Apparently, I need to have some sort of Community Guidelines… For who? I guess Suzanne and Lauren may be thinking that I have actually gathered Dished viewers to Vancouver Gems. As previously mentioned in process post 11, I would have to actually expand myself onto other platforms.
Though hypothetically, my community guidelines would incorporate approving comments on my website. If you scroll to the footer or look to the right, it says “No comments to show.” Well, that is because I haven’t enabled them. Enabling comments would be suitable for my blog as engagement and traffic would grow.
Implementing this will hopefully not attract bots…not that it has happened before…
FAREWELL!
I guess this last process post is also a farewell, farewell to PUB 101. Is it an actual goodbye? Nope! See you in PUB 201! (if I decide I can handle next semester’s course load)
I was requested to evaluate Lily’s blog, Knitting After Hours. I was astounded by how well-designed the website appeared when I initially clicked the link to it. Lily’s website is well-organized and put together, while we have just begun developing our website.
During the day, Lily studies, and at night, she knits. She intends to highlight her accomplishments and successful ventures. She discusses twist socks in the part on her knitting endeavours. I had the impression that I was speaking with Lily directly while reading the post. Even though I’ve never been interested in knitting socks, it was interesting, hilarious, and engaging enough to have me wanting to learn more.
Going through Lily’s website made me immediately take note of the images she included to each post. Since I like to see things visually versus mentally picturing them, I am a huge photo enthusiast. When I clicked on the post because there was an image, I instantly felt as though I understood everything Lily was saying. I loved that there was an image and a brief description of the post before you read it. I really appreciated how she combined visuals and links to the topics she was discussing.
In between the white and black on Lily’s site, there is this lovely yellow colour. The colour palette she is utilising, in my opinion, has a strong knitting connection. It is quite relaxing and does not overwhelm. Because of all the categories she has established, I had no trouble finding her posts. She has developed links to the knitting patterns she uses in her work.
I immediately recognise what Lily is attempting to advertise when I visit her website. She wants to share her experience with each project because she is so passionate about knitting. Regarding the goals she has for her website, I had no questions. Lily strikes me as funny and as someone who is well-versed in website editing.
I’ll sum up my evaluation by saying that she’s organised and can knit. She did mention that she would be include food and playlists in her “about me” section. Because I adore food, I can’t wait to see her prepare recipes. Her website will have content that goes beyond knitting, which is incredibly interesting. Additionally, I really appreciate how she’ll be sharing her own playlist. If she included a category of projects, she’s interested in trying, I think it would be interesting. Additionally, she might mention where she gets the yarn or give advice for it. It’s interesting to hear about what she does, but to keep people interested, she should provide more advice. I’d love to learn how to knit, so I’ll be sure to visit her page more frequently.
Never in my life have I eaten a corn dog. Never had a strong desire to give it a try or find out more about it.
While I was visiting a friend, she expressed a desire for a Chung Chun Rice Dog Korean corn dog. I suggested that because we were both hungry and I am the pickiest eater ever, we try it.
We travelled to Burnaby’s Location, located at 4428 Beresford Street. From 11:30 am until 11:00 pm, it is open. Its brightness and simplicity caught my attention right away. It seemed strange that there was nowhere to sit down and eat, in my opinion. You order your dish and then wait for it to be freshly deep-fried in the incredibly small restaurant. There are 17 sauces and spices to choose from after it is prepared. They will put the sauce and seasoning on for you.
I bought a Chung Chun Original, which is a full-flavored beef sausage, and a Half Mozzarella, which is a mixed-meat and cheese sausage. I chose several condiments for every corn dog. My original corn dog was topped with honey butter, sweet mayo, honey mustard, and ketchup. Teriyaki, sweet chilli, and sweet mayo were the flavours in my half-mozzarella corn dog. I’ll just say, WOW! It was incredible.
Each day thousands of individuals make efforts to venture into the fashion industry by creating a clothing brand, yet few are able to succeed. On Tiktok, Instagram or even Reddit, I often see people posting their ideas, drafts, or launching their collection for a clothing line. A lot of the people starting their brands have very similar products to the rest of the industry, and many follow suit with current trends.
The clothing brand that I have chosen to showcase today is the opposite of those start-up brands, in the sense that it is unique. CurrieGoat (real name Denzel) is an artist who makes a variety of different types of clothing, accessories, and home products. He does both the creative design and labor for all of his products and it is evident by the quality. Denzel has videos on youtube where he breaks down every step in the creation of his products. He walks through choosing the designs, drawing the design in photoshop, and the detailed process of sewing the product. The result of this hard work is spectacular-looking products that are known to be high quality. Denzel’s visually pleasing patterns and colors are a staple in all of his products, you can see similar patterns re-appear as you scroll through his Instagram page. Another interesting selling point of Denzel’s brand is his range of products. Denzel has made handbags, rugs, hoodies, shoes, and even a table. Lastly, I wanted to showcase one way Denzel is adding new elements to the fashion industry. In one of Denzel’s recent posts, he videos the rug that he made with his phone, then on his phone the rug starts doing an animation. I was blown away by the creative processes of adding augmented reality to fashion. I can only imagine what’s next for Denzel as he continues to break norms in the fashion world.
I remember being in sixth grade when my teacher told our class about something that blew my mind. She told us that there was a such thing as a 3D printer, where instead of putting ink onto paper, you could print out a real object. My mind was blown, my friends and I then went to Youtube and watched videos of 3D printing being done. I remember thinking,” this can be the solution to so many problems, it’s like being able to create something out of nothing”. However, since the 6th grade, I rarely hear about 3D printing and I nearly forgot that it existed. That’s why seeing the impressive application of the machine, done by young artist “yalocaloffgod” re-ignited that childhood wonder.
Yalocaloffgod (real name drew) is an artist that I have been following on instagram for a long time due to his unique cartoons of famous rappers. One day however I saw multiple images of him being re-posted on my feed by other pages. His accessories for apple AirPods max had gone viral, and he was getting recognition across his page.
I too found the idea to be remarkable as it combined technology and fashion into one. I was impressed by the sheer creativity to have that idea and then the bravery to apply it in a functional manner. After the success of his first model, drew released multiple other designs, each more creative than the last, one was even made from lego. Drew also showed the behind-the-scenes of how he made the accessory, showing the 3D model on his computer and the printing of the headphones.
I think the implication of Drew’s innovation is also of a large magnitude. After seeing these headphone accessories on my page, I saw other people also customizing their headphones in their own style. I think that the world of fashion may have latched onto Drew’s idea, not only of customizing headphones but the style that Drew used as well. Even more so, I think that posts like these may inspire upcoming artists to also implicate 3D modeling and printing into their art creations and in fashion.
The first photographer I would like to showcase is @thezairul, a creator from Kula Lumpur Malaysia. The moment I saw one of their posts my attention was captured immediately. The reason for this was because of the seemingly impossible photos that zairul seemed to capture. At frist glance, the photoshop is done so well that the impossible illusions seem real. Each post on zairul’s feed makes you question physics and reality and bring you into a fantasy world that looks so fake yet so real at the same time. Although some of the posts are a little repetitive I think this creative approach to photography as well as a great way to attract new people that may not be into photography. The image of zairul’s that I have attached is one of my favorites from their page. Staring at this photo I feel engrossed in a magical space in my brain. This photo captures how I feel on a late-night drive with my favorite song playing on the speakers. It makes me feel a combination of adventure, mystery, and peace. The amount of detail in the photo is also something that greatly impresses me. The way that the windshield of the BMW is consistent with the background and how the horizon where the road cuts off fits in perfectly are details that show that a lot of hard work has been put into the editing.
The second photographer that I have chosen to display is Kerry Skarbakka who is an artist as well as a professor of photography. This choice was a little more abstract and weird as a little dive into Kerry Skarbakka’s work and you will find some strange photos. Nonetheless, I found his project “the struggle to right oneself” to be something unique and eye-catching. Skrbakka describes his photos as capturing the “sublime metaphorical space where balance has been disrupted and the definitive point-of-no-return has been met.” Skrarbakka shows us visually how it feels to let go during a struggle. He shows that letting yourself go and fail away into nothingness is just as scary as continuing to suffer through whatever is burdening you. My personal interpretation of the photo that I have selected is the sinking feeling of fear. I feel as though Skarbakka has been able to capture that exact moment when your stomach sinks and a shock runs through your body.
This post is one that may stand out for reasons that are different than usual, today we are looking at the work of Jesse Kanda. Jesse Kanda is an artist and musician who was bought up in Canada but is currently situated in London. Jesse has worked with other popular musicians and even provides visuals for the fashion label “Hood by Air”. Kanda’s art is known for being different, my first impression of it was something along the lines of “haunting”. There is, however, a purpose and message behind Kanda’s frighting drawings. Kanda has stated in a Dazed 100 interview “The inside of our body is much more beautiful than the skin that coats it, yet we’re afraid of it. When you see blood or organs, you sense pain and danger. (Todd, 2016)” Kanda’s goal is to bring out the beauty in things that are not conventionally visually appealing. In the same interview, he states “part of my goal is to present ‘disgusting’ things as something beautiful,(Todd, 2016)”. Although this type of art is not my usual cup of tea, I can understand Kanda’s motives and overall message. When I look at Kanda’s work I get a sense of monstrosity and beauty at the same time, which is something that is very rare. Another thing I like about Kanda’s work is the contrast between different drawings. In the two photos that I have showcased above, you can see a huge difference in the aura they give off. It’s like one represents euphoria, growth, and life, while the other represents pain, suffering, and death. One other thing I like about Kanda’s work is its uniqueness and bravery. In the world of social media, creators often follow trends and copy what others do; Kanda’s work stands out from the crowd, and that’s how it caught my eye. Now that I’ve seen Kanda’s art, I don’t know if I should be excited or scarred to listen to his music.
When it comes to directing music videos, album trailers, and million-dollar advertisements, there is one person in the business whose work is in a league of its own. That director is Gibson Hazard, a creator that I have looked up to for years. Before I dive into what makes his work so great let’s have a look at some of his work.
The first thing that separates Hazard from nearly every other music video director in the game right now is his use of 3D modeling. Hazard is able to model precise objects, build landscapes and animate the world he has created using these objects. He is also able to seamlessly integrate elements of real footage and 3D modeling together. Many other directors are able to use these techniques, but none are able to combine all four at such a high level. Let’s break down each technique and analyze how Hazard is able to add his magic to them.
First building precise objects. Building a simple 3D model with little detail on software such as Blender or Element 3D can take hours to do alone. Hazard takes this to the next level by adding every precise detail possible, including shadows, lighting, texture, glow, etc. An example is this is the jeep used in the Lil Uzi Vert music video “I just wanna rock”.
If you look closely at the jeep you can see the nails on the back, patterns on the tire, and shading on the sides of the car. When the car is in motion in the video you can see the light bounce off of it and the shadows move off the car.
Gibson Hazard is able to use these models to build a world that encompasses you when you watch his videos. In all of his videos, the background detail is always fully complete, giving you the feeling that you have actually entered the world that he has created. For example in the VMA’s video above, if you pause the video at any moment, and examine the background you will not be disappointed, whether that be in the carnival, the bridge, the subway or the city.
Lastly when watching Hazard’s videos, a sense of motion is always felt. Gibson is able to build anticipation and excitement by leading you through the video with clever transitions. There is not one dull frame, as there is constant stimulation at every corner of your screen. That is what makes the video feel alive. This technique coupled with some of the best sound design in the industry makes for a jaw dropping video. Hazard adds to the feeling of motion by adding sounds that signal the animations. If you were to watch the VMA video above with your eyes closed you can still get a pretty good feel of what is going on in the video, and the added bonus is that the sounds stand out more (they’re so crisp).
It’s so great to see Hazard being commissioned by huge brands and artists to do work for them, however, I feel like his name is still relatively unknown. I hope one day he is recognized as a great, and that he continues to build his legacy.
This post talks about the audience of my blog after starting to personalize the site more.
Since the last time I posted, I have made quite a bit of change to both the visual and the content visibility of the site. I mentioned in the process post back in October that I would like to make this site feel more like me and start to do something else that is not writing. Since then, I have started uploading podcasts every week and recently posted unedited videos on the site. Surprisingly but not really, I find joy in the uploading process again! Although I know that it will not be perfect like my YouTube videos, I can speak my thoughts and keep those funny little moments. Those moments are the portions that make my posts unique. I laugh at myself, I make jokes, and I ask questions. The audience can be a part of the conversation. Instead of making it a monologue, it is more like a dialogue.
Once I start creating this vlog, I get to put the pressure off as an “Influencer” and become who I am both in person and online. The audience is informed about who I am as a creator through my choice of content on the page. Putting myself outside of my comfort zone during the most stressful semester I have ever experienced, I can feel like myself again. And the audience can feel that! Although I still receive no comments on any posts, I see an increase of numbers in views on my YouTube videos. It would be impossible for people to find my content since I haven’t posted anything for the past 3 months, other than checking this blog out! I am excited to see this site grow and see the potential of what I can do as a creator! More to come!
Here are Astrometrical’s new community guidelines:
Thank you for visiting Astrometrical, on this site you are encouraged to broaden your tastes in art and contribute to the community by adding your thoughts to the collage. This site’s purpose is to inspire you as an individual and bring attention to those hard-working individuals who deserve it. Here are the following guidelines on how to best engage with the astrometrical community
Please Do:
Interact with others and voice your opinions on the blog and featured posts
Be respectful and patient with others on the site
Give constructive feedback on your experience on Astrometrical
Please don’t:
Use any form of hate speech, whether it be racism, sexism, homophobia, or any other form of discrimination
Post links to your own pages to “self-promote” or any other forms of spam
Breach privacy of others on the site by posting personal information (doxing)
Part 2: Navigating Social Media Waters
Related to the idea of community guidelines is the social conduct of individuals online, specifically, in comment sections. This week I had the opportunity to read an article by Aubrey Hirsch (2022) where she describes the struggles she faces online as a female journalist. The article was truly shocking for me, as the whole time I was reading I could not shake the sinking feeling in my stomach. Hirsch described the misogyny, racism, and rudeness that she experiences every day simply for posting comics as a journalist. The examples she provided were truly vulgar and loathsome. However, there was one part of Hirsch’s article that was particularly horrifying for me to read, and that was when she talked about how the hate she receives online translates to attacks in the real world. Hirsch writes “Remind me to tell you the funny story about the time my internet stalker called my boyfriend’s cell phone. Remind me to tell you about the time I came home and my front door was unlocked and I spent 15 minutes standing in the rain trying to remember if I’d double-checked it before I went out “(2022). Hirsch also talks about a time when strangers came to her house and launched dinner plates at her. Personally, I know if I was faced with that kind of pressure and that level of threat on a daily basis, I would constantly be in a state of paranoia.
The examples that Hirsch provided reminded me of some other examples of threats in the online world being pursued in real life. One that I had just seen recently was a case of swatting. For those who don’t know, swatting is when someone on the internet finds your address, and calls the local police saying that there is a severe crime (ex, hostage situation) occurring at your address. The swat team then arrives at your house and many times this situation arrives in disaster, as an innocent person is killed or injured. Adin Ross, a streamer that I used to watch was recently swatted. Since he was live at that time, you can see the fear in his eyes as he begs his viewers not to swat people.
To someone who is not internet famous like myself, I am always in shock when I hear stories of individuals with malicious intent trying to harm someone online. Hirsch has done a wonderful job illustrating the importance of moderation and regulations against hate speech and reminding me of the pressures those who make their livelihood online face. Moving forward as a community, I think we should show more support for our favorite online creators and each do our part by reporting the threats and hate speech we see online.
This process post was intended for Week 12, November 29, 2022.
Am I doing this transmedia integration stuff right? I do have two social media accounts as an extension of my current website. So I think I am on the right track? According to the blog, “Pokemon as Transmedia Storytelling” from Kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com (2013) with words from Henry Jenkins, “Transmedia storytelling is a process. Elements of a fiction get dispersed across multiple media for the purpose of creating a coordinated entertainment experience” (Jenkins, 2009). While transmedia integration does not directly mean social media integration—that’s the way I’m going to interpret it for this process post.
After reading the Pokemon blog, I had a good idea of what transmedia integration was— simply put, it is creating something that can be translated across different forms of media such as magazines, movies, tv shows or even a video game—these were things I knew weren’t really possible for my TessDrives site. Something that is possible for the website is the social media aspect of it. Currently my website translates across two different social media sites, YouTube and TikTok. In a way, you could say I’m on the right track?
My YouTube channel currently has a total of 1,327 views and my TikTok currently has a total of 1093 views. These are some pretty impressive numbers given the amount of subscribers and followers I have across both platforms. If I have to be honest, I did start my YouTube channel much before this Pub 101 class started but the TikTok account was actually created during the first week of class—so I am definitely impressed with the latter.
If this class were to extend longer, I would definitely work on establishing TessDrives as a recognizable username that translates across all social media platforms. Those who prefer longer educational videos would turn to YouTube, those who prefer shorter videos would go to TikTok, and those who prefer looking at photos of my Tesla would go to Instagram. I believe this would be an effective way to capture a larger audience with different types of preferences.
Featured photo from: B. Tenderich (2015). Transmedia Branding vs. Integrated Marketing: What’s the Difference? LinkedIn. Retrieved from: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/transmedia-branding-vs-integrated-marketing-whats-burghardt-tenderich
References:
POKEMON AS TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING (2013). Retrieved from: https://kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/pokemon-as-transmedia-storytelling/
For this assignment, we are supposed to create an infographic about ourselves. Although I could more into creating an identity and show my progress as a designer, but it is hard to interpret visually on the skills I have developed in an infographic style. I choose to create a very analytic-style based on my YouTube channel and on how I have grown my identity on there.
My YouTube Analytics from November 29, 2022.
As shown in the image attached on this blog, the infographic represents the numbers of views on different contexts on the channel. The peaks surprisingly happened multiple times after November 15th. I think it was when I started posting more on this blogs. I started being more consistent on here, which attracts more audience onto my blog. I have mentioned a couple of times about my YouTube channel on my podcast and have attached it on my social media section. One of the days that hits the highest views is around November 26th when I posted the gif. That is because I have used a part of my Montreal trip part 1 video to make the gif. In addition, the chosen section reflects my personality when I was with my best friend as an expressive individual. As it comes to the edits, that section plays a lot with emphasizing from zooming in the frame. With that, it was my first visual representation of who I am as an individual online.
This infographic helps me reflect on the importance of consistency. Of course it seems very simple, but it is hard when you’re busy and start to lose the passion on the things you love. I love talking to people, and getting to finally do so on a podcast style or video helps me to find my own passion and show it to others. That’s how people attracts to my blog and YouTube channels. Guess I am not that boring after all!
Does vanilla belong in coffee? No. But what a cute name to call a coffee store!
Happy Saturday, Bookworms! Welcome back to Reading with Rachel. I am saddened to announce that my last book club meeting of the fall semester was yesterday due to everyone’s hectic December schedules with final exams. However, Reading with Rachel’s book club meetings will continue in January. Don’t worry, Bookworms! There will be plenty of book club meeting locations coming up in the new year. The last book club meeting of 2022 was at a cute coffee store, Coffee + Vanilla, on Austin Avenue in Coquitlam. Today, we will discuss our opinions on Jenny Han’s The Summer I Turned Pretty. The book gained immense attention after the show was released on Prime Video, starring Lola Tung, playing the main character, Belly Conklin. Before walking into the store, I was surprised by how much bigger it was than in the photos online. I am assuming they did renovations or moved furniture around because there was plenty of seating and space compared to the pictures. There was a circular, wooden table in the back corner of the room, which was the perfect place to host a book club meeting, secluded from the rest of the tables. Compared to the other cafes I have been to, Coffee + Vanilla was extremely quiet. It was probably because of the location since it is not near a SkyTrain station or a walkable distance. However, I am not complaining! Light music was playing in the background, and no one had to yell at the top of their lungs to discuss Han’s novel. Due to the snow, I ordered a creamy hot chocolate and a lemon cranberry loaf, both perfect and delicious options for winter. The service was fantastic, as the staff was kind and curious about our book club meeting. Overall, Coffee + Vanilla is Reading with Rachel approved!
After watching many tutorial videos, continuous editing, and questioning my entire life, I applied all of the feedback Lauren has given me to Reading with Rachel. Will I ever be 100% satisfied with my work? Probably not. However, I am happy with all of the progress I have made this entire semester. I finally finished editing my contact page, linked my Twitter account, updated my favicon, and installed my website accessibility plugin. Hence, applying the feedback I received makes me feel happy and satisfied. As someone who wants to become a future teacher, I have learned through my volunteer experience and education courses that community guidelines are an excellent method to ensure everyone is being courteous towards other people. Moreover, community guidelines enable individuals to be on the same page and what is expected and required of everyone. After reading Margaret Atwood’s article, “Your Feelings Are No Excuse,” she makes an important point on how “the most important meaning of freedom of expression is not that you can say anything you like without any consequences” (Atwood, 2022, p. 1). Atwood implies the importance of being respectful when sharing your thoughts and opinions on social media. Atwood’s point is significant to keep in mind, especially on social media or opening comments up for my audience to interact with one another on my website. Here is a list of my community guidelines:
Be kind and mindful of what you say.
Respect others and their opinions even if you disagree with them.
Please ensure you are protecting your privacy and personal information, as well as others.
Bullying, trolling, and spamming are not tolerated.
Have fun, get out of your comfort zone, and have an open mind to learn.
These community guidelines are significant because they ensure everyone is respectful towards other opinions and perspectives by creating a safe and positive environment. I want to potentially implement these guidelines on my website as a separate page to remind and emphasize the importance of reviewing these guidelines. I am unsure if it would be appropriate to put the community guidelines on my homepage. I think it would be a good idea because that is the first page users will see and one of the first elements of my website they will see.
This post is for Process Post Prompt on November 22nd, 2022
As for now, my blog has no exposure outside of the classroom. I have never thought about publishing outside since it is not my best work nor do I have the time to perfect it. However, the current layout of the site has a stronger organizational system for the content. So, thinking about the exposure of my site might be a step I can consider soon.
I am thinking of bringing my blog up on YouTube and Instagram since those are the two top social media platforms I use currently to, not only have fun but also create a consistent online identity. On both platforms, I have the freedom to be expressive through my knowledge of graphic design, as well as showing my editing skills for images and videos. One thing that I love about both platforms is how visual they are in attracting the audience. Since I am hoping to make my site more visual-based, I think it would be a great idea to include that on YouTube and Instagram. In addition, both platforms are the ones I have the most conversations with. I would get messages, asking about courses and the program, on those platforms. I also get reactions and comments from the audience under my posts. These tell me that I can engage with my targeted audience. So, hopefully, with the addition of my blog to this existing online exposure, I will be able to incorporate more transmedia integration. On top of this discussion, it ties back to one of the process posts on analytics. With more exposure, the more audience I would get more for this site. The dialogue will be created between them and myself on the content I upload weekly, which is exciting to hear!
In this post, I choose the Rose Island website as the website that I will be analyzing the design elements of it. The reason I choose to write about this site is that several simple interactions on the site still make it interesting. It is one of my favourite websites because I am interested in interaction design, so hopefully, I could pursue that path!
The part that is doing well is the visual graphics on the homepage. There is a clear hierarchy of what content the user has to look at, starting from the title to the 3D model of the house to the subtitles. The colours and font choices are strongly driving the website. The site uses light grey, orange and black as the main colour palette, with monochromatic images. The geometric shapes of the font, match the structure of the house that the site is going to focus on. On top of that, the body copy font choice is circular, contrasting with the title and creating balance in the tone. The content’s placement is symmetric, with asymmetric organization within the content section.
The homepage of the Rose Island website
Another element that is working quite well is the transition between sections. It is my favourite part about this website! I found this very unique and make the site very special. This transition applies to other sections of the site, such as hovering on buttons. This transition shows the grid system used on the site and it is a cool way to put it into use. In the image I have attached below, the monochromic image and the black background are complementing each other, making the transition look even smoother.
The transition from the bleeding image section and the text section
The one comment I would have that is working but not to its full potential is the scrolling effects on the text. As in the image below, the user has the scroll all the way through to highlight all the text. Visually, yes it is very pleasing to see, but talking in terms of interactions, it is not working. This is very demanding for the user to complete, especially since the user interacts with the site mostly only through scrolling to find content.
The texts are highlighted after the user scrolls down the page
My recommendation for this site is, instead of fading word by word, they could work on the animation to create asymmetric balance on the white space more. For example, as the user scrolls, the whole content shows up all at once or comes out behind the image.
Overall, I still think it is a very strong website. I want to get inspired by their brand style to create my branding for my site. This includes the solid colour palette, image treatment and font choices on the site. I would also like to play more with the interactions on the site!
When it comes to finding alternatives options to our fast fashion favourites, we are often intimidated by the price tag on ethical and sustainable clothing items. However, despite fast fashion brands being more inexpensive, it is important to recognize that these brands were not designed to be consumed as quickly as fast fashion. Rather, these […]
A reoccurring conversation that I have with my mom at the start of the holiday season is discussing about how people decorate their homes (if they celebrate Christmas). We talk about how even though there are some who put up crazy variations of lights and matching ornaments around their tree; ours is a simple Christmas tree from Costco that’s about 10 years old with mismatching ornaments all around. Do our ornaments follow a theme? Absolutely not. But what makes it so special is each ornament itself; all having a snapshot of a memory in time with a different story. As we put each ornament on the tree, we take a moment to talk about the particular memory from the past. From decorating our house the past couple of days and in reflecting about this project currently, I think this is also another wonderful method of self-reflection as another year comes to an end in the coming weeks.
Some of the ornaments on my family’s tree.
After taking the time to read over all the interviews from these last couple months, I wanted to use this post to reflect on my journey with this project. Of course I could have just interviewed one more person, but my cat also doesn’t have too much to say despite being near the Christmas tree all the time now.
I think the way I constructed the interviews was just the right amount of questions and the right amount of time. There were 6 questions segments, which were of the following:
This or That
Five Facts of Fun
Drop a Bop
Debate Time
Some Deeper Small Talk
The Final Spotlight
Each interview took about 15 minutes, depending how detailed each interviewee wanted to go with the question. I think this time length kept the interview fun and relaxing, without having the pressure for those to think too hard about the question. I also found that some people wanted to express themselves more than others, but that’s okay! That’s also part of the project and each interview captured who that person was in that moment of time. I realized that these interviews also gave some people a reason to talk about a particular fact about themselves, as I felt that some of the things mentioned in some interviews would just be too out of the ordinary for regular conversation.
I think my favourite part of each interview was hearing about ‘Debate Time’ as everyone had a different perspective on each silly prompt. My favourite interview that I did was probably with my grandfather, as the conversation was completely different than anticipated; I think there was a lot more that I could take away from that interview than if I just followed the structure of a causal conversation.
If I could change anything about the interview, I think I would integrate more questions that would then contain all 5 senses. I don’t think anyone really talked about smell or touch, but I think those would be fun to integrate into ‘This or That’! If there wasn’t a time restriction with posting each interview, I would also get each interviewee to contribute a photo or some other type of media to their post.
Overall, I think the main thing I would to highlight from what each person said is recapping everyone’s ‘Final Spotlight’. I think there’s some really good perspective from what each person said and I think there is a lot to think about further with some of these prompts. I hope that some of you can take away some of these thoughts with reflecting this past year and setting new personal goals for 2023. Perhaps it’s time to disconnect online and start reconnecting offline…
This is PROJECT: Offline and thank you so much for following along on this journey. Happy holidays and all the best for the new year.
The Final Spotlight
If you had the final opportunity to say anything to the world, what would you say?
Things can change very quickly and can happen unexpectedly, so live in the moment, appreciate what you currently have and enjoy it while you can.
Stop focusing so much on the things that don’t matter. Sometimes you need to step out and look at the big picture.
Please, just be kinder to people.
Get out of bed. Don’t take it literally, but get out of bed.
Stop waiting on other people to do it, when you can start doing it yourself. I’m thinking more about the environment; don’t wait for other people to do it cause if everyone thinks like that, then nothing is going to get done. That reminds me of The Lorax quote. “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It’s not.”
Nobody cares, really. Nobody cares, go do your thing. Don’t take yourself too seriously. You probably care more than everybody else.
Cherish the smaller moments because they’re often the most valuable ones in the end. And always show your love to those you care about, as often as you can.
Take more time to reflect on what you have going for you. Because, obviously when you make goals for yourself, especially long term goals, it can seem like they’re really far away. But if you narrow it down to where you are now, you can realize how far you’ve come to get to where you are now…
Climate change is real, can we please do something about it cause I want to live past 2030. If I could shout that off the roof tops I would. Please, COP 27 is happening right now and it just feels like false promises again and I just wanna have a future. Not to end it on a sad note, but that’s what I would scream to everyone and like, bang into everyone’s head, cause please climate change is so, so real. We are feeling the affects of it now everywhere around the world. So, can we please do something about it?!
I would say that life is too short to be stressing about the little things. You need to take one step at a time with anything you do and not be down on yourself on the sense that… I find that a lot of people in life, they mess up something good and search for something better, to only end up with something worse. And to count your blessings, and life is too short to be stressing about the little things, so. My main message is make the best of where you are.
In the discussion about community guidelines for this week’s Process Post, I have not only been reflecting about what this means for those in the public who want to contribute to the project’s content, but what about the people of PROJECT: Offline themselves and what they express with each interview.
From reading “The dark side of Guardian comments” by various writers from The Guardian, after seeing the animated visualization as you scroll through the article, I was pretty shocked to see the ratio of blocked comments when it came to the comparison of articles that were written by men and those that women wrote.
Currently on the PROJECT: Offline site, with each post shared, the commenting feature has been turned off. Initially, this was a design choice when creating the website, as I wanted to direct readers further into looking at other content once they had finished reading. However, after reading through “The Psychology of Online Comments” by Maria Konnikova, when they discuss the idea of the “shared reality” of how those can share their thoughts, feelings and experience after reading or doing a performed action, as they also mentioned in the article, from the removal of comments allowed on my blog posts, I feel that this element is taken away. There is an attribute where I want the public to have the option of being active in the conversation by sharing their story after reading about someone else’s as I think this can build on the conversation from the topic discussed.
However, after reading through “That’s How It Works When You’re a Woman on the Internet” by Aubrey Hirsch and seeing multiple examples of some terrible things written regarding her content, as the content I share is not directly to my own thoughts and opinions, I feel that I also hold the responsibility to protect those that have decided to take part in this project; not only I am human reading these comments, but they are human too and they might react differently towards a particular comment. Since the content of my blog is very open-ended, although I can also regulate what is being published from the interview and what is said by that particular person, there is also an element where I feel that I am restricting ideas of someone’s speech; and I feel that takes away from the intention of this project of having the freedom of expression. Therefore to create balance with what can be shared from either party, a community guidelines page is most likely necessary for the future if I continue this project further.
In creating a community guidelines page, I want to highlight that this project is a place that is respectful and non-judgmental; more importantly, we are a listener first before being a speaker. As this project is focused on learning about other people, we have to be open-minded if there are any sensitive topics discussed. Although people are open to discussing their views and opinions, anything derogatory will not be tolerated.
To allow visitors to view these guidelines, I would implement this as another page onto the side in the navigation bar; since there is no footer in the design of my website, although I could add one, the desktop design of having the navigation static on the page would only make the link to the community guidelines page lost at the bottom of each post. If this is a feature I can also implement within WordPress, I would also get comment contributors to toggle that they have read the community guidelines first before contributing further.
In the implementation of placing community guidelines onto PROJECT: Offline, I think only then I would feel comfortable in turning on the comments again. To further grow this community that I’ve now built, creating community guidelines will help unite myself, the interviewees and the visitors in what we would like to share with the world…
This post is for Process Post Prompt on November 8th, 2022. On the day we set Google Analytics on our site, I had a vaccination appointment for the flu and COVID booster, so I did not join the class. I set the analytics on November 14th, so I will be talking about the days after that.
Analytics shows the progress and interactions my blog has with my audience. It shows the clicks, interactions, views, where the audience finds my site etc. Knowing the behaviour of the audience can help me improve and see the content they are most interested in or interact with. From the creator’s side, I see quite a peak around November 20th-23rd. The contents I posted during those times were the peer review and my first video on this blog. The analysis shows that the number peaks due to the number of visits to the homepage. However, the second top number of visits is the peer review. Not going to lie, I am quite surprised that the top numbers are not related to my public posts. I thought that showing my content based on my existing identity online could help with the numbers. Instead, I learn that maybe my content is not showing that. Back then, I had a different theme for the site. The site, unfortunately, did not show any visuals nor feel that personalized since I was in the process of fixing it. Without identity, I failed to direct users to other pages and content on my blog. This can help me to think more about the thumbnail or first impression of the site. I can think of the visuals on the homepage and accessibility of the site to attract more users.
My current analytics on the blog
Currently, the site is consistent with only one or two viewers every week. I am not that surprised since everyone is wrapping up their semester right now. I have updated the theme and worked on the accessibility of the site. Of course, getting more numbers on the analytics is ideal, but I have no control over that. I am just going to keep working on the site as something I enjoy and see how that goes. Maybe, I could make this site more public on my social media. Using that to my advantage could help the exposure of the site.
This process post is for November 8th, 2022 on the feedback I have received from the peer review #2 made by Isha Hoonjan.
In the post, she said that she could clearly understand the content I am trying to portray from the design I chose. Before the current theme, I chose another theme as the image attached.
The homepage of my site
However, her comments were on the lack of imagery and accessibility of the site. Even if the colour choices and my logo help to bring the lively side out, the content layout conveyed something different. She mentioned that all the content seemed to be structured in the same way, making the whole site feel too professional. She put some links for inspiration as well, very sweet of her. Another suggestion she made is to add more categories in the menu to convey different types of posts I was making.
After receiving the feedback, I decided to change the theme of the site because they did not have the elements I would like to change. I saw the feedback quite interesting, on the contrast between the design and the layout of the content. At the time, I was focusing on the content and not the design as much. The fact that she, as the audience, could tell is kind of funny. Of course, it can be problematic as well. From this review, I needed to learn how to balance between content and design to keep my audience being engaged.
