Post One: Think Piece

Original think piece post w/ attached update

Post Two: Podcast

Original podcast

Podcast Script

Post Three: Flickr

Original Flickr post w/ updated attached

Final Portfolio Flickr Text Sources

Post Four: YouTube

Original Youtube Post

YouTube Scripting Draft

Post Five: HTML

Original HTML reflection

Post Six: Twitter

Original Twitter Post

Twitter Draft

From the beginning of the semester, the term affordances and constraints have played a large part in the development of each project and the ways in which new media allows versatility in the messages being delivered.

The think piece, being in a basic essay format, had the most affordances. Created using Microsoft Word, it allowed me to express my ideas on cultural appropriation. For this piece, I was determined to shed light on an issue that I take personally. The problem of cultural appropriation is one that is so dominant because many do not see it as an issue worth acknowledging. With each project, I saw more information and ways that the piece could be elevated. The final result is more refined and elaborated on some of my more underdeveloped ideas.

Working with a podcast was an interesting experience. Although there were less restraints than the think piece, finding audio that was not covered laced with strict copyright laws. Finding audio and supporting clips that I could use was the hardest part of putting this podcast together. Also, fine-tuning the audio I created took a lot of practice and time. As the second project, I feel like the podcast allowed more freedom of expression in the music and ability to be heard by the audience. This is very different from every other project because it only engages the ears of the listeners.  Being able to pair my voice with the think piece made the message feel more powerful.

The photo project was possibly the most difficult because it required me to understand the value of original content. The constraints of creating images is that for every original created, there are 500 copyrighted pieces. Originally, my idea was to use different females throughout the school with strong facial ques to convey my message. For the final portfolio, I added two additional images with text to send a more concise and connected message.

Similar to the podcast, YouTube has more constraints than affordances. When I was planning this video, my original ideas required more time than was allowed for this assignment. When looking at many popular vloggers and the ways there videos were designed, I noticed that many used the Snapchat app and combined all of the videos to create content that was visible on two platforms. This allowed me to combine two media platforms to give the same message. This also avoided copyrighting issues because all content created on Snapchat is owned by the user.

Using HTML coding felt very similar to formatting and perfecting a document with a basic word processor. There is a constant need for revisions and corrections and a simple error can impact the entire document. This was the process I endured with Notepad. While the constraints mainly surround the learning curve, the affordances are the ability to create a website with a program that is similar to word processing. With practice, coding can be a vital part of my journey through the PTW major.

For the Twitter project, I was very satisfied with how my tweets came out because my audience was primarily young adults and the unintentional cultural appropriators. This piece hit all the points I liked, however I truly understand the constraints of Twitter. 140 characters really isn’t enough.

Overall, each project with all its affordances and constraints, led to the end of the road in Writing with New Media.

Introduction

This is a collaborative project that has been completed by Rownak Choudhury, Ashley Dunlap, George Gordon, and Christopher Navarrete. The focus of this project is the issue of student retention. Two of the top reasons we’ve heard students are struggling are poor study habits and not understanding the resources available and the requirements of the college they attend. In City Tech specifically, there are an abundance of tools that are made available to students but remain unknown. Some of these tools include the College Catalog and DegreeWorks.

We would aim to make sure that students know exactly what they need in order to graduate and prevent them from having low GPAs. This includes providing tips to help students stay motivated and develop good study habits and a clear understanding of the road to graduation when students enter a program (degree transparency). Through media platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Soundcloud we will be using the knowledge gained throughout the semester to bring awareness to students.

Project Proposal

Project Proposal

New Media Project Components

Twitter: Keys To Success by Ashley Dunlap

The Twitter page is designed to be a quick bundle of information that links out to articles as well as the other components of the project. Being that Twitter is popular amongst college students and the school has several accounts, it will allow the college to see the work tha is being done while motivating students.

Keys To Success Page

Ashley Supporting Documents

Getting the Degree: City Tech’s Resources and Study Tips by George Gordon

This is video revolving around interviews conducted on various students throughout City Tech. The purpose being to see how much students knew about what is available to them at the
college and potentially inform others on what they can utilize to succeed in college.

Youtube: Getting the Degree

George Supporting Documents

Getting the Degree Podcast Episode 1: Study Tips by Christopher Navarrete

This podcast discusses the best study tips and study habits as recommended by students and professionals. It intends to inform, motivate, and encourage all college students. Most of this information was obtained from interviews we collected from City tech students.

Getting the Degree Episode 1: Study Tips

Christopher Supporting Documents

Ace College Through Visuals: Study Tips & More by Rownak Choudhury

The goal for this project portion is to create five qualitative images aiding college students. Because only five are to be produced and presented, there will not be too many limiting factors used to connect the pictures. However, all pictures will have a social media hashtag unique to this project.

Flicker Album

Rownak Supporting Documents

Project Reflections

Ashley Reflection

George Reflection

Christopher Reflection

Rownak Reflection

Getting the Degree-Final Presentation

What happens when a class assignment meets Twitter.

This is a mini Twitter rant of my think piece. While full of emojis and personality, this rendition of my think piece summarizes my topic in 140 characters or less.

In recent months, African American community has been outraged by the many ways their culture has been shamed and mimicked in media

Appropriation occurs when the appropriator isn't aware of the deep significance of the culture they r partaking in- Amandla Stenberg (2/12)

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

The creation of Bantu knows being credited to Marc Jacobs as "twisted mini buns" (3/12) pic.twitter.com/TED6f15RcF

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

Cornrows going from unprofessional to edgy (4/12) pic.twitter.com/HGQlHEtRE7

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

Folks aren't

The Dashiki is a part of a culture, not a trend #message (7/12) pic.twitter.com/Sj6dozeNpg

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

Why are styles that r natural to many considered unprofessional? (8/12) https://t.co/yoXkEXYbKK

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

"Digging it" for one but discriminate the other

To say there is an issue with cultural appropriation is not saying end cultural fusion (10/12)

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

All that is being requested it the ability to have pieces of our identity be respected (11/12) pic.twitter.com/XT8nRnr2xo

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

"What would America be like if we loved Black people as much as we love Black culture?" -Amandla Stenberg (12/12) pic.twitter.com/x281AlYwgt

— ✨Ashley A✨ (@AaliyahDee) April 19, 2016

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Creating the tweets for Tuesday’s class was extremely difficult. My initial roadblock was finding a meaningful way to convey my message in 140 characters. As I planned the flow of my tweets, I was focused on adding more visuals and staying as true to the original content as possible. Throughout my experience with Twitter, my tweets have been more centered around natural hair, inspirational quotes, and random selfies. This assignment was quite a change.

While actually posting my tweets, I noticed that ever time I added an image or graphic, my character count would decrease drastically. This led to a panicky feeling of rewording my pre-planned tweets while in a hurry.

I am very satisfied with how my tweets came out because my audience was primarily young adults and the unintentional cultural appropriators. This piece hit all the points I liked, however I truly understand the constraints of Twitter. 140 characters really isn’t enough.

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When looking at the analytics exclusively surrounding my live tweets, there were 899 impressions and an average engagement rate of 6%. Though this is not the highest since I have started using Twitter, it is significant for such an authentic and personal piece.

The purpose of this project was to provide a basic understanding of the work that goes into text-based web design. The primary tools used where Notepad++ to create the HTML coding and Markdown, a free software that simplifies the coding process. Though both programs do similar jobs, there were key differences when using both. Notepad++, while the harder program to use, allowed more control over the formatting and web layout of the text. Markdown allowed a simplicity that was hindered by the limited choices in changing the text layout.

Using HTML coding felt very similar to formatting and perfecting a document with a basic word processor. There is a constant need for revisions and corrections and a simple error can impact the entire document. This was the process I endured with Notepad++. Understanding the basics of coding was not an issue because the steps to properly enabling the HTML text to run through a web browser was fairly simple.

When looking at the text through different web browsers, I noticed that there are no noticeable differences between Google Chrome and Firefox. Internet Explorer and Safari showed my preferred formatting in a stretched manner and did not display my think piece well. Also with Markdown, I was less thrilled with the limitations the program presented when trying to change the spacing and layout of my piece. While it simplified the work required, Markdown required users to sacrifice their formatting creativity.

To sum things up, I enjoyed working with code and learning how to maneuver between Notepad++ and Markdown. This is a good skill to have on my resume and will be an asset in the professional world.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHM8w0myluQ

Here is a snapshot of my views and analysis on cultural appropriation.

When I was planning this video, my original ideas required more time than was allowed for this assignment. When looking at many popular vloggers and the ways there videos were designed, I noticed that many used the Snapchat app and combined all of the videos to create content that was visible on two platforms.

Although I am not satisfied with the overall video, I know where my changes will be. I will be adding images and a more connected approach in my portfolio.  Because I have very little video editing experience with free software. I will be spend time reworking my approach for the final portfolio.

Updated Flickr album for Final Portfolio: Smashing the Stereotype Final

https://flic.kr/s/aHskwBJKTs

The five images created show women of color making a statement on their views if cultural appropriation.

I was excited to begin this photography project because there were endless possibilities in the way I could display cultural appropriation, however the time restrictions did not allow for that creativity.

The direction I chose to go in was one that highlighted the response that many women have when it comes to the underlying attacks that come with cultural appropriation. That response is “My hair does not define me.” The focus of my photographs were to catch people that I interacted with daily and get their uncensored opinion, which will help in Project 4. I used my phone to edit these photos, but the goal was to do minimal editing.

I will be adding more to this for the final portfolio, but this is the groundwork for why I did my piece. Women are more than their hair because it is a part of their culture.

Do you get tired of hearing people tell you the same bad answers all the time? Well this is exactly what you want to hear. In this first episode of Truth Tea, I’ll give you the tea on cultural appropriation.

Working with a podcast was an interesting experience. Although there were less restraints than the think piece, finding audio that was not covered laced with strict copyright laws. Finding audio and supporting clips that I could use was the hardest part of putting this podcast together.

While some may see this podcast as a race fueled rant, it was actually created with the goal of informing without passing harsh judgement. Being able to use my voice made the words on my paper more personable. The audience I’m aiming for is  anyone that is willing to listen.

Updated thinkpiece: Think Piece for Final Portfolio

In recent months, the African American community has been outraged by the many ways their culture and history have been shamed and mimicked in mainstream media. From Rachel Dolezal’s portrayal of “Blackness”, the creation of bantu knots being credited to Marc Jacobs as “twisted mini buns”, cornrows going from unprofessional to edgy, and the twist out being coined as a “rope trick”, many are taking to social media to express their absolute disgust at the colonization or appropriation of Black culture.

Appropriation, as defined by teen actress Amandla Stenberg “occurs when a style leads to racist generalizations or stereotypes where it originated but is deemed as high fashion, cool or funny when the privileged take it for themselves. Appropriation occurs when the appropriator is not aware of the deep significance of the culture they are partaking in.”

There is a fine line between appropriating and appreciating Black culture and that line is crossed and often ignored.

Why the Uproar?

To many this may seem like a trivial but to those that are on the receiving end of appropriation, this is disrespectful. A common claim is that appropriation pushes the unspoken feeling that as African Americans, the things that are a part of our culture are more acceptable when used by others.

When Allure magazine offered advice on how to achieve a “loose Afro”, it was not received well when two years before a 12-year-old Florida student faced expulsion for what was described as “distracting” hair. Why is it that what is natural to a group of people is penalized but acceptable when replicated?

We Need a Resolution

To say there is an issue to cultural appropriation is to say that there is an end to cultural fusion. The community is not asking to have ownership over the many things that make them who they are. All that is being requested is the ability to have the pieces of their lifestyle appreciated. I’ll end with the words of Stenberg because they summarize the situation perfectly,

“What would America be like if we loved black people as much as we love black culture?”

Works Cited

Abdul-Jabbar, Kareem. “Cornrows and Cultural Appropriation.” Time. Time, 25 Aug. 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Sehgal, Parul. “Is Cultural Appropriation Always Wrong?” The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 Sept. 2015. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Stenberg, Amandla. “Don’t Cash Crop On My Cornrows Transcript.” LYBIOnet. LYBIOnet. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.

Reflection

For this piece, I was determined to shed light on an issue that I take personally. The problem of cultural appropriation is one that is so dominant because many do not see it as an issue worth acknowledging. It has become a hindrance in main stream media, as many talented artists and performers are being excluded because their individuality is being colonized as an “edgy” gimmick.Particularly with the #OscarsSoWhite controvesy and #CosmoHeadlines that have been rampant on Twitter and Facebook, it is hard to ignore something that frustrating.

There are some changes I would like to adjust, such as adding quotations and making the piece a little less personal.

As a novice blogger, I understand the importance of respecting culture and giving credit when due. My hope is that this piece is the continuation of a dialogue that affects many.