Carnal Constructions in Online Dating Communities
Collette Caton, Syracuse University

Intro video, but had to stop since the noise was playing next door. Talked about why graduate students would use the site.

Romance, Religion, and the Writing of Identity in Online Dating
T J Geiger, Syracuse University

Flattens faith along with other identity categories.

OkCupid’s (OkC)taxonomy of religion is influence by the enlightenment and western history of religion
Critiques the range and order of religions and how the user’s can state how serious they are about their religion (including laughing about it)—ends up flattening te “tremendous social diversity” an “richly textured religious lives” of the users.

Some questions to consider:

• What world views are embodies or exclude by site design?
• What general rules govern interaction?

The Functions of Searching: How Search Functions in Virtual Dating Construct Hierarchies, Normalcy, and Otherness
Missy Watson, Syracuse University

Examines Search engine of OkC.

retitled: “The functions of searching: invention, agency, ethics in virtual dating match searches”

Invention in multimedia: ongoing experience that users can create through selections of users—a user authored experience (Brooke). Is OkC an example of a proairetic invention? Did an rhetorical analysis drawing on Brooke and Latuor.

Points:

• OkC advertises as being a user designed and text content creators.
• Highly adjustable search based on a variety of factors including religion drug use, eduction, sex, location, age… Can also choose how matches are ordered.
• Users author own navigation of user profiles

Searches are a combined and tangled interaction of user, technology and others. Web of agency with three agents:

• Algorithms
• User co-agent of search results: answers questions that get placed in algorithm
• Other users that are potential matches

It is defiantly more proairetic than other search engines on dating sites. But not quite transparent. Since math is not discussed, it is unclear the degree of agency and does impact the user agency to some degree. Since the actual mechanics are not known to user, may get more agency if knew. To what degree does the interface have to show us this?

rules, Rhetoric, C&W, C&W2010, social media, Academia, texts, Technology, Usability, Blogging a Conference, Conference | No Comments »

Crafting Power: Writing and the Online D.I.Y. Movement
Antonia Massa-MacLeod, University of Wisconsin Madison

Sadly missed the first part. An analysis of Etsy.

• Many people on Etsy are learning techniques bring people together, creating a rhetoric. DIY rhetoric includes support, substantially, and connections.
• DIY rhetoric is overall good, but promotes economic citizenship, dividing people into producing and consuming classes
• Ave income for those who sell on Etsy in the 60Ks and have higher level degrees.

From Q&A: there is a blog called regretsy.

Virtual (Re)Production: Rhetorics of Reproductive Technology and Their Mediation in China and the U.S.
Erin Frost, Illinois State University

Fascinating paper. Focused on listening and only took a few notes at the end. URL: http://students.english.ilstu.edu/eaclar4/351/creation

A few points:

• there is tug of war content between women and technology (especially in regards to reproductive technology)
• women impacted by laws and technologies
• women often connect and apply tactics to try to get around
• Chinese and American women should work together to find techniques to meet their goals
• We shouldconsider a holistic education: mind and body

Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Differently: A Feminist Perspective on Students’ Attitudes Towards Technology and Writing
Jeanne L. Bohannon, Georgia State University
Chuck Bohannon, Cass High School, Bartow County, Georgia

Scary data:

• gender gap exists between girls and boys, especially in technology
• only 17% of those taking the AP exam in comp sci are girls

Studied female students’ attitudes towards texting vs formal writing and whether girls consider texting to be writing. Used a feminist methodology. They considered to be either good with technology or w/ “girly” things, not both. It was a study of 16-18 year-olds in Bartow Count, GA

Results:

• slightly more females texted daily (67% to 60%)
• 70% of males considered texting as writing, but only 40% of females
• 80% of males considered texting made them better writer, but none, 0% of females!
• females did not connect texting, the personal, to more formal writing
• equal number males and females did writing by hand for fun
• none of the female wrote outside of the classroom for fun, but 30% of males
• 90% of males had access to computers at home, but only 67% of females

social media, Digtal media, Web 2.0, Rhetoric, C&W2010, C&W, Academia, Blogging a Conference, texts, Teaching, Technology, Gender, Resources, Research | No Comments »

F1.1 - Panel

One Piece at a Time: A Web Design Pedagogy of the Gradual Growth
Lars Soderlund, Purdue University

Lively and engaging presentation.

Guns Ruin Picnics (guides, regularity, and product)

• Made a compromises between code and WYSIWYG: gave them templates, have some stability while allowing code learning. Often end up going into deep code
• Wanted an emergent system: parts that interact in a way to allow the websites to emerge out of students’ work.

Guides: directed students to resources, tutorials, encouraged students ask him questions, gave extra credit to more advanced students to help out those who needed it
Regularity: weekly updates w/ what they did, see thought work and back end issues (like server issues), along with more obvious changes
Product: Have an actual product

Nice examples of student work.

Lights, Camera, Compose: Digital Video Compositions and Writing Studies
Scott Kowalewski, Virginia Tech

Digital video composition: negotiation the convergence of modes, each conveys its own msg but together they create the message

How are videos being situated in writing studies?

Wants to focus beyond narrative and aesthetic and more attention to rhetorical aspects

Student example 1:

• construction of identity through ethos in the video
• has insider perspective
• modes are in sync (visual, auditory, transitions…)

Example 2:

• subverts narrative, nodal instead of linear
• role of text as introduction/explanation of section
• bed music provides continuity

How do the modes function?

• Visual: rhetorical support or reinforce other modes
• Audio: can provide continuity and coherence, also rhetorical
• Text: provide info not otherwise conveyed through other modes

From Consumers to Produsers: Using Virtual Worlds to Reposition Composition Teachers as Content Producers
Tom Skeen, Arizona State University

How can virtual worlds change the roles of writing teachers?

How might virtual worlds and institutional worlds work against each other?

Produsage: Axel Brun’s

• info cannot be used up like product, info is re-usable
• can be reshaped and reformed
• driven by needs/desires of users
• distributed but coordinated community organized by community’s own protocols of interaction
• users also producers

Virtual world pushed at Institutional:

• Assignments come from social uses of networked spaces
• content and communities could exist outside of classroom

But the institutional world does push back

How do virtual worlds change the shape or role of “teacher”?

Digtal media, Blogging a Conference, Teaching Resources, C&W, C&W2010, Resources, Technology, Teaching, texts, Web design, Education, Students | No Comments »

Great session. Informative, thought provoking, and even emotional.

It’s Not Just Piracy, Porn, Pedophilia, or Power; Or, How the Internet
Saved My Family
Marc C. Santos, University of South Florida

Touching and informative mix of personal and academic where he talks about how social media use saved is daughter’s life. Nice to see good stories of how the internet can helps and isn’t just bad, addictive, or mundane. His verbal presentation mixed with a visual presentation of pictures of his young daughter. His story has been covered by a variety of internet news and traditional media sources and almost got on Oprah. They had never felt alone because of the internet and social media. Traditional media consumed them, social media supported.

• What is new are the tools for validation and affirmation
• calls for a “rhetoric of cooperation”

What We Talk About When We Talk About Talking: Ethos and Argumentation
in a Virtual Community
Quinn Warnick, Iowa State University

Three definitions of ethos:

• Isocrates: Character, “weight of man’s life”
• Aristotle: What the speakers says, not the character before speaking, Hyde ethos as artistic
• Halloran: People gathering in a public space sharing experience and ideas—have virtues most value by the culture to and for which one speaks

Looks at MetaFilter and MetaTalk posts. Etiquette and policy posts generated by far the greatest numbers of comments and longer responses.

Moderators make 5% of comments in MetaTalk, less than 0.5% in other areas.

Did a survey of MetaFilter. One question asked which member they thought had the highest levels of credibility and asked why. The moderators all were at or near the tops. Many gave them credibility because they are the mods and are the final arbitrators, but some also feel they have also proven themselves over time.

Why some people earned/developed ethos:

• rhetorical skills
• domain specific expertise
• offline relationships
• remain calm/evenhanded
• align w/ respondent’s world view
• post a lot

What we teachers should consider—the “So What?”

• Let community hash out issues, teachers should not moderate
• Provide a back alley to allow people to work through issues and “talk about talking”

Good discussion after, including the suggesting we stop differentially online/virtual communities and just call them communities. Also, don’t forget the lurkers, they can be active members of the community.

social media, Web 2.0, Rhetoric, Blogging a Conference, Technology, Research, texts, Conference | No Comments »

I am off to Computers and Writing 2010 today. Tomorrow I am part of the Graduate Research Network (as a discussion leader), then 2.5 days of sessions, panels, and networking with those of the cutting and bleeding edge of digital media, technology, and writing. Always a good time.

I will be blogging the experience, so stay tuned. I also hope to interview some presenters with relevant presentations and posters for the podcast. So, you may even get to listen to the fun.

Digtal media, Interview, Academia, Blogging a Conference, Education, Conference | No Comments »

Now that my document design class is over, I’ll probably post fewer typography based posts and more on social media and the web. But for now, here is one more.

This flow chart provides fun, clever, and a bit snarky at times advice on selecting a typeface for many different reasons. I quite enjoy choosing a project and going through the flowchart until to get a typeface. I wouldn’t necessarily recommended this to really select typefaces for projects, but if you have no idea, it may be a good place to start.

Lifehacker provides a fun introduction to the chart in this post titled “So You Need a Typeface Provides Semi-Snarky (But Useful) Font Advice”

Teaching Resources, Tips, Typography, Resources, Fact of the Day, Good Design, Design | No Comments »

Feel like being a rebel with a clue? Check out one of the top ten most banned books for 2009, as reported by the ALA.

Harry Potter didn’t make this list this year, but Ms. Meyer’s Twilight series appears for the first time on the list (maybe those conservative mothers actually read the books their daughter were reading–the last book in particular should lead to some interesting conversations between teenager and parents, and one I don’t know if I would want to have with any child of mine). Also a series I’ve not heard of, an internet girl series, TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle.

Of course, some of the banned books classics made the list:
4. “To Kill A Mockingbird,” Lee
6. “Catcher in the Rye,” Salinger
9. “The Color Purple,” Walker

The list is compiled from a list of 460 challenges reported to Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). While this may seem like a lot of banned books, the OIF suggests that number is 4-5 times less than the actual number of bans. Thus, it is likely 1840-2250 bans we placed on books in 2009.

I can only hope that this works in the way being told not to do something often works. We then go out and do it. I hope the banned books make people go out and read the books. Anything to encourage more reading. I, for one plan, to check out the internet girl series by Myracle

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The typeface you use is like the clothes you wear, the car you drive, and the words you say. All these say something about you and how you try to present yourself to the world. This type flow chart (see below too) show’s one woman’s path the typeface identity, or at least evolution over time.

As a teacher of document design, I love watching how my students’ typeface selections change over the semester. Not many evolve as much as this chart (which covers a lot more time), but I see pieces of it. Few have the advanced and learned taste of the end of the flow chart, but there are defiantly some with more “evolved” typeface preferences and uses. And for those who don’t so evolve… well if you are still using Times New Roman and Arial by the end of the semester (without very good rhetorical cause), well… you should fail.

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One of my students sent me a link to this quiz on “which type are you.” Not only did I enjoy it from a type geek perspective, but also from a design perspective. The video quiz flows nicely, uses visual verbal rhetoric well, and has a clear personality. It is cleverly designed. I quite enjoyed the “hurry up now” prompts when I didn’t put my name in right away. The video quiz handles human responses well. Also, I was quite impressed when the guy showed me a written list of my four quiz answers. They must have spent a lot of time filming this. The expressiveness of the speaker was great, especially since the camera angle did not include his head.

So, I suggest you check this out if you are a type geek or a tech comm geek or just interested in fun quizzes and well-designed media.

If you are wondering, I am Archer hairline, which is a lovely face. I may have to get my hands on it.

Digtal media, Typography, Teaching Resources, Visual Design, Resources, Good Design, Students, Tech Comm in Pratice, Kudos, Design | No Comments »

Ever wonder how many people around the world or in particular countries use the Internet? This handy resource by Google provides a graph over time (1990-2007), allowing you to see and compare Internet users as percentage of population for a variety of countries. You can select by check boxes from a long list of countries and compare them to the world and/or each other. For example, in this graph of Internet users for the US, World, Bolivia, and Haiti, it is easy to see how many more in the US use the internet and how close Bolivia and Haiti are in Internet use (10.5% and 10.4% respectively). Once you select any other the graph automatically adjusts, which in and of itself is pretty funky. Check it out!

Teaching Resources, Access, News, Resources, Research, Technology, Fact of the Day | No Comments »