Quatrathlon?

So, I've narrowed it down to two directions: 1) a traditional looking, crisp website with strict rhetorical aims, like it has been outlined in the reflection brainstorming or 2) a four-event image map, with the projects set into athletic metaphors. The five events of a pentathlon are long jump, javelin throw, discus throw, 180 meter dash, and wrestling. I would do, pole vault for wikitravel (moving great distances, knowing how to evade the bar), archery for SNS (hitting the mark), short foot race for enthusiast blog (running from zombies, staying ahead of the curve), and wrestling for website redesign (wrestling between clear and interesting design). However, I will probably go with option 1, because the simple rhetorical structure of an obstacle surmounted gets lost in the abstraction of option 2.

Reflection ideas

SNS
positives of ning: allows people to easily connect by interest, offers many utilities
negatives of ning: uniformity, cluttered, as far as activism goes self-actualizing delusion
obstacles: keeping to the goal, events
successes: purposeful blogging, organization, use of forums

Website Redesign
positives of redesign: chance to implement concepts of a successful website
negatives of redesign: google sites ridiculously restricting
obstacles: balancing a site that is rhetorically effective and also exciting
successes: well-ordered website, practiced pragmatic web design

Wikitravel
positives of wikitravel: centralized information pertinent to a prospective traveler
negatives of wikitravel: unrestricted information ecology (in spite of dutiful corrections, poor information will stay up for a short time)
obstacles: making sure information was accurate
successes: revisiting places of interest, condensing their charm into a few sentences

Enthusiast Blog
positives of blogs: easy way to collect and disseminate info
negatives of blogs: chronological organization, lack of sources
obstacles: dealing with writing that no one will likely read
successes: enjoying and actively pursuing chosen topic

General
positives: the class touched on several unique aspects of text and the internet, also went beyond that to show the purposefulness of different venues of writing
negatives: knowledge was gained and implemented, yet fail to see an impact (my fundamental malaise regarding writing on the internet)
obstacles: respecting the internet
successes: clearing previous obstacle--learning to take seriously what I put on the internet, realizing that people have not been taught that the internet is like fire, it is useful and dangerous.

Web site themes

1. I like the idea of an image map. My initial idea was of a desert island. When the mouse was over an image (like a treasure chest) the treasure chest would open up and reveal something related to whatever project it would be attached. A group of zombies chasing a guy would then show them catching him and also show that it was for my enthusiast blog. A dinner with the natives people would link to the El Fuego remake site. But this doesn't have much rhetorical clout.

2. Thinking about the things that link my process blogs and my experience with the class together is ups and downs of the internet and electronic writing. So in this way, still using an image map, I could have a treasure map. Implying that certain things about the internet, or certain parts of the class, have come to be special and necessary towards getting to a golden goal.

3. #2 is more rhetorical than #1 but it's still more fun and visual than professional. In any case, the reflective blurbs for each of the projects will reflect the good and bad, the difficulties and success of each project. Considering this, each reflective portion could be formed this way:
Project: To create a web site which showcases the projects completed in WRT 235.
What I learned: Creating a web site with a uniform rhetoric is more difficult than it seems. Sometimes fun has to be sacrificed in order to get one's point across.
Having a straightforward and uniform design makes the site more intelligible but less exciting.

A NEW IDEA APPROACHES

I could use an image map and set up my site as a pentathlon. The question is would I use traditional athletics for the relevant portions of the class, like discus throw, hurdles, long jump. Or create bizarre new visual depictions of each project? As wikitravel is an information ecology, maybe its a matter of collecting information... as I think about each of the projects, they were always primarily matters of collecting information... the SNS and the blog were matters of collecting information. Then again, the images don't have to relate directly to the nature of the project, the enthusiast blog could be a race from zombies. The website redesign could be a cook-off. The SNS could be catching discus-throw puppies. :/ Having each event be bizarre as an athletic event like a cook-off may destroy the rhetoric. But if I put a spin on classic athletic events it may work.

Ning #3 Looking back

If I would offer suggestions for future projects of the same nature, I would suggest two things: smaller annotated bibliographies and cross class room peer review. As far as smaller annotated bibliographies go, I found that many sources overlapped. There are not always diverse and adequate sources online. Three each instead of four I feel would be more reasonable. Although, I've never before done an annotated bibliography, so I'm not sure much of how it ought to be. I am sure though that I would prefer if peer review occurred between groups on the opposite side of the class room. During both peer reviews, the group I reviewed and was reviewing me was within ear shot, actually right next door. It made me self-conscious, as I'm sure it did others. With the reviewer/ee groups spaced farther apart, there could be more honest reflection. I'm also not too fond of the grade-giving part: I think groups that have done poorly get an inflated grade because no one wants to be mean, and that groups who have done well get a reduced grade because the reviewers are jealous. This may just be my personal feeling and it may be paranoid.

Ning #2 Feeling motivated

Working on the ning site, though I'm not particularly fond of the interface (it feels cluttered to me, even with a reduced home page,) has made me feel like even more positively towards writing in electronic environments. I know no one out in the internet sea is reading my blogs, but I feel empowered that they could be read. And so I feel more proud of my what I write and I take more care in it. Yesterday, following the suggestions from the peer review, I found and uploaded multimedia that suit our cause. In doing so I recalled the Vargas/chained dog incident last year (if you are unaware you can find my blog post about it attached to the ning site ;) ). I always had personal thoughts about it, that I've felt are worthy of attention, and already being particularly involved with the ning site, I blogged about it. I found my sources, referenced them, and offered my perspective. If computer scientists are a dime a dozen, then bloggers are a quarter a dozen; I don't expect to be a professional blogger, but I'm taking pride in my blog posts.

Ning

I have yet to receive my validation email from ning, which has made it hard to search for sites pertaining to my groups interest, but I have looked at some sites. I think it's pretty neat. They are clean sites, probably allowing a template, with many functions to ease the involvement of members. I saw one site has fields to fill to sign up for a newsletter, easy. However some pages are far too busy to be effective. As usual, I will try to keep things simple and clean on the page, but I definitely like how many options ning makes available. The nature of the site though, the having a member profile seems a bit half-hearted. "Oh, I have a profile at ning, look at what I care about." Given the public nature of online interactions, and the coming-to-grips with this fact, and the idea of crafting a public image may easily complicate the actual caring about something. Some people do get involved with social and political issues simply for the image and when they do that, they must go to protests and be active to maintain the image--online, with a ning profile, no one has to do anything but join a group to push an image of themselves.

Article comparison

These two articles would do well to listen to one another. The first states that the lack of interest in civil issues is made apparent by social networking sites. The second reiterates this lack of interest but seems to blame it on the formal education procedure. Both agree that my generation shows a degree of apathy- that we are not interested in formal groups based on interest as other generations were. However the second article seems to promote informal avenues as a way of motivating youngsters, the first shows by proof of social networking sites that this is not the case. I agree with the first article in stating that my generation is not motivated. And I don't think that a more informal venue for political expression or learning will rectify the matter.