blog 6

     For my next project, I think I am going to write about hipsters.  There is a lot of speculation as to who they are, but I would like to get to the bottom of it.  I think I could make an entertaining and accurate paper.   I assume I will do a considerable amount of reading/observing.  I think I will read a lot about them on blogs (hispter) and probably in on social media.  I am excited for this paper-- if you allow it. 

Blog 5

Reading about social construction gave me perspective into all of the subliminal cues we can pick up on to classify someone else.  I think people are very concerned with being able to fit others into a definable category.  Although I think it is absurd, it is the world we live.  As Hanfler addresses, “A person who has a strong bond to society and has little reason to break the rules will be dissuaded from deviance.”  This is where the idea of normalcy comes into play.  Although the rules aren’t explicit, one can easily distinguish “normal” from “abnormal.”  However, all the time, we are encouraged to be ourselves.

As it turns out, “being yourself” is the thing that fits you into a category. Hanfler discusses the Skinhead subculture and all of the minutiaes that can differentiate subcultures within the Skinhead lifestyle.  Hanfler points out, “Something as seemingly simple as  a shoelace  can hold significant meanings. To some skins, wearing white laces signifies white pride, red laces white power, and yellow laces hatred of police.” Ridiculous! Regarding social construction, Skinheads have attributed shoelaces to hold meaning!  

Similarly, Young discusses how school has fit into a norm as well in “Students Rights to They Own Language.”  Young reflects “it may be true that the standard language is [...] a device for protecting the status quo, but that very truth is a reason for teaching it to students.”  Young discusses how if students were permissible to write with their own voice, it would allow prejudices to take root. I think he raises a valid argument.  Even as I write now, I am following a list of rules within the english language.  I began this paragraph with a different thought and I am doing my best to follow the grammatical, accepted practices of the english language.   

Both articles relate to the TED talk  by Sam Killerman, “Understanding the Complexities of Gender.”  In the talk, Killerman discusses what it means to “be a man and vs. a women” in our society.   He questions why the world we live in cares so much about it.  Men “should” be strong and women “should” be passive. Again, our fixation on categorization is not something I support.

I think all three represent what social construction is doing to our society.  I fear soon we will live in a place where everyone is so goddamned scared to be different, creativity will seis.  I think it would be interesting if you could see the life of someone immersed in society and the same life totally secluded from any norms.  Would they be the same them?

blog 4

Introduction (p. 9-12)

“As soon as he wakes up in the morning, Ronnie, an undergraduate student at a large, Midwestern research university, sends a tweet from his phone, which lets his roommates know he’s awake. Rather than leaving a paper note for them in the kitchen, Ronnie visits their private group page on Facebook. On his walk to class in the morning, Ronnie takes a picture of some graffiti in front of a local restaurant and sends it to Twitter. Unwinding before orchestra rehearsal on an unseasonably warm day, Ronnie and his roommates blare music from the roof of their apartment building, and Ronnie films a 12-second video of a squirt-gun fight and posts it to Facebook and Twitter. He ends his evening studying in the library on campus, listening to music through the website last.fm, which records his music preferences and shares them with his friends. While he often works alone, Ronnie is always connected to friends on campus and across the country through his use of social network sites, his daily offline activity integrated into his online identity. For Ronnie, social network sites are intricately woven into the tapestry of his daily literacy practices; they play a large role in how he interacts with others in his personal and professional life as well as how he presents himself to different audiences. For students like Ronnie, everyday literate activity takes place in networked digital environments, which shape their literacy practices and their online and offline lives. “

This section makes me really want to explore my partner further.  Buck has such a good understanding of the case study that she is able to walk us through Ronnie’s entire day!  Maybe it is because Buck studied multiple platforms.

Methods (p. 12-13)

"Ronnie’s case study is part of a larger study of undergraduate and graduate stu- dents’ literacy practices on social network sites. The undergraduate students in this study, attending a large, Midwestern research university, were recruited during the Spring 2010 semester by class visits to an advanced composition course focused on composition through a variety of media, including image, audio, and video."

I think this section of Buck’s methodology is helpful to me.  I hadn’t introduced our whole class’s assignment, something that I could easily explain better.

“the research interviews, for example, allowed me to gauge my own interpretations of comments Ronnie posted online, as well as to gain background information unavailable in the textual activity I recorded. “

Buck does a really good job of explaining why she did the things she did.  I need to do a better job of this. 

Results (p. 13-30)

“Ronnie primarily used a Dell laptop for his social media use; he also bought an iPhone during the course of the study, through which he also updated social network sites. “

I enjoy these small “fun facts” that show the reader how much we can learn from exploring another’s social media account.

“My friend’s in the, he’s a railroad engineer, so if any time I’ll see a train I kinda tell him about it, so I saw that in the bathroom at [a bar on campus] so I just tweeted him. Just like that."

This example demonstrates the ways in which Ronnie’s location, daily activi- ties, and social networks were laminated onto his literate activity. He frequently photographed an object he encountered in his daily life and shared it with a friend through Twitter or a different social network site. “
Gathering verbatem speech will be especially valuable for this project’s authenticity.  I already have screenshots of several of my partner’s tweets, but I think more would be better. 

Discussion (p. 30-34)

“In the six months after Facebook changed its privacy settings, he migrated most of his information off of the site. “

Again, Buck has learned so much of his study!  I think I will explore my partner’s tweet tendency, and ask about any time-gaps I notice.

“Oudshoorn and Pinch (2003) note the importance of studying users’ connec- tions to and take-up of technologies and to study those technologies within “their context of use” (p. 2). “

Buck sources other authors frequently in her research.  I think this will be something I need to do as well.

Conclusion (p. 34-36)

“Ronnie represents a rather extreme case of social network site use, both through the number of sites he used and the amount of activity he engaged in on each site. “

Buck was able to scour classrooms to find the “ideal social media user,” so I think she had an advantage.  My partner rarely tweets, yet I am asked to do the same work.  I think it will be more challenging for me, but I am not scared of the challenge.

“As people participate in social network sites, they encounter important questions about data management and ownership, privacy, and identity representation “


I think this is a wonderful thought.  I need to ask myself how it relates to my partner and include it in my conclusion as well. 

blog 3

    Buck's article points out, "Early scholars of identity online (e.g., Turkle, 1995) saw the Internet as a place where identity was fluid and disconnected from users’ identities in offline spaces"
    I would ask then, if she saw her "actual identity" (actions, thoughts, ect.) to reflect her "internet identity."

    Buck also turns to Williams (2009), who "discusses the ways in which individuals on social network sites use popular culture icons and references to represent themselves.
    Stemming off of this thought, how do you find yourself representing you most... Quotes? Pictures? Songs?

    After reading Buck's thoughts, I am curious to find out how my partner sees how she portrays herself to others online-- meaning how she thinks we see her. 

    Do you need social media, and explain the importance of it in her life.

   Will you use social media forever? How do you see it impacting her future? <--- do you take precautions to "sensor" your social media for her future's sake?  

   Does she feel comfortable with how safe her information is on the internet?

   Why do you tweet?  What is the underlying meaning for tweeting?

   How are you different than others online?

   Do you ever consider deleting a social media account?  Why? (I think we all have considered it, yet I personally never have deleted a social media account)

    If your tweet receives "no love," do you delete it? Have you ever? Why?

    If you could change anything about twitter, what would it be?

    Would a world without social media be a better place? Why?

    

    

Blog 2

After reading Kima Jones’, "Writers of Color Flock to Social Media for a New Way to Use Language,” Erin Zammett Ruddy’s, "Facebooking: Why I Didn't Post this Photo to Facebook" and "Hashtag Activisim in 2014: Tweeting 'Why I Stayed,'" I find many similarities, yet also glaring differences between each author.  

I found Kima Jones to have very strong views.   She expressed her concern for the equality of “writers of color.”  Jones writes “... unless we write towards the universal human—which, of course, is code for white person—our work would not be understood, or read or taught.”  Albeit, I am not a “writer of color,” I think she is wrong.  I think writing provides unbiased equality for anyone.   

Erin Zammett Ruddy’s was an enjoyable read.  I found it ironic that her honesty about not Facebooking was coming from a blog post (very similar), but also accurate.  I actually found myself agreeing with a lot of what she is saying. However, if people can't express their "not as good" lives on Facebook, where would they go?

Audie Cornish speaking with Bev Gooden, creator of the hashtag #whyIstayed was interesting as well.  I think Bev’s story is a great representation of how vast and powerful social media (specifically twitter) is becoming.   In addition, the “social media revolution” has created opportunities for people to express themselves through writing and imagery.

Whereas the topics each author address aren’t the same, I think each had intentions along the same vein.  Each have published stories regarding movements that have happening- or are happening.  I think these three articles provide us examples of how influential writing can be.  

Harris would attribute each author to being a part of a different community.  Jone’s niche is civil right’s writing, Ruddy appears to be a daily blogger and Cornish draws attention to “hashtag activism.” Each belong to their own niche’s yet they all fight for a specific cause.  Each are writing to increase awareness on their respective issue. Although Harris discredits forums to being a “community,” he proceeds to explain “while community loses its rooting in a particular place, it gains a new sense of direction and movement.”  I think this sums up the three articles for this week’s blog.  The articles are different in reason, yet united in intent. Harris’ article stresses “our aims and intentions in writing are thus not merely personal, idiosyncratic, but reflective of the communities to which we belong."  We must learn then, to write well. Our communities, then, will learn to better understand and accept others as a result.

David Motz

My name is David Motz and I am a junior Advertising student at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.  Initially, I studied Mechanical Engineering. I wanted to do something that I thought I would enjoy and (mostly) make a lot of money. Three semesters in I realized I no longer wanted to be a robot with a lot of money when I grew up. I have always been good at art and my friends expressed to me what a waste of talent I was. I took their advice and decided to switch programs... to art. This scared me. Still hungry for money, I began researching the major. It seemed transferring to a more respected school in the field would surely seal my future. I was granted admission to five well known art schools across the country and ultimately ended up in San Francisco. Halfway through my first semester, I hadn't learned anything. The school wasn't at all what my recruiter led me to believe. I didn't know what to do. I knew I could get a really nice degree from San Francisco and probably get a good job, yet I wouldn't have the knowledge required for said job. I knew I had to transfer... again. So here I am, back in good ole Nebraska. I love and appreciate it all the more having experienced somewhere else. My father helped me to realize it doesn't matter what you do; so long as you love it and fully commit yourself to it. 

​As far as writing goes, it seems that I only write when I must.  When assigned a scholarly paper, I find myself struggling through each sentence, hoping I am doing what is asked of me.  Practically the only time I write outside of school is to write music.  Even if I have not yet composed a song, I enjoy writing one.  I think it provides an awesome outlet that I can keep to myself, or choose to share with others.  Talking about things often relieves me from the “weight” they bear, yet, I am not very good at talking about the things that bother me.  This is why writing is useful to me.  It provides an opportunity to express myself in an organized format.  

​After reading through Harris’ interpretation of writing and community I have gained a new perspective on college.  Harris points out that each college has it’s own “language” and that it is the teacher’s job to teach their students to speak the respective languages.  In order for a student to be respected in each field, they must learn to write and talk in the field’s language.  After learning the new language, the students are then accepted into a new community.  However, the students must have their own thoughts, rather than simply regurgitating what the teachers have taught.  Mastering the language of the new community allows entrance into the community.  ​

​I think Harris’ ideas shed light on what many of my professors in the Advertising college have taught me.  I have repeatedly been told that we must learn to communicate our thoughts to those who have no understanding of our field.  This allows us to do business with those who are in different communities.  If we are able to master communicating our field’s ideas to other fields, our possibilities become far greater. 

Blog 1. Harris

     My name is David Motz and I am a junior Advertising student at theUniversity of Nebraska, Lincoln.  Initially, I studied Mechanical Engineering.I wanted to do something that I thought I would enjoy and (mostly) make alot of money. Three semesters in I realized I no longer wanted to be a robotwith a lot of money when I grew up. I have always been good at art and myfriends expressed to me what a waste of talent I was. I took their adviceand decided to switch programs... to art. This scared me. Still hungry formoney, I began researching the major. It seemed transferring to a morerespected school in the field would surely seal my future. I was grantedadmission to five well known art schools across the country and ultimatelyended up in San Francisco. Halfway through my first semester, I hadn't learned anything. The school wasn't at all what my recruiter led me tobelieve. I didn't know what to do. I knew I could get a really nice degree from San Francisco and probably get a good job, yet I wouldn't have the knowledge required for said job. I knew I had to transfer... again. So here Iam, back in good ole Nebraska. I love and appreciate it all the more having experienced somewhere else. My father helped me to realize it doesn'tmatter what you do; so long as you love it and fully commit yourself to it.
    As far as writing goes, it seems that I only write when I must.  Whenassigned a scholarly paper, I find myself struggling through each sentence,hoping I am doing what is asked of me.  Practically the only time I write outside of school is to write music.  Even if I have not yet composed asong, I enjoy writing one.  I think it provides an awesome outlet that I cankeep to myself, or choose to share with others.  Talking about things often relieves me from the “weight” they bear, yet, I am not very good at talking about the things that bother me.  This is why writing is useful to me.  Itprovides an opportunity to express myself in an organized format.
     After reading through Harris’ interpretation of writing and community I have gained a new perspective on college.  Harris points out that eachcollege has it’s own “language” and that it is the teacher’s job to teach theirstudents to speak the respective languages.  In order for a student to berespected in each field, they must learn to write and talk in the field’slanguage.  After learning the new language, the students are then accepted  into a new community.  However, the students must have their ownthoughts, rather than simply regurgitating what the teachers have taught.Mastering the language of the new community allows entrance into thecommunity.

     I think Harris’ ideas shed light on what many of my professors in theAdvertising college have taught me.  I have repeatedly been told that we must learn to communicate our thoughts to those who have no understanding of our field.  This allows us to do business with those whoare in different communities.  If we are able to master communicating our field’s ideas to other fields, our possibilities become far greater.