ePortfolio #FAIL

Posted on November 16, 2015 by Folayemi

The idea of having the opportunity to design my e-portfolio to my specifications was exciting. I knew what I was going for and I couldn’t wait to get started. I knew I wanted to start with a color scheme that was both simplistic and minimal but because of the themes, I was limited to what I could do.

However, the work I had to put in, in order to make my vision come to life was beyond frustrating. Nothing was working for me at all and I felt myself going in circles with trying to put my page together. I thought my e-portfolio would be the best way to brand myself rather than having to resort to a social networking site but I struggled continuously. I definitely need help because I’ve realized I can’t do it alone. Hopefully, with time and with much needed help, I can get my e-portfolio to where I want it to be and it can be something I am proud of.

Because I don’t participate in many social networking sites, I want to successfully display my e-portfolio that will be beneficial towards my future and maybe even my career goals. Moving forward, I plan on doing this by:

Picking a theme that works for me; a theme that will allow me to structure my work in a way that is easy for viewers to navigate.
Using (good) images; I am not a photographer whatsoever but people associate a good photo which helps draw viewers attentiontherfore, it would hurt to include some visuals in my e-portfolio.
Filling my e-portfolio with my best content/work
Keeping it up to date
Connecting via social media platforms

Are You Creating the Right Image for Yourself Online?

Posted on November 15, 2015 by Folayemi

We live in a society with very public platforms for the distribution and preservation of our personal image online. Social media affords us the opportunity to be front and center in our very own curated editorial spread. The way we interact with our families, our work persona and the various discourse communities we are associated with, all contribute different aspects of our personalities. However, we may question whether we should project our real personality online.

“Perhaps the most important digital literacy associated with social networking sites is being able to engage in effective practices of self presentation and impression management in different situations and with different people” (Jones & Hafner 152). Impression management refers to the act of facilitating the information one reveals about oneself in order to illustrate a particular social identity. Someone like me who sees a person with multiple social media accounts, would generally think that the content the user decides to share may be putting on a facade or trying to save face by acting differently on multiple social media platforms but that just may not be the case.Reading Cohen and Kenny, I’ve come to a realization that, many social media platforms on the web, each has its own method for participation and communication with other users.

The purpose of my project is to show how effectively or ineffectively users of social media present themselves online and what exactly drives an individual to portray themselves the way they do. My project will address the following questions:

What roles do people adopt in different social media platforms?
Why people may or may not present themselves honestly on their social media accounts
What is the driving force behind having more than one social media account? Why not stick to only one?
To what extent do individuals regard their self presentation using their social media account to be authentic and honest reflecting themselves in their daily lives?
To what extent do individuals participate in exaggerating, idealizing, or completely lying on their accounts?
How many social networks are people on? How many are they active on?
How to properly present yourself online with detailed instructions and reasoning for the method of procedure
The demographics of social media users

In order to get the project off the ground, I intend to interview as many people as possible asking questions such as:

How do you think you present yourself on your social media platform? (With the intent of viewing it for myself to compare/contrast to the answer they’ve given me)
What made you present yourself this particular way on your social platform?
If you could change the way you present yourself online, would you take that opportunity? Why or why not?

In interviewing multiple people, I hope to deliver in my project an e-book/e-magazine that provides a “How to” guide of properly presenting oneself on social media with all the research and information I’ve gathered.

Sources so far include:

Is Your Social Media Presence an Accurate Portrayal of Who You Are?

The Social Media Effect: Are You Really Who You Portray Online

The Presentation of Self in the Age Social Media

Self-presentation and belonging on Facebook

Understanding Digital Literacies: A Practical Introduction- Jones & Hafner

Producing New and Digital Media: Your Guide to Savvy Use of the Web- Cohen & Kenny

[Previous version: recovered / copied & pasted by Professor Belli, from post Revision history: some formatting may be off]

“Perhaps the most important digital literacy associated with social networking sites is being able to engage in effective practices of self presentation and impression management in different situations and with different people” (Jones & Hafner 152). Impression management refers to the act of facilitating the information one reveals about oneself in order to illustrate a particular social identity. Someone like me who sees a person with multiple social media accounts, would generally think that a user is putting on a facade or trying to save face by acting differently on multiple social media platforms but that just may not be the case.

Reading Cohen and Kenny, I’ve come to a realization that, many suicidal media platforms on the web, each has its own method for participation and communication with other users. Therefore, the practice of presenting yourself online within various platforms may be necessary and generates discourse communities within these social media sites.

What roles do people adopt in different social media platforms?

Why people may or may not present themselves honestly on their social media accounts

What is the driving force behind having more than one social media account? Why not stick to only one?

To what extent do individuals regard their self presentation using their social media account to be authentic and honest reflecting themselves in their daily lives?

To what extent do individuals participate in exaggerating, idealizing, or completely lying on their accounts?

How many social networks are people on? How many are they active on?</li>

Because of the technological and digital world we live in, “maintaining a public presence on an online social network is some extent becoming part of being a ‘normal’ and legitimate person in some societies and social groups” (Jones & Hafner 156). With that being said, the goal of the project is to inform others on the greater advantages of using social media whether they chose to participate in the platform or not. This project is also for myself in understanding why people are always encouraging me to make an Instagram account even though they can’t explain to me why I should. Hopefully I will gain insight on the purposes of social media other than what I think its purpose is for.

Sources so far include:

Understanding Digital Literacies: A Practical Introduction- Jones & Hafner

Producing New and Digital Media: Your Guide to Savvy Use of the Web- Cohen & Kenny

My Nonexistent Social Media Identity

Posted on November 9, 2015 by Folayemi

Upon viewing my Facebook profile, the first thing I noticed was that Facebook suggested I update my cover photo, add a short bio, edit info already visible to others, and add featured photos. In three words, I can describe my online identity as inactive, uninteractive, and quiet. Unlike users who share on their social media sites that they participate in, I barely share or interact with others on my Facebook page at all. The last thing I did on my page was update my profile picture which was August 10, 2015.

I cannot call myself a tech savvy user no more than I can call myself a savvy user of my social media account because according to Cohen and Kenny, “a savvy user of digital media does not consume media, but participates in all of the media tools offered” (200). I see myself as a user behind the screen watching everyone else interact with each other, while I lack the practice of sharing content for my audience to interact with. Since creating my Facebook account in 2008, I have yet to update the “about” section where people should be able to get a sense of my personality, career goals, and interests. If anyone was to see my profile today, they would think I currently work at Forever 21 which I currently no longer work for the company and that I graduated from high school and did not go on to continue college.

My Facebook page is limited to my friends only, all others outside of my realm of friends cannot view the contents if my page. Essentially, my Facebook page is a way to keep up with my family back home in Nigeria as well as keeping me updated through their page. Other than that, my account is not utilized to its full potential and I definitely need to make some changes. I also have a Pinterest account that I use slightly more than my Facebook account, however, I can definitely work more obvious profile content. Opening my personal page and skimming through my board anyone can see that I love nail polish, I am a woman of God, I have natural hair, and I live fashion. My boards depict what I take interest in but my “about” section is completely blank. After reading Cohen and Kenny, I am interested in branding myself and revamping my accounts so people who view my page can get a sense of who I am. That may also mean, adding additional social media platforms to better brand or represent myself for the near future.

Why I Write

Posted on November 1, 2015 by Folayemi

Why do I write? There are many reasons. First I write to express myself. Secondly, I write to put myself in impossible situations (situations that I would want to be in but can’t). I simply write for therapeutic purposes. I never realized how much relief I could get from picking up a pen and writing down every little thing that came to mind. To see it on paper is mind blowing, opening my eyes to my thoughts right in front of me. I write for numerous purposes that cannot be questioned because everyone had their reasons behind what they do.

I write to exercise my mind. I write to never forget my obstacles and my aspirations, goals, and dreams. I write questions that are left unanswered. I write to keep the existence of my true calling. I write because it is the next best thing to talking. I write as though I’m actively talking to someone.

Now I write because it’s feels like a responsibility that must be done in the educational system. But now, I’ll go back to writing for me, not because someone told me to. I’ll write because there’s more meaning and fulfilment in writing for myself. All the papers I kept of my writing from 6th grade and so on, all have meaning so there’s no reason to stop but to continue on as my writing grows. Writing never stays the same and I know there’s a distinct difference of writing from when I was 11 years old compared to now. I stopped writing for myself a long time ago but I definitely think it’s time to pick it back up. With writing anything is possible.

The Attention Given to the Tragedy of Trayvon Martin’s Death

Posted on October 27, 2015 by Folayemi

According to Haffner and Jones, “attention is distributed not only across screen space and virtual space, but also across physical spaces” (86). This rings true in the horrific event of the death of Trayvon Martin which gave rise to the ongoing discourse of racism.

In the simultaneous productions of discourse communities geared towards the tragedy, these discourse communities structured their attention first by interacting with each other via visual images of both Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman. Photos surfacing onto the internet depicted Trayvon Martin as one of three different characters: “a true the black child, a menacing black criminal, and an average teenager” (Lebduska 1). Discourse communities surrounded the ongoing case by distributing their attention in a particular communicative situation by understanding cultural conventions and regulations surrounding the case. Ultimately, that is determined by what each individual discourse community sees and how they see it.

Discourse communities that arose to advocate for or against both Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman, were influenced by three characteristics described by the linguist Ron Scollon as :

1. As persons with all of their memories and experiences to the social relationship they have with other people

2. The relationship they have with other people.

3. The kinds of communication tools that they have to help organize attention in specific areas.

“Digital media are having an effect on the kinds of attention structures that people adopt in a whole range of different situations” (Jones & Haffner 88). The distribution throughout the internet also brought about the social action of physically commit together outside the realm of the web to advocate for justice for Trayvon Martin. Attention is distributed amongst mental structures, social relationships and communication tools and in the case of the George Zimmerman trial; mental structures formed discourse communities within the web, social relationships emerged due to the discourse communities within the web, and through the communication of technological tools, both the discourse community and social relationshipswere able to thrive.

At the same time, “digital media and the internet facilitate participate in this economy, by creating new channels for distributing attention” (Jones & Haffner 90). Because there were multiple photos circulating the internet, people were able to focus their attention on their perspective of Trayvon Martin. Was he just an innocent victim who was killed because of the color of his skin? Or was he a ruthless thug that had it coming to him? Variations of his photos convey a different interpretation for a lot of different people. The only two people who truly knew him was his parents and people only speculate and force their opinions onto society because digital media grants the affordance of letting anyone say how they think and feel about situations.

Class Notes 10/22

Posted on October 22, 2015 by Folayemi

*Everyone should find one excerpt, type it out, and provide analysis of the excerpt chosen. If you were trying to make a larger argument, you would need to go in and find textual evidence of it. DO NOT QUOTE & SUMMARIZE but quote & find evidence to support the claim in one or two sentences.

Kairos- a notion of opportunity (the time being right).

Domesticate- to tame that is suitable for a particular space (in context to Greis’ article)

Associative- linked to or tied to

Contiguous- next to each other

Irreverent- not respectful

Key Claims of Articles

Picking Up the Fragments of the 2012 Election: Memes, Topoi, and Political Rhetoric

Social media is becoming too involved in politics, specifically memes that are taking us away from the heart of the issues or core of politics.
“Some memes function as a rhetorical topoi” (Wetherbee 2).
“The internet memes are fleeting bits of discourse that quickly lose steam…”, in other words, memes don’t necessarily last once they go away from what once gave them momentum; they go away (Wetherbee 3).
Memes have an impact and a sort of power. As they circulate, they are changing.
The meme “binders full of women” took off because it tapped into other things that was circulating about how people felt about Romney
Memes are distancing from its social context

Iconographic Tracking: A Digital Research Method for Visual Rhetoric and Circulation Studies

Images are not stable
Circulation is beyond what users of the internet can control

*Continue discussion on the blog by analyzing quotes found in the article

Presentations

Ashley: What’s So Special About a Meme?

The Willy Wonka meme uses the same photo but provide different contexts and is essentially farther from the original context

Samantha: The Art of the Meme

There may be a consequence of an image as it circulates
Memes are in the political scene and are used to send political messages or may be a spoof on the real message the candidate is trying to convey

Jodiann: The Virality of Memes

How memes go viral
She believes memes are an accidental invention
Memes are popular in culture
Memes changes our ways of knowing and understanding, the way we think and interact with each other

Pamela: Got Milk? Got Meme?

How an advertising campaign can turn into a meme
Promotion of milk in the United States turned into a meme
Participatory culture where memes allow us to do so
Memes can be taken in different ways

Meme’s Ability to Change Over Time

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Folayemi

Memes are created for various reasons and they can be duplicated thousands of ways that sometimes users who create them may not no the origin of its existence. Because of viral media as Greis puts it, “once produced and distributed in a networked pathway, images rapidly undergo change in terms of location, form, media, genre, and function” (335). What once was a photo in a comic book circulated into a proliferation of memes. Thousands of users rely on the internet everyday and with the addition of social networks it is easy to spread content as simple as a meme online. The internet makes it easy for users to create memes as well with just a few clicks. But those who create these memes, how many of them know its origin? Memes do not and will not remain the same because each user who contributes to creating them have a different purpose from another user as to why they created it in the first place whether because they intend to be funny or serious or even romantic. Memes change over time through the web and users never look back. Next time you see a meme ask yourself, what actions, process, or result of manipulation created the meme to begin with?

Download (PPTX, 608KB)

Memes Encouragement of Discourse Communitites

Posted on October 20, 2015 by Folayemi

Kenny and Cohen derive the idea of a meme by using Limor Shifman’s definition in explaining to their readers that a meme, is “(a) a group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form, and/or stance, which (b) were created with awareness of each other, and (c) were circulated, imitated, and/or transformed via the internet by many users” (98).

The circulation of memes have created a discourse community in which people participate in creating variations of scenarios through imagery. Memes spread through the behavior that they generate within different discourse communities on the web. For instance, the very familiar Leonardo Dicaprio memes:

http://www.quickmeme.com/Leonardo-Dicaprio

https://imgflip.com/i/rfg6y

https://imgflip.com/meme/Leonardo-Dicaprio-Cheers?page=79

As you can see, a snippet of imagery from the film The Great Gatsby was acquired and circulated around the web to create various memes whether to share humorous context or a more serious one. One shot can be looked at and manipulated a thousand ways and that in itself, creates a discourse community in that users of the web like to create memes. This photo may be updated and reupdated whenever someone has a text that can draw attention to the photo and create an idea.

“According to Limor Shifman, there are two types of remix meme: the juxtaposition image meme and the frozen-motion remix meme. The juxtaposition meme takes a facial expression or an act out context and inserts it into an image that deserves the punch line” (Cohen & Kenny 104). The memes of Leonardo Dicaprio shown above is the very definition of a juxtaposition meme. “Shifman explains that juxtapositions call for mimetic response because the photos are taken out of context, and their reappropriation to other context feels almost natural” (Cohen & Kenny 104). Users of the web who experiment with memes may not know the context of Leonardo’s facial expression if they did not watch the movie, however, the way Shifman puts it, the facial expression is open to interpretation to create memes and generate ideas of thinking within discourse communities or just in the realm of the web as a whole.

To use Leonardo Dicaprio again, his photo was taken in mid-motion in the scene of his film Inception as he is seen walking awkwardly but happily and people use out-of-context information to crate a meme. The original photo is shown below.

Look at the variations people came up with as a result making it a frozen-motion meme.

*All photos located at The 23 Funniest Strutting Leo Pics.

The variations of this photo has generated so much buzz within the discourse community of the web that it is known as “Strutting Leo.” Because of the popularity of the photo, people are successful in producing a desired or intended result via the internet and by using this particular photo. Same goes for thousands of other photos that continue to circulate the web. Ultimately, discourse communities are encouraged to participate in creating memes by using shared photos or videos of interest on the web.

Cats: A Trending Sensation

Posted on October 19, 2015 by Folayemi

Making my way to Astoria, Queens to the Museum of the Moving Image, I had no idea of what to expect. First, because I haven’t been to a museum since I was a child and second, because I thought how much of an exhibit can be dedicated solely to cats. Walking into the museum, I could appreciate the white, crisp, clean walls and stairs; it was modern as well as breathtaking. Walking up the stairs and into our first exhibit, How Cats Took Over the Internet, my first words were “awww they’re so cute!” I’ve never seen an abundance of photos and videos of cats all in one setting. I had to take in everything slowly and I can understand why cat owners/lovers would share their felines online for everyone else to see.

My favorite part of the exhibit is viewers are allowed to pick and choose emotions for different video scenarios of cats in action. My two favorite is the cat that excitedly ran into the pool but had a terrified look on its face when it’s finally in the water and the two cats that couldn’t keep their paws off each other. I also liked the component of making our own memes, I’ve never done that before, it was fun being creative with a picture and a few words because sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words so text isn’t always necessary.

The cat as its running into the water

The cat after it’s in the water and it is obvious that it’s terrified

Two cats showing affection towards one another

The meme I created at the exhibit

A cat playing with toilet tissue

I wonder, do you think dogs will ever become as big on the internet as cats have? There are countless numbers of different kinds of animals so why do cats get all the popularity? Nonetheless, I thought the exhibit was great and the museum as a whole brought me back to my childhood days; going on museums with my classmates. I think I will definitely go back to check out the other exhibits in the near future with some friends.

Pinterest : A Virtual Inspiration Board

Posted on October 8, 2015 by Folayemi

https://prezi.com/zmsl04agazgi/pinterest-the-social-scrapbook/

Pinterest is essentially a photo-sharing site where users can catalog ideas. It’s easy as uploading, saving, sorting, and managing photos, primarily known as “pins” on the site through collections known as pinboards. Pinboards are usually organized around a central topic or them making it accessible for other users to find and add the pin unto their own board as well. Boards range from food & recipes to tattoos and cars. The range of themes and topics are endless. There’s nothing that you can’t draw inspiration from on this social network.

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670681/ben-silbermann-pinterest

The image above, provides an overview of the social network’s demographic with nearly 80% of Pinterest’s users being women, most between the ages of 25 and 54, according to Google Double Click Ad Planner.

Prezi vs. Powerpoint

I found myself struggling to use Prezi and didn’t like how time consuming it was. PowerPoint is my ‘go-to’ software when making presentations because its simple to and doesn’t come with a whole lot of baggage like Prezi. Powerpoint is without a doubt more user-friendly. The interface of Prezi was a bit overwhelming when I first made an account because it was not a program I was taught to use in school. I had to watch a video before I could begin with my presentation. I have to admit, even after watching a video I was still overwhelmed and frustrated because of all the animations, zooming, templates, etc. I think I’ll stick to using Powerpoint as the simple slide themes can be redesigned to look more professional and modern, while the straight progression of the presentation makes it simple for anyone to follow.

ENG 2720: Writing with New Media

Professor Belli, Fall 2015

Author Archives: Folayemi