Time for me to rant about one of my biggest pet peeves: 12 point times new roman font; use it for everything.  I hate fonts more than you can imagine as unless you are a graphic designer there is no place for them in professional writing.  When I receive an email or document in a font other than 12 point times new roman I get a ton of negative connotations about the send.  I assume the person is trying to use creativity and uniqueness to disguise the quality of their writing.  The sad truth is that trick never works and the quality of the writing stays the same. If you absolutely feel compelled to use a different font please use a sans serif font as they are still easy to use.  I never understand the point of script fonts that are sometimes harder to read than a person’s hand writing.  If you are writing a wedding invitation or something of the like feel free to use a serif or script font but for everything else there is 12 point times new roman.  Font plays an important role in a lot of graphic designers life but for me personally I’ll stick with what works best and is considered proper by MLA/APA guidelines.  The idea that a type face selection can convey an emotion I found interesting but that only works for words or phrases I would not want to read a document or book in a typeface intended to elicit an emotion.  If anything I feel contrast is what needs to be focused on more than anything even with long documents the accepted margin spaces are important to generate negative space.  The only thing I do if I need to add weight or contrast is bold and/or underline as this normally does the job.  I am a minimalist when it comes to design.  I care more about the information than how it is presented.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=A8uW5x9yl5g

Project Description

For my rhetorical situation I felt since we were just defining a phrase targeting an audience becomes difficult. With a phrase though there are different ways to describe it as I used some words that some might consider jargon. I feel my use of jargon probably cut the age range my audience down ,however, I would venture to say the use of jargon would help the kind of people who are looking into starting digital writing if they feel they know the jargon. I decided that simple image with a simple yet effective was the most effective way of fulfilling the project requirements. When creating a piece of digital writing the best thing to do is consider your writing against a rubric. If all digital writing was put up to the rubric for this project I feel the digital writing land scape would improve dramatically. The image I chose was a simple one asking the question I was answering. The image was originally on a bright yellow background with red lettering which made it hard to read. By altering the brightness and color values this was easily corrected to be easily readable. I then put a soft light filter in the middle to draw attention to the text rather than the two people. I also cropped the sides slightly to get rid of excess negative space. The best part is all this can be done for free at pixlr.com. I needed to cite the image but I got it off of flickr.com in the commons where it was up for free use. I just cited in the project description on you tube to properly attribute it. I was trying to define a phrase and that has never been hard for me what was hard about the audio part and where I will lose my audience is I hate my recorded voice. I tried to eliminate the background noise but I tried in four separate places trying to eliminate background noise. I watched a few tutorials on how to eliminate the static noise and still no success. I also used different laptops and mic with no avail. I guess this is why studios spend so much money on sound equipment as it is not an easy thing to pick up. I used audacity for my audio recording and they do have a remove noise function which works decently but you can still here the static in my voice. The audio matches my audience as I am aiming at people who have a rough idea what digital writing is but are not completely sure if they are capable of digital writing. The simplistic editing adds to the element that you too could digital write. I was not persuading anyone to digital write in the sense of persuasive language rather in the sense of odds are you already digital write. The easy editing also allows for people to realize they too could go on pixlr and sue creative common pictures to help better compliment their message. Overall, the project was easy due to the freedom it allowed. Odds are most of the students knew these tools were out there but never played with them. Creating a project that allowed for students to research and test different free software is highly beneficial. If we were told to use this audio program, this image editor, and then this movie maker we would only learn about 3 programs. I ended up playing with a few image editors as I am not a huge fan of photoshop. I feel photoshop is great if your a graphic designer if you just need to quickly edit something the start up time on photoshop will kill your productivity. Hence pixlr is a great alternative for simple fixes and basic image editing. I was happy I got to incorporate different software programs potential into my project as open source developers deserve more credit for the amazing programs they create for free

Reflective Letter

I am most proud of it being done. Is that too sarcastic of an answer? It is at least honest in the fact that I am pleased with the end product minus the audio. If I had time to improve on anything it would have been finding a silent room and removing the background noise but even in a closet I failed to not have background static. I used pixlr.com, audacity,and windows movie maker to complete this project along with using open office to type the reflection. I felt these were appropriate as they are free to use and have a low learning curve which means anyone can be introduced to them and start digital writing. I only got stuck twice once I mentioned enough with the audio the second was uploading to YouTube. It did not want to recognize the original move format I had it in and converting it took more time than I though then that file uploaded incorrectly hence I had to find a new format and repeat the process. Eventually it worked so that was overcame with just practicing patience which I’m not great at. I from this project I will stick with writing. I much prefer to have my work read than to read out loud. I hate my own voice probably cause I hear it too much which is why I love that writing is a great medium for communication. This project also taught some key course outcomes such as appropriation, play, and distributed cognition. The assignment was essentially nothing more than a practice in appropriation as we edited an image and rephrased the definition of digital writing to avoid plagiarism laws sadly this is what most major media networks do to fill their scheduling. We were also tasked with a problem where by experimenting with tools we were able to solve said problem in this case finishing project #2 this is where play was involved in this project. Finally, distributed cognition is one of my favorite terms the idea that tools we use are an extension of ourselves it makes it sound as if a person is plugged into the matrix. None the less the ability for us to use tools to improve our mental abilities is a great skill for digital writers to know as the more software someone is familiar with more they are capable of in digital writing.

Transcript for audio:  Digital writing is a term that is becoming prominent in today’s internet age yet many people do not know what it means.  Digital writing is simply writing for or using an electronic medium to post writing.  Since, writing was developed its goal has been to spread information to as many people as possible.   Hence, with the internet currently being the most effective method of reaching a large audience writers have obviously chosen this medium to reach more people than they would through other mediums.  Odds are you are a digital writer if you are part of a social network or maintain a blog.  Digital writing has allowed for many writer’s who would other wise go unrecognized to have a place to post their work.

Image:

Citation: http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/3310

I think the image is fine the way it is but I would like to edit it to fit the YouTube screen with no negative space so it will be more rectangular than square while not generating a fuzzy effect.  I also think a simple light filter to make the image slightly darker will make it easier to read along with making the red stand out against the bright yellow background.  By making the image slightly darker the rough yellow will also become easier on the eyes making the image flow together better.  The original image chose the bright yellow to contrast the other colors and stand out.  I feel the bright yellow is too distracting and makes the word hard to read hence I will be correcting that.

What I Plan To Do:  I have read a few tutorials on how to get the annoying buzzing feedback gone but none of them seem to work I’m hoping that I might be able to record better audio in class with a better mic.  I plan on keeping straight forward with my definition and doing what I explained above.  The reason I want to do this is simple it meets the project requirements but more importantly I feel it is an effective way to explain digital writing.

Links to Tutorials

How to use GIMP and their channel covers a lot more in depth concepts and tools GIMP has to offer:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LmW5ndnEqw

How to remove the background noise in audacity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogJvFBsvwbc&feature=fvst

How to add images to audacity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLunKLy6rPw

Citation: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54920044@N06/5088242352/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Rhetorical Analysis:  The audience for cracker jacks is wide spread and cross all ages, race, and gender.  Hence, their design scheme is bland and can be appreciated by anyone.  The image is meant to be easily recognizable as everyone is familiar of the sailor and his dog representing “Cracker Jacks”.  The image is meant to grab your attention and entice you to buy the product due to the surprise inside.  Most products sell themselves where as Cracker Jacks want to give the buyer a little added surprise for buying their product.  The only way to know what that surprise is to buy the product.

Design Analysis:  Flow is a term used to describe the ability for an image to mesh together and make sure it is logically incorporated.  People read top to bottom and left to right hence that is how Cracker Jack aligns their wording.  The strong red and white striped background does not detract from the message but provides a great use of negative space to draw the eye to the darker blue circle.  The white lettering contrast the dark blue perfectly making the text easy to read allowing for the message to be easily noticeable.  The sailors are also placed in such a way in which they are noticeable but yet do not detract from the readability of the words.  They key to flow is that the image works as one piece rather than one aspect dominating over the rest.  The Cracker Jacks box is iconic because the image flows allowing for a person to easily commit it to memory.

I am always pleased to read my classmates work.  In higher level classes it is clear that people are taking their grades seriously.  It is nice to see how much content our class has created.  The thing that surprised me is how unique everyone responses were.  With an open ended assignment is is always great to see how people make the assignment their own.  I was also happy to see how many students shared the same ideas as me that way even if I’m wrong than at least I’m not alone.  Also, the response portion validates a lot of what we post.  I am use to getting extensive feedback on my writing hence I think this way of providing commentary will motivate a class to write more.

Alignment

http://mblac018.students.digitalodu.com/?p=137#comment-257

http://nzewd001.students.digitalodu.com/?p=88#comment-127

Contrast

http://mblac018.students.digitalodu.com/?p=133#comment-258

http://nzewd001.students.digitalodu.com/?p=84#comment-129

Balance

http://mblac018.students.digitalodu.com/?p=123#comment-259

http://nzewd001.students.digitalodu.com/?p=77#comment-130

I am pretty limited on my online identity I only use Facebook and my gmail account is obviously linked to me.  I do this on purpose as I am aware of how important online identities have become.  I only use Facebook to keep in touch with friends I rarely post statuses or anything else.  The interesting part of Googling my name is I am named after my dad who is a Captain in the USN and has contributed to many relief projects around the world due to his job hence I am pages back for high school wrestling since I made it to states twice.  If you revise the search to “frank hruska wrestling” then I get tons of bracket results for high school wrestling but I drop off the web at the age of eighteen.  I have been tempted to use my SEO skills to replicate a joke from “How I Met Your Mother” in which a main character creates a false online identity as a joke to make himself seem more prestigious.  I was not scared or shocked as I have done this before and I could easily predict the results.

How Online Identities Are Established

Cited: http://www.reputation.com/blog/2008/12/15/facebook-app-lets-companies-find-new-talent-the-future-of-networking-is-online/online-identity-management/

 Brief Summary

This issue of online identity is a pressing issue for our generation.  I have never heard of someone getting a job because of their Facebook but there are tons of articles about people who have lost their job or not been hired due to their Facebook.  The article posted at http://gizmodo.com/5818774/this-is-a-social-media-background-check provides a great insight into how someone’s online identity is assessed.  The big misconception is some photos of a person partying will disqualify them from a job.  As long as the person is of the legal drinking age these photos should not be an issue.  The background searches are provided more to see if the person is prone to illegal activity or violence based on their post rather than their photos.  Hence, threatening people or stating you do drugs online will severely damage a person’s online identity. Also, sexual pictures or comments will cause a huge problem as sexual harassment suits are a huge problem for companies.  These online identity checks are more to see if a potential hire will become a legal liability for said company.  They key to passing the online identity check is common sense.  If you wouldn’t say or do it in front of a police officer do not post it online.  By following that simple rule your online identity will be safe.

Personal Experience

I essentially get paid to establish online identities.  Corporations and companies were rules to be people hence it is important these companies are reflected online the way they want to be perceived.  Being able to craft an identity sounds weird as in real life there are tons of variables that contribute to a person’s identity.  Online there are only a few snippets to determine an identity.  Hence, with limited information to make a first impression it is important to make sure those identities are exactly what a person wants to be reflected.

Questions With Discussion

How strong is your online identity?

I am highly conscious of everything I post online which is why I rarely do.  If I have something to say to a friend I message it rather than post it to their wall.  In the information age sometimes no information is good information.  A lot of my employers never meet me in person and are hiring me off of a resume and a strong recommendation I can not afford for my online identity to give them information that could potentially hinder my employment.  On another note i do not do anything that would compromise my online identity which is another strong benefit.  Also, knowing how to manipulate my online identity to be the best portrayal of myself is a useful skill.

Do you agree with the ruling that employer’s can search your online identity?

I am a strong believer in public record being easily accessible.  Before, you needed a program to run a background check on someone and access their public records and there are quite a few companies that make money off of running these searches.  Now, these companies are obsolete as all too many people are willing to post online information that will tell you more than any public record.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”  It seems that question has been asked since student’s were in elementary school.  It is interesting how that progresses everyone as a child says they want to be an astronaut, pilot, firefighter, etc.  all jobs that sound awesome to a child or even an adult.  As an adult that question becomes terrifying as it is essentially asking how will you pay for your house, car, marriage, children, etc.  I’m banking on the fact I freelance write for quite a few companies and am proficient in SEO, data entry, and technical writing and got my foot in the door early.  I have asked for full time positions with a lot of companies but it is cheaper for them to out source their writing to free lancers and that most full time jobs require a college degree.  I have lucked out that I make a decent living free lance writing but I would love to get a full time position for data entry or SEO writing.  I also have the option of starting an SEO company and I have a few friends who are proficient at SEO writing it would be an executive decision for us to decide to stake the capital and risk going into business for ourselves.   I have had a lot of up and downs in my professional writing experience and I would like for it to continue in an upward path.  I enjoy writing as it beats hourly jobs by a land slide.  Knowing that once you finish the project there is a check in the mail is always a rewarding experience.  I would love to get on a salary position to professionally write as I am a highly goal oriented person and writing jobs are always set on a deadline with a specific goal.

Cited: http://www.world-mysteries.com/sci_17_vm.htm

Rhetorical Analysis:  The Vitruvian Man is an image created by Leonardo Da Vinci to demonstrate the perfect measurements and alignments of the human body.  His audience was scholars and intellectuals to demonstrate how science had worked to make an organism that was optimally suited for survival by being properly aligned.  The image has been circulated for centuries and was even put on the side of satellites for if an alien race found said image they would have an idea of what we looked liked.  The image is prized as a piece of Da Vinci’s intelligence in understanding how the human body is theoretically perfectly formed.

Design Analysis:  Alignment is one of the most important but most overlooked facts in web design.  Da Vinci mastered the art of alignment centuries ago and recognized that alignment does not only appear in design but in real life.  The possible reason for why alignment is so important for web design is possibly because alignment is seen everywhere.  People like what is familiar the Vitruvian Man may not be an advertisement but it reflects exactly what advertisements aim for.  They aim to give you the same thing you have seen a million times before to make you feel comfortable than package their product in a slightly different way to convince consumers they need their product.  Alignment is generally overlooked because it is simple to perform but it is important that items are aligned properly to draw the viewer’s attention to the right area.  Imagine how the image would fail if the arms were where the legs were and vice versa the alignment would be wrong and you would no longer recognize the human body.  The key to alignment is recognizing important information as it is aligned to where the viewer will look.

Cited: http://www.gamingsurvival.com/2010/12/06/raven-software-working-on-new-bond-game/

Rhetorical Analysis:  The above image is the iconic intro to all James Bond films.  The image is plastered in every action movie fans mind so they know they are about to see the action/adventure that is James Bond.  This iconic image has been used for decades and the reason this image has a strong stickiness factor is it’s high contrast which makes it easy rememberable.  The audience for this image is wide reaching as people of all ages appreciate a great action film but it can be presumed they are targeting 18-25 year old males who will be drawn in by sex and violence.  The purpose for the image is simple every action movie that is part of a series has one and James Bond would be lost without one.  There are people who will talk for days about how great the title sequence is.  Also, James Bond is a British film in which they show the credits before the film hence they need to keep the audience entertained with unique title sequences.

 Design Analysis:  The image contains a high level of contrast as it forces the audience to look at the main character James Bond.  He is the only clear figure in contrast to the blank space and the barrel of a scope which is shown in contrasting black and white.  The iconic red filling in the screen starts from the top making your attention slowly go down the entire image but at no point does Bond move from the center.  By making Bond the only clear figure the viewers eye is immediately drawn to him and the negative space in the inner circle only promotes that this picture is all about him.  The winding colors on the scope also makes it hard to focus on the outer image drawing even more attention to Bond.  Also, by having nothing else in the image besides Bond there is no confusion as to what should be focused on.  The key to using contrast effectively is to make sure the viewers eye is drawn to the point you are contrasting against which the Bond image successfully does.  Finally, by using the bright white and the dark black with a splash of crimson red the image is easy to process making it easily recognizable.