Comments on blogs

In class we had to comment on another students blog. I had one student comment on one of mine. It was a blog I had written about a bad grade scenario. The fact that other students were going to read my blogs did not bother me. It's not as if they were going to read a page from my journal, if I had one that is. I did not mind someone commenting on my blogs either. It would help me know that what I wrote made some kind of sense and that others felt the same way. It's one thing for a professor to read your blogs but for another student to read it is less pressure because they are in the same boat. There are no right or wrong answers when it comes to writing a blog. It's only the matter of reaching the minimal word count and making sure to address the topic at hand. Even though we all had the same topics to write about, we all have different answers or ways in which we express them. It is really interesting to see how other students went about completing the assignments and what their views are. From this we can either gain something that was missed or change our views on the topics completely.

Reflection on timeline

In class today we had to get in our groups and make a timeline about the vlog I chose for my descriptive essay. We started off with three main points in the timeline. The points are the beginning, the middle, and the end. The starting point of the timeline is supposed to represent the beginning of the vlog. The middle point is the minute that lies in the middle of the vlog and the ending point is the last minute of the vlog. We had to write a single description of the vlog at each one these points. Then we added points between each of the first three along with a single description. This activity was to help us develop the main points we would then turn into our paragraphs by elaborating on each point. This timeline helped a lot to better organize my essay and to come up with topic sentences easier. It also helped to give my essay a better flow with what was actually going on in the vlog. I often have trouble trying to start off an essay, even a paragraph for that matter. This activity helped to put my main topics in a more simplistic yet very organized format. Once I had the main topics, all I had to do is just elaborate on each topic by adding more details and descriptions of each of them. This would have been more difficult if I had just went right into writing the essay with out any basis on what I was doing. Another thing that would have helped with me writing this essay is to see an example of a complete descriptive essay. I find that when it comes to writing it is easier to see examples of what is expected in the essay. With any other topic it would not have mattered but I have always had a hard time writing. Not really in coming up with ideas , but in organizing them so that they flow together. Once I can get beyond that barrier writing would be a lot easier for me and I wouldn't procrastinate when it came down to it.

Vlog description

I chose a vlog titled "My First Vlog+Most Embarrassing Moment" to write my descriptive essay . It's by a guy named Steven from Canada and is quite the character. I chose this vlog because out of the thirty vlogs I watched, this one was the most active and entertaining. The whole video takes place in his room. He pops up from the bottom of the screen and introduces himself to the world. Then he talks about how he found out about vlogging. He does this by adding a few articles of clothing and saying what his friend told him about vlogging in a snobby British accent. He then goes on to talk about the things he likes starting with his favorite movies. A names a few movies but hides behind the last one as if though he's embarrased to have it in his collection. He then states that his favorite animal is a bear while holding a picture of a bear. Then he does a quick cut to a scene of him posing as a bear as a sample of a bear growling is heard in the background. After that he talks about how he has always wanted to play the accordian. Then it cuts to a scene of him playing the accordian but not doing a very good job and he just gives up. He says, "Maybe another day" and goes into another topic. The next thing he talks about is his plants. He gives the names of his plants, which are Phil and Lil. Then you can hear the theme song from The Rugrats as he sways his head back and fourth. After he talks about the things he likes, he mentions that he has always wanted to do a backflip. Then the camers cuts to his attempted backflip and quickly cuts back to him with a dissapointed face. The next topic is about his most embarrassing moment and he tells everyone to keep this to themselves, as if trying to be funny. He talks about a chior recital that takes place when he was twelve. The day of the show the lead got sick and Steven was asked to replace him. What his teacher didn't know was that he started puberty the day before, so when he went on stage to sing he sounded like a teradacktyl. He then says that he hopes everyone that views his vlog will injoy it and he promises to keep up the entertainment.

Today's You Tube Video

In class we watched a video titled " An Anthropological Introduction to You Tube" by Mike Wesch. It explained how You Tube was formed and how it grew so rapidly. I often log onto You Tube to watch movies or listen to music, but I never really thought about how it was constructed. It's amazing to find out how the web page was made. It is a real good example of how fast information can travel over the Internet. Another thing is that people can relate to each other through these videos. Not only can I look up movies or music videos, I can also look videos that are very informative or D.I.Y based. It was interesting to see that videos done right out of your home that cost nothing can overcome the mainstream mediocre videos that cost thousands to make. Wesch talks about how his video that cost nothing made it to the top ten videos viewed in almost a week and how it won over the Super Bowl commercials. Then he talks about how a boy created his own song and video of him dancing to this song and how it spreads over the world in just days. He becomes famous and actually makes an official video that explains how it was spread through mass media. I sometimes get nervous talking in front of crowds of people I don't even know. You Tube gives people in the same situation a chance to express themselves in their most comfortable state . Other people can watch your videos and react to them in their most comfortable state making it very intimate without the awkward silence and embarrassing moments. Some people can argue with your points and views and others can agree with them without caring what other people think. It is just cycles of information going on and on and passing on to other cycles. Wesch also talks about how people start to create other personas and how others got upset by this. I don't see why people should get angry about this. Getting infront of a camera can often drive a person to act out in ways they usually don't in person, especially in the comfort of their own room.