Monthly Archives: November 2012

Project 3: Brainstorming

When it comes to video resumes it seems like people have differing views.  There’s one group of people urging people to get out there, use the technology available, and make them!  While others are saying they give the company to much to judge on, are often poorly made, and are more comedy then serious.  Therefore I’ve learned that there are few important things to remember when it comes to making a video resume:

  • Look the part: Be sure to dress appropriately just like I was going on a regular interview
  • Be sure to make it short and sweet: When recruiters read a resume they can flip through it at their own pace and the video should not be long either
  • Make the video count: If you’re making a video resume it needs to discuss things that are not normally listed on your resume.  The recruiter needs to feel like they benefited from the video resume otherwise you could have just sent a paper resume.

What is the key “message” (or two) you want readers to glean from these resumes?  Obviously my main message behind my resume is that I want the readers to see me as a valuable addition to their company.  With any resume I produce I always have the main intent of convincing the reader that I’m the perfect match for the position.

What details do you need to include for the reader to understand your message?  It’s not necessarily a ‘detail,’ but one aspect I try to include in my resumes is confidence.  I want the reader to know that I know what I’m talking about.  Another detail that is included is professionalism.  It’s important for the first impression of yourself to be a good, rememberable one.  I proofread my resumes, and get others to proofread my resumes to make sure they are free of spelling and grammar errors and to also make sure that everyone is easy to read and understand.

What images and other content might you include (especially content you can not normally include in a regular resume)?  For the timeline/map and video I hope to be able to include content that will help me out in the long run with coming across as a desirable candidate.  In the timeline/map I will include ALL work experience, both related and unrelated, which is not normally included in a resume.  Most resumes only include most recent or the past work experience that is related.  Including all work experience gives the employer an idea of what I’ve done in the past and what I have been able to take away from my past positions.  Including this information in the timeline also gives the employer the chance to just ‘glance’ over the material instead of having flip from page to page.

Chapter 10/11 What does your font choice say about you?

I actually found these chapters to be very interesting when they were describing the different tones portrayed by the different fonts.

When it comes to fonts that describe me both personally and professionally I would end up choosing the same fonts.  I tend to choose fonts from the Sans Serif family mainly because they have a clean look to them.  With other fonts there are often cupped serifs on some letters.  Whereas with Sans Serif, which literally means “without serifs” there are no serifs just “squared off terminals”. Another reason I often choose Sans Serif is due to the spacing.  I like the fact that the spacing of letters is close enough not to have a bunch of whitespace.

While looking at some different fonts on the Internet I came across an interesting article which talks about spacing at the end of sentences.  This relates to fonts because if a font has more spacing between letters it may require that extra space be left between sentences so the reader knows when they have reached the end of a sentence.

Project 2: Final Draft

project description:

How do you invasion the rhetorical situation for this project? What is the purpose? Who is the audience? What are relative aspects of the context?

The purpose for this project is to enlighten people or refresh people’s memory on what digital writing is.  Since the professor mentioned showing this audio postcard around for next year the main audience will most likely be students who are interested in taking the course during it’s next offering.  Another smaller audience could be someone enrolled in another digital writing course who is simply surfing the internet looking for outside sources.  In the end the largest audience for this project is going to be students.

Describe at least 3 ways in which you edited the image you used for your audio postcard.

To start off I decided to edit the image using Adobe Photoshop Elements 11, which is similar to PhotoShop Express Editor except Adobe PhotoShop Elements offers more options as far as photo editing goes.  The first way I edited my photo was by using an effect called ‘photo stacking,’ which takes a single photo and breaks it into several smaller snapshots to make it resemble a collage.  Next, I used another effect option called ‘blur’ to help the image fall into the background.  The final way I edited the image was by adding text.  The text was able to stand out thanks to the ‘blur’ effect because it kept the background image from being too busy.

What elements of your audio postcard were you required to provide some form of citation. How did you cite it? Why does that citation format best meet the needs of your rhetorical situation?

First, I had to find an image that allowed for remixing so I used Compfight to locate the image.  I was then required to give credit to the original owner of the image and I gave credit to the owner in the description of the YouTube video.  The citation was as simple as a link to the original photo that I found on Flickr.  In this case since I did not actually make a movie and used a still image I felt that including the citation in the project description worked best rather than throwing in another image at the end to include the citation.

Why and how do at least 3 aspects of your audio file (at least one of which must be an aspect of the audio/aural nature of the file) meet the rhetoric situation?

The rhetoric situation for this project is to teach and inform the audience.  The first way the audio file meets this aspect is by providing the audience with a general definition of what digital writing is.  Second, the audio file provides examples of digital writing which helps the audience draw a connection with the definition.  The third way the audio file meets the rhetoric situation is because it is straight forward.  The audio is not crowded with a bunch of background noise that may distract the audience.

Why and how do at least 3 aspects of your image (at least one of which much be an edited aspect of the image) meet the rhetorical situation?

One of the purposes of the project was to possibly gather interest for the course next time it was offered so the image meets this by being eye catching.  The bright colors and zig zag lines draw the viewer’s eyes and makes them interested in what is going on.  Another way the image helps the situation is by representing the writing in the digital world.  Digital writing is everywhere and sometimes has no rhyme or reason, which can be seen in the blurred lines in the image.  The last way the image meets the situation is how it was edited.  I used the ‘blur’ option to tone it down a bit in order to add the phrase “Digital Writing” so that the audience would have an idea of what the image was dealing with.

reflective letter:

What are you most proud of in the entire project?

Honestly the entire project is something I am proud of, but if I have to narrow it down to one thing it would have to be adding the audio to the image.  I’ve had some practice with editing images before so it was really neat to be able to add the audio along with the image.

What do you wish you had time to further expand, include, or revise in the project?

Overall I felt the project turned out well, but if I would have had more time I probably would have worked more on the editing of the image.  Although the image did turn out well I feel like I still could have done more to get it up to par.

What technologies did you use to complete this project? Why were they appropriate?

For the audio I used Audacity which was really easy to understand and made recording the audio clip simple.  I used Adobe PhotoShop Elements 11 to edit the image.  I went with this version of PhotoShop because it offered a few more options for photo effects than PhotoShop Express Editor, but wasn’t overwhelming like the full version of PhotoShop was.  To put the audio together with the image I used iMovie because I was able to find easy to follow instructions on YouTube about how to convert and upload the project when I was finished.

When did you get stuck while working on the project? How did you overcome your problem?

I ran into problems when it came time to actually editing my image.  I had all of these great ideas, but when it came down to actually making them work I had some issues.  Ultimately in order to get over this little speed bump I just explored the options offered within the program until I had the image edited close to what I originally had in mind.

What did you learn about yourself as a digital writer?
Discuss at least three of the course outcomes you feel you worked towards with this assignment. Provide evidence of your learning by pointing to specific aspects of the project.

The main course outcome that was addressed was appropriation, which requires one to remix content.  This outcome was satisfied because the main part of the project was to find an image with a creative commons license and edit, or remix.

 

 

Original Image

Remixed Image

 

 

 

The next course outcome addressed during this project was multitasking, which means having the ability to see what’s going on and focus on the most important details. This outcome was an important one because during almost every aspect of the project I was working on more than one thing.  When I was selecting an image I was thinking about how to edit it, and then when I was editing a photo I was thinking about how to add text onto the image.

The third and final course outcome that was touched on while working on this project was networking because I was required to look into outside sources to find programs to use and also to find tutorials on how to use the programs of choice.

Rhetoric on the Town: Flow

Pedigree Puppy Food Advertisement

rhetorical analysis:

The main purpose for this advertisement is to promote the sale of Pedigree dog food.  The advertisement is not specific about which Pedigree product they are trying to advertisement for, but the fact that there is a puppy on the top of the billboard most likely means they are trying to promote the sale of their puppy food line.  The main audience for this ad is obviously new dog owners or people who own dogs in general.  Another possible audience for the ad is possibly someone looking to buy a dog since the phrase “dogs rule” is located in the middle of the billboard.

design element analysis:

The main design element seen in the advertisement would have to be flow.  At first the viewer’s eyes are drawn to the puppy which seems to be ‘laying’ on top of the billboard.  The viewer then follows the puppy’s paw down to the middle where the phrase “dogs rule” is located.  At the end of the phrase the viewer then notices the bright yellow bag of dog food located down in the bottom right.  This advertisement seems to follow the natural flow of left to right.

Blog Responses

After viewing my classmates examples on their blogs I noticed a few things.  The first thing I noticed is that balance can be viewed in a few different ways.  I noticed this because at first a few advertisements did not seem like they had balance in it, but after reading their explanations I was able to see where the author was going.  Another thing I noticed while looking through my classmates blogs is that with contrast colors were most commonly mentioned.  Most blogs mentioned that colors really worked best as contrast elements.

links to comments:

Contrast Comment 1

Contrast Comment 2

Alignment Comment 1

Alignment Comment 2

Balance Comment 1              Balance Comment 2

Your Online Identity and Why it Matters

Summary:

Ever since the explosion of the social media online people have been concerned about what they were posting online and how it may effect them later on in life.  For many people, especially people in college, they are concerned that what they post on their ‘private’ online social media site may determine if a company hires them for a position or not.  In fact sometimes people should worry because a quick Google search can reveal a lot about a person, but in all honesty the search engines companies use are not looking to destroy any future career plans.  According to Honan in his article on privacy these search engines are only looking for evidence that may cause legal problems for companies and tend to ignore drunken late night photos.  In the end companies are looking to eliminate possible risks by conducting online searches, but there are ways to find these red flags and eliminate them yourself before your potential employer may find them.

key terms:

Social Intelligence – outside source used by companies to search social media content and evaluate the content based on predetermined criteria

Social Media – websites and applications used for social networking

Sources:

Managing Your Reputation Through Search Results

I Flunked My Social Media Background Check. Will You?

Project 3: Online Reputation

online accounts:

Although it’s a short list, below are the online accounts that I can think of that are visible:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Myspace (I think there’s one out there somewhere)

after conducting a search:

As mentioned in the homework I was asked to search my name in two different search engines.  The first search engine that I used was Google and this is because Google is the “main” search engine as far as I’m concerned.  The second search engine I used was Bing.  Both searches produced results when I searched for “Meaghan Barnes,” but the results were not accurate.  Most of the results from both search engines were not related to me in any way.  The only search engine that did produce something was Google and it listed my Pinterest account as the second result.  Honestly I found these results to be comforting because it seems that I’ve done an “okay” job at keeping my life private when it comes to the internet.

Rhetoric on the Town: Alignment

Subaru Impreza Advertisement

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

rhetorical analysis:

The main purpose for this advertisement is to sell the car Impreza which is made by the automobile maker Subaru.  Due to the wintery environment of the advertisement some of the targeted audience may live up North or in places that receive high amounts of snowfall.  The fact that it’s a car and driving in snowy icy conditions may attract the audience of people who are looking for safe cars who have lots of traction.  Since the ad actually states the base price of the Impreza it shows that the target audience would not be the upper class, but would in fact include the middle class or people who are just starting off in careers that may not be making the big bucks yet.

design element analysis:

This advertisement’s main design element is alignment.  The car, description of the car, “headline,” and price are all left aligned.  The only item on the advertisement that is right aligned is the company’s name which is “Subaru” and the Subaru symbol.  The alignment element works because since the majority of the advertisement is aligned to the left and leaving only the company’s name right aligned the reader’s name is naturally drawn that way.

Rhetoric on the Town: Contrast

Vintage Toyota Tundra Advertisement

rhetorical analysis:

The main purpose of this ad is to sell and promote the Tundra from the automobile makers Toyota.  The audience for this advertisement is most likely men, and the audience could be narrowed down even further to upper class men.  One way you know this is aimed at men is because of the statement “Power and efficiency. Like steak and eggs.” which can be viewed as a meal common for most men.  Another indicator that the advertisement is aimed at men is because of the color scheme used for the advertisement.  Black, yellow, and white can be considered masculine colors.

design element analysis:

The main design element seen in the advertisement is contrast.  The bulk of the ad is black lettering on yellow background which allows the text to stand out.  The black tundra placed on the yellow background also stands out to the viewer.  The actual name of the truck which is Tundra is seen down at the bottom placed in a black box with white lettering which makes it stand out from the rest of the ad.

Project 3: First Glance

When i grow up:

What do you want to do when you grow up?  When I was younger this question seemed so simple, but as I got older the question became much more complicated.  During my time in school I’ve been able to assess my strengths and weaknesses and also see what I enjoy doing.  Now that I’m a semester away from graduating I’ve finally decided what I want to be when I grow up.  I want to be a Technical Writer.

Technical writing, really?:

Although it’s not a very common profession the technical writing field fits best with my writing style.  Throughout my time in school I’ve discovered that I’m not a strong creative writer.  Instead I prefer to deal with straight facts and numbers to develop a piece which will inform the reader.  It really struck me that this was my style of writing when I was assigned my first argumentative piece during my sophomore year.  The assignment required research, articles, and use of quotes to argue a point.  While working on the assignment the information came together so smoothly and it was easy for me to take the information and put it into a piece which was easy for the average reader to follow and understand.  This assignment helped me realize that this type of writing was something that I enjoyed and could see myself working in a technical writing field in the future.