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So I have seen my fair share of street art but this guy takes the cake — or should I say takes the dirt? Not often do we see masterpieces depicted in dirt but the medium here appears less important than the end result.

Recently, my brother-in-law came home furious after seeing that someone has written in dirt on his truck some profanities that should not be repeated. He was so furious! But after seeing this type of art – I would definately welcome having someone paint in dirt on my filthy car.

What do you think?

Is the artist Scott Wade just wasting his time or do you think there is real value in art like this? Check out his website to see more: http://www.dirtycarart.com/

So I have seen my fair share of street art but this guy takes the cake — or should I say takes the dirt? Not often do we see masterpieces depicted in dirt but the medium here appears less important than the end result.

Recently, my brother-in-law came home furious after seeing that someone has written in dirt on his truck some profanities that should not be repeated. He was so furious! But after seeing this type of art – I would definately welcome having someone paint in dirt on my filthy car.

What do you think?

Is the artist Scott Wade just wasting his time or do you think there is real value in art like this? Check out his website to see more: http://www.dirtycarart.com/

Com 495

Reflective Essay

I took this Communications 495 course initially for two very basic reasons: 1) It was a Communications course that fit within my schedule 2) The title “blogging” sounded interesting to me. However, I realized that after completing all the assignments, readings, listening to the lecture-discussion leaders, and creating a blog that this course has enlightened me to the seemingly endless possibilities in web publishing.

Assignments

One of the first assignments was to set up our Com 495 blog. This was such an eye opening experience to me. I had always thought that getting my own website would be hard to set up, and would cost money. However, both of these assumptions were wrong. I set up my account within a few minutes at the end of class and did not spend any money in the process. Although this “free with-out  premium features model” was satisfying initially, as I invested more time in blogging, I learned that “free” on the web often meant “limited” as I wanted more designs, colors, and widgets.

Another assignment I completed was researching qualities of the better blogs on the web. This was another great moment for me as I figured out what I had been doing wrong. For instance, I noticed that some of the better blogs used bullet points and numbers to help readers follow along. From a practical standpoint this changed the way I wrote in the future. Instead of writing longer formal paragraphs I tried to simplify my writing so at a quick glance a reader could easily understand my main points.

Readings

One of my favorite readings from Com 495 was the reading on convergence entitled Your Television is Ringing. I thought this article was a great way of examine how technologies companies in cable, internet, land lines, and cell phones are converging together to provide bundle opportunities for customers.  Before this class I assumed that bundles were essentially “good” for the consumer as it gave them a better deal. After reading the Television is Ringing, however, I developed a different perspective which promoted, instead, the need for competition and specialization of companies to provide superb customer service – not just a great price.

Lectures

I thoroughly enjoyed lectures in this course because they helped develop my blogs in incorporating Youtube videos, pictures, and creative commons images, and obtaining content. Before this class my searching for content was done via Google search, which although helpful, was only one source of searching. After being engaged in lecture, discussions, and lab I now have learned the value of using sites such as Twitter, Facebook, Youtube, Stumbleupon, Delicious, Digg, and many others to find content for my  blog(s).  Creative commons was also a helpful term to understand in creating content on the web. I learned how to do an advanced search in Flickr for only creative commons images to avoid copyright infringement. In addition, the implementation of the creative commons license discussion/lab helped me to inform web users to my policy on copying my content.

Project: Blog

For my project I decided to create another blog at http://theartfan.wordpress.com. From creating and updating a blog I experienced many challenges and successes that opened my eyes to publishing my work on the internet. One of the difficulties I experienced was how time intensive the process became after initially getting the website up a running. For instance, in discovering content to write about I would search the internet for sometimes hours – obviously getting distracted along the way. Eventually, I would find something to talk about and then write another article which depending on length would also take an average of another hour to post. Then I would repeat this process. Meanwhile, marketing the blog became another whole dimension that due to my previous time constraints I only glazed the surface. For instance, I commented on other blogs occasionally referencing my own. Ultimately what I learned is that when I start another blog I will have a team of people discovering, creating, and commenting on content. For instance, I noticed in class that another student (i.e. Liz Lantz) was covering similar content and if we would have realized this sooner perhaps we could have teamed up. I think that organizing a blogging team would make the entire process more interactive and fun.

Another thing I learned is that in order to get exactly what I want with widgets, and designs I would want to buy software like Artisteer and obtain a different host. I really liked one of the sites shown in class with this software and I think that after experiencing the limitations of free web hosting by wordpress.com, I am better prepared to spend some money to enhance the look of my blog/website. In addition, by using other hosts I could have a blog supplemented by Google advertising which is a fantastic way to make some money with a blog.

Final Reflection Remarks

Upon reflection, Com 495 laid a great foundation for my future in online publishing. What seemed difficult and expensive to even begin, was an assumption that was quickly overturned. The assignments led me through a process of writing for the web rather than writing a formal research paper.  The readings provided added material which explained concepts such as convergence and copyright in ways that made me understand the issues. Many different sites in lecture were examined and discussed which aided me in discovering and illustrating my content creation. Lastly, my project blog experience led me to understand that bloggers should definitely be respected for the time that it takes to discover content, create content, design the site, and market the site.

From this class I will take with me the desire to create more web content and explore what other digital technologies are out there. I now realize that I am excited to pursue not only consuming internet content but also creating it in the future.

1) Youtube - After learning how to put youtube links in the blog  (i.e. and seeing how easy this becomes this has been one of the most helpful for me in blogging. It is nice to have a visual representation of what I am talking about so that everyone knows what I am talking about.

2) Slideshare - Call me crazy but I had never used this site before taking Com 495 at the University of Washington. I never realized it was so easy to share on wordpress. This was a great tool for sharing picture too. This is definately something to explore. 

3) Zamzar – When you need to convert files in order to use on your blog, this site is great for this! I have struggled with the conversion of files so much in the past that this has been a godsend when it comes to doing this.  

4) Creative Commons - For this, two sites actually are important.

4a)One is the creative commons licensing that I learned how to copy paste into my site. This allows other readers to see what my policy is on using my work.  

4b) Flickr – The other site is flickr because this site also lets users to an advanced search by creative commons pictures. Before this class, I had no idea that I should have been more careful with copyright and use these tools, not only to protect my work but to prevent me to taking unlawfully others work. Plus, it has loads of picture to choose from.  

5) Delicious - Finding new stuff to explore, discovering new content. Plus bookmarking it. This site helps bloggers do it all is seems.

I am pretty sure everyone in our class has explored all of these sites at this point, but if you haven’t take a look again. For instance, create a powerpoint with music, put it on slideshare and post it on wordpress. This process before seemed too difficult and now it is a reality. I have learned a lot about blogging in this course and I hope to find many more sites that are just as helpful.

Do Customers really want Convergonolopy?

What is interesting though when these companies are combining their services to make bundled plans is that they assume that customers want all these services: land line, cable TV, cell phone, and internet. For me though, with the added  internet capabilities of watching content online, and being able to call people via skype, I am moving away as a consumer from landlines and cable TV. These bundle deals are just a dying attempt by landline companies to retain their customers who move to mobile cell phones. The future is internet and cell phones – or just cell phones if Wifi is everywhere. The only way I would buy a bundle deal is if it was the equivalent to what I would spend on my cell phone and internet. 

Who will Succeed?

The companies which are hesitant to cushion the fall of the landline and cable companies by joining forces are the ones that will survive. The article mentioned specifically that Vodaphone was hesitant if not resistant to the joining of forces. Internet providers and cell phone provides will sell the new innovations that people can’t wait to have, not just the old technologies that are sold to them in a bundle.

I am not arguing that convergence should never happen. I have enjoyed bundled plans in the past. But for the future – the companies that will be more successful are the ones that stand apart and introduce new innovations, and not cling onto the past. The companies that retain control of pricing for their customers and enable highest choice of products while still keeping the price levels down. Basically, good companies will not only converge but will also diverge to maintain their autonomy and individuality in their brand in order to do things different for the customers sake – not just their own.

Inevitability

The game of “convergonopoly” can be brutal for the consumers. Even though right now they claim that their prices are cheaper by getting a bundle. Consumers soon will not need the “extra” services they offer. Vodaphone knows this…hopefully others will observe this inevitablity as well.  

Questions:

1) What companies do you think are most successful at converging? There are obvious gains but what do companies lose when they converge?

2) What companies other than Vodaphone would you assume would be more autonomous (perhaps divergent) paths in the future? Why?

1) I read the University of Washington Daily Newspaper- 2) I read my gmail RSS Reader- 3) I specifically look for news that others discuss in class or at home – 4) or I stumble upon it or see it on TV as I surf, or on the radio

How this must Change: Too Much News Leading to Guilty Pleasures

Through all these different mediums you can imagine how I can get bogged down with too much information. As a result, I am always looking for simplified versions of the news that give me the highlights of the news stories. I also enjoy a format of news that makes fun the situations that celebrities, politicians, businesses put themselves into. Knowing this, my sister led me away from my tendency of watching the Colbert Report, and Jon Stewart and showed me her one news update that she watches weekly…and that is Uncle Jay’s Explains the News . A guilty pleasure news source we now both enjoy.

Here is a Sample from this past September that I thought would especially apply to us as bloggers:

This 3 minute video discusses blogs and how it is different than “professional” Journalism.

History of the Show:

Uncle Jay is Jay Gilbert a Cinncinati radio broadcaster who in the mid 1990′s developed the show on a local television station. However, later he decided to produce and create the content on his own as “technology had reached the point where [he] could pretty much do it all [him]self and post it on the web.” His website now gets 20,000 hits per week with over 130 videos on youtube.

What I like about Uncle Jay:

He simplifies the news. Its short and sweet. It makes fun of everyone it seems! It summarizes the information for you while also providing entertainment.  He is very consistent – Every Monday he comes out with a new 3 minute video explaining the previous weeks news.

What I dislike about Uncle Jay’s Program:

Sometimes it seems like he talks down to the viewers.  Also his technological skills are a bit limited in the video format. He summarizes a full week full of news in 3 minutes which can be limited as well. He has to pick and choose what he thinks is not only important while also being entertaining for everybody.   

Overall, watching this program has got me to wonder about the importance that we place on specific news sources. My sister barely reads any other news sources so Uncle Jay’s 3 minute segment and it is the primary news source for her. However, I read a few other sources that give me a bit more a background/contextual knowledge on some of the issues. I think that a program like Uncle Jay is great as a supplemental news material but can be VERY limited if it is our sole base of information. We should all try to broaden our scopes a bit and make sure be well grounded in facts, and context…however, what’s the harm in a bit of humor as well.

Check out a few of his most recent episodes  . What are some of your most guilty humorous news sources? Let me know…I would love to check them out.

Uncle Jay on Wikipedia

I thought that this article was oh so true when it came to what has changed with the way we use media. Here are a few of the topics that I immediately could relate to with personal examples.

Convergence - I am currently trying to incorporate facebook onto my project blog which has been difficult…but regardless of that fact this shows my asknowledgement of having to put my content on multiple channels blog, facebook, twitter, comments on other pages with links to my site etc.

Everyday - Technology is everywhere and we use it everyday. My personal favorite technology necessities are my cell phone and ipod that I carry with me always.

Global and Generational – This I can cover with two technologies I use often including Skype and Facebook. I recently set up my Grandma with a Facebook account that she checks along with her email. Also, I use Skype at least once a week to talk with my Sister in France.

Topic I Disagree with…Unequal:

I just do not understand how unequal this could be. I have two sisters that are in the public school system right now and both have had some experience producing content for the web. One is taking a digital computer class in 8th grade and the other constantly uses a blog for her English class. Both of the examples show education combating the inequalities. Hmmm.? 

Why the News Media became Irrelevent

After reading this article, although there is definitely some truth to the need for people to connect, I think there are other reasons as well that may explain our reliance on these newer technologies/social networking sites. The article specifically mentioned that traditional news organizations have lost site of the value that they provide for customers by being able to answer questions from readers (not just tweet and retweet without responding to comments & questions).

What I Think…Convenience more Important

I think that people do value the traditional news sources in addition to the newer forms that have become so popular. The problem to me is convenience, not so much value. Whereas the newspaper was the easiest way to read the news, and then the TV news – the internet and the many blogs and websites that predominated made it ever so more convenient for people not only to read the news but to produce it as well. The quickest and easiest way for me to read the news today comes from reading it via RSS reader on my gmail account. I haven’t read the newspaper in months – not because I need interaction with the authors but because it is easier to access online content which is hand selected by me. 

1) What classes (if any) were available in highschool that prepared you for creating content on the web? What did you not learn that put you at a disadvantage?

2) Why are the traditional news organizations losing viewers/readers to other internet content writers? What do you think is missing in their content?

From my experience as a discussion leader I found that the majority of my classmates do not currently use the social discovery tool known as Stumbleupon. Instead I realized that the majority of my classmates generally use the search engine Google to find what they want online. This really surprised me because I figured that a site would have gained a little more momentum in since it has been around since 2001- but it was a fairly new idea for my audience. This was reiterated when I asked them what other companies do similar types of discover searching as stumbleupon and there were no comparable companies mentioned.

Although the class did not know exactly what I was talking about it was a great educational discussion which led many of them to discover the website for themselves. For instance, from comments on my blog, I found that those who did use the technology (after hearing my presentation) were happy to find content that suited their preferences. One classmate even mentioned how easy it was to get “addicted” to the ultimate “time waster.” After hearing these “tried and succeeded stories” I feel like my discussion accomplished it’s intent to facilitate actively learning about a company that is changing the way we search the internet for information.

My Overall Experience

I was happy to learn about this new social discovery tool and now use it probably more often than I should. It enables me to find content that appeals to me. The site has also helped me to brainstorm ideas, and develop content for my other blog theartfan.wordpress. com. I learned many of the great features of a site like StumbleUpon which includes being able to share content easily on social networking sites and being able to channel surf my favorite channels. Also, I feel like I have a choice now when I go to google I know I am searching for something specific – when I stumble I am just trying to find something new to view for fun and sharing.

Here are my priorities for this next week: (Italicised = work in progress)

1) Change Header Image

2) Add About Page Photo

3) Optimize Tagging with Yahoo and Google

4) Keep trying to connect it with Facebook (already tried MEEB, but it still does not connect with my blog?)

5) Keep commenting on other similar blogs (I will start commenting on Liz’s since she is covering artsy stuff too)

6) Keep putting out content! (Use delicious to find other similar sites to discover content out there)

PREVIOUS POST: (Bolded = DONE)

Purpose: We will showcase various forms of art and discover new sites that everyone will enjoy viewing.

Goal: Showcase what I have learned through the process of creating a “functional” blog.

“Functional” is defined by me with various factors that will be included. For instance, picking and editing an appropriate design, updating the blog consistently (at least once a week), and providing video and imagery that helps to demonstrate my opinions on certain issues. Also, trying to figure out how to promote my blog would also be important with getting it to come up on google and yahoo searches. Obviously, linking to some of the competitor websites may be a good way of promoting my own.

Heres my plan broken down into steps:

Find an Audience:

In this case, I will be appealing to mostly to people with a general interest to contemporary art (1950′s to today)

Begin to Blog: (week 1)

1) Sign up for blog/Create a blog domain name

2) Customize the blog design colors/structure etc

3) Update the About Page with info and picture

5)Update Settings to my desired privacy levels

6) Start making Add blog entries with creative/unique entries with engaging content

Promote/Market  blog: (Week 2)

7) Optimize tagging and more search engine friendly work with Yahoo and Google

Figure out how to make your status updates connect with Facebook and Twitter

9) Make comments on other blogs with a link back to my blog

Just Keep Doing what I am doing: (Week 3/4)

10) Stick to my Theme of being an an art fan

11) Keep updating, and keep commenting

12) Add Creative Commons Logo

Measures of Success

For this blog to be considered a success for me I will have an engaging site which is what I would consider “functional”. I will have links to other sites and videos that help engage my audience. In addition, I will implement online marketing techniques which will add traffic to my site. I will have learned how to market by engaging with other sites. Also I will learn what types of topics interest people the most, and promote a informational and well as entertaining site for people to enjoy.