video for presentation

My presentation is on Pregnancy in Second Life. At first this concept seems very foreign to us and any preconceived notions we have regarding pregnancy. I delve deeper into the issue as in my last project with Second Life I found a strong parallel between real life and virtual reality. There is a real demand and interest in this feature and it was in fact added to the program because people wanted it. I learned a lot from women that I interviewed on SL regarding the process for them, but mostly the reasons they feel so strongly about the issue. Their insights and stories really provided me with a new perspective on the issue. If anything is accomplished through this presentation, I hope that it teaches us to remain open to possibilities in the ever-evolving communications world and not close any doors until we fully understand the idea.

Social Media Project Revision

I found my project to be hard to read due to the distracting wall of text. I broke down the overwhelming blocks into more of a paragraph structure. I also added in more insight as to how I came to my conclusions. I concluded that what people value on Second Life is what they value in real life. I added an example of this application to my life. I hope that made it clearer as to how I came to the conclusion that I did.

Image Strategy for my TED talk

I am planning on delving further into Second Life. I was really interested in relationships and how real people perceive them to be. I also want to look into the issue of pregnancy on the virtual reality site as well. I plan on using images/ screenshots to go along with my talk and kind of keep me on track as I talk. I might incorporate some short video clips as well. I think it should be a really interesting topic.

My experiment with Second Life

So I experimented with the virtual world of Second Life to see what it was all about. It was really interesting and I found out it actually can supplement and enrich your real life. It is not a substitute to living your life, but is very interesting. I really learned a lot. Here is the presentation that I put together.



I also made a Wordle Map about actions on SL.
title="Wordle: second life2"> src="http://www.wordle.net/thumb/wrdl/1347595/second_life2"
alt="Wordle: second life2"
style="padding:4px;border:1px solid #ddd">

St Louis

This weekend my cross country team and I went to St Louis for the Atlantic 10 Championships. It was a very interesting city and had a lot of culture and a distinct feel to it. We got to visit the Gateway Arch which was so cool. The sightseeing was great and I found the architecture to be fascinating. Here are some pictures that I took...

Social Objects

I watched a really interesting video by Jyri Engestrom on social objects. It discussed the various social networking sites and what social object they were based upon. It is essential to the success of the site for vistitors to relate to and understand the social object. Due to the social networking revolution, we are always connected. I know personally I feel alone if I forget my cell phone. We use mobile social networking which allows us to be always connected. We can't escape this connection and it seems as if we always know what others are doing and vice versa. Sites like twitter and facebook allow us to find out very personal information about others. I am very interested in how much people are willing to share about themselves on these sites.

Here is a link to Jyri Engstrom's blog about social networking and other interesting topics. http://zengestrom.com/

Social Media in My Life

When I first thought about how much social media I use in my life, I could only think of one thing: Facebook. As I read further into Content Nation, I realized that social media is very much a part of my life. I use Facebook to connect with people who I lost touch with and stay updated on my friends' lives. I used LinkedIn for similar reasons, but in the business world. It is a great tool to build a network. Clearly, I use Blogger to talk out my life and experiences in a public forum. I use Wikipedia to gather basic knowledge on various topics. I can upload and watch videos on YouTube. Flickr allows me to the same with photos. Social media allows anyone to share their passions with others throughout the world. I am not as immersed in the social media world as others. People can literally live alternate lives through Second Life. Clearly, social media is the new frontier. It gives us the power to do things we previously thought impossible. It seems that the possibilities are endless. We need to realize that it is a way of life, not just a fad.

Xtra Normal Movie

This is our group's example of a bad interview on both the part of the interviewer and interviewee. The website Xtranormal.com was very fun and innovative and allowed anyone to make a movie. We struggled with camera angles and hopefully we cna improve for nex time. All in all, I think it was a cool experience to really make a movie on our own.

Team Project

Our team is doing out digital storytelling project on What is Passion? It will be an indepth look into what is passion to each of our team members. We will have an introduction with narration and general statements. Then we will go into individual storytelling. I plan on talking about running and my team as they are both huge parts of my life and something that I care deeply about. After individual stories, we will unite our ideas and tie everything together with a broad conclusion.

Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now really captures the senses of the audience. It makes them a  part of the setting through the images, sounds, and emotions evoked. In an appreciative sense, it immerses the audience in the situation being presented as it makes you think and question the event and personalities of the characters. The first person narration gives the audience a deeper connection to the thought of the character. This establishes an emotional connection.  The narration gives us insight and evokes sympathy for a clearly tortured man.

Critique of My Blog thus far...

I think that I have been doing a good job with this blog. It is all very new to me, but I feel like I am catching on through practice and some readings I've been doing. I try to link to all pertinent sites that I talk about, but I have been struggling with getting images and videos up. I try to keep my blogs concise and to the point. A big part of web reading, its scan-ability. I try to break my posts up so it is reader friendly and never appears to be too intimidatingly long. 

(insert break here)

I think the design of my site really suites me and speaks about who I am. I think the template I chose is very readable and attractive. I think the background and text colors compliment each other well. I think I could eliminate a few needless words and I feel like that will come over time. I think I am really developing my voice. I need to come up with a more creative blog name and tagline. I think it's a bit too generic. 

I think my About Me section really speaks of who I am. I think I should add more to it as I am becoming more comfortable with the concept of blogging. I think my blog will continue to develop and grow. Hopefully, it will become a professional looking site and can be  a place that I am proud to call my home on the web.

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Communications Minor at SJU

I just started classes towards a Communications minor. It's new at Saint Joe's and I found a group on Facebook. The site has a lot of job opportunities and interesting information. Check it out!

NikeID website

I am a runner. Therefore, I have an unhealthy obsession with shoes. I am currently looking for new racing spikes. I went to the NikeID site so I could customize my spikes in our team colors etc. However, there were no running spikes (there were football and soccer though!).  Despite my let down, I can appreciate the creativity and uniqueness of the site. The site allows you to really make the shoe your own. You can choose every detail to truly make it a one of a kind. The site is pretty quick and has good user interface. It actually won a Webby award for best visual design. You can really see and know what your shoe will look like before it is even made. There are various angles you can view the shoe from. You can also zoom in for a more detailed view. The site is very user friendly and makes the experience of shoe shopping a unique, fun, and memorable one. Since there were no spikes, I created Nike Frees. 

Check out the
NikeFree 5.0 iD Running Shoe
I designed at NIKEiD.com

It's a cool site, you should all go check it out!

The Importance of Creativity

I believe that creativity is extremely important and essential in whatever career path you may choose. However, in our society, creativity is not encouraged. In fact, it is even viewed as somewhat of a disability. We are told to worry about "the creative ones" as we praise the mathematically inclined. The hierarchy of our educational system is clearly swayed. In order for our society to advance, we must encourage and foster creativity. Children start out creative, but as they are further educated they become less and less so. Parents encourage their children to steer clear of creative future careers and emphasize the stability of the maths and sciences. As a whole, we must ask ourselves how can we advance our society if we continue to settle for the safe choices and never push the envelope.

Thoughts on The Future of Communication

Hey! I just watched a really cool video on the future of communication as we know it. Here's the the link.

I think that the internet is something that we all take for granted right now, but it actually has sparked a revolution in how we communicate with each other. It amazes me how one innovation almost completely replaced all forms of print media. The internet allows us a forum to report our own news (such as this blog!). This figure is the prosumer who both produces and consumes news. This is a very powerful figure and gives everyone the ability to report the news. Old forms of media have tried to fight back with taxes and copyright laws but I think the force of the internet and new technologies is undeniable. We cannot slow this growth, but rather we must embrace it. I am really excited to see where the future of communications and technology may go. I only hope it can bring more positive things into our world because this is a time when we really need it.