Author Archives: Shawn Hoffman

r12: Digital Essay

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htoCf1Owk4I

Sorry for the late post… I’ve had nothing but headaches with technology on this.

So my project began with a feeling of nostalgia—with the end of the year coming up so quickly, I was constantly reminiscing about my time here at Duke.  Similarly, my diving career had just come to an end.  Having consumed 10 years of my life, it’s been tough to let go of it all.  And so I figured, what better way to spend time lingering in the past than to make a video, with narration and pictures and a few video clips, to recap it all?

That being said, my project starts with a some words on the screen, telling a little about my story.  I then talk about my entry into college, discussing some of my worries, fears, etc., before I really even bring up my time at Duke.  I wanted to set the stage for my turnaround (and I had a pretty big one), so I emphasized the partying and disappointment (in my diving) that I felt in the beginning of my video.  I wanted to show a progression, so when I talked about my surgery, I made sure to note that it was at this point that I decided to make a commitment to turn things around.  Not surprisingly, a little bit of work ethic produced better grades and better results in the pool, and I spend the middle of my video talking about those strides that I made.  At the end of the video, I look back on all the people I met and experiences that I’ve had that have changed my life completely.  I end with a narrative that kind of brings the story full circle, and I decided to have a little fun with it in the end, just to show that I’m not a completely different person (I still like to have fun!), I just have a different perspective and a different set of priorities now.  I then have a couple of my best dives from over the past two years inserted at the end, just as sort of a fun thing to finish it with.

In the end, I loved doing the project, but I’m just frustrated with how time consuming the technology aspect was.  I was prepared to spend hours recording, editing, etc., but I wasn’t ready to spend equally as long (if not longer!) trying to download programs to compress or convert files, letting those programs run, using different platforms for different parts of the essay, etc., etc., etc.  It’s definitely been quite the experience!

 

r10: Using the Internet in the Job Hunt

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While looking for something interesting and life-changing for r10, I came across this short article about job searches and networking in the digital age.  It talks about several emerging trends in the digital world of job hunting, including video resumes, job finding websites and apps, and starting your own business.

The emergence of video resumes is a relatively new practice, but the article suggests that, for certain career paths, this can be a way to show your creativity while simultaneously putting a face and personality to the standard name-only paper resumes of the past.  They even suggest that the old portfolio-style paper resumes, career objectives, and cover letter may become obsolete.  While I think this may be a stretch for now, who knows if this is really the trend yet, so this could be an interesting topic to keep your eye on down the road.  They also discuss quick-response links (QRs) that are like barcodes, which allow employers, with the click of a button, to find out more about you.  You can set up pages to link to, etc., and make virtually your entire job application digital.

The article also talks about using the internet in your job hunt.  While this has been going on in recent years as well, they cite the emergence of smart phones and tablets as a newer link to this medium, allowing people to have apps which can find them local job openings, as well as others that can track applications, allowing you to actively stay on top of your job hunt and know when you applications have been reviewed or denied, something which often used to go unknown unless you actually got to the job.  Since timing is everything in finding a job, this can cut out a lot of the waiting around, allowing people to give up on waiting for a job if they can already confirm that their application has been denied.

The last topic discussed is that, if finding a job is coming up empty, the digital world has made it easier than ever to start your own business.  It’s so easy now to network yourself and meet potential clients, that many people are now going this route in favor of playing the waiting game in searching for a job.  And while there are still a lot of other things required to start your own business, there’s no doubt that the digital age in which we live has made it a heck of a lot easier.

Lastly, though, they point out that all this digital recruitment is great, but nothing beats a face-to-face meeting (or even a phone call).  So while digital networking and job hunting is great, the personal aspect is still important.  After all the pieces that we’ve read this semester, I’m not surprised that even this article, which talks about some of the radical new job hunting technologies available in the digital world, isn’t completely ready to abandon the more traditional means of job hunting and networking.  After all, is anyone really ready for that?

r8: Blog Favs

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I’ve enjoyed following everyone’s blogs this semester, especially since this was a new experience for me considering I never had much interest in blogs.  Honestly, my favorite blog was probably Jonathan’s.  Sure, this could be because I love basketball (and just sports in general) and so the topic was reason enough to love it.  But his writing style and perspective on certain topics reflected a lot of my own personal beliefs, and thus is was a pleasure to read someone’s writing who voiced a lot of the things that I think about but never really have an appropriate forum to say them.  For example:

That’s one thing that I love about college basketball and about Duke. The team always comes first, period. It’s about the name in the front of the jersey (the college name), not the name in the back (the player’s name). When a Duke basketball team walks onto the court, there is no ego, only what is best for the team. In the 2008-2009 season, a senior Greg Paulus was benched for freshman point-guard Elliot Williams. This is the same Paulus that had started at the point guard position since his freshman year. But there was never a doubt that the coaching staff had faith in Paulus and was committed to improving him. Coach K was just trying to put the five players that gave him the best chance of winning any given game. Aside from transferring colleges, once you chose a college you were dedicated to that program until you left, and the program was dedicated to you.

I was a huge Greg Paulus fan (I watched him play in the state championship in football his senior year of high school… he was an animal), so this entry caught my eye immediately.  Moreover, Jonathan is able to convey his personal beliefs to his audience without getting to pushy or preachy, and without sounding like a snarky Dukie.  I loved the several comparisons between Duke and the Houston Rockets too, as I think it was great to try and bridge the gap between college and pro basketball, as there currently exists a rather large divide between the two.  To put it simply, though, Jonathan’s blog was a great combination of information and opinion… I actually would prefer reading his eloquent write-ups to some of those incompetent ones from the guys at ESPN!

One of my favorite individual posts that I’ve read, however, comes from Keturah’s blog:

I recently read that #Occupywallstreet may be running out of cash…Is it true? The social, grassroots movement that has spread to countries around the world may be coming to end. How unfortunate! I may not agree with everything #Occupy stands for but I certainly support the light it has shed on social inequality. I know, I know – #occupy has been characterized as unorganized, rogue and blatantly ineffective. In some ways, it is! But, honestly, I think that’s okay. Someone needs to stand up to the bankers who were able to walk away with millions while thousands of Americans lost their homes. I’m totally against any system that squeezes millions of Americans to cater to the 1%. It’s unjust and undemocratic.

Keturah takes on a rather controversial topic, and does so in such a succinct and manner-of-fact fashion that it’s almost impossible to argue her logic.  I wasn’t a huge fan of the occupy movement; I thought it was pretty stupid to think that sleeping in tents was going to change the economic status quo in our country.  But honestly, after reading Keturah’s post, I was able to understand.  Her precise delivery and honesty (“I may not agree with everything #Occupy stands for but…”) make it an effective message, one that can’t be easily brushed aside with simple counterarguments.  So thank you, Keturah, for giving me some perspective on something that I was so quick to write off.

 

r7: Really, Andrew Keen?

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The chapter I’d like to discuss is the essay written by Andrew Keen titled “Web 2.0.”  The more I read of this essay, the more I wanted to find Mr. Keen and punch him in the face.  His comparisons of Web 2.0 and communism made me want to puke, and it’s not because he didn’t make some valid links between the two.  Sure, the digital age has created a narcissistic world in which everything is personalized to people’s opinions.  Anybody can blog about anything (click here!) nowadays, and I agree that it may be taking away from “elite” media.  But to call the digital world communist?  I see the parallels between the two, but communism is such a taboo idea in Western society that to label something as such is a bold statement to make.  People see that word and automatically cringe in fear of having their rights stripped from beneath them.  Simply put, even if the internet evolves into a matrix filled only with blogs and opinionated, ignorant writers, communism is still too strong of a term.  This evokes fears of economic repercussions, of which, the internet will have little to none (in the way of socialist distribution).  And as for the fall of “elite media” or losing “our memory for things learned, read, experienced, or heard?”  Shame on you, Andrew!  There are thousands of websites that have mainstreamed elite media, including major news sites, where every story ever written is a simple click of the mouse away.  The internet has made elite media more accessible, not less.  Sure, there’s more distractions from these reputable sources, but they are in no way destroyed by our digital society.  And you say it’s democratizing talent as though that’s a bad thing?  There are so many incredibly talented people that have gone unnoticed in society and throughout history.  The internet simply levels the playing field so that breaking through requires less of the “who you know” aspect and relies more heavily on how talented you actually are.  Although I’m not a fan (and I repeat, NOT a fan), Justin Bieber is one of the top artists today, and he would be working a part time job and attending community college if his musical and vocal talent hadn’t been discovered via YouTube.

Personalized?  Yes.  Narcissistic?  Sure.  Communist?  Not buying it.  Web 2.0 has created a world with more opportunities and greater access to “elite media,” not less.  So before you call to arms against the internet with a Digital Red Scare campaign, I think you, Andrew Keen, need to reevaluate exactly what the internet brings to the world.  You should start by falling of your high horse and hitting your head — maybe that will knock some sense and reason into you.

r6: “New” Problem or “Volume” Problem?

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In the article “Activism,” the authors make a few key points regarding the internet today and its impact on politics.  Digital media allows anybody to advertise whatever it is that they want people to read or hear, whether it be fact or fiction.  This can lead to uneducated people telling other uneducated people unsubstantiated “facts” about something that they know absolutely nothing about.  Or, to the contrary, this can provide an open forum for people to discuss and communicate ideas about government and political agendas.  It’s all about sifting through the crap until you find something credible.

As for the notion that this is increasing the amount of mudslinging in campaigns… it’s debatable.  Politicians have always had to deal with slander and frivolous accusations during campaigns; after all, I’m sure you’ve all seen political cartoons before.

So maybe the volume of propaganda and misleading information is increasing.  But this is nothing new to the world of politics.  This is something that politicians have dealt with for a long time, and they’re going to have to continue to deal with it for the rest of time.  Being in the spotlight is tough, especially when digital media allows for everyone’s eyes—and ears and mouths and rapidly typing fingers—to be on you.

r5: There’s more than just silly cat videos on YouTube????

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After mulling over this assignment, I decided to search on YouTube.com for “digital essay”s.  After clicking through and watching several videos, I found this one, which I really enjoyed.  It made a good use of the allowances of the internet, using both words and pictures to tell a brief (and perhaps overly simplified) summary of The Kite Runner.  What I liked most though was the focus on certain words that this format allowed for.  Powerful words such as ‘betrayal,’ ‘treachery,’ and ‘war’ appeared on the screen in complete isolation, strengthening both their meaning and resonance in the mind of the viewer.  I thought it was incredible how much weight each of these words carried, especially when iconic (or just perfectly representative) pictures were shown on the next clip.  Between the pictures and the music, I really felt like this is the epitome of the case where “less is more.” I really liked this technique, and I’m contemplating attempting something like this in my own digital essay.

I also found another clip, but while I think it’s a cool idea and worth watching, I wasn’t sure it fell into the “essay” category, as it’s more of just a poem being shown (“We Real Cool”) in concurrence with clips from a movie (A Clockwork Orange).

r4: The Internet

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In Steven Johnson’s essay in The Digital Divide, he talks about the internet and a lot of the positive effects it has had on society.  Personally, I love this chapter, mostly because I’m a huge proponent of the internet.  Thinking more critically, however, I can’t help but question some of the responses that Johnson gives to the common criticisms of the internet.

Near the end of his essay, he specifically addresses the questions of whether or not the internet is causing social isolation.  His arguments seem “hand-wavy” in a way, like he’s just brushing aside all the negatives and pushing the positives front and center.  He argues that the internet has created constant social interaction, and that the notion that it is isolating people is all myth.  I would argue, however, that the internet is increasing social isolation, despite the vast array of ways in which people can communicate with one another digitally.  Sure, we are instantly connected with one another via email, instant messaging, skype, facetime, etc., but I’m not convinced that these are social interactions.  I mean, by textbook definition, of course they are, so in a sense I understand Johnson’s argument.  But I would argue that social interactions are changing so rapidly that these social interactions aren’t the same as the classic face-to-face interactions of the past.

So do you think Johnson is correct when he says the internet doesn’t contribute to social isolation?  Or do you think it creates a new form of social isolation, in which people’s interactions are constantly separated by a screen?

 

r3: IMDB review

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I was holding out until this morning to see if my comment would have been posted to the site yet, but alas, no luck.  Although, without a formal message saying it was declined (does IMDB do that?), I remain optimistic.

After finishing Microstyle, my thoughts wandered back to our discussion about whether or not Johnson had given us something novel or simply reassembled what we already have heard.  And yet, my stance remains the same: I think it is a new perspective on old techniques, a sort of friendly reminder that we can apply everything we’ve learned about writing formally into writing informally (and digitally).

For r3, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do, so I settled on a movie review on IMDB of Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.  As for making use of Johnson’s book, I tried to incorporate several techniques into the post.  First, I used the “Teach an Old Cliche New Tricks” chapter to come up with the title: “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close to Good.”  It was hard for me to incorporate his advice into the actual body of the message, but if I had to pick one I was most conscious of is “Make the Sound Fit.”  I felt that choosing the right words to evoke the right sounds and emotions was important to writing a good review.

UPDATE: Shortly after I posted this, I received an email that my comment was approved.  Here’s the link to my user page, so it’s easier to find my comment.  And yes, I used a fake name, but my user name proves it was me!

r2: “Select the Correct Term”

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My favorite chapter of Christopher Johnson’s Microstyle had to be Chapter 2: “Choose the Right Word.”  As an avid tweeter (twitter-er?), I’m constantly running into this dilemma about choosing the right word.  Should I hashtag it with #nervous or #anxious?  Those words are quite similar, but their subtle difference is extremely important to how people will perceive my tweet (I’m using this example since I recently had this internal dilemma over choosing one of these words on Saturday).  People will read #nervous and likely interpret it as scared and fearful (of the outcome), where they’ll likely interpret #anxious as scared and excited about the event.  I ultimately settled on #nervous, as that interpretation more accurately represented my sentiments about the event.  But having so recently encountered this dilemma, I was certainly drawn to this chapter.

(A little aside before I actually tackle the assignment… have you ever heard of the Chevy Nova?  Well in Spanish, no va means “it doesn’t go.”  Not exactly a great name for a car if you’re trying to market it internationally.)

When I began to look for examples of this technique, I had to look no further than my only online news source: ESPN.  A link under the headlines menu was titled “Washington inks contract extension.”  I immediately thought the word ‘inks’ stood out to me, as most articles would typically say ‘signs’ or something of that nature.  I think the terminology in this case however is extremely fitting.  Ron Washington has been the manager for the Texas Rangers for the past five season, and his team was coming off of back-to-back trips to the World Series.  Tensions were high as he was at the end of his contract, so hammering out this deal gives Rangers’ fans a sense of finality and permanence.  Few things are more permanent than ink; and thus ‘inks,’ while it essentially means the same as ‘signs’ in this instance, seems to be a better word for this scenario, especially to grab the attention of readers instantly and draw them to that specific article over the other dozens on the front page of ESPN’s website.

Maybe not a great example of this, but the only example that I’ve currently used in my own blog, is the title of my first blog post: Pilot.  Originally, I named it this since it was about the pilot episode of Alcatraz (also named “Pilot”).  However, similar to Johnson’s example of Apple, I think there is a useful (and inadvertent) advantage to this name.  Not only was it about the pilot episode of the TV show, but it was also the “pilot” post for my blog.  It may be a stretch, but like I said, I’ve yet to really have a chance to use Johnson’s techniques in my own blog yet (I do have some ideas, including Chapter 9: Say the Wrong Thing – I feel like in a show that deals with deviant individuals, it may work to my advantage to play off of some of this deviance in my postings).