Three Self Portraits!

“Do Not Stop Walking”

The self portrait titled “Do Not Stop Walking” is a self portrait of a person who literally never stops walking, at least for the sake of the video. There was a brief moment where she paused at a stop light but for the most part she was walking. The message that was trying the director was trying to get across was keep going and never stop going because life never stops going.

This video shot a lot of foot shots and minimal full body shots. I think it was appropriate to shoot the video this way because when you think of walking feet is a common thought that pops up. Also I would like to point out that although the text was a lot it went well with the flow of the video. The text was directive and descriptive at the same time. I say directive because when it mentioned turning left or turning right the main character in the film turned left and then turned right. I would say this was descriptive because the text read “sometimes I walk too fast…then I get lost.” At that moment the video was showing the main character being lost.

Overall I think this video was well put together. The music was also a nice touch. It grabbed your attention and kept it. I think that the words helped keep my attention because a 3 min+ video that consisted mostly of feet shots would have lost my attention in the first minute.

“Student Video with Objects to Represent Himself Metaphorically”

This self portrait video was a video of a young man (assumed) who shows his life through objects. Most of his video was various objects throughout his apartment. He broke the video down into his life, his music and from the beginning frames of a camera and pictures, his photography. I like the idea of him letting the objects doing the “talking.”

Unless you know the man behind this self portrait it is unclear if you see him in the video. He stayed true to his theme of objects describing him except for the part where there is two guys playing instruments. We can infer that the guy playing the guitar is the face behind the video.  The only text he used was titles i.e. “My music.” His choice to opt out of the use of a lot of text was a good choice. I think the use of words would have defeated the purpose of showing himself through objects. Also he used music that was instrumental. I think sometimes using music with words takes away from the video itself.

Overall I think the person who did this self portrait did an amazing job. He did not make it overly literal. He used good solid music and less text. He made a bold statement about his life using metaphors. This video made me think of the saying “a picture is worth a thousand words.” In my opinion he said a million words with this video by not using text or saying words.

“My Most Important Self-Portrait”

This self portrait was the most touching of them all. The guy who did the self portrait was at a battle with being morbidly obese. A majority of the film was of him sitting in a chair in front of a black board counting down the amount of weight he had lost. He did use instrumental music but his voice was more prevalent. The message this video was trying to portray at face value was the struggles of losing weight when morbidly obese.

This self portrait reminded me of one of those commercials where people’s thoughts are just being spewed out, and it sounds like there are a million thoughts being said and constant rambling. I actually liked that it made me think of that. This self portrait in my opinion was very candid and it made it so raw and emotional. Raw emotion is appropriate for this topic. His thoughts seemed as if they were off the top of his head without being scripted or edited.  The use of Black and White helped convey his message. He delivered the serious message in a somewhat of a gloomy way and the black and white effect made it more powerful. His use of animation did not lessen the serious factor.

Overall this video was my favorite out of all the videos. This man really owned the idea of self portrait. He put his entire self candidly in a video about something that was affecting his life. He used a very direct way to express himself. I applaud his bravery for broadcasting this part of his personal life.

Wiki Feelings

I had a few challenges with this project:

1.       Finding a topic

2.       Writing a thousand words about the topic

3.       Finding perfect free pictures that go with my topic

4.       Working with wiki

You never realize how much little contribution you have to give to the world until you are asked to write an assignment giving directions on something you are good at it. This was one of the hardest things for me to do. I never gave much thought into what I was good at. Let alone explaining it in detailed steps.  Finally with help I realized I am a good student but I am an even better public relations student.

An assignment forcing a thousand word post can be a bit blah. At times I felt like I was starting to use words as space fillers. I would stop leave and then come back to it. So I can assure good quality steps in my wiki how instead of just trying to hit the thousand word mark. This is tough in a way.

Finding pictures that the wiki administrators would not remove was tough. I decided not to use my own pictures or pictures of myself in this assignment. In a way you can say I made it tough on myself. I found about 4-6 good pictures that depicted the message I was trying to convey in the step. I used morgue file which I remembered was a pretty good site. The only problem with that is if you do not know how to word what you are looking for you may come up with empty search results.  

Working with Wiki was a pain overall. There are so many stipulations to putting a post up. The minimum word count was a thousand words. You have to have 3 sources and your pictures had to be attributed. I felt like I was writing a paper for my class. This is a how-to website, I think the person writing how-to do something would be an expert in that field.

Using Wiki how was my first experience with coding. I think it went pretty well for my first time. Once you get the hang of it its super easy. When I hear coding I think of computer lovers sitting behind their computers with coffee coming up with codes. When I heard we had to code our Wiki pages I was like wholly crap I’m an intermediate computer lover. How the heck am I suppose to code a page? I think Wiki’s layout makes coding for their website simple.

The thing I hate the most is the fact that anyone can edit your article. When I posted my article I had like 6 edits the next day. Wiki kills me how strict they are about the content you post but the only thing you need to screw someone’s post is a wiki account or a facebook account.

Although this was a pain it was also an interesting experience. I think there is a first time for everything. I’m a little excited knowing that someone may use my content as a reference. Posting my wiki how article was the first time I have ever posted official content online. (If you count facebook posts or tweets then that would mean this is my billionth online post.)

Finished Wiki How

Being a successful public relations student is not easy. Success is measured by how much knowledge and opportunity you get out of something. The following steps will guide you in being a successful public relations student.

 1. Research - Choosing a major can be stressful but if public relations is something that you are interested in than communication studies is where you want to start off at. Some colleges and universities will not have a major titled “public relations.”

For example: Buffalo State College has an undergraduate program that is titled “Public Communication” The following is a description of the program given on the Buffalo State College website, “This major allows students flexibility to tailor a program based on strategic communication through the disciplines of public relations, advertising, and related fields. It meets the needs of students preparing for a career in which research, strategic planning, implementation of creative tactics, and evaluation are central, whether to advance an organization, promote a product, or advocate a cause. Compare this major with communication studies, journalism, and media production.” Buffalo State College: Public Communication Major

Other undergraduate programs may title their programs: Media Relations, Communication Studies etc…

http://morguefile.com/archive/display/540571

2.  Apply and get accepted into a college/university with a public relations major or a similar major – When applying to colleges/university you want to look for a school that will help you get the most out of being a public relations student. The school's program should gives you a hands-on experience and opens doors for you. A good way to determine if a school’s public relation major is strong is by seeing if they are accredited. The following quote is a definition of what accredited is off of the Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communications website, “Accreditation is a system of voluntary self-assessment and external review of educational institutions and of professional programs offered by those institutions. 
Accreditation provides an assurance of quality to students, parents, and the public. 
In the accrediting process, the performance of educational units is measured against national standards.”
To accredit is to assure basic standards of excellence

Another good way to determine the strength of a school’s public relations department is by examining the professors in the department. You want to look for professor's work experience and the contributions they have made to public relations as a whole.


3. Get acquainted with the ins and outs of your campus library – Public relation students spend a great deal of their time in the library. Public relations require a fair amount of reading, writing and speaking. The library is a place to do 2 out of 3 of those things. Speaking in the library will annoy your peers around you.

 http://morguefile.com/archive/display/638236

4. Become a better writer – There is a misconception that public relations only consist of giving speeches. If you are not ready to write then being a public relations student is not for you. Public relations students are no strangers to research papers. A strategic campaign will be no less than 30 pages and it should be grammatically correct, follow AP style of writing, and detailed. If you write a strategic campaign correctly 30 pages is not enough.

http://morguefile.com/archive/display/663524

5. Invest in the latest AP style-writing guide – There is a certain way to write when writing various pieces. An AP style-writing guide can teach you the correct way to write for different pieces. You may have to write a newsletter and if you do not know how to write a news piece this will be your best friend. This book will give you a step-by-step guide in writing anything journalism, public relations or media production related.

6. Get comfortable with public speaking – You will have classes that are devoted to public speaking. Giving speeches as an individual or in a group will be the basis of the entire class. (refer to step 4, although speech classes requires speaking you will spend a lot of time writing the speeches as oppose to the time you will spend delivering the speech.)

7. Stay up with current events – Knowing what is happening in the world is important. You cannot be a successful public relations student if you don’t keep up with current events. Public relations deals with news and media, and knowing what is happening locally, nationally and internationally will give you a leg up.

http://morguefile.com/archive/display/22213

8. Diversify your studies – Diversity in your education is fundamental. As much as we would like to eat breathe and sleep public relations we cannot because we will not be successful. Why will you not be successful? A lot of public relation students know how to communicate well but the problem is that they don’t have anything to communicate about. Picking a minor or double majoring will contribute to your success as a public relations student and as a future public relations professional.


9. Intern as much as possible – Internships can be done for credit and is a great way to gain experience in your future career in public relations.

10.  Network – The Importance of Networking “It has been said that the best jobs come from word of mouth… Experts agree that networking is worth your time and effort and can help you get ahead in the professional world.” Your professors, peers and supervisors may have access to resources that you will never know about unless you network.

Advisor and professor's play a major role in your college career. A lot of PR professors either have years of experience in the field of public relations or in other closely related fields. When looking for classes to take or just needing to talk about a career path your professors can help you. When you are not doing well in a class your professor may be able to help you and give you some useful tips on how to keep up with the class.
Seeing your academic advisor is the second most important thing to do besides talking to your professors. Your academic advisor has the degree that you are pursuing and higher degrees than that. They once sat in courses similar to yours. They can help with close to anything academic related. Building a good rapport with these people can help get into grad school or get your dream job. If they know you well they can write a stellar recommendation on your behalf that will go a long way.  

http://morguefile.com/archive/display/169967

The previous steps are what you need in order to be a successful Public Relations student. I hope you enjoy. I put a lot of effort in this.

*All photos were taken from morgue file

WEB 2.0: my opinion and the experts facts

Web 2.0? I never knew it existed!

I never knew there was such a thing as Web 1.0 or Web 2.0. I thought that it was all the same thing: The World Wide Web. I have always noted the change in the internet from when I first used it up until now. The graphics are better, the pages upload quicker etc… Never did I think that there was a 1.0 and a 2.0. I guess I should have knew this since my days of using AOL and going through all of their changes as far as AOL 1.0 , 2.0, 3.0 etc… In the reading “Core Characteristics of Web 2.0 Services,” It states that web 2.0 is defined by several definitions which are: “User-centered design, Crowd-sourcing, Web as Platform, Collaboration, Power Decentralization, Dynamic Content, Software as a service (SaaS), Rich user experience”

I think that Web 2.0 in simple terms is a medium to interact and network with others through the internet. This means all social networking sites (i.e facebook, tumblr, twitter etc…) Also websites that allow you to contribute to the content. Sort of like the wiki pages that we are doing in class. I think that Web 2.0 has lived up to the hype. At least I know it has lived up to my expectations and has even impressed me. The current wiki page project has a role in my being impressed with Web 2.0. We went over editing content on wikihow. My only concern was that anyone could edit content but since wiki requires references it didn’t bother me as much.

Web 2.0 as is.

Web 2.0 still has not been properly defined in fact it was considered a http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1008839 "Marketing Buzz-Word" when it was brought about. Web 2.0 got its name at a conference with Tim O’Reilly and MediaLive international. They just thought it sounded good and would make sense. Web 2.0 can be seen as an upgrade from Web 1.0. To move up a number is the same as moving up another level. Tim O’Reilly wrote What is Web 2.0 that was seen as the first attempt to define Web 2.0 he made the analogy of Netscape V.S. Google.  Netscape is Web 1.0 and Google is Web 2.0. Google (Web 2.0) is praised for the fact that it was “not sold or packaged” or came in a cd form but “delivered as a service.” Web 2.0 is also praised for the fact that is not “software” but is a database.  

There are six big ideas of Web 2.0 according to Paul Anderson

       1.        User generated content –This is seen just by the use of the various wiki sites.

2.       Harness the power of the crowd – “Asking the audience” Websites are going to the people who use the websites for information and not just formulating their own ideas and getting their own information and neglecting the voice of the audience.

3.       Data on an epic scale – Information is readily available

4.       The architecture of participation –“the service gets better through normal use- a side effect - as more use it.”

5.       Network effects - There is so many people on the net. The net can be viewed as an opportunity to network from anywhere at any time.

6.       Openness – Flow of free data that is available and not very limited in what could be found.

Some feel that Web 2.0 is a negative thing based on idea six. Openness leads to a privacy and security issue. How much is too much? Web 2.0 creates security challenges Hacking into computers to find out other peoples private information has become a problem.  Although Web 2.0 can be seen as a negative thing it is here and does not seem like it is going back to Web 1.0. The term Web 3.0 is even emerging.

Wiki How: How to be a successful public relations student

I have decided to create a wiki how page on: How to be successful public relations student. 

1.     Research - Choosing a major can be stressful but if public relations is something that you are interested in than communication studies is where you want to start off at. Some colleges and universities will not have a major titled “public relations.”

2.     Apply and get accepted in to a college/university with a public relations major or a similar major. i.e. (Public communications, Media relations, Communication studies etc...)

3.     Get to know your professors and advisors – Advisors and professors play a major role in your college career. A lot of PR professors either have years of experience in the field of public relations or in other closely related fields.

4.     Get acquainted with the ins and outs of your campus library – PR students spends a great deal of their time in the library.

5.     Become a better writer – There is a misconception that public relations only consist of giving speeches. If you are not ready to write then being a public relations student is not for you.

6.     Invest in the latest AP style writing guide – There is a certain way to write when writing various pieces. An AP style writing guide can teach you the correct way to write for different pieces.

7.     Get comfortable with public speaking – You will have classes that are devoted to public speaking. Giving speeches as an individual or in a group will be the basis of the entire class. ( refer to step 5, although speech classes requires speaking you will spend a lot of time writing the speeches as oppose to the time you will spend delivering the speech.)

8.     Stay up with current events – Knowing what is happening in the world is important. You cannot be a successful public relations student if you don’t keep up with current events. Public relations deals with news and media knowing what is going on will give you a leg up.

9.     Intern as much as possible – Internships can be done for credit and is a great way to gain experience in your future career in public relations.

10. Network with your peers – Networking is important. “it is not what you know it is who you know”

11. Diversify your studies.

Negative and Positive effects of Social Networking Sites

Positive

Comment 1: “the Internet is part of our everyday life” for the reason that “we do the same in the Internet as in real life, probably in a [...] more efficient, faster [and] cheaper [way].”

I agree with this statement. Everything works quickly on the internet except for when your connection is slow. Physically it takes time and there are a million and one factors that play into the process of doing things. The internet is at your fingers and makes it easier to multi task. Also paying bills online or wiring someone money is super cheap. I save so much on fees that I would occur just going to an ATM or I save time that I wouldn’t have had if I had to go to the bank.

Comment 2: “…the main use of social networking sites is interaction and communicating with others. We use them to keep up to date and in touch with existing friends and relations, or to create new relationships.”

Keeping in touch with people I cannot see every day is one of my main reasons for logging on the computer every day. Social Networks make it so easy to be part of someone’s life without physically being there. I personally go to school 8 hours away from my hometown and my friends and families post on facebook helps me stay connected with them. Also when I meet new people social networks help me keep in touch with them and keep a lasting bond with them.

Comment 3:” Social networking sites also offer the chance of communication in cases where mobility is often a hindrance to social interaction.”

Social Networking sites are definitely a great way to interact when physical interaction is next to impossible. The article went on to talk about the elderly. There has been a big trend of the 40+ crowd having various social networking accounts. My grandparents have facebook accounts that they are very active on. My grandparents are old but I do not consider them elderly because they can still get around but I cannot see them every day. So I think social networks definitely keep me in touch with them.

Negative

Comment 1: “the social networking sites can target advertisements specifically to you, a service for which advertisers are willing to pay significant amounts of money.”

I don’t think that using the “people to product” method is a bad thing. Websites have to make money some type of way. I actually think that this is an ingenious idea because your offering a wonderful service for free and having advertisers pay you to do this. People can debate about whether advertisements mess with your psyche by using subliminal messages to “make” you buy the product but I don’t see anything wrong with it. If there were no advertisements how would people know about the products they need or want. It’s a cycle that has to continue because without the advertisements being placed simultaneously in places people can see them then there will be no products to buy.

Comment 2: “Using the algorithm, researchers were able to infer many personal traits merely from friend lists, including educational level, university attended, hometown and other private data.”

I think that whatever one puts on one’s page is open to whoever they would like to see it. People should know that once something is online it is open to whoever can see it. I disagree with this statement because by looking at someone’s friends you may have little insight as to who they are but you still won’t know what they wrote on their page 2 hours ago. Also using this “algorithm” gives a basic scientific/mathematic insight into their personality. A person could have a bunch of scientist as friends but they could hate science and have a passion for photography.

Comment 3: “Encouraging poor grammar, usage, and spelling”

I think that Social Networks does encourage poor grammar etc… but I also think that it is an appropriate place to use it. Social Networking sites are not scholastic or professional. I think there is no reason to blame social networks for people’s choice to use shorthand and poor grammar outside of social networks.

Interview W/ Justin

For my interview I had the pleasure of interviewing Justin. Justin and I had very similar experiences using the internet for the first time and very few differences. Like me, Justin was no stranger to using dial-up. We shared similar stories of tying up the phone lines because of dial-up. We both used AOL as our first ways to connect to the internet. We shared the same stories about using the AOL free trials until the 30 day period was up. We also shared similar environmental experiences that controlled the way we were using the internet. We both had one computer and that was placed in the living room. Although Justin had more freedom then I had parental monitoring was prevalent in both of our cases. Another difference was the quality of the computers we used.

We both agreed on the internet being more available anytime and anywhere. We also agreed on feeling that we could not function without the internet. Justin uses the internet now for just about everything but his main reasons for using the internet is the various social media websites and networking with other people. The one difference that we had was the use of yelp.com for reviews.