English 206

Paper 4

2006-05-05T14:28:00.000-07:00

Christian Childers
Professor Melton
English 206:2
5 May 2006
Writing for Strangers
The weblog is a new media form which has taken something such as a journal or diary into the public view. The weblog form is basically a journal or diary that is posted and managed on the internet. In the past few years the weblog has really began to become more and more popular and people of all sorts are writing them. The weblog has begun to have such an impact on writing that there are now classes being formed around the weblog form. This interesting phenomenom has made many people wonder why the journal or diary is being made available to the public. In the past forms of writing such as the journal and diary were kept secret and the people writing them would keep them hidden from parents, siblings, and even spouses. Now with the weblog complete strangers are reading about individuals’ daily lives and innermost thoughts. In the following I will address some of the reasons in which most people post blogs which includes: self expression, information sharing, and the need or want to publish or be recognized.
One of the main reasons for people to participate in blogging is because it is a new and interesting way to show creativity in a number of different mediums as well as it being a way to express oneself. In this class one of the requirements or weekly assignments that we were required to fulfill was to write in a blog on a topic of the professor’s choice. I really did not like having to write in the blog to begin with and did not understand the point of it until much later on in the course. I now think that the blog was a way for the instructor to see our writing skill and to evaluate the way in which we express our selves as well as to help expand or even help with our creativity. I am sure that there are more reason as to purpose of our doing the blogs but I have felt what I have mentioned earlier is definitely one. For a great deal if not most of the people blogging they do it because it is a way for them to express themselves. With a blog it is more up to date and so much more can be done with a journal that is on the internet then one that is written in a composition book and is hid under the bed. Writing a blog gives a person practice in writing on general to specific subjects in a short and concise manner. According to Tallulah Bankhead “Writing short is hard and the daily practice of having to summarize or analyze an article with concision will make you a clearer writer and better thinker” (Blood 61). Writing in a short manner is very difficult and takes a great deal of practice as well skill and with the blog the opportunity to practice such is available and it makes the writer able to practice one more way in which they can express themselves. In the Weblog Handbook Tallulah Bankhead makes the statement “Because you know how hard you are working because you can feel yourself stretching each time you try something new or a little risky maintaining a weblog will give you a new confidence in your own creativity, especially if you have habitually thought of yourself as an “uncreative type.” It hard to give credence to the idea that you have nothing to say when you are posting every day; and the notion that you are not creative becomes laughable once you regularly begin exploring new ways of expressing yourself” (Blood 61). The statement that Bankhead has made is interesting because it is very true although she mentions a daily writing even a weekly on such as the one that I participated can have the same effects. An example of this statement being true would be in the case of the class blogs that I participated in as well as with similar information sharing devices such as myspace. People that use myspace seem to become more and more creative in which they are using it and constantly updating their personal profiles. One of the major reasons that people have brought a once personal and secret medium such as the journal or diary is to express themselves and to display and practice being creative but the blog also serves another purpose which is to share information not only about general subjects that they may have knowledge of but also concerning themselves and it can help keep others aware of what is going on in their lives.
Many people write blogs for more then “strangers and themselves” they write them as a way for family and friends to keep in touch and know what is going on in their lives it is a way for a person to answer some of the same questions for multiple people. With a blog a person can basically answer the same questions just once. In a blog you can discuss what and how you are doing and for those wondering all they have to do is view your blog. In no way am I trying to say that the blog can replace a phone call or an actual meeting but it can be an efficient way in which people can check on you. The people this would mostly be geared to would probably be people who you may not see very often or speak to but who still may have an interest in how you are doing. Many people seem to think new composition forms such as emails or weblogs are unable to convey personal feelings or have the same effect as a phone call or a letter and the weblog is a poor substitute. A writer by the name Cameron Barrett states “Weblogs, however, are designed for an audience. They have a personality. Simply put, they are an interactive extension of who you are” (Barrett et al. 60). The statement that Barrett made is very much true a weblog with the intent of being similar to that of a journal or diary should be written in a manner where your voice can be felt or heard and the blog should really represent you. Many people have began to blog with the specific purpose of keeping others informed about themselves with the hope of efficiently making sure everyone knows how they are doing. Although this would be a case in which people who are not strangers are viewing something that can be understood as being personal it can also be viewed by people who are strangers and may some how find your blog and become interested in you. Some people write blogs of a personal nature with the understanding that it has the possibility of being viewed by anyone with internet service but they are willing to take part in the medium these peoples main concern is to get out what they have to say or they want to express themselves and or they want to keep in touch with people they know. Most people that write blogs have a number of reasons for doing so but I do think that when placing their writing on the internet they do not care who reads they just want to get what they have to say written and out in the world. In some way what they have written will be recognized if not by anyone else then by themselves. The weblog is a way in which people can get instant gratification they have their own creation out for others to see and for many bloggers they hope the people viewing their work will be strangers. The blog as a composition medium that is able to provide instant publication which is something that many others forms can not do without an immense amount of skill and work as well people.
People have traditionally written diaries or journals for themselves and have tried to hide them from people that they are closest to, but now people are posting the same form of writing on the internet with the hope that strangers will be looking at what they have to say. People seem to care more about what people they know think then they care about what a stranger may think or know about them. People of all sorts have their memoirs or biographies or autobiographies written and published. The people that partake in this practice all seem to have a number of different reasons for doing so but the people that do it all seem to want to published or recognized for what they have done and not necessarily by those that they are closest to but by anyone. If one thinks about all people have the want to be recognized or to be official in some capacity. The weblog makes it possible for people to do such and with out nearly as much work or people. The weblog is a way to instantly become published and viewed as well as possibly being recognized for what you have done. Just like when a person is published it provides the opportunity for anyone willing to read to read your material. Brad L. Graham states “I get off on seeing my words in print. My first byline in a daily newspaper almost made me wet myself with glee. More than that, I like the notion of leaving my words behind-even given the relatively ephemeral nature of the web-for other to find and enjoy” (Rodzvilla 37). Mr. Graham statement sums up what any writer feels toward writing and being able to see it the way other people would see it. A blog makes it possible for a writer to get what he wants to say out and it also gives the writer an opportunity to hear what others think of what he has accomplished and most people would like to hear what an impartial stranger would have to say then a friend or family member.
The weblog has caused the private as well as the public spheres to mingle or cross creating a grey area in which the two seem to be mixing with one another but so far the mix seems to be doing really well and is constantly expanding. The people participating in blogs are much like people on reality television and the ones that read about them are like the millions of others who watch them on television. There is something that has happened in our society where we have become fascinated with peoples everyday lives and we want to know everything about them and the people who are sharing this information are not thinking about themselves or families all the time they are thinking about themselves and if anyone wants to see about them they are welcome to but strangers are preferable.

Works Cited
Blood, Rebecca. The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining your Blog. Cambridge: Perseus, 2002
Rodzvilla, John, ed. We’ve Got Blog: How Weblogs are Changing our Culture. Cambridge: Perseus, 2002

Future of Blogs

2006-04-27T11:28:00.000-07:00

The blog is an up and coming prospect in the new media field. It is something that so far has had a major effect on modern textual composition and idea dissemination but the future of it may be in jeopardy in my opinion. Things of all sorts become outdated or lost interest in or something newer or better comes along . Some examples of such would be chat rooms, or even emails but in a different way for emails. When email became available or when people really started to use email people were excited to use and check it was a new way to communicate and keep updated about a variety of things. As time has gone on email for many of us has become a necessity it something in which work and friends will communicate with us and for many of us it is work where email has become most essential. I personally have noticed that I find email to be a task it is one more thing that have to check and read over and many times respond to in timely manner. Sometimes emails can be sent that one can laughed at or enjoy when one has the time but those even become a task to have to look at. The popularity of emails have even affected many work places in such a way where in they are monitored and can be viewed by your employer. I mention all of this to give an example of a device that could be considered to be a new media device that was thought to be the greatest thing created to somewhat become something that could also be something that one would like to censor or not do unless necessary. I feel the blog is heading in much the same direction after reading stories such as "Big Mother is watching" and the story concerning the guy not being given tenure at a university it is going to make me and I am sure others the though that we should not even have a blog or should be very careful of what one says. When though of someone's profession being disrupted due to a blog it is best to avoid it all together. I believe the blog will end up being like those Christmas Cards people send out where they basically talk about what their family has been doing for the past year. They will eventually fall off I don not think they have yet reached their peak but they soon will.

New Media Terms

2006-04-20T09:48:00.000-07:00

The always changing and the constantly evolving new media terms that have become almost essential to the internet and its components is not a trait or something that has not necessarily occurred before or with other things. Almost any field, trade, device, or group devises its own terms to describe something that is within their field or interesting words are devised to indicate items or traits or even actions to something that particular group is involved in. Some examples of a groups or people that create their own language would be skaters, surfers, and gamers. The groups that I just mentioned all have their own language with words specific to them ranging from "rip" to "mosh." Any new thing or device is always given a meaning to be found and terms are brought about that can describe what it does or the groups of the participants create names to describe what they do or what can be done by whatever they are in or involved with. New Media in particular places a demand on people to know and be aware of the neologisms and portmanteaus that assist us in the making and means of the numerous terms. If a person has no knowledge of the number of the new media neologisms and portmateaus such as blog, podcast, internet, web and many more they will be lost in concern to new media and seem out of date with the times. For many things in the new media it is all new and brings about the idea of having things short or abbreviated which is largely a strong characteristic of new media which likes thing to be short and to the point.

Evaluation & Quality Control

2006-04-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

New media forms of composition such as blogs have strengths as well as downfalls because of their capability to frequently change. The media in general seems as though it is constantly changing not just blogs. Media changes its focus or concern based on what happened in the day as well as what season or what the whether may happen to be. I think though that is how it should be media is supose to be subject to change. Blogs do change more frequently in a variety of ways and more so than any other form of media. Blogs ability to change and and do so frequently has its benefits as well as hazards. New media forms of composition such as blogs can lack credibilty due to their frequent change and no actual set stabdard or specific formula. To consider a media source to e credible it must have some standard or routine . At the same time the blogs ability to frequently change is beneficial because it is as though it is keeping up with the times. Things such as news, technology or the hundreds of other topics that are discussed in blogs are able to keep up to date and really be up to the minute on any subject. When taking into the the factors considered my overall opinion of the blogs mutabilty will be beneficial and advatageous to new media.
Blogs are weakened more by their brief history and short period of time in use. At times I think that blogs could possibly be a fad or something that in time will grow old or is just present until smething else comes along. The short time ar brief history of blogs causes it to lack credibility and it prevents it from becoming a reliable resource or reference to look up something. The blog has ideas and theories of great interest but with its short history it does not have the age or history that many like when trying to take something into seriousness. New media compsition has not been around long enough to be of an equal comparison to older media forms with history or some established credibilty. I have mentioned crediblity which for the internet in general is a hard thing to determine and with every new media device created it makes it that much harder to determine what can be made reliable. Blogs are given some merit or credit because of the way that they have become so popular and acquired such a following and have grown to get so much attention even from more established media forms such as television in particular. People always like the idea of new things that are different and blogs are and unlike other media forms that are considered to be more credible. With blogs brief history they seem more real and more reality driven.

Paper 3

2006-04-06T14:33:00.000-07:00

Christian Childers
Professor
Eng. 206-2
6 April 2006
Eating a Grape in the Grocery Store
For anyone that is shown a commercial by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) which basically equates the downloading of movies for free on the internet to stealing cars and jewelry. On the internet, this practice is known as file sharing, it is known as file stealing in the entertainment industry. In the following both sides of the file sharing controversy will be addresses and the idea of how harmless the average file sharer is to the recording industry. I will also discuss the grey matter in the situation and how both sides are in a new territory.
The entertainment industry wants the purchasing public to be fully aware that downloading a movie or song without paying for it is equal to stealing money or jewels or a car. The recording industry is right in this thought because in the way of the laws as they are now it is illegal, and it prevents money from going in their pockets. This so-called crime that is committed apparently by the tens of millions does not seem to be as bad as stealing a car or jewelry. File sharing for the most part is infringing on copyright laws if the items being shared by peers is copyrighted. From the typical college students perspective: file sharing is a harmless crime like that of eating a grape in a grocery store or speeding on the highway in a manner that would not be considered reckless.
The issue gets a little bit more complex and the idea of actual stealing can be more considered when a profit or money is being made from copyrighted items, and not being profited by the individuals that produced the product. If an individual is selling copies of music that they downloaded for free and are profiting from the sale I could consider the action to be criminal. Another instance of something being more criminal or more in the traditional sense of wrong might be for a company to provide a place for illegal downloading but to have advertising on it. Advertising that a company profits from seems like there is a wrong taking place. An example of such a thing happening would be with Grokster which makes peer-to-peer software that gives internet users the opportunity to exchange a variety of different computer files. The problem with the sight is how they profit from the giving away of the peer-to-peer software. According to the New York Times “At least 90 percent of the material “shared” on Grokster and perhaps more is copyrighted. Grokster gives away the software, but it sells advertising aimed at the millions of people who use it” (Editorial A16). This company is going against the entertainment industry in a court case that was heard in the Supreme Court. The two or three sides of the issue are clearly defined and the way the sides feel about the issue represents the ways in which a college student would feel about the situation as well as that of the recording industry or even the individual artist. The New York Times states “The technology community has rallied to Grokster’s defense. Its most radical members argue that “information wants to be free” online and disparage the whole idea of intellectual property. A more modest argument and one Grokster relies on in court, is that if it loses there will be chilling effect on technological innovation”(Editorial A16). Grokster and its supporters feel that information should be available at no cost and that what they do is innovative in the way of technology. At the same time they are profiting from a website that provides for a place for illegal activity and would not be as popular if it did not do so. One way to think of the situation in a different manner is with a business such as, hourly motels. For anyone who has been downtown in Las Vegas a person would notice that they have hourly motels and one would have to think what someone would need with an hourly motel, and the answer is they would want it for illegal activity. The hotel is just a place profiting from people going there, but it may be for legitimate reasons but for the most part it is probably illegal reasons. My grandmother would call the hourly motel “a trick turning joint.”
The recording industry has a different view of the situation according to the New York Times “Movies, music and books require investments of money and time. If their creators cannot make money from them many will be unwilling or unable to keep producing. Or they may have to finance their work in troubling ways like by building in product placements or taking money from donors with agendas”(Editorial A16). The recording industry has a very good standpoint they feel that sense they had to spend money and the artist had to spend time to create something original that could be copyrighted. It is more then understandable that they want to profit from their work before anyone else. The idea of intellectual property is also being neglected by sites such as Grokster. The interesting thing is that not all artist or songwriters feel the same way about file sharing. A few years ago thousands of file sharers ranging from age twelve to seventy-one were sued by the recording industry for unauthorized file sharing which brought mixed feelings from the artist who had different opinions on the issue. Neil Strauss of the New York Times writes “Many musicians privately wish file sharing would go away though they are reluctant to admit it because they do not want to seem unfriendly to their fans. So they have been happy to have the industry group play the role of bad cop. But with the escalation of the battle last week (with lawsuits filed against among others a 71-year-old grandfather and a 12-year-old girl) some musicians say they are beginning to wonder if the actions being taken in their name are a little extreme. This is especially true because regardless of file sharing, they rarely see royalties”(Strauss 1.1). The statement quoted above gives both ways in which the artist feels concerning the subject. The statement concerning the artist rarely receiving royalties is interesting because that is probably the reason that they seem two-sided about the issue. The lawsuits being discussed above ranged from three hundred to seventeen thousand dollars which seems to be a stiff fine for a crime that for the most part seems harmless, and done so much the average twelve year old would not know what they were doing was illegal. Although the artist may not be feeling the financial repercussions of file sharing the songwriter apparently is. David Bernstein of the New York Times writes “Much of the publicity in the battle over illicit Internet music downloading has gone to artist and record labels. But songwriters say they are being hurt financially. Unless they are also performers, most songwriters are typically neither rich nor famous, and their names may be known only to those who bother to read album credits or liner notes. But their incomes can depend on royalties from sales of recorded singles and albums. In fact, songwriters’ earnings are more directly tied to album sales than those of recording artist who can potentially earn substantial sums through live concerts and merchandise sales”(C6). The thought of a songwriter makes a person feel that file sharing may not be as harmless as one would like to think. When reading about them they may not be millionaires like the artist we see performing the songs that they wrote. The college student who shares files would have to think of the songwriters perspective as being understandable.
Stealing music by file sharing using peer-to-peer software is an infringement on copyright laws as well as a way to in which intellectual property is disregarded. Whether or not it is the equivalent to stealing a CD from a store or robbing a person on the street depends on which side you are a part of. The sides consist of the recording industry or the file sharer or freeware provider. Songwriters and artist do not like the practice of file sharing because although from each person they may only be losing out on pennies it is something that could add up to be a substantial amount of income being missed out on. The average file sharer or person copying a CD will never think or consider what they are doing as a serious crime or even think of it as a crime in the same manner the MPAA tries to portray it in its commercials. The companies that provide the services and profit by having advertisers are more in the wrong then the file sharer. The companies that provide the services or freeware are innovative in the way of technology, but in my opinion they seem as though they are doing more wrong then the kid downloading a song only because of their making a profit. When considering the issue it is hard to think of freeware providing as a crime of any seriousness. The average file sharer should not be punished for what they are doing if they are not profiting from it in a monetary way. File sharing is like tasting a grape in the grocery store in a way. A person wants to first check something out before purchasing.
Works Cited
Editorial. “When David Steals Goliath’s Music.” New York Times 28 Mar. 2005, late ed.: A16.
Berstein, David. “Songwriters Say Piracy Eats Into Their Pay.” New York Times 5 Jan. 2004, late ed.: C6
Strauss, Neil. “File-Sharing Battle Leaves Musicians Caught in Middle.” New York Times 14 Sept. 2003, late ed.: 1.1

Freestyle Blog

2006-04-06T09:30:00.000-07:00

For any one that has rented a DVD or gone to the theaters they are shown a commercial by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) which basically equates the downloading of movies for free on the internet to stealing cars and jewelry etc. On the internet this practice is known as file sharing but for people in the entertainment industry is known as file stealing. In this paper I will look beyond what the entertainment industry’s rhetoric more specifically that of the recording industry and look at it from the perspective of a struggling college student who is not trying to make a profit from a copyrighted item but just trying to do what almost everybody does which is get the best deal on what they want to obtain.
The entertainment industry wants the purchasing public to be fully aware that downloading a movie or song without paying for it is equal to stealing money or jewels or a car. The recording industry is right in this thought because in the way of the laws as they are now it is illegal and it prevents money from going in their pockets. Is this crime that is committed apparently by the tens of millions consciously as bad as stealing a car or jewelry no. File sharing for the most part is infringing on copyright laws if the items being shared by peers is copyrighted. From the typical college students perspective file sharing is a harmless crime like that of eating a grape in a grocery store or speeding on the highway in a manner that would not be considered reckless. The issue gets a little bit more complex and the idea of actual stealing can be more considered when a profit or money is being made from copyrighted items and not being profited by the individuals that produced the product. If a individual is selling copies of a music that they downloaded for free and are profiting from it that could be considered to be more of criminal action.

Code Poetry

2006-03-30T09:17:00.000-08:00

The code poetry that was listed on the different websites is very different and much of it seems very original. I have never seen poetry or a story written down or put into the format. It is interesting how a person can make it so that they the soroy you are reading can be made so clear with the aid of words with links to pictures and other devices that you can almost understand exactly what the writer is trying to convey. The code poetry is an interesting and inovative way to write express oneself but it seems like the traditional form s that an individual gets acustomed through courses such as British Literature and Early Amercian literature and the ways in which one is accustomed to seeing poetry is not their. I like the idea of code poetry and how with the use of many of the devices it incorperates it makes it more understandable than some of the traditional poetry that I have had to read. At the same time I just think it is more work than I would like to embark on and to get the full effect of the poetry you have to click and view pictures on words and in some ways that becomes a distraction. I have had to read poetry in one course or another and for the most part I have disliked most of it I would have to read it numerous times to understand it for the most part and then sometimes I would have to wait for the teacher to explain the significance of it much of this occurred in british literature. My writing a critique on poetry was not going to be a one of praise because by no means could I be understood as a fan of the artform in general. One could say that many of the same techniques could be used with prose as I felt some of the code poetry was but it still has too much going on. i feel i am very simple and when a person has strong writing skills simple black words on a white page will suffice

New Media & the Academy

2006-03-23T07:03:00.000-08:00

New media devices are becoming more an more popular everyday. Blogs and pod/lecturecasting are things that are becoming very popular especially in the academic sector. Students have been using new media products or services but now schools are beginning to look into the use of these products for the academy. Some scjools that are considered to be at the fore front of academics have impemented lecturecasting not just on a small scall but for all courses. I believe the use of new media devices will make it better for students as well as professors to comunicate and students will have an easier timen or one more way in which they can studyso that subject matter can be better understood. It will change the academy in ways that may not be the best such as if class information is so readily available it may cause students to not attend class or the academy may not use the actual classroom setting as much and resort to more of an online class situation which I for one do not enjoy. I like the idea of having other options other than going to the traditional class setting but at the same time I think that I robably could not learn any other way. Students blogs effecting admissions or being a determinant in whether a person is admitted to a job or given tenure is something that is interesting but at the same time could have serious drawbacks. This idea of researching a person in that way could be beneficial as well as harmful. Doing something like reading a personal blog to judge someones acceptability seems to be something that reaches into a grey area. The reason I say that is because who would judge or check into a personal blog and be able to base acceptability on such a thing as a blog. A blog is personal but it is at the sametime something that anyone can view but for me I care what goes on my blog not only because it is viewed by my professor but at the sametime I don't warry about it too much becasue I think that no one will really read my blog. I think some people want their blog read but probably not by anyone that could effect their future.
Lecturecasting for the academy as I stated earlier is a great idea for one reason in particular if a person misses a class instead of depending on another person for information and individual could find out first hand what exactly was discssed. Lecturecasting can also be used as a study device being able to revisit a subject in a class that may have been struggled with when first heard is a great way to really understand material in depth. New media devices are here to stay and they are going to be expanded upon by even more especially with the involvement of the academy.

Paper 2

2006-03-09T14:34:00.000-08:00

Christian Childers
English 206:@
3/9/06
Paper 2

Podcasts and Blogs Changing the Artist-Audience Relationship
New media composition is changing the way that people view and or read or even hear a number of different forms of information that includes entertainment as well as information. The internet has broken down the roles of a number of different positions and or relationships, more specifically the relationship the artist has with the audience. The way that a artist or writer (if not one in the same) are being seen or heard has been having a significant change due in large part to podcast and blogs.
Many people including myself until recently are unaware of exactly what a podcast is or what podcasting entails. According to Wikipedia a free online encyclopedia “podcasting is the distribution of audio or video files, such as radio programs or music videos, over the internet using either RSS or Atom syndication for listening on mobile devices and personal computers.”(Podcasting 1) So to further simplify podcasting is basically like having an MP3 of the Howard Stern show. The Wikipedia encyclopedia also defines a podcast as “a web feed of audio or video files placed on the internet for anyone to download or subscribe to, and also the content of that feed.”(Podcasting 1) Podcasting allows individuals to basically listen or view whatever they may please at any time wherever they want. Podcasting also opens up the opportunity for individuals who podcast to put out a product that they wish to be recognized by and become known. Most likely with the goal of becoming famous and wealthy. In this paper I will try to address how this new media concept is opening up a lot of affordable and easy opportunities for individuals to be heard with out any middle men it is the artist and the audience.
Blogs are doing the same things as podcast except blogs are utilizing writing instead of sound. A blog is basically a journal or diary written and updated regularly online the can address a number of subjects or that can be basically geared toward one particular subject such as a political blog or a war blog etc. Rebecca Bloods has a very good description of a blog she says, “A weblog is a coffeehouse conversation in text, with references as required”(1). Her description is a pretty good one because that is what a blog is a conversation that someone may have with proof or a sufficient reason for having their specific viewpoint or idea. Unlike a coffeehouse conversation blogs are for more then a couple of people to hear they are for whoever browses the net. Also, unlike a coffeehouse conversation something may come of their online coffeehouse conversation or writings they may become widely read and heard and in theory some sort of publishing could occur int the conventional manner. Being heard by masses and feeling instant gratification is what blogs offer to writers. Blogs may in some ways have cut out the difficulty for many writers to be published or heard. With blogs they are in a way instantly published.
In the past for a writer or musician to be able to get heard or read it was a tedious task that required a great deal of work and required the artist to have to deal or be blocked by a number of different people in positions that determined whether your art was good enough to be able to be heard by others. An example of this would be musicians or singers who want to be in the music industry. An artist would have to get a manager, then find someone to be a producer, then find a studio to record in, an engineer is needed, someone to make copies of the finished product, someone to market the artist, and I am sure there are many more people and processes the artist has to go through to be heard or become known in the industry. With podcast all of the middle men are cut out it is just the artist and the audience. For a person to podcast all that is needed are a digital recorder and a computer. For musicians there are microphones and preamps that they may want to be included, but are not necessary. The artist is doing what he set out to do. Which is to be heard, and with some self promoting and advertisement of his podcast this can be done. Podcasting is not just for musicians it can be used for a variety of different professions looking for some fame or notoriety. Journalist and preachers and prospective radio personalities use podcasting. One instance of some fame being acquired by podcasting is by a preacher. Al Gibes writes “Godcasting” is what Bill Hoshauer, associate pastor of The Crossing (www.thecrossingonline.com) calls the weekly audio and video podcasts of church services after years of taping the messages and burning them to compact disc. He heard from a church member stationed in Kuwait, where the CDs were used in informal religious services. That evolved into video podcasts of entire Sunday services”(Page 2D). “Godcasting” is a creative and innovative way in which this preacher is getting his message out.
The blog which is a new media concept that already has a number of uses as we discuss on a regular basis in class also has the potential for being a launch point for the serious writer in concern to any subject. Many writers especially those of books go through a great deal of rejection and failure and are constantly being denied publishing of their works. With blogs whatever a writer may want whether it is to be seen or read he can now do it instantly and in theory possibly find someone willing to publish them in a more conventional manner. This again is an example of occupations such as editors and agents and publicist being left out and the artist having an almost direct connect with the audience. The writer also has the ability to receive feedback from the people that are trying to be reached through comments that are accompanied with most blogs. It is interesting to think about how different things would have been for an author such as F. Scott Fitzgerald who at first was rejected and unsuccessful as writer and unable to become known would podcasting been of any help to him in the very beginning.
Podcasting and blogs open up a new way in which people can basically just be heard and seen. Podcasting is not only a way for musicians to become known but also for preachers, journalist, teachers, and professor to get their knowledge out for others to hear. Many occupations and people that were needed previously are no longer needed the artist is now closer to his audience. For individuals that are trying to be heard or want a start the new media concepts described are the way in which it can possibly be achieved. With many occupations becoming non-existent with these new forms new occupations and positions will need to be created to find these do-it-yourselfers. Someone will have to instead of checking out the underground scene will have to be checking the podcast sites the editors will have to look in certain blog sites to find the next great American author. With podcast and blogs the artist not only has a closer relationship with their audience but instead of always looking to be recognized they will be sought out.

Works Cited
Blood, Rebecca. The Weblog Handbook. Cambridge: Perseus Publishing, 2002
Gibes, Al. “They’re podcasters hear’em roar, their messages are making local lore” Las Vegas Review Journal 7 Mar. 2006, 2D

Emoticons :)

2006-03-09T11:13:00.000-08:00

Due to my busy schedules it's not often that I go 2 a party, or any special events :-i 2 years ago I took it upon myself 2 suprise my gf with tickets 2 an Usher concert :P Sure I like Usher, I'll listen 2 his music every once in a while, but I wasn't sure If I'd enjoy watching him perform all night :-I
Not knowing how the night was gonna go I was ainxious, and so was she. The stadium was packed full of all sorts of ppl:( Thanks 2 me we had floor seats so we weren't as bunched up and uncomfortable as alot of people were :) After a good 20min. the lights went off and the show started. The highlight of my night was the 1st performance ! Christina Millian came out half naked:P

How does the act of reading on a computer differ from the act of reading on a page?

2006-02-23T07:23:00.000-08:00

The act of reading is different depending on what you are reading as well as for what reading. The act of reading also has a difference when considering what media source you are reading such as that from on a computer to something on the traitional page. The computer screen is something that is being used more and more for reading in a number of ways. Reading on a computer screen does differ dramatically at least for me when considering the actual act of reading. My reading habits change dramaticallywhen reading from off the computer such as the seriousness in which I take the material evn the overall absorbtion of the material changes my perception of the seriousness of the material.

The act of reading from a computer to that of reading from off the traditional page is different physically. I say that it is different physically because I normally read looking down but when reading from the computer I am looking straight ahead which differs from the way in which I am most comfortable. The way in which my hands are placed is different as well as the action they take when trying to view more of the material. After so many years of being trained to turn pages and then to have to use a mouse to scrolldown it can throw any set formula somewhat out of place. I do not want it to seem as though it is not possible or even as much of a task to read from a computer but it does change the way in which one was trained to read

When I read things from the computer I don't think I take it as serious as though I were reading it from the printed page. When I first started using a computer and the internet especially for school purposes I was always told to be weary of the content on a website because it may not be factual information and many times it can even be wrong with the exception of well known websites that dealt from a government standpoint or some sort of official site. With that being said I would say that my sense of weariness I have been unable to change. When I really need to know something or need to remember something that is on the computer I print it out and for one reason or another that validates the material more for me.

The act of reading from a computer is normally a skim reading I just skim when reading from the computer and when I find something that has caught my interest I will read it more thoroghly. When on the computer I normally have a purpose and when I have done what I need to do I normally get off. When having a specific task when online I think a skim would only be necessary untill one found what they were looking for.

What are some of the different conventions one follows when writing an email vs.a traditional letter?

2006-02-16T07:47:00.000-08:00

With the numerous different forms of communication in the world everything seems to be typed or examined on a screen and past forms of communication have become less used except by the older generations whom many have even stepped into using these new methods of written communication. These new forms of communication such as emails have somewhat different conventions than traditional letters which seem to be the more proper or more professional in a way to address such things. New media devices and services have made drastic changes in the ways people communicate. Services such as emails have made writing a more relaxed and casual way of communicating.

When one learns to write and the different templates for writing in different instances are introduced. One spends a great deal of time learning about writing letters or typing letters and how they should be addressed and formed and all this was based on the person to whom it was being written to. With the learning to write traditional letters it was all on based on the practice of writing a letter and sending it via United States Postal Service. When learing to write these various types of letters the things that are most concentrated on are how to address the person and the the ending and format. The spacing and return address as well as the forwarding address were all to be placed in specific areas. With the use of new media devices many of these characteristics have fallen to side but new ones have been created.

When writing an an email the need for a specific structure seems to be not needed. The address is not as significant and long the only address that is needed is the email address. Some of the formality that one thinks of when writing an email is dropped . The formality of a traditional letter is able to be immediately determined and the type of letter can even be identified at just a quick glance. Email has the same format no matter who or the subject that is being addressed. The way to determine what subject or what may be being addressed in an email is to actually read it and it and examine the wording and determine the tone. The main difference between these two writing forms to me is the format and structure. The length also seems to be a difference when letters are written they seem to be long or longer then they need to be but emails especially if they are business related tend to be short and to the point and lack tone or appeal. emails seem to be more like statements instead of letters. The two forms of writing do still have their similarities but one now seems to have an alternate purpose.

The traditional letter in my opinon is written far less frequently in comparison to the past. The letter also seems to be used far less frequently for professional purposes and when used is more for a personal nature. I myself have rarely if ever actually wrote a letter the closest I may come to it is writing a memorandum at my job or writing a note on a card for whatever occasion to whomever but I would not consider those to be letteres in the traditional format. All other types of communication are done via email. Which are for the most part written as short as possible with the hope of emphasizing the point of the email as clearly as possible. The traditional letter seems as though its purpose would be more of a personal nature. It seems like if the time were taken to write a traditional letter now the person would be trying to appear caring and want to address personal matters and have a somewhat more intimate contact. The email on the other hand is for everyday use and can be used to address any subject even that of a personal nature but possibly not as well as that of a letter or have the sentimental value.

Letters and emails seem to have changed places in the past 10 years. Letters were once the only way in which people communicated and had various formats for the person and or subject that was being addressed but now they have become a thing rarely done by the more recent generations. Email has become the way to communicate for everything and to everyone and can address any subject or person. The format that was originally included in traditional letters is not as much apparent in emails. Emails seem to be more relaxed regardless of whom you are addressing and are more straight forward and to the point. They do lack person to person contact even more then a letter. Emails seem to cause even more of a separation between the writer and the reader. The trataditional letter and email still serve the same function which is to express or inform another individual of something.

Composition Paper 1

2006-02-09T14:21:00.001-08:00

Paper 1
Plagiarism in Concern to New Media
According to Lisa Ede from her book Work in Progress: A Guide to Academic Writing and Revising “Plagiarism is, quite simply, the intentional or unintentional use of others’ words or ideas as if they were your own.” This definition of plagiarism seems to be pretty simple and understandable but the definition is also broad whether intentional or unintentional. In this world especially with the innumerable new media resources that are available and just the vast number of people in the word the definition of plagiarism or what exactly it is can cause some concern. Before the explosion of the internet and other forms of new media the definition of plagiarism would be easier to have complied with and a person could more than likely avoid taking part in plagiarism. The internet and practices that are done on the internet can be considered to be infringing upon the definition of plagiarism. Such acts as copying and saving a picture from a website and use it for your blog can be considered plagiarism as well as copying or pasting text without giving credit can be construed as being plagiarism. New media provide a number of things one being services and one service that is somewhat popular is the practice of purchasing papers from websites an instructor would consider this plagiarism or cheating even though the paper was purchased and when something is purchased one would consider it to be its own. Information sharing networks are so vast and expansive that it makes one wonder how does one know whether another persons writings or ideas has been compromised or if the person is using the internet for what it was made for which for a great part is information sharing. Plagiarism is no new thing in the world but recently it has been made more complicated especially due to new media. With new media plagiarism and what it constitutes seems to be very grey and the traditional definition of the word in some ways should possibly be revised. It is my opinion that the internet provides a place for information to be shared and recognition for many of the items displayed is not necessarily looking to be recognized or needed. The internet as well as other new media services contained within it were designed to share and the overall purpose of the internet is to share information but it is also place where people make money and where business sell their products which is also important when considering the purchase of papers.
Blogs are a very interesting form of textual composition. This form of composition is somewhat new and rising in popularity. There are rules or etiquette to blogging that most individuals would be unaware of for the most part unless they have read books such as The Weblog Handbook by Rebecca Blood or We’ve Got Blog which was compiled by a number of different authors. To say that plagiarism is acceptable or that this new form of media cannot commit plagiarism would be wrong. With Blogs apparently there is a way of crediting your sources or acknowledging that some of your ideas came from another source. According to Rebecca Blood “the longest-standing piece of weblog etiquette is crediting links found via another weblog.” (Pg. 110) So apparently something as simple as inputting a URL somewhere within your blog is more than acceptable and that is much simpler than what is actually needed when writing a paper in true MLA style. When one blogger repeats or steals an idea from another blogger it is hard to consider it plagiarizing. One would say this because some blogs are not even written under a real name they are many times under handles or anonymous and blogs don’t carry that same weight or authority as published sources in say book form. Some of the people that write blogs may not care that something they said was used in another blog and the question of how could one prove it to be plagiarism. With the almost six billion people on earth who can say that two or more people cannot have the same idea and if one wrote it first who is to say that the other did not have the idea first. There are a number of questions that can arise with new media especially with blogs as to how exactly plagiarism is interpreted.
With new media it makes one wonder who or how one determines who is plagiarizing. When a person plagiarizes all they are doing is cheating themselves and cheating the individual with the original writing out of credit or an acknowledgement. One interesting thing about plagiarism is that another person may have had an original idea as well as another person but the second person in theory could be accused of plagiarism. Is plagiarism even that serious of a threat or action in new media what can come of it? If one person steals an idea from one persons blog and places it within their own blog where is the harm it seems more ridiculous than anything else. When a person plagiarizes from a novel or news story or something else then it seems to be more detrimental somehow. With new media there is no guarantee that it will be viewed if even take seriously so plagiarism in blogs is somewhat not the significant of a thing if occurring.
With new media being so readily available and plagiarism seeming to be so possible it makes one wonder how plagiarism can even be detected and how one can be caught doing it and what exactly the repercussions of it could be. Recently, in the Review Journal this subject was discussed. Apparently plagiarism has become a serious problem in the secondary as well as the college atmosphere and there is now a way to identify when it is taking place. There is a new website that can determine plagiarism and may in some ways be a method of deterring plagiarism in new media. There is a website called turnitin.com which has students turn in papers to the website and the website has a number of sources which it references from and can determine the amount of plagiarism in the paper on a scale of 0-100 percent. This website is suppose to make the teachers’ job easier. The interesting thing that comes up with new media resources such as this is how it is accomplished. According to Sean Mazner the author of the story is “what turnitin.com does with its submitted material. There are ongoing copyright disputes about the website keeping material to use as part of its deterrence.” That statement is interesting because by using the resources available to determine plagiarism on can be infringing upon a copyright which in some ways could also be considered plagiarism. With new media it seems as though you can be trying to correct one problem but be infringing upon another. The concept of the program could in some ways be helpful to bloggers because blogs for the most part consist upon original ideas so with a program similar to this it could be possible to prevent a person from plagiarizing from another blog.
New media has introduced a number of problems and caused a great deal of confusion when it comes to regularly accepted ideals. With the internet especially almost anything can be left up to debate and many things can not be determined right or wrong it is for the most part in the grey area where both sides can share good points and most things can be left up to interpretation.

Works Cited
Blood, Rebecca. The Weblog Handbook Practical advice on Crating and Maintaining. Cambridge: Perseus Publishing, 2002
Ede, Lisa. Work in Progress: A Guide to Academic Writing and Revising. Boston: Bedford/St.Martin’s. 2004
Rodzvilla, John., ed. We’ve Got Blog. Cambridge: Perseus Publishing. 2002
Mazner, Sean. “Cracking Down on Cheating: Web site helps instructors identify students who are plagiarizing.” Las Vegas Review Journal 31 January 2006: E5+E7

Composition Paper 1

2006-02-09T14:21:00.000-08:00

Report on a Faux Election

2006-02-09T07:29:00.000-08:00

This current election taking place between these two newcomers to politics has been like other ones in the past as well as similar to ones in the past. Candidate X has been doing as many other candidates before him although he is wealthy and worth 100's of millions of dollars he is still out holding fundraiser and campaigning looking to increase the size of his war chest and trying to avoid coming up with any out of pocket expenses for his campaign. Candidate X is in for the challenge of a lifetime in trying to defeat the well known challenger Candidate Y who although it is said only graduated from High School was able to parlay his successful acting career into politics. Both candidates are extremely wealthy but deciding on how qualified they are for the elected position of president is still unknown.

The votes will be close and each candidate will have to campaign hard so that one will come out victorious. Candidate X has been touring the Midwest and given speeches on how why he is qualified to be the elder of the country. He discussed how he plans to make healthcare affordable and how he will create more jobs and will create job training for the under-privileged. He has also been discussing how he will balance the budget and reduce the countries debt. Candidate X says his experience being the owner of a fortune 500 company for the past 10 years has given him the experience and as well as the knowledge to run a business of any size even "the business of America" one of his latest catch phrases. Candidate X feels that he can carry over many ideals and continue on with the visions of the former president to whom Candidate X sees as a mentor. This neo-conservative republican believes that he is the right choice and is trying to make the rest of the country belief the same thing.

Candidate Y is not unlike other presidential candidates that we have seen in the past he is a former actor with limited education who believes that he is capable of taking on the position of president. This challenger though with his history and limited education seems to believe that he is full capable of the task and he is causing a number of other Americans to believe that he is capable of the same. He is currently in the west touring college campuses and giving speeches indicating what he plans to if elected. He speaks about making education affordable to everyone one and he talks about if elected how he will avoid nepotism when appointing members to appointed positions and for his cabinet he will avoid staying within party lines and will have the most qualified person in the position he is looking to fill. He claims to be a liberal that is willing to work with conservatives but as the past has shown this occurs rarely.

These two candidates have their strong points as well as their their weak points Candidate X has is said to be able to actually understand or associate with the middle and lower class . The polls have shown that he is very much behind his challenger in appeal to these classes. The common feeling among these group is that in know way does he care or understand thje situations that they are in. Candidate Y has a different problem he fairs very well in the the polls with the lower and middle class but as the past has shown these groups don't necessarily make it to the polls when election day begins. The question of Candidate Y having limited education and only being known for his less than impressive acting career and not possessing some of the knowledge necessary for the an office of such stature. The one thing most impressive about him is his overall presence and speaking abillities.

With the campaiging of these two standout candidates in full swing it makes one wonder in which direction this country will head in the next four years. This election is one with two individuals from two very different fields as well as altogether lives. These two individuals are trying their hardest using different approaches and discussing different keypoints which they plan to address if elected.