Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Summary

This semester of college writing was a good experience for me. I feel that I really explored what I can do as a writer. I have never written so many different essays or entries in such a short amount of time. I liked the setup of the class; the never ending cycle of writing. In my high school English classes, the focus was not only on writing, but also in literature and grammar as well. Because there were so little writing assignments, when we had one, the topic was pretty narrow and the amount of room we had for originality was condensed. The open ended writing topics in this class allowed me to explore myself and think deeper than what was necessary for prior essays. The challenges I had to face and surmount made me realize a lot about my writing style. I had never viewed myself as a writer until we discussed the purposes and uses of writing. Writing itself is open for anyone and everyone and I now see how much I can do with what I have to say. This class allowed me to explore that.

Also, I liked the learning environment. I am good with computers so the role that technology played in the classroom was beneficial. The fact that everything was available on vista helped. It is difficult for me to keep track of things, especially the numerous papers that I receive daily from every class. Having everything available on vista helped me keep up in the class; it was extremely convenient.

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Extra Credit Blog

I had a good time with this class. The discussions were my favorite part of the class. Discussions are always my favorite part because it gives everyone a chance to make the class more comfortable.

The blogs were always the hardest part for me. For some reason I hated getting started on them. Once I did get started though, I always ended up finding them interesting. I liked seeing what other people chose out of the reading to really focus on and write about.

I really enjoyed the papers. The prompts were easy to think about and write about and they allowed strong opinions of course. I was really happy with the first I wrote was the first one about perceiving communication. The percentage on how you look and sound as compared to what the message actually is. I also liked the final essay. I was so excited to have the option to use a different medium especially with a topic in which I am very interested.

Overall I was very happy with the class, and I learned some good ways to make my writing better and stronger.

extra credit blog

I remember on the first day of this class being extremely nervous thinking we were going to have a paper due like once a week and the class was going to be impossible with the many papers we were going to have to write. To my surprise the class was the total opposite. The work load was completely manageable and I thought the class was very easy. With me still being in high school I had my doubts whether or not I could handle it, but I did. Our discussions were also at times amusing and I enjoyed those, when we discussed current topics such as texting and Lady Gaga. I enjoyed our group assignments over lecture days. I found to start to enjoy group activities over doing them on my own. I also had to learn how to use a blog, keep up with it, and write in it weekly. I enjoyed the fact that there were people of multiple levels when it came to writing. The different levels helped class discussions that way everything didn't go over my head and I could also put in my thoughts without feeling like I was sounding dumb. I am going to miss this class because of the people I met in there and I don't really think classes can become any simpler than ours was, plus our class was fun. I never dreaded coming to our class because there was never anything bad to look forward to, other than that fear you get in your stomach when our papers were getting handed back.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Extra credit Blog

When I first entered this class I truly thought it was going to be so so different then it really turned out to be. I thought it was going to be a normal boring writing class that I hear all college students complain about. I was most definitely wrong. This class was honestly my most fun class this semester. I loved how you tied everything we learned into youtube videos or good articles. It made my learning experience way better and actually helped me understand the material better since I am a visual learner. Another thing i liked a lot were the group projects we did. I love working in groups and the last group project we had to do was really fun. The one where we had to make up a skit. I will always remember that. Also I really enjoyed the topics we had to write on this semester. The learning styles essay made me realize more about myself and the analyzing music video essay made me see music videos in a different way now. The last essay about technology was interesting as well. I thought it was somewhat hard but I felt proud of myself after I finished it and i actually learned a lot from it. The last thing i really appreciated was how we got s second chance on all of our papers and we got a chance to revise each one. I learned a lot from the first draft to the next and I definitely took advantage of that opportunity to revise. I feel I have improved writing since the beginning of the semester. All in all, this writing class has been a success for me. :)

extra credit blog

This writing class has been a lot different than I originally expected. Before the class I had never blogged before or really had an idea of how it worked. After doing so many through class I think I have a firm grasp at the whole blogging thing and I actually ended up enjoying doing them. Getting a chance to voice my opinion about things going on in class is not something that I'm normally used to and I'm glad we got the chance to. I also liked that we went over many topics for papers instead of just one theme the whole time. The topics that we did discuss were all for the most part modern and up to date even the readings, except for a couple, were all about modern topics and stuff that I could relate to not just boring stuff. My least favorite papers were the final essay because I didn't like the topic and i thought five pages dragged on and also the personality paper because I was tired of the topic. My favorite paper was the music video paper because I love music and it was just easy and fun to write. I loved that we got not only a grade but feedback of what we did right and wrong. I'm used to just getting a grade with no feedback so i liked getting a chance to see what I need to improve on. Overall, I enjoyed the class a lot more than I thought and it made me not as stressed out for college writing 2.

EXTRA CREDIT - JK

This class really surprised me. It being just a writing class, it could have went into so many directions. I really enjoyed a lot of the topics discussed. I also enjoyed a lot of the readings we had to do. I think this class was extremely modern and up to speed with what's relevant today. I thought this class was going to be like a typical English class, but we got to write about ourselves a lot more and that, to me, makes it so much easier to write in the style I'm best at. I used to love writing, but somewhere in High School I started dreading writing assignments and they made me feel like I was an awful writer. This class made me like writing again. I actually remember what it's like not to dread doing a five page paper. I also liked doing the blogs. I liked how we really could just go off on tangents on the blog. After reading something that you like it's easy to just talk about, and the blog allowed us to do that. I also liked all the clips that were played in class. All really went along with what was being discussed and I think they helped me better understand, not to mention funny. I really hate peer editing. I don't really find it helpful only because they just show you the spelling and grammar errors. I just really hate it. I really loved that we could turn in a our papers and then re-turn it in after you checked it. Since your opinion is the only one that really matters, it's nice that you offer that. Overall, I really enjoyed your class ! Good luck next semester.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Extra Credit - TH

While reflecting back on our writing class, a lot of things come to mind. First off, I just wanted to say that I really enjoyed the class and all the different discussions. To tell you the truth, I actually enjoyed doing the blogs once a week. I liked the blogs because you could see how other interpreted the information compared to your own views. I noticed that most of the time I had very different interpretations than my classmates. The best part in my eyes of the class was watching the different YouTube videos randomly throughout the year. I really enjoyed these because if you wouldn't have shown us these videos in class, I would have never watched them. The best video of the year was the British comedian that sang the national anthems. As far as the papers go, I feel that the last paper of the class was the hardest by far. The topic was rather easy but it was tough to find credible information that was usable. My favorite paper by far was the one about learning styles. I feel that with this paper I could write all day because it was all mostly based on your personal experiences. Also while doing this paper I realized some different learning styles that I never thought I had. I feel that in this class I learned a great deal of information that will benefit me throughout my college years. Finally, I just want to thank you for answering my emails so quickly, you’re the only one out of all my professors that even answers.

Extra Credit Blog (BG)

As my experience in college writing comes to an end, i like to think it was a success. the class really had me thinking the entire semester and it kept me interested in everything we did in class, read, blogged about, all of it. I really enjoyed the class because it was relaxed and that helped the learning process for me. I liked doing the blogs. At first i didn't think i would like them, but it was a lot of fun and easier than writing out the assignments on paper and turning them in. there were always questions that had me thinking and i really liked that. I am going to miss this class. It really has taught me a lot that i will take with me to my other classes. My favorite part was our discussions, especially the cat vs dog argument. our discussions were always fun but always stuck to the message in the end. This was an awesome class and i am really going to miss it. Maybe i will have the same professor down the road, that be awesome. :) But time will tell, and i cant wait to take what i have learned and put it to work in my other classes.

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Extra Credit Blog

Overall I think my College Writing experience was a success. I like the way the class was set up and the laid back atmosphere. The topics we had to write about in the papers were manageable. They made you think, however I did not have much trouble starting them. I really was surprised when I got my first paper back with an attached report on what you liked and did not like. It was constructive criticism that I really appreciated. That was the first time a teacher or professor took the time out to do that for every student. Next are the blogs. At first I was a little sceptical given the fact I have never written on a blog before, but I got use to it and enjoyed the creative way of earning points. It also exposed me to a different way to write. This definitely helped me because I just received a job at the campus BURR as a online writer and blogger. So not only do I feel comfortable with my tasks, but I have experience.
I also enjoyed group work. I learned and made friends at the same time. My table was fun and made me enjoy the class even more. I can probably say that this class was my favorite this semester. I liked the way you related and had discussions with the class and now am actually looking forward to College Writing 2.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

extra credit

I was very interested in a lot of the topics we discussed in this class, and the whole aspect of media's influence on the world, and our society today was different, and fun to write about. There was focus with our assignments but also a good amount that we got to decide on our own which is a nice change from the classes I took in high school. It was nice to actually enjoy writing sometimes. Especially with the final, which was a lot of work, and hard because i was using a program i never worked with, but not something i dreaded using, and im happy i know how to use imovie now. After talking to people in other college writing classes I am even more pleased with the focused theme we had in this class because other classes seemed to have either very random topics, or just plain boring ones. I am happy with my performance in the class and feel that i learned a lot, improved and have more confidence in my writing.

Sunday, December 5, 2010

Final Paper

While starting my final paper, I have come across a few challenges. One of the biggest challenges I have encountered so far is the part of finding reliable sources to use within my paper. When searching for sources I found many opinions rather than proven information. So, you have to be careful because no one cares about someone's opinion unless they back it up with facts. Another problem i have had is that I have to decide which topics I would like to use and which I would not. I think my paper would be more effective if I go into depth with information on less topics rather than just brush over many topics. Overall, this paper isn't too challenging it just takes time to find credible sources, which is a lot different than our previous papers where it didn't involve research. At the point that I'm at now, I feel that I have found enough information to complete my paper. All I have to do now is figure out how to structure my essay.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Obstacle in Writing

I would have to say my biggest obstacle in doing this final paper is finding sources that I want to use and incorporate into my paper. Valid sources at that. I’m looking for someone, other than an opinionated regular citizen, who agrees with my point of view. I chose to write about whether I think that certain ways we communicate with each other is still considered writing. Most scholars think that writing has taken a turn for the worst in terms of communication. Another difficulty that is perhaps evenly matched is that is, that I cannot seem to get my paper to the page limit without those extra sources and content to talk about. One cannot write a lengthy paper without enough content.

complications with paper

I would say that right now my biggest difficulty with this paper is getting the motivation to get into it. It's not a subject that's particularly interesting to me it's kind of a tiring topic. I'm also just very bad at procrastination as it is so although I have done a little bit of work on it, I always have difficulty working on a paper when it's not the last minute when I know it must be done. Since this is a paper that requires much research and planning, it would be very difficult and un-wise to choose to wait last minute. Also, doing all the research is seeming a bit overwhelming it's hard to pick the perfect credible sources and citing is not fun for me. I would say my main struggle is just the type of paper and keeping an interest while writing it so I can maintain a solid argument and not be too focused on just getting it over with.

Biggest Obstacle

I would have to say that my biggest obstacle in writing this final essay would have to deal with my thesis statement. I chose to talk about the question asking if electronic media will ever replace the written word. I have had trouble with my thesis statement because I want to completely agree or disagree, but I also want to take both sides. I am finding it very hard to try and agree or disagree without mixing in both. Another obstacle that I have run into is trying to break up my thoughts. I tend to write a paragraph, but the paragraph is a page long. I need to figure out how to slipt my paragraph up so it is not a long boring essay. I would much rather someone read multiple paragraphs instead of having to read one long reading.

paper

Well this is kind of embarrassing but i honestly have not yet started this paper yet. I have somewhat of an idea of what I am going to write on but have not yet fully developed my ideas. The biggest of my problems is figuring out everything I am going to write. I have to brainstorm my ideas or else I will not have enough to write about. Starting the paper is THE hardest part for me. Another thing I have trouble with is finding sources for my paper. I want the sources to be good ones so I always have a hard time finding them. Developing my main ideas I know is what I have the most trouble with. I plan to start on this paper this weekend. I know I should have started it earlier and I highly regret waiting. I just need to find reliable sources and I will feel better.

Final Essay

My final essay/project is actually coming along quite well. I've almost finished the video taping and it went smoothly. I just need one other person and then myself. With each person it was a little awkward at first because not many people are used to talking to a camera, but eventually each person loosened up and made some very thought provoking points.

I thought the hardest part was going to be tying everything together into one thesis statement but I've got some ideas. Everyone was pretty much on the same page with interviews so I think it will be pretty easy. What I'm not looking forward to is the editing. I've used MovieMaker twice before but never like this, I'll probably get the hang of it but it will be time consuming. Another hard part is knowing that I don't have all of the time in the world. I keep wanting to interview everyone I see! However, I know that I won't have enough time to edit it all and put it together. So I'm tyring hard to keep it small. I'm also trying to keep a narrow enough focus but incorporating many ideas. With a topic like this, alone I could probably talk for hours but I would probably get off track.

Overall I'm very excited about the project. I think the work will turn out to be worth it because it's something I'm interested in and talk about all of the time with my friends.

road block in final paper

This essay I would have to say has been the hardest essay to write and come up with ideas for. When I picked this essay topic I was going to write about I was very excited because it was an interesting topic that I kind of always wondered about. My topic was about " will electric media replace the written word as the go to sources of information and entertainment". I would have to say yes and no. I really don't have too much trouble with this paper in the beinning it is mostley for our next part that is due on friday. I really just don't understand what all of what I want to say for this essay and how I am going to word it really. I know that is supposed to be an argument and I have a good argument about it, but I just don't know how I can take the argument statement and turn it into something grand and well written persay. I am a person who loves to argue and loves to express her own oppinion, but when it comes to writting essays about my oppinion it kind of tends to drift off of the argument and doesn't sound as forceful as I would like it to be portrayed. I had done a paper like this in high school with an argumentive statement and had thought it was great then turned it in and got a really low score because she said my thoughts were not clear enough to see what I was arguing and that I think is where I need the most help and need to stress more.

Roadblocks on final paper

I'm actually kind of excited about this final paper because the medium I chose should be nice break in the old type and hand in way. I chose to do the audio essay where you speak your essay and record versus writing it on paper. There is only a few difficulties I foresee in this project. The first of which would be finding the right topics to talk about that have to relate to the question I chose. Another difficulty I see is using the sources in the paper. My guess is that Im just going to say something like "according to blah blah 60 percent of people believe this" or something along those lines. Another possible problem I see is getting my audio essay to work on other peoples computers. Not that it is a huge problem, it is just something that could be time consuming or tedious.

Project

My project is coming along so far. I am doing a power point instead of a paper. The only thing I am unsure of is how to incorporate modalities. I understand what they are, but I am unsure on how you want them put into the project. I am also a little concerned on length. As of right now I have about 17-18 slides. I seemed to have answered the questions with supportive sources, but I am thinking maybe I should add more. Lastly, since it is not a paper, should I physically hand you a junk drive or email the final product to you? Overall, I feel like it will be a persuasive argument with pictures and video to help support.

Last essay (Kyle Baker)

So far I haven't gotten much progress on the final essay. Part of my problem is i'm not to clear on the sources that we have to give. I'm n ot completely sure whether i just pull qoutes out of convergences that agree with the fact that I'm arguing. Despite me not beginning the essay i have began to brainstorm quite a bit on the direction of where my paper is going. I also have a couple question as to how you want the set up. Are we supposed to give a qoute and the direction that it's going and some background and then relate it to what our argument is? Other than that most of the ideas that I'm going to be arguing are pretty clear.

Final Paper Issues

I think my biggest obstacle will be finding enough to write about. I think this class has allowed me to see that one of my greatest challenges with writing is knowing how much to say. I either know what I want to say and have trouble expanding on it or I write and write to the point where my thought gets lost a big mess of unnecessary words. For this paper, I'm pretty sure of the arguments I want to make but am uncertain of my ablities to stretch those ideas to fit the page requirement. I'm not too worried though because usually while writing papers I'll get new ideas to expand on. I'm also worried about finding enough time to write the paper in the way that I'd like because, of course, finals are coming up and I want to make sure I have time to study and sleep. But again, I'm really not too worried and if worse comes to worse there's always coffee.

Final Paper-Greg Knapp

To be honest I haven’t really thought too much about this paper. However, I did come across some problems when doing part 1. I am worried about sounding crazy in my paper. What I mean is that I know that we have to do a preemptive strike, but when thinking of arguments, I thought I sounded like I was talking to myself. I need to figure out to make it sound like I am not arguing with myself. I also found trouble in answering the questions listed at the bottom. I am not really sure if you want us to simply answer them with a paragraph or throughout the essay. So far these are the only concerns that I have. I think that once I start doing more in depth research on my topic, things will become clearer to me.

In Class Blog (Kevin Farr)

For our final paper I came across two main roadblocks, procrastination and coming up with a good thesis statement. When working on our first part of the paper, the one page summary, I had so many thoughts in my head of which was i wanted to take the paper and what essay topic out of the three I wanted to choose. As i started to write i couldn't come up with a clear thesis, I have many thoughts of which way to take my paper but after i sit down this weekend and work on it a little i should have a better idea of how i want my paper to go. This leads into my second problem, procrastination. I haven't really worked too much of the paper so far and this weekend i am really not looking forward to getting a head start on it. With two weeks left in the semester all i can think about is getting home to some of my mom cooking and not having to shower with sandals on anymore. I hope that my preparation for my other finals, which i am starting this weekend, will also include me writing some of this final paper. It all depends on how i feel this weekend, which i hope is ready to work, but most likely ill be sleepy all weekend and have to push through it to get my work done.

Struggles with the Final (BG)

So far the final essay i have had little struggles. but i have the feeling that iam going to struggle with not being repetitive. its been a problem in my past essays and iam still trying to get the hang of it. other than that the only other thing that might be an issue is grammar. i tend to not look at grammar or i look over it when reading a paper. i don't know why but ive never given it thought. these things i hope to be very cautious on in my final since theres really no do overs this time. i plan to look back on my essays and see where i have the most troubles in grammar and re read my paper many times to make sure i don't sound very repetitive. i might struggle with some citations but i think these are all little things that i can be aware of.

FINAL In-Class Blog

Well considering the only part that I've done for this final paper is part 1 I still have a lot of work left to do. I haven't begun to think about how I'm going to start it. I do know I have ideas formed from the first part. Earlier today I made up a schedule of how I'm going to deal with both of my final papers for 2 of my classes, both due next Friday. I guess that's a good start, better then nothing. I hope that I can make this paper my best one yet even though it's the hardest one and will probably be graded pretty strictly, seeing as how this is a writing class and this is our final paper. I hope my sources don't cause me a lot of trouble when I begin the paper. Those are probably the main concerns I have about the paper at the time. I'm sure more issues about it will pop up and then I'll be able to know what I'm going to have trouble with.

my final paper problems

So far my largest obstacle would have to be the issue of not starting yet. I tried to make an honest attempt to start my paper somewhat today knowing that we were going to be blogging today. When I tried to start my paper today my first thought was Where do I start !? Do I need to do research? Do I just start writing? So I kind of just didn't really try to write my paper today. Those questions are probably the rest of my issues so far. With this being our last and largest amount of points worthy I feel like I am also a bit overwhelmed when it comes to this paper because I feel like there should be so much going into this paper because it is worth so many points. I do think having my thesis somewhat prepared already does help because it kind of gives me like one foot into the paper of where I now need to go with the rest of my paper. Other than that I am pretty lost. I am hoping once I make an honest effort into starting my paper I will feel better about my paper and won't have as many questions.

final essay

So far the biggest difficulty with the final essay is that i decided to use imovie which I am not exactly familiar with. Using imovie isn't so bad but I am having a hard time expressing everything i want to with the essay. Im pretty sure my thesis is clear throughout the video but the transitions from topics is a little awkward. I had no trouble finding sources but have not begun to cite them yet, which is something I always leave to the end because it is so frustrating and tedious to make sure citations are accurate. Also I keep finding myself mixing the three topics of choice and feel like my point is less focused that way, I had trouble with this in the proposal as well but hopefully the message will be clear when i am finished.

Paper

I think that this paper is going to be a bigger challenge than all of the other ones have been so far. This one is going to include a lot more research and time taken to write it. I have not yet started it, but when I do I think that it will not be that hard to write. I feel that most of the time being put into this paper will be the research part of it. Research always takes the longest to do out of anything for me. Most likely because I always get distracted while I am trying to find it online. Also because there is so much information to read, which takes time to find what I am looking for. I feel that I can write a solid paper on the topic that I chose.

paper

I think the hardest part is going to be doing the sources and makeing sure they are right. I also think cerditiable information is going to be hard to i have to find wed sites that are good sources. I havent started my paper yet but i intend to start it this weekend and work through out the week. i also dont like that i am not gettin someone elses feed back on the paper i am going to have to have people from outside of the class to check it. I need to have strong points and i think that might be hard to because i feel this paper can go in a lot of different directions Im not very good and making effective arguments so i hope this goes well. I feel i will be fine once i get going. getting started is the hardest part but once i have all my info then i can start making ideas off those and put together a good paper.

Obsticles with the Final Paper

Well, so far on the paper I have struggled a lot with just getting things to flow. It is a topic I have a lot of ideas on but getting things such as quotes from people who may possible matter opinions I have been struggling. I have also found it difficult to build a good intro to things. Since this is the last essay and due basically at the end of the semester I know that there will be no chance to revise so this is the one that really counts. (not that previous final drafts did not count before) I have been spending a lot of time trying to make sure my ideas are flowing, and well basically they are not. ha. With the end of the semester so near I think it is my fault just based on the fact I am ready to move on. Besides these two things, my idea and putting on paper are going well. Once I get over this case of writers block the essay should be great. (I hope)

FINAL PAPER PROBLEMS- JK

The hardest part about this last paper for me is the organization. I know what I want to say I'm just not sure how to organize it. My topic is whether or not I think the written word will be replaced with technology. I think that it will, but whether I think that is a negative or positive I'm not completely one sided. I think that it is not good for us as people to rely on technology. I don't think we need it and I believe a lot of people think we need it. Our grandparents and parents both lived and functioned without it and I think that is a positive. Having a cell phone means people can contact you at all times of the day. I see the negatives and positives of that. A positive could be that if you ever get stuck or need help you can reach out to someone. A negative is that people can contact you all the time. So I just think that I'm going to have trouble organizing my paper, and having it make sense.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Selling Cool

This reading was interesting because i learned about the concept of cool hunting. I have to admit i have never heard of that terminology before. It makes sense though because different trends and fads need to be know by different companies so they can produce popular products. It was interesting to see how celebrities and groups of people wearing or sporting different things can set trends on such a large scale. The reading talked about Rocky for example and the hoodie phenom. I think every one has had a hoodie at one point. Convergences talks about how it can be a difficult task deciding whats cool or not. Trends do not always stick everywhere. the example they talked about with the tube socks and flip flops and beater HAS ALWAYS BEEN BUMMY to me, and u wouldnt get me dead in that mess, but some chicks want to look a mess. I can see it being popular in lower class neighborhoods and communities. You wont see people in the Burbs wearing that. it all depends on the group of people. the article was interesting in those aspects though.

Selling Cool

Its pretty funny that they mention the "coolhunters" because my senior year in high school we actually watched a mini documentary on them and what exactly they do. I could never believe that corporate america actually paid these people to go out and find whats "cool". In reading this I dont exactly agree with what they say about the hoodie. I think they are putting to much thought into just what a hoodie really is. To me a hoodie is a sweatshirt with a hood attached to keep you warm. Not to say "your against the world" or that you're a person who does graffiti. And all these examples that they are listing pretty much describes the world. Any given person fits into one of these categories. Going back to the coolhunters, I think that may be a waste of money. You cant really predict "cool" or whats in style. Case in point would be Sillybandz. A simple bracelet made out of cheap rubber. All that was done was it was molded into different shapes, animals, letters, etc.
Who would have thought that in a million years that this product would have taken off in high schools and middle schools like it did. Now when you walk into a store and you see a pack of five Sillybandz they're six dollars. Same thing with Livestrong bands although those went to a good cause but still, who could have predicted that they took off like they did.

Selling Cool

I thought this reading was interesting. However I would probably hate this Deedee person in real life. She seems obnoxious to me. I like that they know that "cool" has nothing to do with the product it has to do with the person. I think that what we see as cool is not really caring. People that we see as "cool" are usually off the trends they start once everyone else has caught on. When everyone does something it's not that cool anymore because we become accustomed to it. This makes it extremely weird that these people are looking to sell cool because you can't and they know that. I guess they're just making money off of the people that follow the trend, and those people aren't cool because they just eat up whatever is sold to them. There is a big difference in something that's popular and something that's cool.

There is so much behind the psychology of cool. For example, smoking. People don't want to think it's cool these days because it's so bad for you blah blah blah. But still when I watch the movie Good Fellas and see the scene with no words just Robert De Niro dragging on a cigarette I know it's damn cool. But even within the coolness of smoking there are things that are just uncool. Virginia slims, Camel No. 9's neither are at all cool. What's probably the coolest is Lucky Strikes or Kamel Reds, or any non filter cigarette because no one really smokes those.

selling cool

This article was all about advertising companies and campaigns and how their main task is to find out what is cool. That doesn't mean changing the product that is trying to be sold but how to make the product appeal to the proper audience by making it "cool" and therefore something a consumer would chose to buy. Shoe companies are big on finding things that are "cool" because shoe products are all so similar it makes sense that the companies need to get an edge on competition. When converse started realizing that exspensive shoes with several cushioned features and what not were not so popular anymore they brought back their classic Converse One Star from the 70s and it became popular again. When talking about Baysie and DeeDee two people involved in the advertising world, they are referred to as the Lewis and Clark of cool. This comparison is based on the fact that these people are responsible for going out into the real world and figuring out what will sell, what people will buy and let their companies know, similiar to how Lewis and Clark needed to go out into the New World and discover new things and report back on them.

Selling Cool

I believe that this little article was really interesting and fascinating. I was reading this article and it is about 100 % true that if everyone has it you will want to own it to. I know with fashion these days this is very popular. I know that I am very guilty of doing this type of action. I will look in magazines or go to the store and look at somethings and say wow I would never wear this, then later on I see that alot of other people are wearing them so then I think they are cool so I go and I buy it. What I find really fascinating about it is why do we buy things just because they are popular? I do it alot and I know that others have to but the big question is why? I believe that most teenagers do it because they think well i'm popular and I can wear whatever I want and no one will judge me, then the other teens that don't feel as popular they would say well all the popular kids are wearing them so it must be cool. I really just don't understand I guess why parents do the same thing. I think it is because they are just like us and if they see us wear it they think they would be cool and hip and they would want to wear it too. It is just a never ending cycle of people pursuing others to buy things because they are simply cool, not because they actually want them yes that may be in a small case but the majority that buy them only want them because other people are buying them and they want them to.

Selling Cool (Kevin Farr)

This reading was really cool. Ha. Anyway, I really liked how it started out, it definitely brought me into the reading wonder which is actually cooler or which one i thought was cool. Take the smoking one for instance, i didn't think either brand were cool, i don't smoke at all and i think its cool not to smoke. Cigarette companies are really good at manipulating things to make them seem good even when they are not. Like when they say 4 out of 5 doctors would rather smoke brand A then brand B. But what they don't say that is maybe if you ask doctors if why would rather smoke brand A or not smoke at all less than 4 out of 5 would say they would rather smoke brand A. That whole study is based on making one brand being better than another. But since they use doctors it manipulates people to thinking that one brand may be good because they use doctors as examples and doctors are thought of as always doing healthy things. Cigarette companies are definitely the best and pulling this off.In my sociology class we went over cool and what is cool so i learned about cool hunters already. Then and now i still think what they do is pretty easy, they go around and see what people are into for the latest trend and then they give that information out. In the video we watched they would go to teenagers houses and pay them to ask them questions and see inside of their room of what they have and what kind of clothes they wear.

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Selling Cool

To me, this was one of the better stories that we have read all year. I liked at the beginning how the story asked the question what is cool. I also thought it was very interesting how they brought up the point about cigarettes and how they are cool or not. To me I believe they are not cool what so ever just based on the fact that they cause cancer and death but teenagers think there cool because it makes them look older. I thought the next segment of this reading was also very cool. I didn’t realize that people actually had jobs to travel around and observe things that could potentially be “cool”. In my opinion “cool” is what I think looks good, I could care less if everyone else is wearing something. I mean if I think it looks good I’ll join the party but otherwise I have no interest in what other people wear. I also found it very interesting that the “cool hunters” don’t necessarily look for what looks cool but they look for the actual cool kids. Another interesting thing I realized was the fact that some of the cool things that are being worn were actually old fashion. My mom has told me many times that the things we wear now a day were once popular when she was young. I also enjoyed the last reading how the Rocky movies effected fashion and started the trend of wearing hoodies. I never thought about a movie effecting fashion but now that I actually think about it I would have to say they affect fashion tremendously.

selling cool--last blog post

As a current high school student, I completely understand the importance of being cool. I agree completely with the introduction of the selling cool. Having the most up to date cell phone has been something that has been important at my school. I have always wondered, what makes a certain word cool or anything else cool? I think this goes back to like what we were talking about in class where advertisers bombard product advertisers use celebrities to sell their products. I thought it was interesting to read about the creation of Converse shoes and I can agree that today they are still very popular, but I have personally never owned a pair. I think it was interesting to read about coolhunting and how they do what they do. I wonder what a book would be like if they were to write a book and be able to write it without the footnotes all over the place. I agree with the fact that trends can change on a daily basis. One thing could be cool one day, but could be uncool the next day. I think that Nike add really says a lot. I have never seen that advertisement before, but I have heard how poorly the factory workers for Nike are treated overseas. Knowing that seeing that article would make me think twice about wearing Nike, despite how cool Nike is to many people. I thought it was interesting to hear about the start of hoodies. I am for sure glad that the hoodie was invented because I wear them so often I don't know what I would do without them. Overall, I found this article to be very interesting and very informative. Although I probably wouldn't use these "cool rules" in my daily life to become a cooler person.

selling cool

I liked how it started off. It brought things into my mind that i already had sense of but never really interpreted. Like cigarettes for instance. they are not cool they kill people but kids smoke at a young age still because of ideas they have in there head already. and also fast food places its like everything is a popularity contest just depends who likes what the best and who has the best ratings weather things will do good or not. I liked how they talked about fashion to. I found it interesting how they said a new shoe or something would come out yearly now they come out seasonally. the world has to keep up with what the trends of today are or they might go out of business. For example many girl took an interest in uggs which are very expensive. I have never heard of a coolhunter untill i read this. But i guess everyone has a job and theirs is to find and expand the trends of the world. they also stated that you have to be one to know one. so Im guessing you have to be cool to know what cool is. i guess this makes sense i mean i wouldn't want to take fashion tips from someone who doesn't no how to dress well them selves. lastly i liked how they talked about hoodies i am a big fan of them and they have grown. there are so many different types of hoodies out there. Cool is cool!

Selling cool Kyle Baker

In this article I was able to think of so many examples to when something is cool applies especially in advertising. When they began to talk about apple and how they portray the logo and Corp to be cool i thought about many commercials that were aired late last year. They began the commercials out by having Justin Long represent apple and an older man in a tux represesnt PC. Justin Long is a younger actor that appeals to the general population that apple wants to sell to. By him endorsing and representing apple in these scenario's it allows alot of college kids to think " Hey i want a mac" because often times in the commercial they make the PC look bad. I also agreed with what was said about how big sneakers used to come out every year and now they come out every season. With the use of multi modal advertising its allowing styles to be seen sooner which in turn leads to them fading quickly. I also thought it was funny how there are cool hunters because who decides who is cool? Especially with how society is constantly looking for the next cool thing. Often times i feel that cool is defined by what is going on in the world and who is the next big thing in entertainment. I couldn't imagine being a cool hunter because by the time you realized what society thought was going to be cool it might have already changed.

"Cyberspace" (kyle baker)

This article really made me think because as much as you want to deny it cyberspace really exists. This gives a person a more in depth look at a specific example of how technology is becoming a growing medium. Chat rooms for example don't actually allow the user to sit and talk to an individual at a single location but "cyberspace" is more of a label for the way we talk to people. It should never be considered a geographical place because it's not. You're not actually able to get up and walk around but cyberspace allows users of the internet to voice their opinions on an open medium where anyone can look at it. I also never looked into how they give you a shopping cart on websites and treat it as if it were a real transaction in person. This form of medium to purchase items allows a user to do many things impersonally because you're no longer able to talk to a person. The video game aspect taking a look into virtual worlds is crazy to think about. My roomate just purchased a game called Fable 3 where you can have a real life. You are practically able to do anything from marry a women to have children and become a king. I believe these video games are distracting people especially young kids out of ordinary life.

Cool- Greg Knapp

I enjoyed this reading in convergences very much. Knowing what is “cool” is sometimes very hard to figure out. Fashion changes every day. Sometimes it’s new things and other times its old fashion being reborn. This makes good business for companies but not consumers. I have personally found it hard to know when to buy something. In this changing culture, a shirt that you bought brand new a month ago could be considered hideous now. With technology, you never know when the next version of something is going to come out. Companies know when to slow the production of an older version to prepare for the new one. However, consumers are left in the dark. The “cool hunters” was a very humorous story to me. When they talked of the old guys going into the bar with their 1980’s apparel, I couldn’t help but laugh. I liked how they wanted to see the reactions of people. I also found it very interesting how they said that in order to be cool; you have to be born with it. They said something like you can’t put something cool on an un-cool person and expect them to be cool. This is harsh but very true.

The hoodie story with Rockie caught my attention. I never knew the story behind hoodies until now. I think that the way a hoodie is perceived is by who is wearing it. Everyone wears hoodies but it doesn’t relate the people whatsoever. For example, if a girl is wearing one I think that she just didn’t feel like dressing up today. On the other hand if a tall, built man was wearing one I would assume he is related to athletics somehow. It all depends on who is wearing the hoodie.

Monday, November 29, 2010

Selling Cool

Personally, I enjoyed the very begging of this reading. It pinpointed main tings that people describe as cool and ask "are they really cool?" and if so whose the judge? For example, smoking and the latest technology. I do agree that advertising agencies play a big role in the persuasion of people. They make the products seem ideal and perfect so that everyone wants them. Cigarette companies are probably one of the best at this. They make their cigarettes seem good for you even though their product causes lung cancer and other health issues. The younger people are usually the most influenced by advertising gimmicks. They have the need to fit in and feel that if they buy that product it will help their cause. Another advertising strategy is when celebrities try and sell a product. As we discussed in class Gatorade, and other commercials such as Pro Active Solutions and Jenny Craig are some of the few that use this tactic. What is sad is that...it works.
The whole concept of coolhunting is funny to mean. It seems to be a meaningless activity. Every ones idea of "cool" is going to be different, so why pick one woman to go door to door to give her opinion and decide. Sure fashion has different trends however most likely the person who starts them is educated in fashion. Overall, I believe that advertising is sometimes fake and overrated and that cool hunting should not exist.

selling cool

I honestly enjoyed reading the stories on convergences this time. I honestly thought they were pretty interesting. To start off with, I had never heard of "coolhunters" before until I read about them. It talked about Baysie and DeeDee who were coolhunters and I think that is such a cool job to have. To go out and see what people are wearing, if it is cool, and if it would sell. I think that would be really fun but obviously really hard to get that specific job. In my opinion I think it would be incredibly hard to figure out what is considered "cool" and what isn't because every person has their own opinion. I don't know. Another thing I thought was pretty cool was how they talked about the hoodie and Rocky. This interested me because the Rocky movies are my favorite movies. I learned how the hoodie came to be which I had never really learned about before until now and how it was partiall brought about by Rocky Balboa. I also never knew how many stereotypes there were when someone was wearing a hoodie. I think it is crazy to judge someone based on an article of clothing they are wearing but we are humans judge people every day and will judge for the rest of time. But one thing I do not understand and probably will never understand is how can they put a label on what is "cool"? Because I believe it is each and every individuals opinion to decide what is cool, not one specific group of people. My advice to everyone is wear what YOU want to wear, not what everyone else is wearing because what you wear and do makes up who you are somewhat. You just have to be yourself.

cool

I thought that this was a really interesting read. Being into in the world of fashion, and being a fashion design major I've always had I guess an "eye" for certain trends and upcoming styles. I'm not saying that I'm always right or that other's agree with me, but I would say I get it for the most part, which is why i'm making a career out of it. I thought that the job of a "coolhunter" sounds sweet, but it's not as easy a task as people who don't really have that ability may think. Predicting style trends can be very difficult and a brutal process. For a designer, if your next line is just slightly off from what is considered cool for that season, your career is done. Not to mention all the time, money and effort you just spent to launch that line is wasted. Baysie and DeeDee seem to really grasp the idea of "cool" and have the right knowledge and skills for their line of work. I thought that the hoodie article was a good example of how trends move and how without realizing it by wearing something as simple as a hoodie your participating in a trend that's been strewn across many different groups of people. I've been snowboarding for about five years now and I will often see people wearing hoodies on the slopes. It's crazy to think that that same clothing item snowboarders might often wear started from the Rocky movies, and has been involved in completely different groups; from laborers, to athletes, to their girlfriends, to gangs, to hip hop artists, then to snowboarders. That's how a lot of trends work though, they start off being used for a completely different purpose then over time get transformed to be a popular use for something else and this is a good example. Overall I enjoyed reading these articles, even though the whole idea may seem a bit ridiculous; they do explain, for the most part, how "cool" works.

Selling Cool (Blog Week 14)

When I saw the title for this blog I thought it would be a pretty fun article to read and it was. "Selling Cool" really interested me right away because it asked a bunch of questions about what is cool to do or what is cool to own. I answered some of the questions to myself because my opinion on these questions is what I think is cool. Not everybody has to agree with me on this but I know in my own mind what is cool.

I think that DeeDee and Baysie have THE coolest jobs because they are "coolhunters." I didn't even know there was a such thing as a "coolhunter" until reading this article. I would love to have a job that required me to go out and see what was "in" or what was "cool" these days. I think it would be awesome to land a job for Nike or Under Armor as a "coolhunter."

After reading "A Look Under the Hoodie" I was really quite surprised because I didn't know that Rocky made them famous. I knew he wore one in the movie after running up the steps but for him to make it famous is quite interesting. Also the part about intimidation or wearing a hoodie for keeping a low-profile is kind of ridiculous because everyone wears a hoodie nowadays so is everyone doing something illegal then? No!

Selling Cool

Some of the examples in selling cool made me laugh a bit, i mean the description of the cholo or whatever that was supposed to be a hit? I can honestly say i've never seen the whole wife beat, bra strap out, long shorts, tube socks, and shower sandals catch on. I mean i realize i've only been here 18 years but I have never seen it and I hope that it does not catch on. The thought of cool hunters seems awesome. I feel like that is a job I would love to have. I mean to do nothing but get paid to find out what is cool? That would be living the dream. Plus I feel like there would be some nice perks for a job like that :) Really, the question that sparked my interest the most was who really gets to decide what is cool? I mean who can say that their opinion matters more than mine. I do not think that it is determined by just one group of people. I mean take a look at Kent for example, I see people walking by dressed in all black, some in tight dresses, some in tights, meanwhile since it is getting so cold I prefer a nice warm pair of sweat pants and a hoodie. Who is to say that my style is better or worse than any of these styles? If there is one person I would love to meet them, and slap them in the head for making tights a hit... ha.

Selling Cool

I thought it was interesting that there are such things as "cool hunters" when the point of "being cool" is not selling out to the mainstream. These "cool hunters" look for things that are cool, consider themselves cool and yet ruin cool things. I'm pretty the first rule of being cool is go against the mainstream. How can you go against the mainstream when you work for them specifically to ruin cool things? This is uncool. Then again there are many interpretations of cool. I do not think Snooki nor Justin Bieber is cool but a lot of people consider them to very cool and therefore very popular. It's neat that the article mention black Converse One Stars as it is a trend I've noticed every where for years and years on everyone from the goth kids to the cheerleaders. Everyone seems to have a pair but no one really talks about it. It's a fad that's lasted a long while.

I can understand hoodies being popular. They're warm. They're also really convenient for windy or rainy days. I remember a few years ago when it was the in thing for girls to wear XXL hoodies so they looked like they were drowning in fabric. That was right before the pancho fad. I still can't believe that was a fad.

What is cool? (BG)

after reading this weeks readings, i think that it makes a good point and can easily relate to today especially in high schools. in high school and even in college your trying to figure yourself out and if you hear everyone else doing something like smoking your gonna think its cool and that its normal. your going to want to fit in and not be the odd one out. Its hard to not to fall into that shadow. but at the same time you got to do some searching yourself. this articular talks about the "trickle up" theory where cool finders get their ideas from normal people. i dont think this is a bad theory as long as you take that idea and make it your own because then your just stealing it from someone. Take the idea but put your own thoughts and views in. i think honestly everyone goes through a cool cycle and it wears off. Kids and teenagers and college kids all go through them to figure where they want to go in life. i think that you just have to know where the line is between taking someones idea and taking the idea but making it your own.

CyberSpace

this reading was interesting to say the least. i mean cyberspace exists... no one could argue that. Millions upon millions use the web every single day and when they go into those chat rooms, obviously they are not transferred to a spot in space where they can sit and talk to these strangers, but there words are. That is what i have always believed. I mean your entire body may not be in cyberspace but your words and thoughts can be, and those are a huge part of a person. The thought of cyberspace being a geographic location makes me laugh. Obviously it is not. That is the beauty of it. I mean you can get online in one click, and instantly see things for sale half way around the world. I think that the invention of the Wii and Connect probably increased a lot of belief in this topic. I mean you hold a controller and move it to the left and the character on the game moves to the left. Now with the connect you do not even need a controller, it moves when you do... so you yourself might not exist there but your cyber self if you will, is what exists there. I guess in a sense it could be considered a location, just one that only human avatars could ever exist in. But personally, I think that thinking that way is just going to drive us all mad with curiosity.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

SELLING COOL - JK

I thought this article was really interesting. I liked that I could connect with it. I'm a Fashion major and when I started learning about how some trend seekers were getting their ideas from the streets and from real people I really loved that. This article talks about the "trickle up" theory where these cool finders were getting their ideas from normal people.


I also liked the part of the article where it talked about where certain trends come from. From example: baggy jeans. Some might say one place and other might say another. I liked that it can’t be pin pointed.


I really liked that cycle of cool. It’s like with fashion. You want to be wearing a trend that makes others want to wear it, but by the time everyone is wearing it, you want to be on to the next thing. It’s taking what you’re wearing and owning it. Making it your own so that when others see you wearing it they think, “Wow, I never would have put it together like that.” I really liked that fact that they talked about finding cool things, but being about to ver off a certain path. Too much of anything is a bad thing, but it’s ok to get things from here and there as long as you make them your own.


Overall I can’t believe someone gets to search for trends as a job. I think it would be the coolest job ever. It sounds easy, but it truly takes an eye to pick out the next big trend.

Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Cyberspace

While reading these pages on cyberspace, many ideas were brought to my attention that I have never thought about before. One of the first things I learned about was that people look at cyberspace as an actual geographical place. Now, I have never thought about the internet this way but I can see where they are coming from. The part that I really liked in these few readings was the part about real life shopping compared to internet shopping. In this part they talked about how on the internet the places you want to shop at are infinite where as if you actually went to the mall your choices are limited to the stores the mall has. They also talked about how on the internet the stores are just one click away rather than going to the mall and having to walk around to them. I also liked the part where they talked about games and how they get you away from your ordinary life. I like this because when you play video games it gets you to experience things you never would in real life. For example, I just bought a new video game called Call of Duty: Black Ops and in the game you are a secret organization that goes around and completes unimaginable missions. Now, in real life I would have never had the opportunity to do this but because of video games I have experienced it. One of the last things that I read was about how people think the virtual world will affect life in the real world. I strongly disagree with this because I have been playing games like this my whole life and not once have I ever been affected in the way they speak of.

Cyberspace Greg Knapp

This reading put the internet into a different perspective. Even after reading it, I still don’t know where I stand I stand on the actual physical presence of “cyberspace”. Obviously it isn’t something that you can feel, touch, taste, touch, or smell but is it still there? Every second of every day cyberspace is used. You can talk to people through cyberspace. The amount of information being passed through this space is endless. It can never be overused or “burnt out”. Cyberspace to me is facebook. Through facebook a lot of things are possible. It allows you to connect with people that you may not see on a daily basis. This is a positive way that I utilize cyberspace. The reading talks about how it is in a negative way. The game world of warcraft was mentioned. I’ve known many people that have been way to into this game. The reading talks about psychologists have clients that talk about obsessions with games. This is a prime example of the negative effects of cyberspace. I have personally known these types of people. These kids can’t wait to play in this virtual world. I’m sure that each and every one of them world tell you that cyberspace is real. They are so into the game that they think they are the actual player. I think that cyberspace is something that needs to be used correctly or the results could be bad.

Cyberspace

Cyberspace is becoming a very hot topic amongst people today. I believe that cyberspace has changed the way that people are communicating. Things such as Facebook and Twitter are becoming a more popular way to talk to someone than to talk face to face with a person. I think that cyberspace is actually a good thing also. I have to say that I think without things such as Facebook I would not be able to talk to the people that are far away from me as much as I do. I can now communicate more conveniently with people. I also believe that cyberspace can be taken in a bad way. Like I said before, I believe that people can use the internet too much and that disconnects from the actual world. Not only is there Facebook and Twitter, but now there are video games and much more to do on the internet. Cyberspace can be taken in different ways, but I believe that it can be positive and negative.

week 13- cyberspace

The first thing I found to be really interesting is when you are talking to someone like in Koppell's example of a chat room, you are all in one place. I never thought while I was skyping someone or talking to someone on Facebook that we were all in one place. So when I thought about that there are probably millions of people in one place at one time on Facebook constantly throughout the day. I also found it interesting that members of groups are also in one place. It's weird to think when logging into anything it is considered to be logging into another dimension. Where is this dimension they are talking about when they actually think about this metaphor they are using? Do they think of it as like another planet out there? When thinking of cyberspace as a thing, I don't really know what I think of it as. I guess I just have always thought of the internet as always being there and when it's not there, I have absolutely no idea what to do. I think that's a sign of how dependent we have all become of the Internet. The distance article really is interesting how fast you can visit a site that is based out of one part of the world, but then the next second you can be visiting a web site out of another place in the world in a matter of seconds. When the article talks about there being a lack of direction in cyberspace I believe that to be true. Especially when you are trying to google something and it comes back with thousands of results, choosing which article to pick is often difficult and finding one that is reliable. I found some of the articles to be sometimes confusing and at times boring.

CONVERGENCES ("Cyberspace")

It's interesting reading about the history of cyberspace. For me, it's easy to forget that the internet and the virtual world is recent development in the history of the world. "Cyberspace" takes up so much my generations time. It's very much apart of us. Reading that the term "cyberspace" originated in a science fiction novel is very bizarre. It's understandable that travel in the virtual world was so popular though, it isn't as much anymore. Convergences speaks of "Second Life" as if it's going to be a break though in how the world interacts but it's popularity has seemed to fizzle. I know no one personally who still uses the program. I looked at it myself a few years ago but I found it to be confusing and dull. So, to answer the question "Will Second Life and it's successors transform our conventional notions of public space and human community?" I'm going to say no. Time has proven that but I think one of the reasons it failed had to do with the popularity of facebook. There's more instant gratification in a page a with all the information that you need from a person while with second life there still just more interaction.

Cyberspace (Kevin Farr)

I really like the blog reading for this week, it was very interesting. This reading had some truth to it. People now a days are getting glued to their computer and being sucked into "cyberspace." People could sit on their computers for hours on end and with websites like Facebook, Ebay, and Addicting Games people are never bored. They are either meeting new people, shopping or playing their day away with computer games. If you do not pay attention to it you may end up being one of the people who are stuck in "cyberspace," always on the computer doing something pointless. The Internet does have some good aspects to it though, you can look up and infinite amount of information in fractions of second using Google or any other search engine. Even though you find millions of links on the topic you look up they are not always reliable. Websites like Wikipedia are not a reliable source for information. One reason why I know this is because one day Brett Favre's name was changed to Brett Farr by me, It was like that for a good hour before anybody seemed to notice. I did receive a message advising me not to do it again :P The point is that anybody can throw any information on the Internet and we wont really know if its true or not. This is why I feel that the overuse of technology is not a good thing. People are becoming to dependent on the Internet and "cyberspace" that they almost loose touch with reality and think that some online game that they play is their whole world.

Reflection (Week 12)

I did some of the modules at the beginning of the semester and they really helped me to know what to do then. Looking at them again refreshed my memory of how to search through the library for certain things especially when I am researching for my papers in the upcoming weeks. My final papers would probably be tougher if I didn't have this useful knowledge at hand. The MLA module helps to although I've been using the MLA format all year for my papers it is still nice to have a refreshment of this. The modules really helped me out this year!

Cyberspace (BG)

I thought this weeks reading was interesting and makes a good point. Cyberspace really is creating a blurry boundary between the internet and reading books. so many people are becoming bound and taken over by the internet that its hard to get a word in with them. Its not just looking up the news or looking up research any more. its the video games and sites such as Facebook, that have so many people glued to their computers or electronics. I think that if its research your looking for, the internet is not the best option. I mean yeah its fast and convenient, but its not tangible, and most sights you shouldn't believe everything you read. Internet i think is one of those things you have to be very careful with. You cant let it take over your life, even though it can be very easy to do. Its good to still get out and see people face to face and not always chatting over the computer. while the internet can be fun and helpful, its learning the balance of it is the hard part. its crazy how easy and how fast people can become addicted to the internet these days. eventually technology will end up replacing just about every thing it seems like.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Cyberspace

After reading the stories in Convergences that were about cyberspace, i began to think about it a lot more. I had never really sat down and thought about the term cyberspace nor have I ever really used it in a sentence of some kind. One thing I do think that is down right insane is how people become so obsessed with online games and stuff such as Second life, as they mentioned in the readings in convergences. It stated that fifteen million people play that game worldwide. Don't people have better things to do with their life? I know it is probably entertaining, and people like it because it is not real and you can express your feelings freely, but when you can actually spend real money on fake things in the game I think that is crazy. I just believe you can do a lot better things with your time like spend time with a loved one, read a book, play an instrument, clean, make the planet a better place to live, play with your cat, there are an infinite amount of other things you could be douing but many choose to go into a make believe land called cyberspace. I do understand that it is very addicting though. I once started playing a game called Cafe world on face book. I actually planned my day around that game, figuring out when ill be back from places so I can get that chicken pot pie out of the oven on time. It gets intense. But thankfully I quit and refuse to play any online game on the computer. They just aren't for me.

Monday, November 22, 2010

Library Modules

After reviewing the library skill modules I don’t have any questions about library research. I really liked the MLA and APA format modules because I’ve always been confused on what I needed to do. These will help me clear up my confusion. I also thought it was nice for them to talk about plagiarism, in high school we talked a lot about this and I even experienced it. I did not receive the extreme consequences but my 12th grade English teacher wanted us prepared for college life. These modules are good resources that I will refer back to throughout my college life. They also showed me how to narrow my research results which I’m grateful for, I’m always stuck with too many sources and information that I don’t know how to use this will help a lot. They have taught me a lot and will continue to teach me as I grow wiser.

Twitter Vs. The Newspaper

I liked the article “Who needs newspapers when you have twitter” interesting. It made good points when reading the newspaper you are getting the whole story which sometimes consists of unnecessary facts. Once the story gets to twitter or other sources most of the unnecessary information has been left out leaving you with the important parts of the story. A bad thing about twitter is there are many celebrities that use it so you get caught up it the whole celeb life sometimes. I personally don’t use twitter I don’t like it but I do agree with what’s being said. I get all my news from my cellphone and Facebook which can compare to twitter. It is also much easier to get news from an online source rather than a paper source in my opinion. The good thing is that the television is still available for people who liked to get news the old fashion way. So there are still many positive takes on old fashion media.

Cyberspace

After reading convergences it talks about if cyberspace is a real place. For example, when your shopping online and you fill up your shopping cart you are not really in a store or are you? Technology is blurring the boundaries between real and virtual. Personally I do not think where you go and what you do online is real. It is not tangible you can not experience half of what you would if you were truly there in person. Since more and more things are happening online like match.com where you can meet a potential spouse or skyping, people are less encouraged to go out in the world and do it on their own. I think that is a negative thing. It creates laziness and an attitude that everything should be done for us. Cyberspace brings people together, but not in the same place. How would you truly get to known someone by chatting online or through the phone. You would not be able to pick up on emotion like sarcasm or see their initial reaction about a pressing question. I would not be able to form a special bond with a person without being face to face and being around each other. The sidewalks in cyberspace do not have distance, adjacency, and fixity. There is lack of direction and physical places. That is proof that cyberspace is not a real place and that people should not get confused.

Library Modules

I'd looked at these library modules in a first year experience class but it was a nice refresher for the upcoming finals week. I think most of my question have been cleared up and I no longer have any concerns about how to go about looking for research in the library. It's nice that the modules explained how to use OhioLINK because I'm sure it will be a useful tool in the future. I'm glad this information was covered but I wish this information was made available sooner. This is the kind of information that should be explained in the first few weeks of school not at the end of the semester.

Twitter VS. News

I agree with the author when he says internet is taking over how we recieve news and other information. Twitter is a very popular site when one can recieve tweets and updates from anyone they subscribe to. on twitter one can "follow" a person, company, music artist or news network of one's choice. I personally follow NPR, the onion, and a couple of other news related pages. people are beginning to go more digital ad read less paper newspapers. many, if not all, newspapers already have websites that readers can go on and look at articles. in away it is more interactive and one can look at slide-shows, picture galleries, and even hear audio opposed to reading it. a few industries are being taken over or being challenged by internet advances, and the news and newspapers happen to be one of them.
i remember watching a show about how this newspaper in denver went out of business due to its online coverage. several people were out of a job and the few older folks who still read the paper now no longer could. it was a perfect example of how the world is becoming more reliant on sources the public feels is quicker and easirer to access anywhere. the idea of quick and easy is what makes the internet and social sites easy to post to and share links on.

Library Modules

The library modules (1-5) were quite informational. Checking databases for scholarly articles, recognizing synonyms, finding different books by topic and how to find items in the library were all included in the little tutorials. It was helpful because it refreshed my memory on a few tips n pointers I can use in this next paper. Alot of the material in the tutorials are expected of college students so it was a nice refresher of general research, that can apply to any of KSU's college courses that require a moderate amount of writing. The modules showed me how to use perhaps the most reliable source wisely, the library. The internet is reliable to an extent, but books tend to be the old fashioned reliable way to do research.

Library Modules

I think that the library modules were very interesting and very helpful. I believe that I will use the modules a lot more than I thought. The module that will be most useful will be the module about MLA and APA format. I remember that we went over this briefly in high school, but we never went into detail about it. Once I got to college all of my classes were saying use MLA and APA format and I am confused on what to exactly do. Also, I thought that the module about plagiarism was very interesting. I know that this is a big deal in college, but in high school we did not learn about it as much. I believe that these were the most helpful modules.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Twiiter

I found the article "Who needs newspapers when you have Twitter" to be very interesting and I enjoyed reading it. It really focuses on how today's people retrieve information. I agreed with Chris Anderson throughout the article on what he was saying. The Internet has made a huge impact in recent years and so many more people are using it. The newspaper is no longer being used by people to get the scoop on the news. People are now switching to going online because it is a more convenient source and saves money. I never read the newspaper anymore and the only times that I have read it was to read about high school sports in the sports section of it. I also think that most people get the newspaper to get the ads for the week. Well, at least that is how my family is and that is the only time they will go out and buy a newspaper. The younger generation of people are now using the internet to get news, but the older generation is still getting the newspaper. The newspaper will always be around, but the internet is just a faster way to find about something big that has happened.

Library Skill Modules

I think that the Library Skill modules are very helpful and explained how to do numerous things very well. I now know how to narrow my results so that I am not stuck going through a bunch of useless articles. I never knew about the truncation symbol but I think that it will be useful as I do research. The plagiarism module was very useful because it really gets to the point on what it considered plagiarism. I know that college is really strict about it so I think that this module was one of the most important ones. The modules also helped me learn the difference between the MLA and APA format when writing papers.

Library Skill Modules

I think the Library Skill Modules are a very helpful and useful tool when it comes to using the library. Half the time when I search for something I just type in the first thing that comes to mind and pay no attention to whether it is too narrow or too big. I also never considered that this could effect my search results. Another thing I never knew was that library's search for the literal term and you can us truncation to find different tenses of the word you searched. I always try to think of synonyms but I never realized that just expanding the words you use and putting the word "and" and "or" can help find better articles/books that related more to the topic your looking for.

Twitter and The News

As much as Chris Anderson sounds like a cocky sob who thinks he knows everything, I agree with what he's saying. The newspaper, radio news, and even TV news are becoming obsolete. Everything is found on the Internet these days. If someone wants to find out what happened in their town all they have to do is go to Google and type in their city and bam, multiple news sources are produced within seconds. The only people who I see buying papers are the people who are 50+ in age and are walking into CVS to get their prescription meds. I think this also true with many other things in the 21st Century. Many traditional things are moving into a technological era. As much as older generations don't want to make this transition it's going to happen and that mainly because of my generation. I would define our generation as the technological generation because we grew up with using computers in school and having them in our homes. In fifth grade, I still remember having a computer lab and we were one of the only elementary schools to have a classroom specifically for computer assignments. Everything since then has, in one way or another, involved technology. One really good example is the evolution of game consoles, granted we weren't around when Atari was out but the consoles such as Xbox and Playstation. When Playstation first came out it was that thing that every boy had to have and not 2 years later did the Playstation 2 come out and the same thing happened. Once those came out Xbox came out, Gamecube came out, Dreamcast came out, and all these "state or the art" game consoles started being produced right around the turn of the century. That is why I would say we are a technology generation.

LIbrary modules

Although I have not yet needed to use the library as a resource for research, I know that I will definitely be doing so in the future. For the past seven years, I have used the same library because my middle school and high school were in the same building. Because of this, if I ever needed a book from either, I could easily find what I was looking for with the help of our librarian. It is much different coming to such a largely populated school that has such a big library. It is very helpful to know how to find the books that I need on the computer and then be able to pick them up or have them sent here. Also, I didn't know how to read the call number and now I will be able to figure out exactly where to find what is needed. Most of the time when I do research, I use the internet. I find that it is easier and quicker than having to find books and I used the least amount of books required. That being said, the modules really helped a lot and will be referred in the next couple of years.

Twitter vs Newspapers

I don't necessarily agree with what Mr. Anderson says about newspapers being dead. On a personal level I think quite the opposite. I've never been on twitter before so I don't really know how it works but I'm pretty sure the majority of people using it are not talking about world events and news that you would get in the newspaper. It all seems much more self indulgent to me. People needing to tell all their "twitter friends" what they just ate for breakfast, or that they just saw the new Harry Potter movie and it totally blew their mind. This isn't the kind of news I care about even slightly.

Another part of this is online newspapers this is a far better argument than twitter. I think most people go online for newspapers because you can read any newspaper around the country and that is truly amazing. This would keep you informed.

Still though for me, I like reading the literal "paper." I don't go on the computer much and when I do I usually have something that I need to do, so I get it done and get off. I don't think to look up today's New York Times. I know if I spent more time on the computer this is probably the way I would get my news. However, that is not the case. I like waking up in the morning drinking coffee and watching or reading (on paper) the news. I do go to these sources when I want to know more about specific events, but just as far as basic news reading, I'm not going to open up the computer.

I don't by any means disagree with the fact that computers are taking over the news and most other physically written materials. I think for some it also replaces the TV. You are able to download movies and watch TV shows any time you want. I just am really not so fond of using computers all the time.

Library Modules

I thought the library modules were very helpful. I didn't know about any of that really. I get that you need to have a relatively narrow search to thin the results but it being too narrow can give you too few results, but I didn't know about the truncation. That seems extremely helpful. I liked that the site was very interactive, by going through the steps I feel like I learned the techniques more thoroughly. I think they explained the information very well. I don't have any questions about those topics at this point.

Twitter and Content

While reading the Article, “Who needs newspapers when you have Twitter,” it reminded me a lot of a Media, Power and Culture class I am currently taking. While I was reading this, I compared the thoughts of Mr. Anderson with the information I’ve learned in the class and realized that I only agree with some of the stuff Anderson said. I agree with the part that said everything is going online based and the things of that sort. I agree with this because you can see it happening for yourself. Also, in my class we have watched many videos on how Newspapers are starting to go to online versions. I disagree with Mr. Anderson in the fact that he said traditional news and newspapers are dead. I disagree with this because as stated in my MPC class, there are people out there who will ALWAYS buy newspapers just for the physical aspect of it. I also disagree with this because when reading the newspaper and watching the news you get a diverse range of news so, if you choose to do what Mr. Anderson does and just pick what you want to know about you won’t be an informed person. Overall, I can see where Mr. Anderson is coming from but, there are a few flaws in his perception.

While looking at these CBC models, I have to agree with the new model rather than the older version. I agree with the new model because when something happens in someone’s life, people now post it on the radio, TV, or web rather than getting content on it first. I also agree with the next stop because people now-a-days comment on thing and blog (add information to it) when they see a subject that interests them. Then finally the news reaches you. In my opinion, in the past times, people use to get a subject and research it before they would report on it and in today’s world people tell first and research later. This is due to all the new technology such as cell phones, twitter, Facebook and thing of that sort.

Library Module

While reading some of the Library Modules I figured out that I really didn’t know anything about what the library can do and the things it can help you with. One of the first things I read was about narrowing your topic; I didn’t know there was a truncation symbol you could put after a word. The truncation symbol lets you search a word and comes up with results in all its tenses (price, prices, priced…). This I believe will be very useful when doing research on a topic. While looking at these modules it also helped me specify the difference between APA format and MLA format. I also learned how to search for books and how to avoid plagiarism. By reading this I really don’t have any questions because I believe it was very thorough and straight to the point.

Library Modules Greg Knapp

The library skills module seems like a very valuable resource. Throughout high school we were taught about the formats explained and all of the topics listed on this page. It was very confusing though. The teachers never really cared about it and just told us to read a bunch of information that no one ever did. This site does a very good job organizing all of these topics. It is also easy to pay attention to the modules as you are flipping through them. I have never actual been to the library but this shows me what they are capable of doing.

Twitter and content- Greg Knapp

I really enjoyed the readings this week. “Who needs newspapers when you have Twitter”, made me think about what was going on with our changing newspapers and technology. Chris Anderson is someone who seems to be very concise and straight to the point. Not many people, especially someone of his job description, would say what he said. He stated that the way people get their information will change forever. The new way that he stated was through the internet. I couldn’t agree with Chris more. Eventually the internet and computers will take over everything. Those who say that it won’t are either narrow-minded or unaware of their surroundings. Anyone with common sense would not pay for something that they could get for free. The internet also has much more information. There is no limit on words like in a newspaper, so people can write for however long they like. Newspapers will not be around forever. It’s not a matter of if but when.

In the content article, they displayed something that is a popular subject. Media is manipulating information to how they want us to see it. Some argue that people need to see it as a primary source. While others might say it protects us. I don’t really have an opinion on this. I do agree with the second diagram portrayed. I think that there shouldn’t be any information withheld from the public eye. Whatever, the media is hiding I think that we can handle the truth rather than being lied to.

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Twitter V.Newspapers/CBC Content

If I met Chris Anderson in real life I really don't think we would be friends. Personally, and I hope that I'm not in the minority in this- I do not want my news to come from a friend or neighbor. I don't trust the grapevine. There's a game called telephone where those playing sit in a circle and the first player invents a phrase then whispers the phrase to the player sitting next to him who then whispers the phrase to the person next them and so forth. The point of the game is to see the difference between the starting message and what the message becomes when it's been strung through a series of ears and whispers. Typically the message has been completely changed. Why would we play telephone with the news? As it is I try to be slightly skeptical of mainstream media, be aware of biases but by reading news blogs and twitter accounts it's like asking for their opinions on the news not the news. I don't want that. I checked out Wired News and here are their leading headlines: "Judge Orders Cops to Stop Harassing Superheroes", "Kryptos Artist Launches Website to Receive Solutions", and "Boast the Most Perfect Roast Turkey". At the bottom of the page was the only headline that looked like actual news "New Afghan War Plan: 'Awe and Shock'" which I decide to take a look at. Mostly the article (written by Spencer Ackerman- a qualified journalist who once worked for The New Republic) dealt with the use of tanks in Afghanistan. The article quoted The Washington Post and mentioned a CNN interview. I don't understand how Chris Anderson can say newspapers and media are a barrier when they fuel his own website.

As far as the "How the CBC Thinks about Content" it's a very idealistic view. I wish that's how the media worked but it just doesn't. Newspapers and news shows work for a demographic that they will try to appeal to. If they're trying to sell papers that people will read then they will write what people will read. There's no perfect news source.

news paper and twitter

Mr Anderson came off rude, why is he being such a jerk in his interview? And yes media and news mean something still today, the news keeps people in sight of what is going on in the world. I personaly love watching the news although some of the stories are lame at times. I dont think getting news from twitter and email is the same thing as watching the news or reading the news paper to find out information. How old is Mr. Anderson anyways? i no twitter facebook and all those things are very popular but they still dont compare to the news. Twitter is just thoughts i would think. and just sentences not paragraphs. I dont have a twitter i think its just like having a status on facebook. on twitter you can only have 140 charateristics sometimes that is not enough to explain what is going on in the world. I dont get how this man can say all these things. he said news papers arent inportant yes they are some people dont like the read online and would much rather read a piece of paper. My dad reads the paper all the time, he loves it. I believe doing stuff online can be harder at times. what if your computer is down and cant get internet how are you going to read the news then. yes blogs and such are ok to talk about topics the news covers but i still believe you need the news and newspaper the world is advancing but some things we should still use and have. we can make the news and the news papers better with all the technology we have. not everyone has internet so how would they get the news if they didnt? this article kinda mad me mad the way he was. this guy is wrong

Library

The quizzes were very interesting. I have never seen the * thing they were putting after words though, i was confused about that but i kind of picked up on what it meant. I think i did well with how to word things when looking them up online, you have to word them so you get the best possible answers to your questions you are trying to figure out. I was also confused by how to find books in the library and i was not sure how the library sets up there books. the quizes did help though and i learned a few things. They were a pain trying to do but then someone told me i didnt have to do them anymore so that mad me happy i hate taking quizzes like that i would much rather just be lectured about it.

Friday, November 19, 2010

cbc's thoughts on content

I liked a lot of what was said in this article. I completely agree that the content part of the model should come after the real life is reported exactly how it happened, regardless of the medium. However, every medium is giving it's biggest effort to be the most entertaining way of delivering news, this way people will want to tune into them and get all their information from them. I think that every medium is too focused on being number one in their field that it's become more important than the actual message. I think each medium mentioned (t.v., radio, and internet) has it's positives and negatives. With T.V. you see with your own eyes what's happening and can interpret it your own way; however the scene that is chosen for you to view can easily be manipulated and leave out a lot. WIth radio, you have the option of turning to a certain channel and finding someone with your similar viewpoints to explain a certain event; however they're focused on getting more people listening to them so they could leave out a lot of information and overrun it with entertainment. The internet is nice because you can see an article, and then people's posts of their views on it and you get a much more wide variety of different viewpoints on the same subject; however with so many different opinions and views on one thing, how do you know which one to trust and which is the most credible? I thought it was interesting that written word (newspapers, magazines, etc) wasn't even mentioned, when at one point this was the only way to get news. Overall, i would agree with the idea that the medium is the message.