New grad turns master's project to valuable web site

12/08/02For Mac Slocum, the Emerson graduate journalism program has been a means through which he has pursued the study of a medium that captivated his attention during his undergraduate days at the University of Richmond. His interest in online journalism evolved from a hobby into a major and eventually a career.

His most recent creation is the culmination of his master's degree project entitled The Independent Publisher. The site is an online how-to guide for building and maintaining an informational web site.

"I knew I wanted to do my master's project about the web and using it as a resource," Slocum said. "I knew with the experience I've had working on the web, I could design a site that focused on teaching people how to create their own web sites, and enable them to get their voice out there. You just need to take it to a level that shows people it's not as hard as it sounds to create a web site."

The Independent Publisher's design is similar to taking a class with beginner, intermediate and advanced levels. Colored tabs on the top of the site's homepage allow users to choose which "chapter" or page would best suit their needs based on their knowledge of web page design.

"I'm a big proponent of web usability. I decided to put my money where my mouth is and design The Independent Publisher so that any one can learn from and navigate around the site," Slocum said. "I learned from this experience, and now I want to go and redesign Filmfodder."

Filmfodder was the first web site Slocum designed in March 2000. The site reflects his passion for entertainment reporting, and also allowed Slocum to try his hand at running his own business.

"I was the entertainment editor for my college paper and I'd worked for taponline.com doing entertainment reporting," Slocum said. "After I left tap, I was still interested in this type of reporting and the idea for Filmfodder came one day as a flash."

Slocum is the senior editor of Filmfodder. The site does not make a monetary profit, but Slocum has profited in many other ways. This job gave him his first taste of the steps that go into creating a web site and hiring a staff.

"Buying a domain name is like setting up shop or purchasing your own real estate on the web," Slocum said. "Purchasing server space is like buying your plot of land. Without server space, your domain name or web address will exist on the web, but no page will appear."

Slocum said his staff at Filmfodder is a mixture of friends from college, co-workers from the various online publications he's worked at and new journalists he's met simply by having them submit copy on a trial basis.

"I select people based on how well they write and how well they can handle constructive criticism," Slocum said. "For me this position is interesting because it allows me to gain feedback about how good of an editor I am."