Social Media Source #1: https://www.thelocal.se
*When you arrive at thelocal.se website, at the top you can click on “Switzerland” by the Editions tool bar. This then changes the website link to: https://www.thelocal.ch – which is the Swiss based online code. [like google.com versus google.de or google.ch]
The first web page offers most of the same information as the second page, expect for the fact that thelocal.se webpage offers more information geared towards English users. For example: they have many links on the first page that: help English speakers obtain a job in various cities in Switzerland, and ways to adapt in Switzerland as an English language speaker.
The Local – Switzerland’s News in English
The Local is a new media source that is text based and also interactive for the user. This source provides English translation of Swedish news articles. There are also various tabs on the webpage that redirect the user towards different things. You can view News in Switzerland, Jobs that are available, Homes that are for sale, Galleries which include photos of various cities, Dating which takes the user to The Local dating app, and a Community tab that shows the user items for sale within different cities. Most of the News articles on the site are entertainment and information based. There a few here and there that discuss the government and politics of Switzerland, but the site does not appear to have a political agenda.
I chose this site as one of my New Media Source’s because of information offered on the site. The site is also intriguing because of the various activities you can take part in when using the site. It gives a more in depth look into how one may communicate with others over a form of Social Media offered in Switzerland [the “The Local dating site”, Jobs offered, and the community posting]. I have added this website to my Favourites in my Bookmarks. I plan on regularly checking the website for its news articles.
New Media Source #1: https://www.swissinfo.ch
SWI – Swiss Web Info
This website has been mentioned in many different articles that I have read during my research about Switzerland. It is a hub of Swiss news, that is offered in nine different languages. The swissinfo.ch website used to have a radio show, the Swiss Radio International [SRI], which had its last programming on 30 October 2004. The SRI show was one of the longest lasting radio shows in Swiss history, airing for over 70 years. This information is listed on the SWI website, because the information that was broadcasted on the radio show, was transferred over to a web only platform.
I chose this site because of the authenticity it holds. The transition of the SRI to the SWI signals to me that the Swiss Info has been a long used source for news and information concerning the country. I have saved this source to my Favourites in my Bookmarks, and I will be checking it on a weekly basis for new updates.
Data Source #1: http://www.europaworld.com/entry?id=ch&go_country=GO
The Europa World PLUS websites offers information profiles for countries all over the world. I was able to find a profile for Switzerland that provided me with general and in-depth information about Switzerland. For example, I can view the current government officials in office, GDP, and population. There is also a detailed chronology of the history of Switzerland available. I chose this data source because it offers factual information that will aid me in my understanding of Switzerland. I can learn about its long history, how the government is run, the countries statistics, and the economy.
I have saved this source in my Favourites in my Bookmarks. Since this is a data source that is updated every six-months to a year, I will be checking this source throughout the entirety of my research for factual information, or to clarify any confusion I may have about certain aspects of Switzerland.
Traditional Source #1: http://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/?p=WORLDNEWS
News Bank inc: Access World News – Historical and Current
The News Bank website is a source that provides the user with newspaper articles concerning a specific subject. I was able to find many different newspapers on the website about Switzerland – most of which are current, but also some that are older. I believe that this website is essential in my research of Switzerland because, it offers me multiple different newspapers that I can view concerning my country. I can also use their search tool bar to enter in specific key words to narrow my search for articles with the same subject matter. This website is updated very regularly, because of the many different newspapers it offers [found all over the world]. I have saved this source in my Favourites in my Bookmarks. I chose this source because, I feel that I can use this website to find current news about Switzerland at any point during the week when I choose to use it.
Traditional Source #2: http://www.helloswitzerland.ch/home
Hello Switzerland – Discover, Experience, and Share
The Hello Switzerland website is an online source that offers information about my country, as well as, an online and physical Magazine. It centers around everyday life in Switzerland, and current events. One can read about businesses, restaurants, and Swiss culture. There does not seem to be a lot of political content offered on the website. I have signed up for their weekly newsletter, that will provide me with news content, and I am going to be receiving the physical Hello Switzerland magazine in the mail [it was free!].
I chose this source because it was the only online magazine that I was able to find with a free online and print subscription. I will be able to check this source when I receive the weekly newsletter via email, and a magazine once a month for the next year.
Audio Source #1: https://worldradio.ch
World Radio – Swiss Radio in English
This source offers a wide variety of news and information about Switzerland. It has a wide overview touching on many different subjects. Those of which include: religion, politics, entertainment, classifieds, and radio shows. What I appreciate the most about this source, is that it is the web edition of a radio show that is streamed in Switzerland. It is offered online in English, with a text base version of the news piece, that one can read while listening to the radio show.
I chose this source because it is an online radio show that regularly updates and has current programs concerning my country. This source is save in my Favourites in my Bookmarks. I feel that I should check this source at least once a week, to view the most recent events occurring in Switzerland.
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Four of my sources came from a simple google search [two came from the OSU Library database]. I wanted to find some sources that anyone could use when searching Switzerland on the Internet. I think this will give me a vital perspective into how people gather information about Switzerland, if they do not have access to the same resources that I do [as a student at the Ohio State University]. Using google to find sources for my country was sometimes hard, and at other times easy. I had to use really specific search terms to find was I was looking for, but I found using google made it easier for me to find the social media source, audio source, and new media sources. The library research database was difficult to narrow down at times, but offered more informational texts concerning Switzerland. I feel that I might have had a tough time using the library data base, because I have not used it very frequently. I hope that my skills in finding more specific information sources will improve as the semester goes on. I will continue to use both Google and the library database to find my sources for the intermediate draft. I think the difficulty that I faced while searching for sources on Switzerland is a barrier to the global information society. While one can find general information relatively easily, one must thoroughly search through many sources to find specific information. I think the information that is available about my country in English is rather small, in terms of being able to find specific information. I think there is some information that is lost in translation at times. I discovered this when I viewed some websites in English compared to Deutsch. I noticed that the websites in Deutsch had more information listed and more articles available to read, because of this reason I do feel that this can be a barrier. If you only know English, you would be limited in the news you could read about Switzerland.