Considering Genre

geralt. "Project Earth Glode About Intention Plant Stop" 6/6/2014 via Pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain License.

            All of this blogging for Module 2 has really opened my eyes to all the resources I have available. There are so many different places to find some quality information for my projects, and each website has it's own characteristics that help me find exactly what I need.

1- What genre are you going to commit to for Project 1? Why?

            For Project 1 I am going to commit to a Quick Reference Guide. I feel like this is the best way to go in depth into the topic and easily highlighting to my audience the Who/What/Where/When/Why/How of my story. The short snippets will allow the reader to understand the gist of my project even at a glance over the guide.


2- What genre conventions from your chosen genre are you planning on developing during next week's Production phase? What do you plan to do with the genre conventions that will help you accomplish the purpose of the project most effectively?

            During the Production phase I intend to get a majority of my project down. I first need to decide which subheadings I'll need to be using, those will be the backbone of my guide. Then I'll write the actual portions of the guide. After that, I'll look into the best way to create a Quick Reference Guide and what platform I plan to create it only. Mainly I'll be focusing on the meat of my project this coming week.


3- How are you feeling about Project 1 going in to the Production phase? What challenges do you anticipate next week as you create content for the project?

            I feel pretty good about Project 1, seeing as though there is a lot of information out there on my topic. It is definitely going to be a challenge just getting myself to start and manage my time, however, I'll figure something out. Still a little confused on how I plan to make my Quick Reference Guide...but I'm sure I can easily find something online.

Cluster of Stakeholders

       

Justinwoolee."Smart Guns, the New Gun Control Technology" 2/21/2014 via Youtube.
Creative Commons Attribution License.

             In the cluster I made, I was able to map out the general Pros and Cons of Facebook's decision to ban private gun sales on their site and Instagram. The cluster helps give a quick layout of what could happen when the ban goes through and who will be affected by it. There seems to be more good than bad after mapping it out.

Evaluation of General Sources

            Having to go through all the details of each webpage while researching for more articles, I was able to become more efficient while conducting research. I was also able to tel which sites are trustworthy and which ones I probably should stay away from. Links for articles are found in the responses.

Ali Zifan."File:Facebook New Logo (2015).svg" 7/3/2015 via Wikimedia Commons.
Public Domain License.

URL

            The first source is from npr.org. Since the website is a ".org" it is considered a top-level domain which are usually very trustworthy. NPR, aka, National Public Radio is a nationally accredited organization that anyone would consider a legitimate source.

             The second source is from nytimes.com. This website is a ".com" which is the most common internet domain level in the U.S. Whether a website in the commercial domain is considered reliable or not is really up to credibility of the organization associated with the page. Since this website is the New York Times, many would consider this a legitimate site for all of their information.

Author

            The authors for the first post are Camila Domonoske and Laura Wagner. Domoske has been working for NPR since Jaunary 2013 and has been Associate Director for Digital News for the last year and 10 months. Wagner has worked at NPR for the last 7 months and helps write and report breaking news stories and small news stories to the audience. Both writers are accredited reporters with extensive backgrounds.

           The second source's authors are Vindu Goel and Mike Isaac. Goel has been working with New York Times since 2008 and Isaac for almost 2 years. Both have backgrounds in writing/reporting and cover the social media aspect of the New York Times.

Last Updated

            The first article was updated on January 30th, 2016 at 1:53 p.m. which is super recent. The information is up to date and accurate. The second article was uploaded on January 29th, 2016 and has not been updated. For now the information on the website should be correct.

Purpose

            Both articles have the sole purpose of informing the general public that Facebook intends to ban all private gun sales on its sit as well as Instagram. The NPR article talks about Facebook's past and present stance on private gun sales through their platforms. The New York Times article offers readers with various statements from different people on the situation.

Graphics

             The graphic provided in the NPR article seems sort of unnecessary. It is simply a photo of the Facebook application icon with the edges blurred. It proves to be of no significance and the article could do without it. The New York Times article provides two graphics, one is a screenshot of a gun seller's Facebook page and the other is of Mark Zuckerberg giving a speech. The first image is relevant to the article and gives the audience insight to what a gun seller's Facebook page looks like. The image of Zuckerberg is said to be of him in response to Obama's call to curb unlicensed gun sales, which would make the image relevant, however, it does not improve the article in any way.

Position On Subject

            The article provided by National Public Radio is very straightforward and feeds the reader facts. It does not try to sway the reader into feeling some type of way about the subject. It states Facebook's stance on the situation from the past and the present.

            The article from the New York Times not only presents the facts of the situation, but they also include statements from various people about the situation. The comments tend to be in support of Facebook banning private gun sales on their site and Instagram. In a sense, it seems as though the NYT is trying to get the audience to empathize with the commentators rather than leaving it up to the reader to decide how they feel.

Links

            The NPR article includes 4 other links inside of its article. The first link is a link to the New York Times article that I am analyzing along with this article, showing that it is important. The second link sends the reader to a Facebook Newsroom article that also covers the subject, which expands on the situation. The other two links take the reader to articles about different shootings that happened. These articles are important because the shooters are linked to gun sales that happened through Facebook.

            The New York Times article had multiple links. A few just linked readers to anything related to Facebook or Instagram found in the New York Times. Since I don't have a subscription to the website, I couldn't view the articles, but from their titles I got a decent idea of what the articles were about. A couple were about how the government intends to crack down on gun sales and the last link was to an article about Facebook announcing the launch of local services site.

Reddit and What I Found There

            I have never used Reddit before so this was a little bit of a challenge, but a definite eye-opener. I love how it is an open forum where articles with high activity can be bumped to the top for easy access. I also love how it covers basically any topic imaginable and anyone can speak their mind. Links to the different articles are embedded in the responses.

Edublogs. "How To Use Reddit" 6/30/2014 via Youtube.
Creative Commons Attribution License.

1. What kinds of things do people in the Reddit forums seem to be arguing about, debating, disagreeing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in the Reddit forums.

            Since I am a Pre-Business student (looking at a Business Management degree) and going for a Pre-Health Minor, I checked the r/business forum as well as the r/premed forum. The business forum seems to be all over the place, with no usual trend on topics. It ranges from Google testing its 5G internet drone to Amazon's shipping getting slower for non-prime members. This thread tends to cover obscure stories you may not encounter in bigger magazines. The premed forum "trend" was no surprise to me; everyone on their is asking for help on how to increase their chances of getting into med school or how to score better on the MCAT. You can tell how on-edge all of these students on their are, just by their #1 thread "Monthly What are my Chances? Thread."


2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting debates/disagreements you found in the Reddit forums? Hyperlink us to the two different Reddit threads and explain why you found those debates interesting. 

            In the r/business forum I found this feed about a new startup called The Zebra which is like the Kayak of Auto insurance. A lot of redditers seemed to be bashing on this service because the idea isn't novel or genuine, but I happen to think it's genius. It compares the auto insurance quotes for most insurance companies. Sure, it is a little flawed, it is just a startup, but it just received 17 million dollars in funding to perfect its services. The current state of this company seems a little rough, but I think once it starts to perfect itself, consumers will be more please. People seem to think it will be helpful when it works out its kinks. However, for now it is receiving heavy criticism for having a shitty website and not being a "new" idea.

            Looking through the r/ premed forum, I came across this one post that I feel like I'll be able to relate to in a few years. This one user has over 100 hours of volunteer hours in the ER, over 1000 clinical hours, a 3.8 GPA, but her MCAT score is a little low and they are worried about not getting in anywhere. Other redditers seem to be very supportive, but at the same time, realistic. Some say that they should be doing better because of all her experience, while others are telling them to study more and try retaking it. However, another group say they shouldn't take it anymore because it will be the 3rd time. Those commenting on the feed are giving the publisher many options of what to d next, and it's nice because this is all information coming from people in the same boat. This publishers post brings one of my biggest fears to the surface.


3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening in the Reddit forums? Were the people in those forums talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

            The r/premed forum was what I expected for the most part. It seemed to be a bunch of stressed out pre-med students trying to get answers to any and all of their questions that don't let them sleep at night. I have a pretty good feeling that I will be on reddit in the upcoming years frantically seeking for some help. Everyone was supportive but realistic which is just what I would like in someone who is responding to my questions.

            The r/business forum was a little hard for me to grasp. The topics were all over the place and it was a little hard for me to find a topic that I could connect to. Seeing as though there are a lot of types of businesses out there and people will tag "business" to anything, there were thousands of feeds available to read from. the type of audience one received is really dependent on the topic at hand. Sometime you will get a well-educated answers, and other times it's just some kid trolling. The Zebra article seemed to have an audience that was well-informed on the topic of "price comparisons."

Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

            Checking out Top News Magazines on an online database was a very interesting and new method for me. I only really check out magazines when I'm in the waiting room of my doctor's or dentists office, I've never really thought about checking online for a magazine article, but the websites proved to be somewhat interesting and I'll definitely look at them again. Links for articles found in response to first questions

OpenClipartVectors. "Europe European Union Flag" 10/20/2013 via Pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain License.

1- What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.

            David Prosser from Forbes magazine recently released an article on January 22nd that covered why small businesses in the UK fear the split from the European Union. After a recent poll, it is said that about 47% of small business owners are against the split due to loss of relationships with overseas customers. Big business owners are all in favor of the split, so Britain is in a tough spot right now. Business in Britain recently released data saying that 70% of business owners want prime minister, David Cameron, to reevaluate UK's relationship with the EU.

2- Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?

            The most sympathetic characters from this story are all business owners that are sitting in fear of losing what they have built up. This split could really put a lot of good, hard-working people out of a job and destroy their lives. I'm especially sympathetic to small business owners because both of my parents have built their own small businesses. If they ever had to fear that in one day their business would be no more, it would have a huge impact on my entire family.

3-Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?

            The least sympathetic characters in the story are all the big business owners. Sure, it is great that their business is thriving and is huge, but they are unaffected by the split. Regardless of what happens, they will still be a big business, and they seem to all be in favor of the split without any regards to the smaller business owners.

Unknown. "File:Doritos Logo (2005 and 2013).jpg" 5/5/2013 via Wikipedia.
Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.

1- What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.

            Tim Calkins and Derek Rucker of Fortune magazine wrote a story relevant to all Super Bowl lovers on January 30th covering the hidden costs of Super Bowl commercials. Everyone loves the Super Bowl not only for America's favorite pass-time, but because the commercials that go along with it. Companies spend ridiculous amounts of money to get minimal amounts of ad time, but it seems as though a lot are backing out this year because the commercials have lost the spark they once had. Doritos is the main company talked about in this article, claiming to have backed out of the competitive field, along with Chevrolet and Career Builder. Not only is the cost for a spot on tv increasing, but there is also the cost of production, having to jump through hoops for copyright issues. they have realized that by the time they put the time, effort, and money into their ads, it may not be worth it.

2- Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?

           Honestly, Doritos is the most sympathetic character in this story. I know it sounds dumb feeling pity for a brand of chips, but I grew up watching their hilarious commercials, especially for the ones that came out during the Super Bowl. My favorite one was this single mom brought a guy home and he starts eating Doritos in her house and her child comes up and slaps the guy. He then says "Keep your hands off my Doritos, and keep your hands of my momma." It is one of my favorite commercials, and to see that Doritos just gave up on trying to please their audience is saddening.

3-Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?

            The least sympathetic character in this story would be the NFL. Of course this is a money-hungry organization and they'll do anything to increase their profits, but at the same time they are sucking the fun out of the Super Bowl. They should realize that the commercials bring in so many more viewers than if the Super Bowl did not have these moving ads.

Twitter and What I Found There

            After getting used to the unusual platform that is, Twitter, I realized how efficient it is in connecting people to stories in a matter of seconds. At first all the links can be confusing, and it's hard to find what you're looking for, but after a while I found that it led me to some very informative accounts.

EnoW. "File:Twitter Logo Mini.svg" 8/1/11 via Wikimedia Commons.
CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication License.

1- What kinds of things do people on Twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in these Twitter feeds.

            If I had to describe what I found on #businessmanagement on twitter, it would be "tip central." More often than not, I found many posts/pages that provided fellow tweeters with advice on how to better manage your business. From information on how to analyze a resume all the way to how to fire someone without destroying them. The feed also makes announcements as to which institutions are offering courses related to business management. For example, Economic Times had a popular tweet that announced the Indian Institute of Management, Bengaluru is now offering an online certification for business management. Each different account that you come across has something different to bring to the table, each with their own audience


2- In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? Hyperlink us to the two different Twitter feeds and explain why you found those conversations interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. 
            
            Economic Times seems to be covering the story between India Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and the farmer's rally for some sort of crop insurance plan to help the farmers out. Modi is trying to incorporate a two year crop insurance scheme that will hopefully reach about 50% of farmers in India. The start-up proposal is not yet famous, seeing as though it was just released about two weeks ago. Modi claims that if he can get people to join the scheme, they will receive the help that they seek. Economic Times is a great resource for finding trending topics internationally.

            The account Harvard Business Review is a popular page with nearly 2.5 million followers. This page is constantly spewing short articles to help one successfully manage their work space. One article stood out to me that pertained to hiring and it was about a small franchise named Pal's Sudden service. This small chain in Tennessee is thriving and has even won the Malcolm Baldrige Quality Award, usually won by the likes of the Ritz-Carlton, Cadillac, FedEx, etc. One wouldn't really assume that a small fast-food chain would receive such a prestigious award. The article notes that employees receive 120 hours of training before they are allowed to work on their own and employees receive around 2-3 pop quizzes each month. If they fail they are allowed to get retrained in that area. This article was cool because it gave many tips to business managers on what Pal's is doing right and how they are thriving as a business.

3- Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

            After researching the #businessmanagement on Twitter and going through a few accounts, I found hat the business world is CONSTANTLY changing. It seems as though there is never a set way on how to do something, or how to manage your employees. It depends on the time era that you are in, what kind of employees you hire, what type of business you have. So many factors tie in to how you should manage your business. All of these twitter accounts are very useful on giving a quick rundown of how to better manage your workplace.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

            This blog post evaluates a couple of New York Times articles, answering a few simple questions that dissect each of the articles. The two sections that the articles come from are from the Science and Tech section of the New York Times. The articles cover the possibility of Apple introducing virtual reality to their line of products, and a revisiting of The Challenger Space shuttle disaster almost thirty years later. Links to articles are embedded in the titles.

The Challenger Space Shuttle Disaster, 30 Years Later

Unknown. "File:Space Challenger Shuttle (04-04-1983).JPEG" 4/4/1983 via Wikimedia Commons.
Public Domain License.

            This article written by Karen Workman from the New York Times revisits the tragic day, January 28th, 1986. The article does not have a main character/protagonist seeing as though it is more of an article to commemorate that day. The writer covers all key points like who was on the shuttle, the significance of this launch, and what went wrong. She also includes a short snippet about another one of NASA's other disasters that happened in 2003. The article recapped how shortly after launching, the Challenger exploded over the atlantic ocean. For this specific piece of writing there is no debate or argument that goes on, it just presents the facts. However, the article includes a twenty minute Retro Report video that covers what happened during the time the Challenger exploded. The video covers the debate the night before the launch (between NASA officials and private business owners) where engineers said they should delay the launch because it was too cold and the O-rings would fail. Since the launch date had already been scheduled, the engineers were ignored and the launch was approved for the following day. This article, in the form of a Quick Reference Guide, was informational and well-written only presenting the facts of what happened 30 years ago.

Apple Sets Its Sights on Virtual Reality

matcuz. "Apple Inc Mac Apple Store Store Macintosh" 12/25/12 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain License.

            Writers Katie Benner and Nick Wingfield wrote their article (found in the tech section) about Apple's possible investment into the virtual reality world. Apple is described to be behind on the whole virtual reality train; Samsung, Google, even Facebook have made huge investments into creating their own products that deliver a virtual world to their consumers. The writers inform the readers about some of the virtual reality products that are already available from Apple's rivals. The only specifics released about Apple's actions is their recent purchase of an up-and-coming augmented reality start-up by the name of Flyby Media. Other than this information, the article serves as a recap of what is already available. It was most likely written to give Apple consumers a taste of what could be coming in the near future. 

Course Projects

            Reviewing all of the guidelines for the 4 major projects for this course, I was able to get a better understanding of what is expected of me for each project. Each project i going to be a month long process and I know that I have to put my best foot forward and stay on top of my work if I want to successfully produce a quality project. I'm a little nervous about how well I will be able to manage my time, but I am determined to change my ways if I need to. I definitely stepped up my game first semester so I really hope that carries on this semester and that I become better at my time management skills. I'm also a little hesitant about the video essay, because I've rarely made videos for class and I do not know too much about editing.
            Branching off of that note, I clearly will be learning a lot of new skills this semester. Not only with writing, but I will learn how to edit and produce videos, create podcasts, and successfully make my own argument. There is no doubt that it's going to be hard at first, but I love challenges and I am sure that I will be able to figure it all out. I'm very excited to learn these skills and expand on what I know about writing and technology.
            The greatest challenge out of all these projects is simply time management. I have to constantly planning ahead and sticking with my schedule. I can't afford to keep pressing snooze on my reminders multiple times a day -like I currently do- but I actually have to get my work done when I plan for it. This is going to be hard seeing as though I usually just try and get work done whenever I am free, but I know this won't be a good plan while trying to juggle these projects and other classes.

bsoist. "Good Time Management" 6/6/2012 via Flickr.
Attribution-NoDerivs 2.0 Generic License.

            The english courses I took in high school really helped my transition into college. I always had to write lengthy essays and the revision process was always crucial in order to receive a good grade. All that pressure that I constantly had helped shape me as a writer and become a way better one than I was before. Literally everyone that graduates from my high school knows how to write a better-than-average paper and has gone through the process of writing multiple 15-20 papers with proper citations, etc. All of this work done in high school has allowed me to write quality essays in a very short amount of time, and how to properly edit them (even though I hate that process). This, however, can sometimes be a setback because I know I can write something decent in a short amount of time and that increases my chances of procrastination.
            At this point in the semester I have no further questions. The guidelines for the projects are in-depth and cover everything about the project.


Reflection:
            I read and commented on the Course Project posts of both Arun and Mike. It was nice to see that everyone is pretty much feeling the same way for this course. At least we all are aware of what is expected of us and we can help each other out along the way. Being able to relate to other's issues like time management, or branching out really makes this english class a more comforting environment. I really look forward to seeing how Mike incorporates his eventful past into his current writings, as well as the other students.
           

Investigating Genres

Breaking Down a "Quick Reference Guide"

Wikipedia. "File:Pull-Quote.PNG."  12/30/2011 via Wikipedia.
GNU Free Documentation License.

• What purpose(s) does this genre usually serve?

            The purpose of a Quick Reference Guide is to breakdown a certain situation and create a comprehensive written text that provides the reader with digestible information. Along with pictures, infographics, and pull quotes, the Quick Reference Guide feeds important information to the reader; they get the point across even if the reader chooses not to read the entire article.

• Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find this genre?

           This genre is used a lot in magazines and/or online articles. Quick Reference Guides are meant to hit the Who? What? Where When? Why? and Hows? of any situation or topic being discussed.

• Who is the typical audience for this genre?

            Honestly anyone can be the audience for this genre, but it seems to target those who want to "stay in the now" without fully committing to reading an article.

• What are some of the key features or characteristics that are unique to this genre, distinguishing it from other texts?

            The information that is chosen to stand out in the guide allows the reader to skim, which, hopefully, will get them to read the entire article. The pictures included always stay relevant to the topic at hand. Also, the articles are always split in chunks, each with a title that covers certain aspects of the situations. It seems to cover all the information that you would find in the "Frequently Asked Questions" of any website.

• Based on your answers to the questions above, come up with a definition in your own words for this genre.

            A Quick Reference Guide is a collection of brief summaries about a certain topic meant to easily inform the reader about any subject and/or issue.


Reflection:
            The two blogposts I reviewed were Jack Auslen's post on Video Essay's and Ryan Spacek's breakdown on what a podcast is. Jack's post really had me thinking about how useful a Video Essay actual is. It expands on your average written essays by adding audio and visual aids. He notes that it provides closure to the viewer, because it covers all aspects of the topic. The additive media allows the reader to remember certain parts of the essay that the author wanted them to. It is much harder to do this in a written essay when all you have are words. I will definitely be using this genre when I have a topic that I really want to go in-depth with and provide as much information as possible. Ryan's post perfectly covered what a podcast is and he really sold all the key factors of what makes a podcast so great. The ease-of-use which basically allows anyone of all ages create a podcast. The potential for live-streaming or uploading shortly after it is recorded, ensures that the issue is always up to date. The audience really depends on the subject being discussed, which makes this platform applicable to EVERYONE. The podcast is great to inform someone about a very specific topic and keep people "in the now," I will definitely keep this in mind when selecting a genre for my projects.

My Writing Process

742680. "Planning Plan Adjusting Aspirations Concepts Ideas" 1/20/2013 via pixabay.
CC0 Public Domain License.

• What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?

            After referencing the Student’s Guide page 38-9 that introduces the reader to four different types of writers, I would have to say that I relate most to the "heavy planner." When writing, I like to know what I'm about to dive into, or else I just feel overwhelmed. Having some sort of plan allows me to know if I have a good topic for my writings and if I'll have something meaningful to say. Even though people say quality over quantity, it's nice to have more than just a snippet to read, so making sure I have enough to write about is essential for my essays. I can also relate to the common procrastinator, however, I realized that I only procrastinate on assignments that I know I will be able to complete in short amounts of time.

• Does your writing process include several of the approaches above? If so, which ones?

            Being a heavy planner, when I have an essay due I tend to think about what I'm writing anywhere I go. I constantly search for new ideas, trying to top my old ones up to the point when I actually start writing. I do also tend to try and make my first draft as good as it possibly can be; I absolutely hate revising. Sometimes when I write I don't even read over my work and just turn it in because I am pretty confident with my work and I'm too lazy to read over it one more time because I revised so much while writing. I find myself picking at every sentence as I go along my papers which creates a frustrating and timely process, but it gets the job done.

• Does your writing process seem to be successful? What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?

            For the most part my writing process turns out to be successful. I'm pretty hard on myself when I'm writing and if something doesn't sound right and I can't figure it out, I'll take out the entire section that relies on that statement because I can transition into it properly. However, this can set me back because it makes my writing process longer than it should be. My major weakness would probably be that I hate reading over my finished product to try and revise it. Usually I'll get one of my peers to edit over it and I find that to be my best route when producing a quality piece of work.

• Do you think it would be beneficial for you to try a different approach? Why or why not?

            I believe I would become a better writer if I took advantage of the revision process and tried to do a majority of the corrections on my own. Doing this would help me initially catch these mistakes when I'm writing, and it would make me less dependent on others to correct my writings. Other than that, I feel like I am a fairly decent writer, looking past the times that I decide to procrastinate on my work.