I thought the blogs were a great part of this class. Considering our class is on new media, I think it pertains to our course pretty well. The blog topics usually dealt with what we were doing in class, and I never felt like they were busy work. They seemed to contribute to either our writing or preparing/editing writing.

I don't really care about turning things in over the blog or during class, but I'd rather have it just be one than both. No preference on which. Blog posts seem more difficult to remember but paper is more of a hassle.

I enjoyed reading peer's blogs. They seem less formal than normal assignments and I felt like the class sorta bonded over them. I think people actually put effort into the responses rather than "good job!" I enjoyed reading other's posts and seeing how our posts were the same and varied. Overall, I'd keep the blogs. They were one of the most enjoyable parts of the class (not that there are really any parts that I didn't enjoy.)

Alright, for my analysis post I chose the website hankforsenate.com. I originally thought that a website devoted to a cat to be elected to the US senate was immediately ineffective, but their design has changed my mind...

Contrast: This is probably the only part of the page that is lacking. Things that are important don't really stand out. The pictures dominate the homepage, and also the title of the page, but other than that nothing really pops out.

Color: Very patriotic colors. They fit what they are trying to represent well. The white on blue text makes the words seem bold and important.

Alignment: Everything is properly aligned here. The title is center aligned, but I think it is needed to create a boldness. The blog post by Hank is left aligned, which is also appropriate as well. Pictures are assorted with tabs that support and make sense with the pictures.

Proximity: The best part of this page. Pictures do not intermingle with text and everything stays within it's own boundaries. Each part of the page has a distinct section that are separated by dividers.

Repitition: The Patriotic color scheme and theme is repeated thoroughly throughout the page. The background picture is patriotic, the title is patriotic, even the pictures of cats have a slight sense of patriotism to them. The text is the same font throughout the page.

Hankforsenate.com has convinced me. Hank For Senate 2012.

1. The way I solved my length issue was quite simple really (with some help from Natalie). I identified the weakest points in my paper (my counter-argument and solution) and simply expanded on those. By expanding on those, I was able to introduce new ideas that weren't stale or overused, and it also allowed my personal opinion to come into the paper a bit more, rather than expert opinion.

Four effective websites:

mormon.org

lds.org

yahoo.com

reddit.com (simple, but I like it)

Four ineffective websites

hankforsenate.com

drunkronswanson.com

I hate to say this, but byu.edu... Not the most simplistic layout.

supervideo.com

Patchwriting

“We do not in everyday life reflect much on how one people’s ‘myth’ may be another people’s religion or episteme. What ‘we’ label ‘myth’ from other cultures then translates into the ‘that’s just a myth!’ formula that implicitly sustains the value of our own beliefs. Thus trivialized—though in different ways—both outside and within Western culture, ‘myth’ in common English-language usage today is the object of exoticizing amusement or dismissal; it is deprived of its associations with history, knowledge, and vision—what has made myth culturally valuable and has most fascinated scholars of myths and traditional narratives” (Bacchilega 25).

According to Bacchilega, the definition of myth has become completely skewed. What may be one man's myth, may be another's treasure (or personal values). Myth has become less and less about the cultural background, and more about the "fanciful beliefs" of "outsiders."

And the biggest thing I've struggled with on my Issues Paper is simply length. It's difficult to write an 8-10 page paper without feeling like you're repeating or dragging on. I've tried doing deeper research, but most of it I feel like I've explicitly stated. I'd love your help!

The library mainly taught me one thing on Monday: I'm an awful researcher. The BYU library offers so many services that I quite honestly had no idea about. Often, as I go through google, I end up frustrated as I can find only Wikipedia articles. The databases that BYU library provides give academic article after academic article. This will make papers MUCH more credible. Plus, the library chat function always seemed like a gimmick, but after yesterday it seems like a function that could help quite a bit. The Opposing Viewpoints website seems like it will be the most helpful, considering it deals with extremely kairotical issues.

I do, however, have concerns about my topic. Because the topic of SOPA is fairly recent, I find that scholarly articles and other credible sources are hard to come by. I'm confused as to how I can find credible sources for such a kairotical issue. Overall though, the library was very informative and I find that future research papers will be much less stressful.

Issues Paper Proposal

The second I learned about this paper, I knew what I'd like my topic to be: SOPA. SOPA is the recent bill congress is trying to pass that will in essence destroy any user-created media content. The main premise behind the law is to stop piracy and protect copyright laws on the internet. Essentially, SOPA would create an internet without websites like Youtube, Reddit, and streaming websites. It would also drastically change the way search engines like Google run as well.

My initial stance on the subject is to reject the bill. This bill changes the way the whole structure of the internet. No longer can people upload videos that have copyrighted items in them. No longer can people stream videos of themselves involving music or other videos that have been copyrighted. No longer can Google or other search engines link to other websites. I understand that the intentions behind this bill (to stop illegal piracy) are noble, but I think the way they've gone about it has been almost inhumane. Another reason I chose this topic is because of the corruption in Congress lately. I've been fairly disappointed with our Congress's actions lately, and I feel SOPA is just a result of lobbying by higher-ups at music and media companies.

My main research questions will be "How exactly will SOPA affect the internet?" and "Why are some companies so wholeheartedly supporting this?" I want to get a better sense of why what seems like such an outrageous bill has support.

20 Things

-SOPA/PIPA

-Republican GOP elections

-Greatest tennis player ever

-Movie Rating System over time

-Progression of Music

-legality of downloading music

-Which internet program is best (chrome, IE, firefox, etc.)

-cell phone usage

-Golf without Tiger Woods

-Apple's undying product pushing

-Chips Ahoy cookies: Chewy or Original?

-Black History Month

-Sleep habits

-Illegal recruiting for college athletics

-Cancellation of NASA

-BCS or playoff system?

-Dating of the 21st century

-The emergence of dubstep

-Corruption of U.S. Congress/government

-Voter Fraud