TFW Fall 2011 Mod 3 Tumblr

Thoughts, links, and ideas posted by students in Technologies and the Future of Writing, on things relating to technology and writing.

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Twitter Reunited Me With Long Lost Academic Contacts

A person I now follow on Twitter and Tumblr to assist my professional development is Peter Woodworth. I was pleased to discover that Peter was active in Twitter, because I respect his input as a writer. I had not been in contact with Peter since my Creative Writing class, but I have read many of his published works, and consider him to be a professional I can learn a great deal from. He is talented in writing many of my favorite genres, such as humor and science fiction. I hope to remain connected with Peter through Twitter so I can continue to read updates and published creative writing pieces in the future.

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The Person I follow on Twitter...

The celebrity that I follow on Twitter is Aubrey Graham AKA Drake. He is my ultimate favorite rapper. I chose him out of all of the celebrities I follow because he is different from all the rest. Not only is he a rapper, he is also a singer. He has two talents put into one and I find that extremely awesome. He always has positive things to say on a daily basis whether its relating to him, his mother, or just an overall statement that can refer to anyone. He always quotes positive song lyrics that he wrote. One of my favorites would have to be at this time is... You only live once that the motto Y.O.L.O... so the skies is the limit and make your dreams come true!!! How I love him muah ~kisses to him~

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Says the Single Girl Twitter User

A person I follow on Twitter is "Says the Single Girl." This is a person who posts quotes that motivate and inspire girls to be independent, live happy, and not depend on someone else for their own happiness. Some of the sayings that this user tweets are "people who always claim to be alone often refuse to see the people who are there." "You can play it safe and be good or take the chance and be great." or "Why is it so hard for women to find sensitive, caring, and good-looking men? Because those men already have boyfriends." Sometimes I will respond or write the user a quote of my own, or Re-tweet them.

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Here is a clipping of how technology is solely taking over!!! Click the title & find out!!!

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Beginning my web 2.0...

So I have started brain storming for my final paper and its not that bad. Although there was a lot of other assignments that we had to complete like tumbling, tweeting, reading, creating our spider oak profile etc. Its extremely exhausting!!! Since my major is elementary education, I am really trying to focus on not just saying that technology is going to change and go along with the time. I am trying to look beyond that fact. I am doing a lot of research online and jotting down different ideas in which I think will be beneficial towards my paper and also my future education profession. I'll just keep on brainstorming and free-writing and hope that my paper meets all the required standards.   

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Fighting in the Comments Thread: Commenting and Comunication

The following is based on the Winsor's Article What Counts as Writing. In my round about way I talking about how I don't like to post comments, because they are too short and then talk about my history with comments.

What is writing? I'm not really sure right now. I've been a storyteller for most of my life. Most of my writing has been long, stories and assignments. I have been required by many of my classes to comment on things written online by my other classmates. I've never really cared enough to actually do it. I mean really. I've never written comments that were longer than a few sentences. Anymore and I feel that I should create a separate entry to respond to it. I've also never felt that compelled to read what my fellow classmates have written. They only time I have ever actually read something written by a classmate was when they were personally asking my opinion on it. In those cases I read it but otherwise I find that I am too busy. Commenting is a drag. Entering into a comment thread is entering into a conversation. I when I talk with people I usually wait for an opening to make a comment. Whatever I said usually gets ignored and then feel that I have wasted the time that I spent thinking up something interesting to say because no one took notice and when they do it always sparks and argument. I don't like to argue. So either I come up with something that I wouldn’t mind people reading and no one ends up reading it, or I do and then I have to respond and argue again. It has kept me up at night. The worst was when I took a picture I found on Tumblr, and posted it to a political Facebook page I follow. It has at this moment received 305 shares and over 200 comments. Half of that was in the first few hours. My phone is set to make a noise when I get a notification. I posted the picture at 3 am. It wasn't fun. At one point I had to argue about the authenticity of the picture because it had been zoomed in and the result was pixilated, and people kept reading the date stamp on the picture as 2013. I linked them to the original site that the picture was a screen cap of. And some of them still couldn't be bothered to check the link. Worse yet the picture was about the often talked about "War on Christmas," so it started a flame war. I have no doubt that commenting is a form of writing. I just think at some points it might just be the most aggravating form of conversation. Because I can leave a verbal conversation but an online argument can find you long after you thought it was dead.

 Winsor, D. (1992). What Counts as Writing? An Argument from Engineers’ Practice. JAC12.2

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Who I Follow...

In this crazy world we live in its easy to get sucked into all the negativity and drama the world can offer.  That's why it's important to me to always search out the little things that can provide some positive advice to keep my mind motivated and stress free.  Everyday, I follow Sports_Greats, which are inspirational tweets from present and retired athletes.  I feel it's the simple and direct quotes from people who have overcome diversity and struggles that speak and motivate me to a different level.  These tweets constantly remind me that everyone goes through ups and downs, and it's that little extra willpower and strength that can turn us into winners.  Life is a competition and you either get left behind or you strive to do what you want to do.  These tweets also remind me that integrity, character, and a never say die attitude can get you far in life.  

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Its Finals Week and Youtube is filming us!

Its that time of the year again.  The last week of the semester and everyone is feeling the stress and the itch to finish.  Its time to break from the uphill battle of never ending classes and reunite with our loved ones for the Christmas holiday.  Truth be told, we're all feeling the pressure and it's natural to let loose and do something embarrassing.  The only problem is Youtube has become the king of capturing our embarrassing moments and displaying them for the world to watch over and over again.  Andy Warhol said, "everybody has fifteen minutes of fame," and I believe Youtube, for better or worse, has stamped the truth into that statement.  On Youtube, anyone can be the star.  Whether its a kid singing a goofy song, a newscaster screwing up their lines, or a student having a breakdown during finals week, Youtube will gladly broadcast some of the moments we all wish we could take back.  I chose this clip because I feel we all can relate to this stressful week. 

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Living in Semiotic Domains

Researcher and writer James Paul Gee suggests in "What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy." that humanity is living and learning in what he calls "semiotic domains"; environments or circumstances that combine methods of communication (i.e. images, words, charts, audio, etc.) to convey unique meaning. The article was published in 2007, so it could be assumed that Gee began writing in 2006, a time when social networking was at a boom, but had not yet taken the evolutionary turn it is currently in the midst of.

Tumblr is a perfect example of how we are beginning to need semiotic domains. They aren't just things that we can be a part of at will, they are becoming a part of our everyday lives. Rather than communicate on a social level (not even just professional anymore) we need more that text. We need more than pictures. We need more than links, quotes, or video. We need it all. We need the option of combining all of it together or else we won't use the resource. If Tumblr went to a text-only format, people would leave, the same as they would if it went to image-only. In order to properly develop our ideas and express ourselves (all ways of discovering our own personalities) we're starting to require Gee's semiotic domains in every aspect of our lives. Much a product of the time we're in, his term might soon require redefinition mere years after he thought of it and shared it with the world.

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Who I Follow...

In addition to being a former student of Rowan University (having since transferred to Columbia College Chicago), I not only had a professional association with Devin Sanclemente, but also a personal one. We've been friends since high school and over that time I've seen him grow as a writer and performer. At Rowan, Devin was a dual Theater and RTF Major, and in relocating to Chicago, he now hopes to delve into the world of improv comedy and urban theater.

On YouTube under the name The DevCam Experience for years, he created his Twitter as a supplementary social networking tool so his followers and peers could reach out to him in a new way. He was one of the first people I knew who signed up for a Twitter account, but unlike people who tweeted about nothing, Devin had a purpose. He wanted to make himself known, he wanted to network, but most of all he wanted to grow. He wanted to make his content online and in his stage performances an amalgamation of all that he had learned and been in contact with on the Internet.

Available at @DevEXP, Devin follows a variety of people on Twitter. Typically he will follow back those who follow him as well as those who reach out to him with content or questions. Other than individuals he has a personal relationship with, Devin also follows a variety of professional comedians (Demetri Martin, Daniel Tosh, & Donald Glover), improv artists (Improv Quotes & The Second City), inspirational figures (the Dalai Lama), and companies or organizations he is associated with (YouTube, Tumblr & the Twitter account of his college). By following these individuals, Devin opens himself to a great wealth of inspiration for his performances and highlights the collaborative (remixing) nature of modern art, the idea that content builds upon content. 

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Twitter Stalking @mileskahn!!!!

Miles Kahn

Writer, Director, Daily Show Producer and beard enthusiast.

         Since we had to find someone that was in our professional field, that put me in a tight spot.  'Cause I don't have a profession.  But we're in a writing class and Miles Kahn is a writer, director, producer and beard enthusiast.  At least two of those seemed relevant to me.  So, why not?

         Miles Kahn follows a wide range of people.  But you can see how a lot of the people he follows are directly related to his position with The Daily Show.  He follows a lot of comedians.  He also follows a lot of left leaning news sources, like The New York Times and Rachel Maddow.  There are of course people that he probably knows from wherever and fellow writers.  He also seems to have an appreciation of the arts, following people like Kurt Vonnegut, ?uestlove and David Lynch. And you'll also see a lot of people that you wouldn't picture someone from The Daily Show liking, such as Kim Kardashian and Herman Cain.  But this is because he has made a career of making fun of people like this. 

       So, yeah.  I just Twitter stalked Miles Kahn.....

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There's No Such Thing As Intellectual Property

           Gaylor’s film RiP! A Remix Manifesto takes us to the frontlines of the battle against intellectual property.  His film follows Girl Talk, a remix artist who makes new pieces of art by using other people’s music as the building blocks.  The question then becomes, by using existing pieces of art to create a new work, is that work a distinct piece of art or is it theft?  The answer: it’s both. 

            But theft of other’s ideas to create your own is in fact all that art does.  If these “original” artists were not using the Tonic Sol Fa system of music, instruments invented by other people and genre norms also created by other people, would their music exist?  What if the tonic scale had been copyrighted and its use prohibited without express written consent?  The idea that anyone owns the system of music created by a few men over the centuries is ridiculous.  So, how is using a song created by someone else, to create something new, any different than using a musical scale or a system of chords invented by someone else?  Either way, you’re using someone else’s “intellectual property.”  The only difference is that scales, chords and our tonal system were invented long before the idea of intellectual property. 

            The idea of intellectual property was to get artists and thinkers paid for their work.  The idea was to stimulate invention and creation.  But with the creative tools that are being placed in everyone’s hands with digital technology, they are actually stifling creativity.  We no longer need these major record labels to have music.  We can make our own.  And musicians don’t need a record label to make money.  They can distribute themselves and go on tour to make their money.  Sure this puts less money into music.  But I think I’m ok with the idea that this will mean that the only people that stay in music are in it for the music and not the money. 

             Moreover, the idea that intellectual property is even possible is absurd.  How can you own an idea.  When you share it with me it is in my brain.  Do I not then own that idea too?  What if I want to use that idea, build upon it and use it as a building block for new ideas?  Do I owe you money?  Of course not.  Because you can't own an idea exclusively once it's been shared.  When it's out in the world, people are going to take it and use it, whether it's a song, a poem, a film or whatever else.  If you don't want someone to take it and do something with it, you may as well keep it to yourself.  Because the only way to "own" an idea is to make sure that no one else ever hears it. 

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Video games

Although I have initially thought video games have one hundred percent negative effects on gamers, this article shed some light on the more positive side. I completely understand where the whole idea about violence comes in, but these games also allow an escape for users. They should be able to realize this in a fake world within the game and these things do not necessarily happen in the average daily life. I think we will have a constant struggle in the future because these games are becoming more popular and taking over users' time, but I think that is a whole separate issue than the idea that video games are negative to gamers. 

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Final Paper

After listening to everything we have to do for the assignment, I have some mixed emotions about it. I felt completely overwhelmed and and unsure how I would write this paper, at first. I was even unsure where to start. I am feeling a little better, but still a little apprehensive about it. 

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Does Video games really effect learning???

While reading the article I've noticed that video games seem to be a negative downfall to people who play them often. I experience with individuals around me who seem to encounter the love for video games and play them every single day. I personally think that playing video games help an individual to think that much harder. For e.g. within certain games you have to figure out tasks, missions, problem solving etc; all these things require thinking and figuring out problem on their own. Instead of thinking as video games being a bad thing I think in all honesty it could help in the form of exercising the brain!!!

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Linkedin Research

I feel like I am going to have a hard time with this Linkedin paper that is coming up. Winsor makes pretty good arguments as to what she calls writing, but I feel like I am not going to be able to do as nice of a job backing up my claims. I say this because it is the end of the semester and my mind set is now finals and the holidays. I like to know what is required in advance and with this project I only know some what of what we are supposed to be doing. I know that comes along with this type of class, one split up with three instructors, but I can feel my mind weakening. I hope that after I find out all of the project specifications later today my mind will change, but until then I dread this project.

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I thought this was a good picture that represented how fast companies come up with different video games and consoles and all of the energy put towards them. I can see positives and negatives to playing video games, and that is why it is up to the parents to monitor their children. I do feel as though, with the holidays approaching, that all of the video game creators are pushing the latest in video technology and quickly. Like we said in class the other day, "why don't they find cures for diseases quicker?" With video games, all of the companies are now replicating Wii since it was such a hit and got us moving, but now a new product is out. Skylanders are a big thing I didn't even hear of until it showed up on my son's Christmas list. When I asked him about them he explained, "there is this thing, and you put a guy on it and if you put on two of them they can battle and stuff." I saw the commercial later and did think it looked cool, but know that it is simply a way for these game creators to get more money from the kid's parents. It could have simply been a game, but now you need an extra dock and guys to have more in the virtual world.