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.

Social activism topics

- unethical treatment of animals
- Chinese government's involvement in Tibet
- hate crimes
- Ahmadinejad's presidency
- domestic violence

Web site #3: General reflection

I did enjoy this project all in all. I understand why we worked in groups, if the reason was for us students to help eachother out and teach, because not every student has the know-how to redesign a site his or her self. This knowledge could be taught in a basic way but doing that is better suited for a web-design or programming course. I was not fond of the peer review. The basic criticism was color and excitement on the page, which is completely reasonable and well-received. But I feel that the criticism of the site map was ill-conceived.

Web site #2: Site design

I found that designing a site that would reel customers in is very difficult. I like straight forward sites that give me all the information I want, with perhaps a pleasant color scheme, but sites that need to sell something ought to be more exciting that. I put a border on some of the tables to make them easier to understand. And I found a ridiculous image of a chili with a sombrero and maracas, but given the student feedback, that seems like what people want. I also put contact information into the banner, for organization and fun, but I found that the color white didn't work. So I put in a reddish color that was already in the banner. It's still a bit difficult to read, but no one in my group, including myself, knows photoshop so I guess it will have to do.

Web site #1: Site maps

I found that site maps are much more difficult than I was originally aware. It is certainly a useful tool to understand how a website functions. The more complicated a site map is, then necessarily the more difficult a website is to navigate. An expansive and detailed site map of a major site would take up a lot of space. A lot of space like 15'x30' I'll bet. Especially if the site map was to indicate header use and all the fine bits of info on every page. But that would be more the most helpful, because one could then see how well the site was organized.

Google Sites

I don't like Google sites. I can't edit the html of the side bar. However, I do think that it will suffice to create a generic, better organized replacement template for the group project though. I noticed that where one can edit html is in the body of a page. I would like to edit more than the body. Geocities is gone, but angelfire/lycos/tripod still offers free web hosting. Since I don't need a program to help me design a page, I think I won't use one, if that does not conflict with a goal of the course. Microsoft Word web designer may be easier for some than google sites. Google sites may be nice for someone who doesn't know anything about web design, but for those who have some technical know-how, Google sites isn't suitable; it's like an adult playing T-Ball.

Thumbs up, thumbs down.

A page that is an example of too many digital illustrations is http://www.bubblebox.com the site exists to provide the "reader" with free games, but there are so many elements that it's difficult to make sense. The navigation is simple and clear enough: there are tabs at the top that link to games of a given genre, but once you're on a page, it's very difficult to make sense of it. It's difficult to describe in text because so much is going on. Once you click on a genre and click on a game (if you can find it,) it's again a challenge to play the game to the right side of the page is an ad, and below the ad is a link to play the game. Far too much promotion on this site to make ends make sense, but that's what happens when you're trying to keep games free I guess.

A better page with organization is http://www.ebaumsworld.com. This site is much like a blog. The left has links to different medias, and the main page is like a blog, with links of the most recently added items descending in time. Clicking on a link will take you to a page with the media on it (keeping the links on the left) and will also have information on the contributor to the right, should one wish to contact this person.

Key points of Palmquist ch 17

This chapter was well organized and concise. The points that seemed key to me were web design structures and "elements."

The structures are put simply as: linear, hierarchical, and interlinked. Most websites do employ a mixture of these, as is stated, with the top pages interlinked and relevant pages linked hierarchically. Something the author left out of linear organization is that pages of linear organization almost always include a back to home or back to first page link.

The elements are links, informational flags, pop-up windows, and digital illustrations. The author makes sure to note that too many digital illustrations can cause problems for a reader because of connection; however web browser is also a common problem for digital illustrations. The author also states that pop-up windows and informational flags can be created using Microsoft word, front page or Dreamweaver, when they can also be done strictly with html. That seems biased to me. I am a fan of pop-up windows, I hate when the page I'm on becomes occupied with a different page, especially when the different page is from a different site.

The author offers some good tips at the end, like consistency in design and the fact that many readers won't bother to scroll down the page.

Wikitravel Reflection #2

Anderson, being the sort of town it is, offers very little to attract tourism. I added information on local spots into its wikitravel page and it just goes to show that there is not much to do in Anderson but eat. Even then, the most popular places to go, for a cafe type setting, are Perkins and Waffle House, both chains. I decided not to put chains into the wikitravel page. I didn't read anything specific against putting chains into wikitravel, but the spirit that impresses me from the site does not imply that information on chains is worthwhile. Although, it says something about Anderson, all the same, that information on chains informs the attractions of Anderson.

Wikitravel Reflection #1

The topic of this reflection is the lack of interesting things in Anderson. It's kind of funny that I'm trying to make this city a travel destination, when in actuality it suffers from post-industralization depression as truely as it can. Almost everyone who lived there was employed by factories, and within the last 20 years the factories keep going under. Friends of mine in Anderson, locals, were saying three years ago that the economy was heading for a crash; this idea enforced by signal flares like the 40 year old Ford factory going under. On the flipside, as a possible tourist attraction, a Nesquik factory went in, and constructed a 30 foot tall, illuminated Nesquik rabbit.

Wikitravel

3 tips from wiki style:

1. "If all this stuff makes your head swim, and you don't want to bother with it, by all means plunge forward and just start sharing your knowledge. Other Wikitravellers will come through and bring your contributions more in line with the style guide."

It's good to know that if a novice contributor makes a mistake, that it's not the end of the world. This also indicates that wikitravel is an information ecology: everyone works together with the technology to make sure the information gets conveyed.

2. "Don't tout - describe, don't push"

This is good to keep in mind. A writer in this medium should not try to force a reader to go to any specific place, even if the writer really loves it. It's not a persuasive area.

3. It also brought up not to use HTML, for certain reasons. The wiki markup is a pretty expedient language though. It's been boiled down so that it's easier to manage and to learn. Except for tables, wikimarkup doesn't have a good tables function. So HTML is okay there. But the manual of style also says "Any other exceptions should be made with extreme prejudice" and I don't know what that means, but it's safe to assume that if one puts html in an article that it will be removed.


Sample entries:
1. ==Get In==
The [http://www.indianapolisairport.com/ Indianapolis International Airport] is one hour South-East of Anderson.

2. *'''Lemon Drop''' 1701 Mounds Rd, Anderson ''1+765''644-9055. An old-fashion burger joint, cozy and comfortable. Visitors remember the bright yellow paint, the toy train running around the ceiling, the burgers on toast (they do have buns though), and the great prices.

3. *'''29th Street Cafe''' 2904 Columbus Ave, Anderson ''1+765''649-1238. If you would like a taste of pure Anderson, try the 29th Street Cafe, located in the heart of Anderson's lovely downtown area. Traditional diner food with a have-it-your-way attitude. You'll remember the patrons and the help, and their down to earth attitude.

3 Destinations

Denver,
Grenoble,
and South County.

Grenoble already has a lot written on it. So that's a no go.
Same with South County.
But Denver has a very small amount written about it. I haven't been there for a while and I was younger at the time, but I remember some things worth mentioning. For example, everyone who goes to Denver goes to the 16th st. Mall. It's a long road with electric buses running in the middle (not many cars) and tons of shopping. It's the Champs-Élysées of Denver. I also remember a cafe I went to sometimes that had open mics but I can't remember where it was. Is it okay to contact a friend back there for information? I'll probably ask this in class.

Wikitravel spotlight: Grenoble

I like this travel wiki. I especially like how sensibly it's laid out: Get In, Get Around, See, Do, Learn, Buy, Eat, Drink, Sleep, Stay Safe, Get Out. It's fantastic, everything you would need to know. I was in Grenoble for three months last year and it mentioned great places I had frequented. La Table Ronde (the second to oldest cafe in France) La Fondue (the best fondue place I've ever been) and the shops at la place Victor Hugo (where you find tons of awesome boutiques to shop at). Obviously more can be said about the city, but giving it all away would rob it of its charm, disallow discovery, and direct unnecessary attention to hole-in-the-wall places. As an overview it was very excellent. Even in the "Stay Safe" portion it mentions a bad part of town. There was another to the north that I was told to stay out of, but I can't remember its exact location, nor its name, so I would not amend this wiki.

Enthusiast blog reflection #3

The enthusiast blog project winds down. It's a little sad. I hope I keep up with my zombie blog. The articles we've read, and actually starting a blog that is intended to be read, have helped change my opinions on blogging. It's true that most blogs just float around in a murky puddle that we call the internet, never really breaking the surface, eventually growing so saturated that they sink to the bottom and meld into the sediment, but I now have the right attitude about it. I don't have to feel that a blog is a hopeless waste of time that no one will ever pay attention to. I was blogging (the few times I had done so) for myself, thinking only of myself and the attention I would get. With my zombie blog however I'm blogging for others, as few as they may be, and I'm blogging for the sake of the topic. I share my knowledge on any subject as it becomes pertinent to others, not whenever I feel like it trying to make myself look good; nor do I forget things that I know simply because I cannot get anyone to listen to me. The importance of knowledge is sharing it. And here with this blog, I'm leaving my knowledge in good context, with hopes that will help others see zombies the way I do, as fun, unusual, and unhampered.

Enthusiast blog reflection #2

After talking with the others during the face-to-face workshop, I thought about the video of "Happy Tree Friends" in my first post. It's unlikely that anyone easily-offended would stumble upon my blog, or any zombie blog for that matter, and be offended. "Zombie" is not a keyword that haphazardly turns up in searches, like a miss-spelling of "hotmail" for example. But, in any case, I felt like I would be a hypocrite if I didn't put some warning about the video. So, I put, in red, "WARNING! Gory Zombie Goodness".

I also want to add more links, so people who want to know more about what I know can click and do so.

Also, having one solitary picture on the right gets boring. I may implement some Javascript to make it a randomized picture from a pool of zombie pics I have.

Enthusiast blog reflection #1

I was very pleased to get the comments from Zach and Raymond that I did. They complimented my writing by saying that it was passionate, effortless, and direct. They also said that they wanted more in my second post and more about zombies in general.

I think my writing could use a little more information. It is very direct, and some extra information would make the blog more playful, which is something I want, because zombies are fun. That's the main thing. I wanted to have more in my second post but I felt rushed. I want to bolster it tonight, but I feel as though I've disorganized my blog by not asking the question "What is a zombie?" prior to talking about 'the split'. So I should ask the question "What is a zombie?" and part of my explanation will be 'the split'.

About the credible me

How will I influence people reading my enthusiast blog? Why would they listen to me? These ideas should form my About Me. I've seen a lot of zombie movies, and should display this sort of knowledge in my About Me so that people will get the sense that I know what I'm talking about. If they don't know the references, then they may not belong at my blog.

I love zombies. From Bub to Tarman, their moaning, groaning, shambling frenzy is a mirror to our own lives. We are zombies. We go through life too often on autopilot--from the bedroom to the bathroom, from the house to Starbucks. Will it take the dead for us to really give a damn about life? My blog doesn't address this question outright, but rather provides information regarding the finer points of zombie media, and not the zombie films that are themselves mindless, lifeless, inarticulate monstrosities. Hi, my name's Thomas, and I love zombies.

I think I'm going to go with that. Maybe rework it later. I should see if it makes a layperson interested in my blog.

Brainstorming my enthusiast blog

My topic is going to be developments in Zombie culture. What is Zombie culture? It's however zombies influence (typically popular) culture. That's movies, books, knick-knacks, and some music. I would specify on any one of those categories but there simply is not enough change in any of those realms alone to create an active blog. (And rather than watching every crappy zombie movie, I'll review ones that are excellent.)

The subject is certainly directed to a specific cadre of cinephiles (given that zombie popularity is almost entirely due to movies) but it will also provide the less hardcore with a filter for what I believe to be the worth-while zombie news. These cinephiles would like to receive information on new developments that withstand the rigorous dissection of an informed zombie enthusiast. A lot of crap comes out regarding zombies that don't regard the cult vision of a 'good zombie movie'. They don't really need to see about every self-conscious, below b-movie that falls on its face. Perhaps to be more specific, I would like to thin the herd of zombie-related media.

My writing will hopefully be like and unlike a zombie. Unlike a zombie in its expression- that is to say far more adroit. But I also hope for it to be like a zombie in its occasional, ravenous mutilation of the topic. I would like to allow my negative reviews to be direct and blunt and, frankly, insulting. I'm very annoyed by the fact that one of my teenage fixations has entered the mainstream, where it's not appreciated within its own context. The fact that information regarding zombies is disseminated so haphazardly also offends me, and, paradoxically, I will be participating in this by creating a zombie blog, but at least my intentions are good. The page will be simple and subdued with muted colors. Not black or red with animated .gifs dripping blood tiled across the background. Lavender says 'zombie' to me for some reason.

Blog titles:
Cinenecrophiles
Necrocinephiles
(probably not such a great idea, people would misunderstand)
Undead something
Beyond the Grave
From the Grave
Moans
Moans and Groans: a Zombie enthusiast resource


Post ideas:
A brief history of the zombie
Funny zombie images
Links to other zombie websites
Zombie walks
'Zombieland' movie
Review zombie classics

Enthusiast blog brainstorm

• Zombies
  
• Video games
  
• Quitting smoking
  
• Fiction in reverse
  
• France
  

Response to Stefanac

I found the reading of Stefanac interesting and useful. It puts the ideas one would have about creating a special topics blog into concise statements. The notion that made the largest impression on me was blogging with intent-- Blogging as though one expects one's blog to be read, that readers need to be satisfied in order to have visitors.

My experience with blogging

My experience with blogging is limited, and limited still to authorship. I had one blog three years ago. I wrote three long-winded posts about whatever I could at the moment. Eventually I deleted them. I've read a couple posts of a few friends' blogs but that's it.

Rebecca Blood idolizes the weblog

Rebecca Blood certainly makes some interesting and reasonable claims in "weblogs: a history and perspective" but I regret to insist that she exaggerates the power of the weblog and the blog.

Ms. Blood claims that "By writing a few lines each day, weblog editors begin to redefine media as a public, participatory endeavor," which sounds very nice. Yet what are 'these few lines'? Don't forget that we were told only a few paragraphs before: "An editor with some expertise in a field might demonstrate the accuracy or innaccuracy of a highlighted article or certain facts therein; provide additional facts he feels are pertinent to the issue at hand; or simply add an opinion or differing viewpoint from the one in the piece he has linked." That means this:

URI.EDU how does a state funded organization deal with a waning budget? It buys new bait.

After I hit publish on this post have I affected the fundaments of media? No. I may change someone's mind, but that has nothing to do with blogging. As Joannah would probably say- that's rhetoric.

Another lovely half truth of Blood's essay is when she establishes the credibility of the weblog editors: "A weblog editor had either taught herself to code HTML for fun, or, after working all day creating commercial websites, spent several off-work hours every day surfing the web and posting to her site. These were web enthusiasts."

That may be true, generally speaking. But that does not mean that everyone in 1998 with a blog or weblog was a credible source of information. I knew enough HTML to start a weblog in 1998, when I was 12. I could teach you enough HTML to start a weblog in ten minutes.

I agree with Blood that the internet is a good place to express ideas- as Blood says, "[Weblog editors'] fearless commentary reminds us to question the vested interests of our sources of information and the expertise of individual reporters as they file news stories about subjects they may not fully understand." But let's not forget that anyone can lie about anything, anytime, with very little threat of redress on the internet. The appearance of credibility is still only appearance.

Frankly, I'm tired of hearing good things about the internet. Yes it's true that the "blogger, by virtue of simply writing down whatever is on his mind, will be confronted with his own thoughts and opinions. Blogging every day, he will become a more confident writer." But that's true of any writer. And maybe "a community of 100 or 20 or 3 people may spring up around the public record of his thoughts," and "being met with friendly voices, he may gain more confidence..." yadda yadda yadda the flowers bloom and birds sing. But it would be better for him to develop a community of writers in the community in which he lives. Near the house to which his internet is connected.

I agree with the heart of Blood's essay-- her second to last paragraph.

Blood flounders as she begins her penultimate paragraph: "And what, really, will change if we get weblogs into every bookmark list?" The silence residing within the page echoes the word 'nothing' in my ears.

I love that Blood asserts, "We urgently need to cultivate forms of self-expression in order to counteract our self-defensive numbness and remember what it is to be human." Although, I would call 'our self-defensive numbness' by the name of apathy, sloth, and affluence. But blogging is not a sufficient form of self-expression to combat any malaise and remind us of "what it is to be human."

I entirely agree with Blood when she says "We are being pummeled by a deluge of data and unless we create time and spaces in which to reflect, we will be left with only our reactions." But I completely disagree with the concept that anything on the internet is an antidote to the crippling effects of a media-saturated culture.

Essentially Blood thinks that nerds making snippy comments when they post links is going to subvert an omnipresent media-marketing machine.

Allow me to put this all into a nutshell: Blood is correct to say that the internet can provide information that is not under the strains of typical dissemination. But anything on the internet is always another drop in the bucket of the "deluge of data". If you want to swim outside the mainstream, figure it out for yourself- don't rely on the internet.

What is writing?

Writing is placing visual notations of sounds and words into systematic groups to express ideas. 

I frequent these writing environments:

• Email
  
• Creative writing groups
  
• Academic courses
  
• Facebook