Rhetoric class assignments

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Blog Post #8

Q: Think back to the Jenkins et al. piece we read in light of our discussion of memes. What's the distinction between user-generated and user-circulated content (Jenkins et al. 15)? What do each of these practices reveal about the people who engage in them? What do your "sharing" habits say about you?  

A: User-generated content is defined as any content, from videos, photos, writing and more, that is created by a consumer. On the other hand, user-circulated content refers to how the audience takes the content and spreads it. Sometimes rhetors and content makers think too much about how to get audiences to feel something when looking at their content rather than how to get audiences to share their content. The opposite problem can occur too, though. If a content creator worries too much about trying to make the content shareable, they might diminish the value or intended purpose of the content’s message in the process.

As far as my sharing habits go, I share things that relate to me or that I think have value. I consider myself to be a content creator as well as a content circulator though. As a journalist, I create visual and written content often. I hope people feel something when they see my content, and/or share it, but mostly it’s just a compliment to have people read or view it at all. Journalism ethics tells us to share the truth, even if that’s not what people want to hear. So for that reason, I worry less about making sure my content makes audiences feel a certain emotion, but rather that it just gets out there so people can make up their own minds on what they believe in the situation.

P.S.

Here is a GIF to show what the minds of rhetors are when trying to determine how to get content to circulate without really knowing who the audience is going to be past the intended one:

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Henkin and Gries Assignment

Part 1

1. How does the author of the website situate the topic – what words are used to describe the event in question?

The Lucify flow toward Europe website immediately address that this is the biggest refugee crisis since World War II. The fact the one of the first words seen is “crisis” shows that while the site is presenting facts and data in multiple visual forms, the data can still hit an emotional toll on the reader. The site calls them asylum seekers and bolds the words to show emphasis that they’re looking for a safe place to call home since they’re born home has turned into war torn nations. 

The infographics are informative to show the scale of the crisis while also triggering an emotional response. Towards the end of the site we see “ The visualisation is designed to provide an intuitive grasp of the scale of the problem.” Notice, the site call it a problem. This is intentional and shows the designers of the site are indirectly saying there needs to be a solution.

The Zerohedge site takes it a step farther in clearly show its opinion on the matter. It immediately says “desperate asylum seekers” and says they are fleeing, both automatically putting the refugees in a victim category. It makes the West and Russia the villain as it says they “are busy taking opposite sides” instead of handling the problem.

2. What feelings does the video evoke?

The video took my breathe away. Here I am sitting in the UCF Bookstore in air conditioning, charging my laptop and periodically checking my iPhone, while others are literally running for their life. I immediately noticed the fast pace of the refugees. I can only imagine they’ve been walking for days, yet when you’re walking for something as important as a safe home, there is no sense in walking but rather you must run. The massive lines of people in a constant flow really put things in perspective. Living in America, I knew this was a huge problem, but this is one of the first times I’ve really seen a more in-depth look and it was heartbreaking and humbling.

3. What information is privileged, and how is it framed? 

The information I saw is privileged because only those with access to a computer or smart device and Internet could see the material. Also, information like the names and exact numbers of refugees from specific locations are privileged, as in we don’t have access to all the information out there. As I touched on before, it’s framed where the refugees are the victims. Places like Germany who have a welcoming open-door policy are seen as heroes in this presentation of data, but are the villain to others like “Hungary's Viktor Orban who insists that if Europe's cultural heritage is to be protected and preserved.” Therefore, the hero and villain title are subjective based on who you are and what your experience with the refugee crisis is.

4. (After watching the video) Are you interpreting the Lucify data differently? If so, why?

I think if I had watched the video first, I would of had more of an emotional response to the Lucify infographic data. But since I saw it first, it seemed like a big problem, but I didn’t really feel the problem emotional until I watched the video.

5. How do Lucify, Zerohedge, and Vox make different arguments?

Lucify makes a factual approach that shows scale (logos) with ethos credibility of citing the UN Refugee Agency as the source. Zerohedge takes an emotional approach (pathos) by showing faces and real people, while also still showing the scale. Vox’s approach isn’t very visual, but they use logos of facts and choose to use bold words as a way to emphasize the information. They also bring new information to the table, like how the Paris attacks have people worried about refugees even though none of the attackers were confirmed to be refugees yet.

6. How they both encourage different interpretations of the Lucify data visualization?

Simply put, due to language use, word choice and video vs. no video, Zerohedge wants you to think with your heart and Vox wants you to think with your mind.

7. How does the visualization, in turn, inform their arguments?

The video on Zerohedge invokes feelings in the audience, for the most part. But Vox uses a bit of a fear tactic or generalization that “people” are scared of refugees because of the Paris attack. They don’t have any visuals other than bold words, but you can tell they’re trying to emphasis the refugee crisis’ impact on the Paris attack, even though it has not been confirmed that the attackers were refugees.

8.  Revisit the Henkin reading. Pick out one quote from the text and connect his argument about the postal service to the visualization on Lucify.

“The important question is not how fast information travels in absolute terms or relative to previous records for land speed, but how new media connect physically separated parties within a shared temporal framework.” (pg. 2 of Henkin reading.

Lucify shows how people spread over time, where they went and at what rate. The foundation behind Henkin’s postal history is really about how different factors, such as demographic or literacy rates, change history essentially. The East is war torn and therefore refugees are fleeing for their safety.The quote above shows that how media connects separated parties (the rest of the world other than the war-torn East) by a shared temporal framework (the Internet). I’m sure people in Europe and other continents have seen the Lucify infographics as well. The Internet is ultimately a transcontinental communication and information sharing platform. The postal history and how it changed based off people and environmental factors was a good representation of the now larger scale Internet and essentially the refugee crisis. The Henkin reading helped me better understand how information spread and how it can be altered by anything from demographic to literacy rates. One of the most important takeaways I found in today’s readings was that distribution is an intentional act, but circulation is uncontrollable. 

Part 2

I did a reverse Google image search on the lock image on Webcourses, but no exact results came back. 

Here is what the result was:

As you can see, no exact image was found like the one that was in Webcourses. I am confused by this because I can’t answer the questions with this image now... Similar images were found, but not that exact lock. Assuming the found was found elsewhere, I would have talked about how the lock’s presence and purpose changed based on the different sites it was on and text it was with. I would have discussed different meaning behind the lock based on where the image was found or what was changed about it. I hope this suffices for part 2 of the assignment since my reverse Google search of the lock image (that I did with the instructions in the assignment) didn’t lead to any results.

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Blog Post #7- Mixed Messages

Question: To what extent do messages have "a life of their own"? What role do humans and non-humans play in distribution and circulation?

Answer: Messages are a form of communication and just like any form of communication, the meaning of messages can be construed and altered. As we’ve discussed in class, intent doesn’t matter that much when it comes to how audiences interpret messages. 

The first point I’m going to touch on about this topic is when messages develop a “life of their own” simply because the reader or audience interprets them in a different way than the originator of the message intended.

For example, I could write a tweet that says “Knightro is the GOAT.” Many people know that GOAT means Greatest Of All Time, and many know who Knightro is, but if a member of my audience doesn’t know one or both of those things, then the message could get misinterpreted. This was just a simple example, but the truth is, audiences misinterpret messages from writers and other communicators all the time because the rhetor cannot control who the audience will be even if they are writing the message with an audience in mind.

While some messages are merely just interpreted differently than the author intended, sometimes humans are guilty of sending mixed messages themselves.

When I think of mixed messages, I think of how they affect relationships. Dating can be hard, especially if people play games and send mixed messages. What do I mean by mixed messages? One day, someone says you’re amazing and the next day they barely talk to you. We’ve all experienced this, and it’s no secret that we are all capable of sending mixed messages. Therefore, humans are a huge factor in how messages get sent and received -- online and in person. 

Non-human factors can affect both kinds of messages I spoke about in this post as well. The Internet is probably the greatest and most influential factor of non-human ways messages are affected. First of all, messages can go viral in a moments notice due to the Internet, even when the originator of the message doesn’t intend for the message to spread.

This proves that the message creators intent of meaning or distribution doesn’t really mean anything in the grand scheme of things because the audience and the platform controls the meaning and the circulation.

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Replicator Remix- Knight Meme Edition

Here’s the link to my Twitter thread of the Knightro memes I made from photos of UCF’s mascot that I took:

https://twitter.com/ByPaigeWilson/status/837453332558004225

The meme shown at the top of this post is the most popular meme from my Twitter thread so far. To see more about my remix project, continue reading below.

Minor Assignment: Remix the Replicators!

For those of you who don’t know about my original replicator idea, let me give a quick summary. Knightro is UCF’s official mascot – a golden Knight in shining armor. I’ve taken many photos of Knightro at UCF sporting events over my time as a photographer at UCF and have interacted with Knightro a lot over Twitter. I decided to use this as the basis for my original meme, which is a photo of Knightro lying face down on the football field in what looks like a defeated manner. I had tweeted this image out in December with the caption “How Knightro feels about Finals Week” and it got a good amount of attention with 47 retweets and 112 favorites (likes). This sparked my idea to create an actual meme of Knightro with different sayings overlaid on top that I would then share on Twitter to see if they catch on.

               In my original replicator paper, I talked about a few different saying that I could possible overlay on my chosen Knightro photo, but for my remix, I’ve complied and made 17 memes from six different photos of Knightro I’ve taken and 15 different sayings. To see the expansion that I’ve created from my original meme idea, please visit this Twitter thread: twitter.com/ByPaigeWilson/status/837453332558004225

The fact that there are six photos, yet 17 memes, shows that one photo’s meaning and interpretation can be changed simply by a different phrase typed out on it. I kept the humorous and hopefully relatable subject line from my original meme idea but expanded the possibilities by adding additional photos and phrases. For example, I used my original photo of Knightro face down on the football field with three different captions, seen below:

I chose to remix my meme through more visuals and more text options in order to get a feel for what my audience, which is my Twitter followers in this case, liked the most or didn’t particularly care for. This will help me narrow down several factors in order to hopefully create a successful meme that gets shared over my chosen platform of Twitter. I picked Twitter because Knightro has a strong social media presence there, and it’s very easy for my audience of the UCF community to share my tweet with a simple retweet or appreciate it with a “favorite” as opposed to taking more of an effort to “regram” and Instagram post. I toyed around with the idea to simple make a slideshow type video on iMovie with all of my meme creations of Knightro to then share on Twitter, but I decided it was much more effective in determining which meme was best if they were all tweeted out individually, yet in a thread so that they can be compared side by side. I made sure to tweet the photos out according to the image themselves so that my followers could easily see how the meaning of the meme changed just from different text even when the photo was still the same. However, since I used six photos throughout the 17 memes, my followers still had a good amount of memes to compare in order to choose their favorites.

These are the most popular memes in my thread as of now:

Humor is a shared aspect between all of these tweets. I believe they’re the ones with the most retweets and favorites thus far because of that and because they’re more relatable than some of the others on my thread.

               It’s also interesting to me that a mascot that isn’t able to talk or display facial expressions is still able to convey emotion or a reaction to something. This is really a whole conversation in itself, but it really speaks to how important body language is as a way of communication.

I have “pinned” an introductory tweet to my Knightro meme thread on Twitter to the top of my profile so that more people will be able to see these memes and vote for their favorite. I’m going to continue to monitor these tweets to see how my meme travels and if one succeeds or fails more than the rest.

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Interactive Comic

I am not skilled at drawing. In fact, I’m actually quite awful at it. Stick figures are as detailed as I can get. For this reason, the interactive comic assignment scared me. While brainstorming ways around having to attempt to draw myself in the frames of my comic about my personal writing process, I thought of using Bitmojis to be “me” in the comic. These personalized emoji-like characters have become popular with Snapchat and I often use them to display a life-like emotional response in the Snapchat app.

I made the comic over a two-day period last week. Watch the video above for more detail of my steps in making the comic. To summarize: I searched through every Bitmoji option in the app to find ones I believe would translate my emotion throughout the possible ways my writing process could go. I then printed out the Bitmojis, followed the folding instructions in the video in the assignment, wrote words if necessary on the comic panels to enhance the story, then colored parts of the comic if color would improve or clarify the message.

I did not have any ethical hesitations about the fold of the interactive comic because the YouTuber posted the video of the folding instructions for educational purposes. I also never thought about anything that could be an ethical problem with using Bitmojis outside of their intended app (Snapchat) until it was brought up as a point of inquiry in this blog assignment. I don’t think I did anything unethical by using the Bitmojis because it’s a free app that I downloaded, I created my personal Bitmoji to look like myself, and I was using the Bitmojis for art and educational purposes. For those reasons, I also didn’t think about any potential legal ramifications either. The front of my interactive comic shows my Bitmoji with the text “There’s a Bitmoji for that!” above it, so the comic at least acknowledges the brand behind the character I used.

I don’t consider my actions to be infringing because I used a character that I personally made in the Bitmoji app to be me. If I was using someone else’s Bitmoji in my comic, without their permission, then maybe there could be an infringement issue, but I stand my ground with my use of the Bitmoji for the comic assignment. I have not, nor will not, profit from the use of the Bitmoji in my assignment and it was purely used for educational purposes.

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Blog Post #4

This post is meant to be heard, not read or seen. I hope the voice paints a picture of an important moment in my life.

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Blog Post #3: Exclusivity

In what ways do we construct spaces that categorically exclude entire classes of people? Who tends to be those excluded people?

Watch this video. What do you see? What do you hear? What did you feel because of what you saw and heard?

Odds say the person reading this is not autistic, but you just experienced a minute and 24 seconds of what it can be like to live on the spectrum. As someone who does not live with autism, I never realized how something as simple and mundane walking through a shopping mall, can actually be a trigger for someone on the spectrum.

This space was designed for someone who does not live with autism. There are distractions everywhere — sounds, bright lights, moving pictures, smells, and more that are all amplified when you have autism. If this mall was designed by someone who understood the needs people with autism have then this boy would not have been triggered in the way the video shows.

Notice how the people in the video are totally unaware what this young boy is going through, other than the mother, who attempts to comfort her son. At first the boy internally deals with the sights and sounds he experiences, but as the video progresses, so does his intolerance to keep withholding the overwhelming feelings inside. It consumes him and pushes out a response. He speaks up, covers his ears, gets loud and “acts out.” *A dirty look from a middle-aged woman on a cell phone.* Who is she to assume that this young boy is simply misbehaving? Unfortunately, that is the culture of our society — instant judgement. I too have been guilty of this... It’s probably safe to say that we all have judged someone without knowing the story behind their actions or words. Does this make us bad people? No, not necessarily. It’s a matter of coming to the realization that not everyone is the same, and we need to accommodate for those differences.

That being said, I believe people who live with “disabilities” often are excluded from being able to experience spaces in the same way that people without “disabilities” are. I’ve put the word “disabilities” in quotes because I don’t like how this word in itself puts people in a negative category, making note that people who have a “disability” are unable to do certain things in life when in fact, they sometimes just need different accommodations to do life.

The video ends with the boy saying “I’m not naughty. I’m autistic.” This simple phrase shows that things are often not what they seem and we as humans should not judge and instead keep an open mind that people are just different, but that does not make them bad or less than others.

Chaos

In our reading by Temple Grandin called “Thinking in Pictures” we see an insight into the mind of someone living with autism. There seems to be a sort of chaos as compared to a mind without autism as I read this, and I don’t mean that in a negative light. The tracks of the mind appear to constantly be changing, moving, turning — like a convoluted railroad. This made me think of how most man-made spaces in this world are made for people on a one-track mindset. Forwards and backwards, up and down, side to side, left to right. But not diagonal, crossed over, twisted, curved. This is our problem. We go into construction with the assumption that everyone is the same and will react the same to spaces, but that’s not the case.

Puzzle

My final point is simply a point of interest to me. Ever wonder why autism awareness and support systems use puzzle pieces in their graphics a lot of the time? I’m not sure the exact reasoning of course, but a line in “Thinking in Pictures” made me pause and think about this. “I create new images all the time by taking many little parts of the images I have in the video library of my imagination and piecing them together.” (Grandin pg. 21) What Grandin is referring to made me picture a puzzle in my head. All the right pieces are there. Someone just might need some help or accommodation to piece them together.

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Blog Post #2: Multimodal composition

The Internet is randomly out at my apartment complex, which could be viewed as an annoyance and inconvenience, but instead I'm taking it as an opportunity to write from a different platform — a different mode — and see if it affects my final product. I'm currently using my data to type this assignment on my phone, and it feels like a more conversationally written text already. I suppose this is because I use my phone to text, to tweet, to post on social media and other casual activities. All of these things are more conversational then when I intentionally go on my laptop to write out a school paper, journalism article, or professional email. This was the perfect blog post topic to write on a phone because it truly shows how vast multimodal aspects can be. It is my understanding that multimodal composition is any writing at all because all writing uses multiple forms. As we discussed in class, multimodal means many modes, but our brains already work in many modes. We see pictures and words dance around in our heads as we sit at a computer, or in this case a phone, and type out a paper. Because of this it doesn't matter if we write the entire paper in strictly text on Microsoft Word. If our brains picture it first in any form, which it does, then it's multimodal. Since multimodality is the process of creating writing or other forms of rhetoric and multimedia is the final project, multimodal composition is used to form any kind of rhetoric, even body language. If I'm mad, my brain is going to form an image in my head that could cause me to automatically show my emotion on my face and look tense in my body language. This in itself is even multimodal composition because I visualize the act happen right before it does. Therefore, just like everything has rhetoric, everything is multimodal. There is no monomodal.

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Blog Post #1: What is rhetoric?

The “textbook” version of the definition of rhetoric has been continuously instilled in my from the Department of Writing and Rhetoric classes I’ve taken over the last few years at UCF. The full definition can be found here, and it basically means the art of persuasion through communication. But rhetoric is so much more than that. Rhetoric embodies the reason anything in this world is the way it is and why things happen the way they do. The fact that I made a conscious decision to sit on my couch for this assignment, while snacking on fruit, cheese and crackers, with Spotify playing in the background, is rhetoric. That’s the rhetoric of my preferred homework environment. 

To compose a rhetorically effective text, one must understand its audience and know the intent of the text itself. Knowing the audience and what would appeal to them determines the form of the content you’re producing. If you’re presenting something to millennials, the use of memes and GIFs is better received than if you were to show that same presentation to senior citizens.

My theory of how to compose a rhetorically effective text is to use Aristotle’s rhetorical triangle to the best of my ability. This triangle shows that an effective rhetorical message will use the appropriate amount and forms of pathos, logos and ethos to suit the intention of the message being presented. It all comes back to understanding your audience, knowing what they’ll soak up, and then executing that effectively with your rhetorical choices.

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Space and Place blog #9- Nov. 29

Twenty One Pilots concert at Amway Center

My favorite band is Twenty One Pilots, and their concert this summer at the Amway Center was one I will never forget.

The Amway Center itself is an interesting space to talk about because it’s so versatile. From concerts, to Orlando Magic games, to comedy shows, this venue can transform for all sorts of entertainment.

Twenty One Pilots is a two-man group with alternative/electric style music, with the occasionally rap or screamo sound. This combination of a little bit of everything makes for a diverse fan base, which has been deemed the Skeleton Clique. Tyler is the lead singer and plays instruments like the piano, ukulele and tambourine and entertains the crowd with flips off amps or the piano. Josh is the drummer who blows the audience away with his fast skills.

Being in an arena that holds 20,000 people while they’re all singing the same song with you is a feeling like no other. At some points Tyler would stop singing and the arena full of people would sing the lyrics all together — like a clique. Adding to the fan base feel, a lot of audience members were dressed in red, black and white, which are the band’s colors, and often had a lot of Twenty One Pilots logo gear and clothing as well.

The space is structured so that everyone in the audience is facing towards the main stage, but the interest rhetorical concept from this concert is how Tyler and Josh moved around the arena. They started on the main stage for part of the first song, but then the lights went dim for a minute and everyone was wondering what was going on. Next thing you know, a spotlight lights up a person about 15 feet above me in the audience, and I realize Tyler is standing and singing among the crowd. This quick move was strategic and helped excite the crowd. 

A secondary stage was set up towards the idle back of the venue’s floor and the band performed a few songs on it as well, giving the people in the middle and back rows a better view. Smoke and lighting effects were also used to create an errie, alternative atmosphere to match the band’s semi-dark, yet hopeful style.

Only people who bought tickets were allowed in the space, and the closer you were to the main stage, the more expensive the tickets were. This shows that social status determines whether or not you even get entry into the space and how close you get to be to the band itself.

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Space and Place blog #8- Nov. 29

Brooklyn Bridge

The day after Thanksgiving this year, I decided to walk off the turkey by journeying across the Brooklyn Bridge. This was my first time walking across the 5,989 feet bridge, but I sure hope it’s not my last. This cabled suspension bridge connects Brooklyn, New York to Manhattan over the East River and was completed in 1883.

One can tell right away that the bridge’s main purpose is to connect two otherwise separated parts of New York, but it’s turned into a popular tourist destination as well. Though, locals still use it to drive, walk or bike across. One of the most fascinating parts of this bridge for me from a rhetorical standpoint is how bodies move about the space. There are specific, marked lanes for people walking, versus bikers on the top area. Underneath that, there are lanes for cars going both ways. For the most part, people seemed to respect the guidelines and stay in their correct walking or biking lanes, but on occasion a walker would step into the biker lane to get around a slow group of people or to take a photo and then bikers would approach out of nowhere and have to swerve around the pedestrian.

Anyone has access to this bridge, and it’s structured in straight lines to encourage people to keep moving and walk across. I walked the bridge from Brooklyn to Manhattan so that I could see the downtown Manhattan skyline as I approached land, which I’d imagine is a different feel than walking towards the much smaller Brooklyn skyline from the opposite end.

There didn’t seem to be much of a power structure at the place because everyone merely did their own thing and moved on, but there were protective measures in place such as high rails and cables so that no one would get injured or accidentally fall onto the moving cars beneath the bridge.

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Space and Place blog #7- Nov. 29

Central Park, New York

Central Park embodies a mix of urban and nature — my favorite combination. The 843 acres of man-made trails and forest-like paths stretches from W. 59th Street to W. 110th Street in Manhattan, New York, and is about four large city blocks wide. It was originally established in 1857, with a 778 acre purchase, and was the most-visited urban park in the U.S. in 2013 with 40 million visitors.

I first visited this park in the summer of 2014, then again in summer 2015. But after spending Thanksgiving break in the Big Apple this year, I realized fall was the best time to see Central Park. With leaves in striking autumn hues of red, yellow, orange and every shade in between, it’s breathtakingly beautiful. The stark contrast of feeling like you’re in a middle of a forest but then looking up to see skyscrapers is a wonderful juxtaposition. Walk through a twisting path to find a caste tucked in the trees or cross a cobblestone bridge to watch tourists and locals alike rowing through the large lakes.

While New Yorkers are deemed as oftentimes angry and rude, it appeared more common to have friendly encounters in the park. I think this is because it’s a more relaxed atmosphere as opposed to the overpopulated hustle and bustle of Manhattan streets. There are several roads that cut through the park as well, which lets traffic cut from the west to east side of Manhattan without going all the way around the park. Bikers and runners use the space to enjoy exercise in a less urban environment that one could spend hours traveling through. While it’s a very popular tourist destination, it’s also a hub for locals, as it’s a place to retreat from the crazy atmosphere of the streets. Horse and buggies also ride through roads in the park, allowing people to see more of the park from a different viewpoint, if you can afford the ride that is.

There is a definite class distinction between people in the park, but it’s pleasant to see people from high and low social statuses and economic incomes sharing a space. I passed a few homeless people taking shelter in the park, as well as people who looked clearly well off. While there are many homeless people on the sidewalks throughout New York City, I believe they would utilize the park to take shelter and perhaps find a quiet bench among the trees, where there are fewer judgmental stares. Wealthier people on the other hand probably use the park as more of a social environment, where one can sit down to a lakeside restaurant, or walk off a large meal from a Manhattan restaurant. Still, the fact that any social class can utilize the park to some degree is an intriguing point.

This destination is picturesque at any season and provides a calmer retreat from Manhattan, which explains why so many movies and T.V. shows have filmed there. During the summer, I saw games of Frisbee and people picnicking on the lawns, but during Thanksgiving break, an ice skating rink was set up and holiday music was playing. This shows the space changes as the seasons do.

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Space and Place blog #6- Nov. 1

Instagram

I’m venturing into my first “space” as opposed to “place” blog entry for this post. I consider myself to be a bit of a social media guru, as I have run personal and professional accounts on many different platforms over the last few years. As a journalist, I think social media can be a very powerful tool to reach audiences when used effectively, but here I’m going to focus on the differences between my personal and professional Instagram accounts. 

Let’s start with Instagram as a community though. This social media platform is probably my favorite since I love photography. People are able to define themselves and parts of their lives by a photo with an optional caption. The key word in exploring the rhetoric is part, as in part of their lives. While some people post passive aggressive captioned photos or the occasional sad image showing how they feel after a loved one has passed, but the majority of Instagram, along with any of social media platform is people’s highlights. Why post a photo of the test you shared when you could post one of the artist latte you ordered or night out with friends? The problem with social media, and Instagram, is that sometimes people compare their “bloopers” to others’ “highlight reels.” This can inflect pain and low self esteem, not to mention increases people’s “fear of missing out” on events with people they know.

There’s a certain rhetoric on Instagram, and rules as well. It’s understood that people should only post as max once a day on their personal Instagram, otherwise they “must” point out that they are posting a second time, usually with the hashtag “doublepost.”

Now, honing in on the difference between my two Instagram accounts, one is personal for pictures of life experiences, friends and fun. The other is one I started over the summer to display my photography in a professional way and to get my name out there as a photojournalist.

My personal Instagram has about the same number of followers as people I’m following, as most of the followers and people I follow are friends. It’s a private account, so one must request to follow me in order to see my photos. I speak conversationally in my captions and sometimes make jokes or include puns, as that reflects my personality. The photos consist of many sunsets, activities with friends and more than photos with Knightro, the UCF mascot. I have even developed my own hashtag for photos I have with him, as I’m his No. 1 fan (#TheNewGlycerin, which is a whole other story in itself). While my bio is still professional, it shows the aspects of my life I care about the most: UCF Knight, Journalist, Photographer, Jesus (referring that my Christian faith is important to me) and #FTK (referring to my heavy involvement in UCF’s largest student-run philanthropy, Knight-Thon, with FTK meaning For The Kids.) The link in my personal bio leads to my Knight-Thon donor drive, to encourage my friends to donate to help me raise money to benefit the Greater Orlando Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. I don’t accept follow requests from people I do not know in person, unless we have mutual friend groups. This is for safety purposes, as I don’t particularly want strangers to know about my everyday life happens. The accounts I follow from my personal Instagram are almost all friends of mine, but I also follow a few celebrities and news organizations. I make sure to scroll through my whole timeline every few days so I don’t miss something my friends post.

My professional photography account is very different from my personal one. Starting off at the account name, paigewilson_photography is much more professional than paigeshortstack, which is a nickname I had in high school that has stuck through college due to my short stature. This account is public, as I want as many people as possible to see my photos as possible. I use a lot of hashtags in each photo post on this account, again so that as many people as possible can see and like my photography. The bio is professional and informative, instead of just identifying factors like in my personal one. Also, the website here leads to my e-portfolio, which showcases some of my best photography and journalism pieces from my time here at UCF. I follow local, national and worldwide photographers and photojournalists from this account. And I’m proud that it’s reached 410 followers since I only started the account this past summer. Many of my followers here are other professionals from news organizations and photography companies, in addition to friends supporting my passion. I usually only post once a day on this account as well, but the captions are also much more informative and professional about what the viewer is seeing in the image instead of a clever and short caption. I also tag anyone applicable to the photo in the post.

Diving a little deeper into the rhetoric I see on the two different platforms from others, my friends sometimes comment on my personal photos in a friendly, fun way, but I get a lot of random comments on my photography account where I can tell someone only commented to try to get more followers for themselves. I devote more time and effort to my personal account right now, as I don’t often scroll through much of my professional account’s timeline to like posts and actively try to get more followers. I get a slow and steady increase in followers and engagement by using a lot of relevant hashtags on my photography Instagram, so I don’t worry too much about the number of followers yet.

[paigevwilson-blog]

Space and Place blog #5- Nov. 1

Central Florida Wesley

I’ve been attending a campus ministry called Central Florida Wesley, or Wesley for short, for the last few years while I’ve been at UCF. This is a Methodist group where college-aged students from the surrounding colleges meet on Tuesday nights to worship with contemporary music, listen to a message from the Wesley pastor and enjoy a meal while making friendships with the other church-goers. 

As far as the space itself, the ministry meets at the United Methodist Carillon Church in Oviedo, right behind UCF. The EPICenter there was made for the high school/middle school youth group, and while they meet their during other nights of the week, the campus ministry uses the space Tuesday night. It’s made for community, with couches to have conversations on in the waiting room and a larger room set up with chairs for the worship service and message. 

Wesley’s mission is this: “Wesley is a place where real friendships are born, leaders are developed, and our love for Christ and one another inspires action in out community.” For this reason, and because of what I experienced when going there as a stranger in the beginning, I believe Wesley to be a very welcoming community that welcomes all and does not judge. We have straight people, gay people, white people, black people and many other elements of diversity in our mix; and everyone is treated with love. The power structure is usually laid back, as everyone is treated on an equal playing field. Of course, the pastor, Erwin Lopez, and his wife Charity, have a different role in the ministry, but it is not a demeaning one. Erwin is usually the one to preach the message each Tuesday night, and those in attendance are expected to sit reasonable quiet and listen, but it’s not uncommon for a joke from the audience to be made, or from Erwin himself, which keeps the atmosphere light and positive. 

The power structure and space also changes within the community based on the evening of the week. Tuesday night large groups are held in the EPICenter, but students are encouraged to join one of the smaller community groups that meets in various living rooms during the rest of the week. I attend a women’s community group, and that atmosphere is very different than on Tuesday nights. We all gather around on couches, usually with snacks in the center, to open our Bibles and discuss the “highs and lows” of our weeks with each other. It’s a more intimate setting, which makes it easier and more comfortable to open up and trust those sitting around the living room with you, as opposed to an average of 60 people, some of whom you don’t know, in a large church setting. This group provides a different atmosphere and structure than the co-ed, smaller community groups. There are certain things that women can discuss more freely without their male friends there, and visa versa I’m sure.

For the sake of understanding the rhetoric behind this place and space of the campus ministry, I can see why someone who is not religious or familiar with a church would be hesitant and even uncomfortable attending Wesley. I grew up going to church every Sunday and being actively involved in a youth group and smaller Bible studies as well. So while attending Wesley was an adjustment to a new place for me, the atmosphere felt welcoming because I had already been accustom to a youth group type of community. 

However, Wesley is constantly trying to show how truly welcoming and different they are than other campus ministries. Last spring semester, our pastor did a different sermon series where we invited the leaders of other religious groups at UCF to our service so they could teach us about their religion and we could learn from them in a mutual beneficial way. A leader from each of the following religions: Hinduism, Islam, Judaism and Catholicism. It was truly beautiful and inspiring to hear about other religions, respect their differences, and learn from our similarities. This helped our Wesley community see other religions for what they truly are instead of basing judgement on stereotypes.

[paigevwilson-blog]

Space and Place blog #4- Nov. 1

CFE Arena

The CFE Arena wears many different hats as a venue on UCF’s main campus. Originally opened in 2007, it is the largest entertainment and sports facility in East Orlando. From concerts, to UCF basketball games, to presidential campaign rallies, this building has housed a large variety of crowds in its 10,000 seat capacity.

The space is very versatile to coincide with the many structural shifts it goes through to accommodate the events. On Friday, I spent about 6 hours outside and in the Arena for President Obama’s speech in favor of Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. The President took the stage at 6 p.m. with thunderous applause from a nearly full house. The Arena’s floor had been arranged with a stage closer to the center of the floor than the main stage, and two press risers were set up — one to Obama’s left side and the other straight in his view toward the back seats. It was standing room only on the floor, but even that was divided with a power system. The blue ticket holders had to stand in a section behind the red ticket holders, as the red tickets were only available for purchase while the blue were free with registration. Beyond that, blue ticket holders could also sit in the Arena’s sits that made a 360-degree loop to face Obama. Even higher than the red ticket holders were the people who were seated directly behind Obama, as they had the possibility of appearing on the broadcasts of his speech. This section was invitation only, showing that the people in it were chosen for a reason. Overall, the power structure was clear; all eyes on the speaker. 

As a journalist, covering the rally was a different experience for me than it would have been if I was going as a bystander. I moved back and forth on the two different platforms to take photos from different angles of the President. I watched the crowd react more enthusiastically to President Obama than they did to several of the opening speakers. Before doors opened, and during the speeches, the outside of the Arena had a completely different dynamic. There was a handful of pro-Trump, anti-Hillary protesters with homemade signs and a few chants. I was honestly expecting more people from their side because they tend to be an outspoken group. I think there would have been a lot more people protesting if the speech had been giving by Hillary Clinton, since that’s who is running against Donald Trump. In addition, the etiquette for me as a member of the media is different than anyone else in the crowd. We are to remain unbiased and professional, so there was no clapping or chanting from the media risers, as compared to much of both from all of the crowd.  

Historically, the only people who can enter the CFE Arena are its employees, UCF students with their IDs and ticket holders of whatever event is there at the time. This is interesting to think about because it’s not a public space at all. It’s exclusive to current UCF students and those who can afford to buy tickets to events. While class and income definitely plays a factor in admission, I can only see race or culture being affected based on the speaker, the concert or the event that is in the Arena at the time. For example, at a country concert in this Venue, one would probably see a lot of Caucasians in flannel, denim and cowboy/girl boots. This crowd is different than a rap concert in the Arena.

My individual perception of the Arena has changed as well. One of the first times I entered the doors was my freshman year convocation, where faculty talked about resources for new students and about the school in general. Fast forward three and a half years of concerts I’ve attended, and now I am at the point in my journalism major where I get the opportunity to take photos of the President of the United States. 

[paigevwilson-blog]

Space and Place blog #3- Sept. 22

Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

The Happiest Place on Earth truly lives up to its name for me. I was a Walt Disney World annual passholder for two years, and I will never forget all the magical moments I experienced over that time, specifically focusing on a lot of memories from Magic Kingdom.

While Disney is a ridiculously crowded hotspot for tourists, it also felt like a second home for me. The minute I scanned my magic band and entered Magic Kingdom to see Cinderella's castle at the end of Main Street, I would always feel an overwhelming sense of belonging, cheer and unbreakable happiness. The smell of freshly baked, Mickey Mouse shaped soft pretzels made my stomach growl in anticipation. The decor throughout the park always matched whatever season is happening, which added to the atmosphere I love. 

The attractions aren't all thrilling, but Disney sure goes all out to make every different land themed to perfection. I felt like I was in a different world as I soared through space in Tomorrow Land on Space Mountain and then explored a tropical wetland on Adventure Land's Jungle Cruise. 

The Florida heat was bearable as long as I had a Mickey Mouse ice cream bar in my hand. It's creamy texture would typically melt faster than I could eat it, but that just added to the fun. 

This park was also a place for me and some of my best friends to bond. It's actually the place I went to with an acquaintance who turned into my best friend. Now that's magic. It's the place a boy asked me to be his girlfriend under the fireworks display. While that relationship ended, that memory will last forever. It's the place I went to six times when I was six years old with my family. It's my place of escape from the responsibilities and struggles of the real world. Unfortunately, this place also costs a lot of money to visit, so while I don't have an annual pass again, I know I'll return to this magical oasis one day. 

[paigevwilson-blog]

Space and Place blog #2- Sept. 22

UCF Reflecting Pond

Over my almost three and a half years at UCF, the Reflecting Pond (as it's officially named, even though most post call it the Reflection Pond) has served a variety of purposes for me and the rest of the UCF community. The sprinkle of the fountain becomes a long, rushing noise as the fountain alternates between settings. The smell of freshly cut grass fills my nose as I take a small break between classes. I can feel the prickly green blades against my skin as I sit under the comforting shade of a tree. I sip on my iced coffee and people watch, after taking a photo of the pond for my Snapchat story, of course.

During the "winter" (well, Florida winter) the pond takes on a new light. As the sun sets and golden hour creates a warm glow in the cool Florida air, I lay down and watch the clouds, pointing out the shapes I see to myself. This pond is a place of solitude for me. I've done homework there, journaled, listened to music, taken photos and more.

Once a year, however, the pond turns into a chaotic, but exhilarating body of water. Spirit Splash, one of UCF's greatest tradition, transforms the pond from a place of serenity to a mad house as thousands of students run into the forbidden waters willing to do whatever it takes to secure the prized possession of a Spirit Splash rubber duck. As a massive crowd gathered around the concrete steps surrounding the pond during my freshman year, the countdown to run into the pond began. When the crowd charged, I was pushed and fell onto the hard ground, busting open my knee to create a bloody scene. My friends and I exchanged looks, wondering if this meant we weren't rushing in with the other Knights for an afternoon of dangerous fun in the pond. This minor setback didn't stop us from diving in though. Students chanted "We want ducks!" for up to an hour before the prized possessions were finally thrown out into the sea of Knights. Yet after literally bleeding for this event, I didn't secure a rubber duck. I have one duck from each of my next two years though, and I am making sure I get one for my senior year as well.

So while this body of water has served many different purposes during my time here, it's truly one of the most iconic things about this campus that represents UCF well.