling by the wayside.” Then you don’t need to use the word article in the next sentence. You can just say “the AP reported” or something.
More pictures! You started strong w/ pics, but the later posts have none. Every post doesn’t need an image, but it helps to have some. You should be able to grab a pic for any drug you’re covering. When people are reading this in an RSS reader, you need something to catch their eye. A drug logo would do that, especially if they know someone on that drug.
Sorry if I’m being nitpicky, but I think you’re doing well, so I’ve got the nitpicky stuff left to criticize.
Aaaand, like I said at the beginning, I think a lot of these posts lend themselves to series. Each series could be a category in Wordpress too, making them easy to read as a collection.
Good job.
b