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A blog for ENC2135, Fall 2015

55 posts

Krispy Kreme v. Dunkin’ Doughnuts

Who doesn’t love doughnuts? Sweet, chewy rings of happy goodness waiting to be devoured and chased by freshly brewed coffee. Although doughnuts can be improved in few ways, there are two things that can easily make them better: having an excuse to eat multiple doughnuts and sharing them with friends.

In an effort to ascertain the most thorough answer to the Krispy Kreme v. Dunkin’ Doughnut debate, I gathered four additional friends for the taste testing. The overwhelming response decided that Krispy Kreme is the winner, with 80% of people voting it as the best.

Krispy Kreme doughnuts were sweeter and softer. They collapsed more easily under the fingers while still maintaining the crispy shell of glaze. In contrast, Dunkin’s doughnuts were taller and cakier, with a denser texture and less sweetness. They seemed closer to cake doughnuts than to the fluffy delight of Krispy Kreme. Also, Krispy Kreme’s doughnuts were served hot, while we had the misfortune of eating disappointingly cold Dunkin’s doughnuts.

The single person who said she preferred Dunkin’ Doughnuts said that she did so because she preferred their brand. This argument has merit, as I have personally seen many more billboards and commercials for Dunkin’s products than for those of Krispy Kreme.

Overall, I cast my vote with the majority and state that Krispy Kreme has better doughnuts than Dunkin’ Doughnuts.

Presentation Reflection

All the presentations have been so fantastic! It’s been so great to see everyone’s individuality and unique interests displayed in their research choices and presentation. It’s really hard to pick a favorite, but I will mention a few that I really liked.

I really like Zoe’s topic because, as a member of the Doctor Who fandom, I thought her research and remediations and genuine interest in the community is awesome. Zoe, I really hope that you start watching Doctor Who. It’s so great and one thing you probably learned about the community is that we LOVE to see it grow.

I also really liked Kyle’s presentation because I think he really made his Project 2 into an easily digestible form for broader audiences. His buzzfeed article was hilarious and I already shared it on my facebook.

I think Molly did a good job on being effective and innovative with her genres. Let’s be honest, we all didn’t think that Project 3 was doable until we saw how Molly did her Project 3.

I’m going to miss these classmates and everyone’s tweets! Have a great holiday, ENCers! #staystrong #ENClove

I completely agree. Zoe’s interactive timeline was beyond my wildest dreams of computer skills and Molly made me feel bad about my project. Also, it was just impressive that she was prepared enough so early on that she could give us a pre-presentation

Presentation Reflection

It’s difficult to decide which presentation was the most effective because I feel like I’m judging based on the project’s success more than the presentation itself. Understanding that, I think that Kyle Compare gave the best presentation, in addition to having one of the more successful projects.

Kyle’s project discussed the problem of climate change through a satirical Buzzfeed article, fire-side podcast, and photographic essay/survey.

However, regardless of the size of his audience, I liked the way he set up his slides in the prezi. Instead of just offering a link to the page or a basic description of the genre, he had direct quotations from people’s reactions. These comments gave today’s audience a better understanding of the material in each genre, as we didn’t have the experience of seeing (all of) them ourselves. I also thought he effectively showed us his genres without spending too much time on the details. He started with the most comedic piece, drawing us into a controversial topic with humor, and ended with the most emotional, closing on a note of pathos. While we could laugh about flooding streets, emaciated polar bears and dehydrated elephants were much harder to shrug off. I also liked that the entire project was in the shape of an ice berg.

That being said, the presentations about actor’s guilds and museums were both interesting because they were topics I would never have thought of otherwise.

Reflecting on the Presentations

Though all of the presentations were pretty short, especially the ones at the end as we ran out of time, I think everyone did a good job with the time we were allotted. It’s surprisingly difficult to condense these projects into two-three minutes of speaking. To be honest, I don’t really remember any of the presentations from Tuesday (including my own), so I, sadly, can’t really talk too much about those.

However, out of the presentations we saw in class today Kyle’s was definitely one of my favorites. I especially enjoyed the way the background of the Prezi itself tied into the topic—talk about attention detail. I also thought it was cool that he included some of the comments he received on the various genres. The fact that he actually communicated one of them face-to-face was pretty admirable. I wouldn’t have wanted to do that at all.

I also really enjoyed Taegan’s presentation. It helped that I have taken an anthropology class, so I did understand what she was talking about and found it interesting. She was also clearly well-informed, providing a lot of really good details about the content of each genre. It was kind of a trip down memory lane for me to hear about cultural relativism.

Before reading your post, I completely forgot that people even presented on Tuesday. I also agree about Kyle seeking face-to-face communication with people: not only did it give an element of depth, but it’s also something I would never have been willing to do

kylecontrast-deactivated202-blog

BBG Chapter 10

Ah yes, another reading in the dreaded Bedford Book of Genres. It seems like is has been so long since we’ve had a reading in that I wasn’t ready for the accustomed long and drawn out chapters. However, this chapter surprised m, not only in its length but also in it actually being a good read.

I think that the list of genres and how the y can be utilized is one of the most important things I’ve read from the BBG and I will gladly use the information presented for Project 3. I hadn’t really thought that certain genres have an innate purpose for the audience, but with this in mind changing my audience and purpose for my genres will definitely strengthen their arguments.

On top of this, the examples were very interesting to read about. Being an outdoorsy person, nature deficit disorder is something I’ve researched and discussed to people so this caught my eye. This was a good example for me to understand how the remediation of genres can be effective in order to accomplish different goals that are set forth by the genre.

After reading this, although I will still probably freak out about Project 3 being due soon, I feel a little bit better about getting it done.

The nature deficit article was particularly interesting. I’d heard about it before, but didn’t realize the list of horrible effects it has

rachelshattler-blog

Ch. 10 Reflection

Chapter 10 of BBG was a joy to read. First, it wasn’t too long, and second it made perfect sense and apples directly to what we are doing right now in English. My only wish is that we had read this chapter sooner so that I would have had a better understanding all along of this project. This chapter was very relatable because we are going through the process of making our three genres and trying to get them ‘out to the world. I liked reading the examples of projects they gave in the chapter because it was nice to see other’s ideas and how they utilized the genres. This multigenre project is unlike any other project I’ve ever done before, and it’ proven so far to be a lot of work. Constantly refreshing my memory of the outline of the project is good for me, and reading this chapter helped me to get a better grip on it. This chapter was definitely one of the most helpful ones of the whole year. Being creative with our genres to grab our audience’s attention is all that this project is about, and chapter 10 was definitely a helpful source for this.

I know exactly how you feel! I was on the second page before I realized that we should have read this article three weeks ago. Still, it’s not too late to redirect (I hope)

Chapter 10

I’m torn on this chapter. On one hand, I really enjoyed the ideas they put forward and would love to incorporate them into my project three. On the other hand, I’m nervous about changing my genres this late into the semester.

But then I realize that it doesn’t matter because they haven’t been published so maybe it’s better to redraw the plan better than to go ahead with alright plan of before.

Regardless, this chapter started with the basic components of a multigenre project before giving specific student examples. The important thing to realize when crafting this type of project is that there are no genre conventions. Each piece is a unique amalgamation of genre possibilities and cannot be trapped within the box. That’s where the introduction and author’s statement come in. The book emphatically states that both are necessary for the audience to truly understand the meaning of the project. When I do my website project three, that’s where I’ll publish both of these.

The excerpts are always me favorite parts and these did not disappoint. I am infatuated with the diary entry. My project deals with the combination of cultural relativism, anthropology, and the idea of women’s rights, particularly in the Middle East. Although I’m not sure which would have the bigger impact, I think a diary entry by an anthropologist struggling to understand her morality or a Muslim girl struggling to understand the waves of western dogma coming for her would be personal, poignant ways to get an otherwise thorny issue across. This was a surprisingly useful chapter and I’m glad I realized we actually had a chapter instead of reposting my entry for chapter 9.

The Warehouse Reading Nov 17

Walking into The Warehouse, I was simultaneously struck by the quaint interior and undeniable smell of cigarette smoke. I took a mental raincheck at the bar, asked a friendly-looking person where the FSU reading was going to be, and wandered into what looked to be a refurbished barn. Cavernous, dimly lit by string lights, and wood construction for all structural pieces, the space was inviting even to a person who came alone. I grabbed a comfy patch of wall and waited for the show.

And waited. And waited. The clock ticked forward from the couple minutes before eight to the minute of advertised starting, continuing past fashionably late and into me wondering if I had misunderstood the schedule of events.

Finally, someone took the stage.

Well worth the wait, I might say.

On Tuesday, November 17 I went to a reading by the FSU Creative Writing department as an attempt at extra credit, but so thoroughly enjoyed myself that I intend to go back later.

The reader was Diane Roberts, a noted author who read from her recently published book Tribal: College Football and the Secret Heart of America about how college football portrays the true American spirit. Whether I was more amused at her live renditions of fight songs or that she described football as “violence and hypermasculinity, usually in the name of Jesus,” I’m not sure. I do know that her writing style reminds me of that of David Sedaris and that the excerpts she read made me want to read her book. Having been to Toomer’s square with a crazy Auburn student, I will agree that they are lunatics about toilet papering trees and hating Alabama. All the other customs she mentioned were new to me, but I’m very interested into learning more about the institutionalized absurdity we call college football.

November 17 Readings

These readings were helpful from the stark perspective of pure information. While our usual textbook uses a more casual tone and friendly style, with perky example readings, these excerpts opt for barebones facts.

The first set of readings discussed everything from deciding how many columns of text there should be to what color the font should be in relation to the background. The most valuable thing to me about this reading was recognizing that I much preferred some layouts to others. Instead of creating a utilitarian space for my project (mostly out of stoic, just-get-it-done mentality), I should take more pride in crafting a unique atmosphere. If my goal is to get people to read it, I should probably make my work, well, readable.

I think I will most likely incorporate the different ways to break up text. My topic is dense and boring; I don’t blame casual internet passerby for strolling along past my site. However, I could make it much more palatable by using shaded boxes, right-sized pictures, and colorful decorations. I could put definitions in boxes, for quick reference, and break up different points of my arguments with headings. I’m still a little stuck on color and pictures. I know I will definitely not be using red—my topic is inflammatory enough without help from background colors—but I still want a color that stimulates thought. Furthermore, I’m not sure what pictures work within my topic. Veils and female genitalia cutting are the two main points of controversy within my discussion, but I’m not sure that those pictures will be palatable to a casual audience.

The second reading was less of a reading and more of a checklist I intend to use in the final stages of my project three. Obviously things like audience and medium need to be considered before drafting my three genres, but looking at setup details will be the last-minute grooming before the site goes live.

11/16

Analyzing Visual Rhetoric

The first part of the selection “Analyzing Visual Rhetoric” is very similar to what we have been doing all along in this course. You determine who the audience is, what the purpose is, what the genre is, and what the medium is. All along, we have been determining these genre conventions. However, this selection adds more. This calls you to look more at the structure, organization, and layout of a design. These are things we have never considered in detail. While this stuff makes sense, seeing it on paper is new to me. This reading tells you to look at margins, headers, lists, colors, and fonts. It reminds you to consider if some information would read more efficient in a list, graph, or table. When I read over this short section, it reminded me of Ms. B suggesting we do an infographic (I think that’s what it is called). All of these things would be very important if you were doing one of these for Project 3. After giving it more thought, I kind of regret not doing an infographic. I think this reading assignment would have helped, but I think it will still help with my blog.

SFH Layout and Pages

What I immediately noticed about these readings is that they would really be helpful for advertisements, infographics, resumes, and brochures. Luckily, the genres I chose for Project 3 are mostly already laid out and I don’t have much control over it, especially my Instagram. My blog post also has a predetermined layout, but I have options to change my text, add colors, and add specific features too. Blogs already have headings too, so it isn’t necessary for me to worry about those here either. I will definitely refer back to these when I am finalizing my blog and spending a lot of time on it. As of right now, I am focusing on getting my information out there. As I am forming my posts, I need to pay more attention to my fonts! My third genre is a collage. I don’t see how this chapter really relates to that genre because there isn’t any text that needs to be formatted, blocked, or rearranged. Overall, I think this reading would be very helpful if I would have chosen to do a brochure or advertisement like I had originally planned. Is it too late to change?

SDH Images and Photos

All of my genres incorporate pictures. My blog posts haven’t seen any pictures yet, but I plan on posting some. Every Instagram post is built around a picture. My collage is solely images. The reading states, “Photos and illustrations let you show readers – at a glance—aspects of your subject that would otherwise need lengthy description.” This is a big part of my Instagram genre. If I upload a picture of myself in a yoga position, it is so much easier to see and understand the position than trying to picture it in your head based of a text description. I am still deciding if I want to gather pictures for my collage from parenting magazines or from the internet. It will probably be from the internet since it is so easy to gather and so easy to edit to conform to the idea in my head.

Your genres sound really fun! It is interesting how templates affect our abilities to apply this information as, whether for better or for worse, most of the format is already decided for us.

rachelshattler-blog

Design Readings

When forming a piece of literature it is important to be sure the design of the work is suitable for the style and appealing to an audience. The article on Analyzing Visual Rhetoric discusses some of the elements of design that should be looked at when forming a composition. Of course making sure one has the correct genre for their work is important as is being sure the purpose is clearly conveyed to the audience. Using the correct medium for the work is another element to take into consideration. When it comes to the readability of the information, one should consider their option. For example, if the writer has statistics, would it be easier to display them in chart or table rather than plain text. If used, the graphs and other images should be the right size and draw attention in the right places. These are a few things I got out of this reading, and I liked this article because it has given me questions to ask myself about my project 3.

I found the SFH Layout Pages reading to be very interesting. I think that this article will prove to be very helpful in Project 3 because it showed us several examples of different layouts to use for different genres. It also touched some good design key points such as being sure that pictures don’t leave too much white space on a page. I enjoyed the section about capturing the reader’s eye in the right places. Since Project 3 is done by using three genres I feel that this reading was very helpful in giving me ideas on how my layout for these works will be done.

For Project 3 I don’t think I’ll be using photos in any of my three genres except for maybe a poster. The last article about Images and Photos was insightful into ways to better edit an image that may be used. Editing things to make them look “better” is used a lot in the world today and it was good to be reminded of a few easy and simple ways to be sure that an image is used in the most suitable way possible.

I agree that the graphics should be specifically used for the information being presented. The points about blank space were also helpful and could easily translate into our digital portfolios, too.

11/12/15

Viral Marketing Wikipedia Viral Marketing is a phrase synonymous with Viral Advertising and Marketing Buzz; the promotion style is a technique common in modern society that makes use of established tools and technologies to accomplish an end goal of marketing. The method relies on the “viral” spread of information, much in the same way a human virus spreads by contact of various sorts, and like viruses, individuals are not always aware that they are exposed to them. For this reason, this vehicle of advertisement is, at times, seen as deserving of chide; a widely held position is that the stealthy nature of Viral Marketing makes it almost inflammatory in nature. Three major methods are common to VRL Marketing: messenger, message, and environment. The first relies heavily on experts, social hubs, and sales agents. Experts are sensitive to nuances in trends and are aware of the latest crazes, they are the initial source of information. Their counterparts, salespeople, maintain and utilize connections to large networks of people crucial to the campaign process. None of the formers’ work matters though if the contextual situation is not in order, and thus Viral Marketing, as a whole, is a very frangible endeavor.

Viral Marketing 101 As expressed in the former article, context is important. If your marketing campaign is not launched in the right timeframe, you have failed; if your marketing campaign is not executed in the right environment, you have failed. Viral Marketing is all about manipulating the situation at hand and the tools already available to your best advantage, milking the most of what you’ve got. The process of disseminating creations while considering environment is called seeding. Maximized exposure is important, but so is content, you want to gain the attention of your audience and keep them interested. The primary goal here is to get people to share with their friends. In sharing with friends, people change their reputations and social personas. Sharing content like a viral campaign’s makes one seem more credible and well-versed in a subject area, but also tightens bonds within communities. It is best to keep this idea in mind when working on a viral campaign for the best results. To optimize one’s promotion, sticking to the general structure layed out for VRL Marketing and bending it slightly to match one’s situation is the way to go. Remember though, viral marketing is calculated and should be factored in to a more grandiose plan of action to properly send a message.

15 of the Best Viral Marketing Campaigns Turn to the Old Spice guy if you need an example of successful viral marketing, there are arguably few more notable instances of runaway hits of this sort in the advertising field. This campaign tapped heavily into surreality as a mechanism for expressing humor. Funny, innovative, hip was the way to go. Perhaps this is not best for my own Project 3 endeavors, but comedy couldn’t hurt if injected into my political cartoon and hints of exaggeration may also cross over. Virgin Blue’s campaign used Twitter as a means of marketing and the whole scheme rested on the audience’s willingness to share and communicate with their networks. They needed to make a lasting impression as I will if I hope to raise awareness through the Twitter fact page. By contrast, the Obama campaign, behind the scenes, likely involved a lot of formality to rally support as my letter to the Secretary General will need to. In short, there are a great many mediums that we as marketers can operate through. Depending on what we hope to achieve— raise awareness, gain support, make a difference, or attract customers— we can always see similarities in VRL Marketing; the same stealthy core is common to all Viral Ad campaigns. The minor differences in constituent parts are what make the major differences though, and I will need to consider this moving on into Project 3.

ANYWAY I realized based on other students’ work that all we need to do is one reflection that answers the questions asked. I think through these first three I have done so, so I won’t try to stretch out some more fluff for the other articles we read (especially given my time constraints). LOL! :-) Sometimes getting a head-start bites back…

I agree that most of the advertising seems to be about context: right audience, right time, right luck. Also, thank you for reminding me that we have questions we’re supposed to address instead of just rambling on for 300 words

brooke2135-blog

Viral Marketing Readings

Viral marketing is the use of preexisting social media outlets to advertise and/or market an idea or product by spreading it similarly to a virus. The point is the spread the message quickly and to appeal to many people along the way. The new form of viral marketing is therefore marketing through social media. “Viral marketing is the concept, social media is the tool” (wired.com).

For this to be accomplished, three things must be in place: the right message, messenger, and environment. The message must have a “must-see” element to it. This will allow the messengers to pick up on it. There are three messengers that are needed for a viral message, and they are market mavens, social hubs, and salespeople. Market mavens are information specialists who see the message and then post it on their social network. Social hubs have large social connections and can act as a “bridge” between different subcultures. Salespeople will take the message and make it more sell-able so the social hubs will pick it up and distribute it. In terms of the environment, it is important that the timing and context be just right.

Viral marketing only works if those that see the message on the web want to spread it. And the message only spreads if it is “seeded” properly; that is, it must be put on the right social media pages and be seen by the right people to get it to spread. Often successful campaigns use as many social media outlets as possible (I know that is what I plan on doing).

It also only works if you get people to feel something, and so making a story is usually the best bet. Feel something, and you are more likely to press the “share” button. Once this happens, a viral campaign is most successful only if it doesn’t stop. Creating sequels often ups ones viral marketing to the next level.

I’m not sure how I am going to pull this off, but with these readings, I do have a little more knowledge of how to get my Project three to go viral in the world of sorority girls.

I’m glad these articles helped you! It’ll be interesting to see what social media outlets people decide to use in order to gain maximum publicity for their project

Viral Media

Judging by the timing, these articles were assigned so as to incite us into creating viral campaigns for our project three genres. I suppose if a deodorant brand can do it, so can we.

Viral marketing is the use of media tactics to spread a concept or product like a virus. It travels between person to person, relying on audience participation instead of companies spending money on advertisement.

One article recounted the purpose, campaign, and reasoning behind the success of several viral media events. If I were to pinpoint the overarching lesson I gleaned from this article, I would say that becoming a viral success is almost entirely based on a combination of creativity of the campaign originators and a vacuum for that kind of humor in contemporary society. Some of the campaigns were new, like The Blair Witch Project, while others were seemingly hits by being in the right place at the right time, such as the Will it Blend project. All other things aside, I envy the man who gets paid to have a six-month holiday.

Both the Wikipedia article and thefuturebuzz.com explained what and how viral media campaigns function. Both articles mention the importance of environment: targeting a specific audience within a specific social context. They mention that an important part of any campaign is to start the process through an existing community. Instead of establishing a line of communication specifically for the advertised product, they suggest tapping into resources like Facebook and Reddit for pre-fabricated audiences waiting to receive your newest take on the chicken sandwich.

brooke2135-blog

Forza

Ah, how refreshing, another puppy post! Here’s my 134 word introduction.

It was 6 am. I lay in bed motionless letting my breath move in and out of my lungs slowly. The covers felt heavenly caressing my body and something warm and furry grazed the side of my face. Slowly turning my gaze I am met with big, soft, brown eyes and a wagging tail. There was nothing better than waking up to Forza.

Forza is my puppy. She’s a mixed Australian Shephard whose mother we rescued from a rundown McDonalds parking lot. She had been eating ketchup packets to get by, and so when Forza was born along with her brother and sister, she was weak and frail. The other two angels did not live past one week, but Forza stayed strong. That is why we named her Forza; it means “strength” in Italian.

Judging by the personal connection to the story and the first-person point of view, this composition is from the narrative genre. The author uses pathos to describe the sad start to her puppy’s life, giving more contrast to happy present the two currently share. A conversational tone allows the author to connect with the audience over a presumably shared understanding: puppies are great; they make us happy and are worth saving. Her voice is clearly presented throughout as she recalls the origins of her puppy, claiming ownership over both the experience and the animal. The design elements are fairly basic, especially considering the way it was posted, but breaking the narrative into smaller paragraphs allows for a more comfortable reading experience.

Puppies

The box gently shook as the air conditioner’s breeze swept through the room. Lurking under nearby fronds, Cat waited.

It was two days after Christmas, and the tree was already losing itself in waves of falling branches and yellow needles. Rather than clean up the debris immediately, Owners were leaving it to be collected all together and deposited on the curb. Cat, however, saw no need to get rid of such habitat. Hiding beneath the greenery, she was hunting.

One paw gingerly moved itself through the forest, the second following closely behind. Slinking outside of her protected comfort zone, Cat made her way closer to her ultimate target.

Meanwhile, dog snored. Window-shattering, concussion-rendering snores. His left foot twitched in the anticipation of the frivolities found in a REM cycle in progress. Dreams of dog bakeries entwined themselves with days of Frisbee at the park and nights spent sleeping on the recalcitrantly un-climbed couch. Deep measured breaths past through damp nostrils to be recycled through lolling tongues and drooling cheeks.

Chapter 9 Reflection

Reading this chapter, I felt that it had some useful information. However, whether it’s because I’m tied into knots over project three or that I’ve never watched the entire X-Men series, I felt that the information wasn’t helpful to me for where I am in my academic career. I know the importance of seeking third-party opinions on my work, especially after spending more than half a semester practicing workshops for peer editing. Despite my natural tendency to be a fan of this chapter’s methods, I didn’t feel like it offered the reader anything new to think about.

The most positive aspect of this reading came from how it made me think about the upcoming project three. As “Gwen” attempted to figure out why she chose the X-Men as her subjects, I was figuring out why I chose my topic and what I think of it now. I was also castigating myself for proposing such, *gulp*, public genres for project three. Despite my aversive reaction to actually following through with my ideas, I maintain the reasoning behind them as choices: if I believe that change happens at the individual level, and that I sincerely do want to effect change, than I must (dare I say it?) engage at the individual level.

So maybe I didn’t take as much from the actual purpose of this chapter as I did from the example. But it did give me the nudge to complete the goals I set for myself instead of cowering behind passive academia.

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