Chris

Student as Millersville University Robotics Engineering Major Computer Science Minor Eagle Scout Drummer

[convicthammerfan42]

Most Proud Of

For my writing process I believe I am most proud of my ability to work on writing gradually and ahead of time now. I am admittedly a bit of a procrastinator, but over the course of the semester I have been better about pacing my writing and working ahead of time rather than rushing close to the due date. I feel as if this has positively affected my writing as well.

[lefthandeddrummer]

This is great! I also tend to procrastinate on a lot of assignments. I was really good at getting things done (or at least started) early in the semester. As time went on and I got busier throughout the semester, I began to put things off until later in the week. As the semester has come to a close, and especially as we approach finals, I am trying to get ahead on things again so that I don't choke during the final stretch of this semester. Best of luck on your finals!

[jekkarox]

OG Content (WK15)

What are you most proud of with your writing process?

In my writing process I am most proud of my progress in revision. When I say revision I don't necessarily mean spelling and punctuation. What I mean is, writing a piece and then when I re-read it, finding the best most concise way to say it. I have, over this term, reworked my sentence structure, eliminated words and phrases completely and increased my vocabulary so that I might convey my thoughts more efficiently. It has also been fun to match my writing style to the assignment and challenge myself to adhere to the requirements of the audience.

[lefthandeddrummer]

It's great that you've been able to refine your revision process throughout the semester! This was definitely something that I felt like the coursework focused on. I definitely noticed some changes in the way that I revise my writing as well. In the past, the revision process was often something that I would rush through, or even skip altogether. Sometimes I did this because of a lack of time, sometimes just out of laziness, sometimes just because I was tired of the project and I didn't want to look at it anymore. I can definitely say that I spent a lot more time revising my work for this class than I have other classes in the past.

[lefthandeddrummer]

Original Content Writing (Week 15 Post 3)

where will you adjust your Content Learning Reflection to strengthen your point?

I am going to try to adjust my CLR to reflect the way I would answer in a true interview. Without changing the true content of my answer and references to projects/assignments in this course, I would like to make my answers more applicable to real work environments. When I first went through and answered the questions, I tried to just get the main points of my answer down on the document so that I could come back and revise them later. Now is that time. I think that relating my responses to, not only this class, but also real world work situations would make my responses much stronger (especially if this were real).

[lefthandeddrummer]

Original Content Writing (Week 15 Post 2)

what do you like the most about your CL Reflection?

I enjoyed the CL Reflection from the very first question. The first question discussed communication in general and the importance of communication to successful work. I have appreciated the value of good communication for years. When I was in scouts I completed the communication merit badge (required for anyone who wants to become an Eagle Scout). I really enjoyed this merit badge as it challenged me to communicate various types of information in various types of environments which required various styles of communication. For example, I had to a fake sales pitch, an informative lesson, and a persuasive speech (and more). I believe the lessons taught in this merit badge were very useful for my schooling (HS and college), for my professional career, and for my extracurriculars. I have worked hard on my communication skills especially when it comes to leadership settings. My appreciation for communication and its importance has helped me stand out to professors, employers, and coworkers.

[lefthandeddrummer]

Original Content Writing (Week 15 Post 1)

what are you most proud of with your writing process?

I am most proud of the way my writing process develop to cater towards various types of formal writing. I enjoy writing long, informative, semi-formal emails and I enjoy writing content like this on subjects that I am particularly interested in. Prior to high school, I often dreaded writing assignments. This may have been because of the large amount of hand-written assignments that I wrote in elementary school and intermediate school (which was grades 4-6 in my school district). As writing assignments became more digital I began to enjoy them more. In high school I took a "college composition" class. It was during this class where I believe that I started to become a good writer and found enjoyment in writing. This trend has continued as I take classes like this one in college. Much of my professional tone has developed from writing hundreds of emails for organizations that I volunteered for (I often hold leadership roles that require extensive communication with large groups of people). I've found a style of writing that I enjoy and I know that I will continue to write in professional environments for a very long time. I am hoping to continue to write in casual and semi-formal environments as I continue to my post-college life soon.

[lefthandeddrummer]

(Early) Thursday Check-in Post (Week 15)

what questions do you have about web writing that will help you after you finish this course?

One thing that I have been discussing and considering throughout most of the course is quick engagement. Catching the viewer's attention ASAP before they move on to another post. There are many ways to engage viewers. We've discussed and used a lot of multimodal elements like pictures, videos, GIFs, and other information architecture. @npfannen in your experience, what's the most effective way to grab a viewer's attention? Have you noticed GIFs or videos being more engaging than static pictures? Or perhaps there is no overall trend and it is fully dependent on the audience and discourse community? I was just wondering if there was an overall trend you've noticed over most discourse communities and audiences. Thanks for all the knowledge you've shared with us though this course!

[jackbell]

Original Content Post #1

When SpongeBob had a moment where it felt like it might be losing its charm, it really hit hard. I grew up loving every goofy adventure and silly song, and it felt like part of my childhood was slipping away. Even though the show stayed on and new episodes kept coming, they didn’t feel the same as the classics. It’s tough watching something you love change so much over time. I get why fans can be so protective of their favorite shows—it’s like holding onto the best memories they gave you.

[lefthandeddrummer]

I agree! I also really enjoyed watching SpongeBob as a kid. I definitely agree that it took a turn for the worst at some point. I personally believe that this was when Steven Hillenburg (the original writer of SpongeBob) passed away. I think that his writing gave the show a lot of charm and made it the quirky show that we all loved. Even when he stopped working on the show, his legacy and his style stuck around. I feel like once he passed, whoever was in charge of the show took some more creative liberty and starting changing more things. Maybe they waited until Mr. Hillenburg passed so that he wouldn't get upset about the changes and rally for a boycott or something. Regardless, a lot of the new concepts and episodes are definitely lacking in comparison to the content that was available in the good old days!

[minkysposts]

Original Content Writing

share a section of your Design Project content. What is the work of this sample? How can we help you revise?

So far in my design project, I haven’t come up with a tag because I was too focused on brainstorming my idea for a tv show. So I have three hashtag ideas that I want feedback on which hashtag would work better.

Hashtag Ideas for a cancelled series:

#SaveGrimFantasties

#BetterGrimFantasties

#GrimFanaticsUnite

(For context, the show that I made up is basically game of thrones mixed with Arcane and the fans of the show are called Grim Fanatics)

[lefthandeddrummer]

I like these. #savegrimfanatics makes sense and so does #grimfanaticsunite. I'm not 100% understanding the #bettergrimfanatics but maybe I'm missing something. Some other ideas could be a simple #uncancelFavoriteShow or #saveFavoriteShow. You could also use something like #bringItBack and #SaveOurShow.

[zacharyyattackaryy]

Original Content Writing | Week 14 (2/3)

Share an example of your favorite television show or movie - how does that show/movie help you work through this project and understand angry fandom?

Cars is probably my favorite movie, just because it means so much to me and brings me back to my childhood every time I see it. It really is a classic. In saying this, Cars gives me a little insight on the mindset of angry fandom because of the continuation of the series. The first movie, masterpiece, second movie, good, maybe a little weird, third movie, just okay myself and many others would say. This is slightly frustrating as there's so much potential. And, with not knowing if there will be any more of the movies, it really does get you fired up.

[lefthandeddrummer]

As a kid, Cars was definitely my favorite movie. I completely understand the frustration with the way they are continuing the Cars "series." Of course the first movie was the best and the follow-ups were alright. Cars 2 tends to get a lot of hate. I think it's ok but has such a wildly different point than the first movie. The Cars 1 and 3 are basically just like "cars go fast" and then Cars 2 randomly has a spy mission where a car is trying to sabotage an entire race (or something like that, it's been a minute). And don't even mention the Planes spinoff movie that they made. Anyway, I agree with your statement that the Cars story provides a lot of opportunity for more movies it just seems like they aren't leveraging the correct parts of the movie. I think we need a movie dedicated to Doc Hudson's lore.

[lefthandeddrummer]

Original Content Writing (Week 14 Post 3)

share a section of your Design Project content. What is the work of this sample? How can we help you revise?

Below is the text for one of my example posts. This post is intended to be from TVMovieStudioCo and directed as a response toward all of the fans who are upset about the cancellation (which has already been announced). My version of Favorite Show is a competition show where strangers are put onto teams based on their generation (e.g. gen X vs gen Z) and compete in challenges created by the producers. This show has created a lot of online debates about the superiority of different generations. Some of these arguments have gotten heated therefore, TVMovieStudioCo has decided to cancel the show. This show mostly featured Gen X and Gen Z competitors so the primary audience consists of those age groups. This post is intended to address both of those groups at the same time (some of my other posts are designed to address one or the other). See the text below and please give me feedback on how I can use language to engage with the appropriate audience better. Could I change the way I am using language in order to be conducive to both generations (does my language seem to favor one generation over the other; TVMovieStudioCo is trying to remain neutral)? Thanks for the feedback!

We hear you, fans. We know how disappointing the cancellation of Favorite Show is. We appreciate all of the dedicated fans who’ve shared their thoughts about this. We value your passion for competition and your generational pride. As much as we’d love to continue putting Gen Z and Gen X head-to-head, we just can’t be the catalyst for such nasty online wars. We hope you all will realize the rationale behind our decision. #FavoriteShowUpdates #FavoriteShow

[lefthandeddrummer]

Original Content Writing (Week 14 Post 2)

share an example of your favorite television show or movie - how does that show/movie help you work through this project and understand angry fandom?

As I mentioned in my previous original content post, I don't watch a ton of TV. A lot of the TV shows that I watch are old ones that haven't been making new episodes for years and years before I even began watching them. Although, one show that came to my mind with the prompt was a newer one that is definitely one of my favorite shows.

I love Stranger Things. I believe that the show is written and directed incredibly well and I loved the show way more than I ever expected to. I have watched every episode that has been released up until now. They are currently in the process of making season 5 and I am very excited for it. They did announce that season 5 will be the final season of Stranger Things (they weren't even planning to make and release season 5 at first, but the fans begged for more). The show does such a great job developing the viewer's relationships with the characters, throwing in plot twists, and developing an incredible story. While I would love to have many more seasons of the show, I know that it can't be the same forever. Eventually, someone is bound to quit the cast and the show will go downhill (kind of like what happened to the Office when Steve Carrell left) or the writers will run out of unique ideas/inspiration (I feel like this happened in the later seasons the Walking Dead). Knowing that there won't be more new Stranger Things content (beyond season 5) is sad. But it's also reassuring knowing that (hopefully) all episodes of this show will remain great. While the quality of season 5 has yet to be seen, I remain optimistic that they will do a good job. I understand that the end of show like this causes anger amidst the fanbase. Shows like this develop deep relationships between the viewer and the characters. Ending the show is kind of like losing friends that you felt really connected to. You may have never met that person in real life and they're entire life may be fictional, but something about it feels real. Not only that, the characters of the show are going through their struggles while you (the viewer) is also going through personal trials of life. AJR made an entire song about how "who I am is in these episodes, so don't you tell me that it's just a show..." when looking back on the Office as a show (the song is called Netflix trip). I think these lines really show the true connection that people have with their shows.

[lefthandeddrummer]

Original Content Writing (Week 14 Post 1)

share an example of your experience as a fan of a show that was cancelled. help us feel the feels

I don't watch a lot of TV so this one was a little hard for me. However, when I was younger I would watch a few shows. The main one that came to mind wasn't necessarily "cancelled." It was a show from the 70s that I really liked to watch (thanks to my dad introducing it to me) so my problem wasn't that they stopped making episodes (that happened long before I was born) but I do remember when they removed the show from Netflix.

The show was called Emergency! and it followed a team of firefighter paramedics and also the doctors and nurses in the emergency room at the local hospital. I really enjoyed this show as a kid because of all the cheesy action and, of course, the cool fire trucks. For a period of time this show made me want to be a firefighter. I remember spending a lot of nights watching this show with my dad. We would watch it on Netflix mostly (Netflix was the first streaming service that my family had). At some point, I remember seeing the message on the screen that Emergency! would soon be removed from Netflix. I was very upset and told my parents that they could cancel Netflix once they removed the show because "it'd no longer have any use," (we never did cancel Netflix).

I had the first season of Emergency! on DVD for a long time and, after Netflix removed the show, I would rewatch season 1 a lot. I've probably seen season 1 twenty or more times. Luckily, a holiday came up soon and my parents bought me the entire series on DVD. I'm pretty sure there were 7 full seasons. I still have these DVDs and I've actually met one of the actors who was on the show (Randolph Mantooth) and got a signed picture and had him sign my DVD case.

I'm sure that from Netflix's perspective, the show had little to no value. It's just an old show that probably very few people watched. The thing that the corporate leaders never consider is that the fans who remain of that show are likely pretty dedicated to watching it and it can be a little hurtful to see your favorite show get removed from your only streaming platform. To me, Netflix seemed like a big enough business that they should be able to keep old shows on their library but, as a kid, I didn't consider the amount of money that they likely have to pay for the licensing of the show. While I don't watch Emergency! a lot anymore, I still do watch it occasionally when I'm in the mood or whenever I find it on TV. I think there's a lot of really cool things to be discovered in watching old TV shows (I also liked CHiPs and Adam-12 for a period of time). I highly recommend checking some of these old shows out and giving them a chance. Some of them are really cool.

(actual snippet from the Emergency! show 👇)

[lefthandeddrummer]

(Early) Thursday Check-In Post

what assignment questions do you have that will help you complete and revise successfully?

@npfannen What are some common multimodal elements that would be included in the kinds of posts we're creating for this assignment. In a real show cancellation, clips or snapshots from the show would apply but that's not an option for made up shows. Obviously getting clips or snapshots from real shows is not an option either. I could use elements like I use for these posts such as GIFs that are vaguely related to the topic or simply one that I thought was cool. What types of multimodal elements do students usually use for these posts and what do you recommend? Thanks!

[ksinsabaugh]

Original Content Post

Write a style rule for creating a youtube short video, why is this key for the audience to view it?

Style Rule for Creating a YouTube Short Video: Start with a strong hook in the first few seconds. The audience's attention span on YouTube Shorts is short. By immediately engaging viewers with a compelling opening, you increase the likelihood they'll continue watching and interacting with your video.

[lefthandeddrummer]

I 100% agree! I wrote about the same concept. The hook is critical for these short-video platforms. There's so much content available on these platforms, its so easy for someone to just immediately swipe up to find more engaging content. If you don't hook the viewer immediately you're very likely to lose them.

[bamchugh]

write a style rule for creating a youtube short video, why is this key for the audience to view it?

YouTube shorts are tough because they can only be a minute long. So if your videos are more information-focused, it is hard to convey a point in such a short time. I would focus more on bloopers or funny moments from your videos. These comedic moments can drive people to your videos to see what caused them, and what comes next.

[lefthandeddrummer]

This is a great way to get more people to see your full-length YouTube content. I didn't even think of showing bloopers on YouTube shorts. This is a genius way to gain more viewers and followers. Most of what I've seen has just been highlights from content that is already posted. I think the bloopers may actually be more engaging...

[cararenee652-deactivated2024123]

Original Content Writing pt3

Q: write a style rule for creating a TikTok video, how does this help attract followers?

A: Using trends on tiktok can be super helpful in gaining followers. I say this because that's how the algorithm on tiktok works: it pulls together similar videos and gives the audience that content. So trends are a good way to reach out farther than your normal audience. A museum I interned for does this on their page and it has led to gaining more followers. They also pay attention to news and if they can contribute to different medical news they do. This also pulls attention to their account. 

[lefthandeddrummer]

Using, joining, and mimicking the latest trends on TikTok is a great way to get noticed. You're right with what you said about TikTok's algorithm. Naturally, since TikTok wants to make profit, they are trying to maximize the amount of time that you spend scrolling on it. When things go "viral" and become trends, the algorithm becomes pretty confident that recommending things that follow the trend will boost platform engagement. One important thing to remember is that the algorithm needs to know that your participating in that trend in some way. As far as I know, TikTok's algorithm doesn't actually evaluate the video content. The hashtags used in the video caption are the biggest thing that drives which videos get recommended to different people. The audio that is linked to the video also has an affect (especially if the audio is trending).

[lefthandeddrummer]

Original Content Writing (Week 13 Post 3)

write a style rule for writing a short tumblr post - based on what you know so far, what is a key rule for getting notices?

For short Tumblr posts, or short posts on similar platforms, it is important to grab the attention of a viewer in order for them to take the time to engage with your post. There are so many posts on these platforms that it is difficult to get your post to standout and gain attention. Some common strategies include bright and colorful graphics that catch the eye or words that popout in order to grab your attention. Similar to making a short-format video like a reel or TikTok, there needs to be something to hook the reader's attention from the get-go or they may just keep scrolling beyond.