my blog: a journalistic copy

background

I have created this blog to help promote safety in nightclubs and bars across the uk. How many of you have been, or know someone who’s been spiked? As a university student myself it seems like every week i hear a new story of a different friend who was unlucky in a nightclub and ended up spending a reluctant night in a&e, every week is more than enough, just one spiking should be more than enough for us to realise we need to do something about this. I believe through this blog i can help the of spread crucial information required to keep people safe when participating in the student nightlife. 56% of spike victims are students, and the criminals don’t discriminate, anyone from any background is at risk, especially those between the ages of 18 and 24. I believe that if everyone had access to information such as how to tell if your drink has something in it and where to go and who to talk to if you’ve already drank it, then maybe we could keep a few more people out there safe.

my audience

I have chosen to use my blog to reach students and people ages 18-24 as they are the most common age of spike victims in the UK and the age group which attends nightclubs the most. This blog is full of useful information for this age group.

my research

The majority of my research came from speaking to friends and experiencing what they went through first hand as well as hearing what they'd heard from other people. The internet was a helpful resource but not so much as hearing from the people who had personal experience. When I did use the internet I found that social media was the most helpful as people posted more real opinions and there are also accounts which post statistics made from followers etc. who have written in. As this is very much an issue of the moment I don't believe that books could have helped me that much as specifically the spiking with needles is something that has only become prevalent within the last year. I couldn't find any blogs on the same topic as mine but did find plenty of instagram accounts, perhaps as blogging is arguably an outdated form of internet posting and people are looking for something more instant. I did use YouTube as a research tool as there were a couple good documentaries and news videos I watched, this was extra helpful as it gave me more visual information. 

Despite being a heavy topic i did enjoy researching as it gave me opportunity to have good discussion with my friends and peers.