Considering Genre

This post details what genre I'm using for project 1.

learnenglish247, "essay" 04/30/2015, Public Domain.

1. What genre are you going to commit to for Project 1? Why?

For this project, I will be doing the standard college essay. There are a lot of moving parts in this controversy regarding Mark Zuckerberg and his AI. There is a lot to discuss regarding the morality of using robots for personal gain, how robots learn differently from humans, and if there should be a code of ethics for treatment of robots should they eventually gain consciousness.

2. What genre conventions from your chosen genre are you planning on developing during next week's Production phase? What do you plan to do with the genre conventions that will help you accomplish the purpose of the project most effectively?

I plan on using primarily point and counterpoint argument in order to effectively introduce multiple viewpoints. For such a complex issue, it is crucial that the audience is given both viewpoints to understand the subject as a whole and motives for why the parties pertaining to the topic act in certain ways. If we can understand on a deep level what motivates people, it becomes clear why they do certain things.

3. How are you feeling about Project 1 going in to the Production phase? What challenges do you anticipate next week as you create content for the project?

The production phase is going to be rough, but nothing I can't handle. I've never had free roam to talk about something I've wanted to talk about in this kind of breadth, but intense pressure turns coal into diamonds. Time management isn't going to be a factor, and here's my reasoning: I'm passionate about my topic, so the essay will write itself.

Cluster of Stakeholders

This blog post identifies key parties involved regarding Zuckerberg and his declaration to build a personal robot servant by the end of 2016.

User:chandlergillette, "stakeholder_cluster" 1/31/16, Public Domain

Link to Cluster:

In my cluster, there were two main parties. The first party was Zuckerberg, who is defending his pride and credibility by building the robot. Critics say he can't or shouldn't build the robot in order to boost their ratings, viewership, and loyal fanbase.

Evaluation of General Sources

In this blog post I will discuss the sources that I will use for my story.

User:clipart panda, magnifying-glass-clipart 06/08/2008, Public Domain

• URL: Forbes Article
• Author: Keith Flamer
• Last Updated: Jan 31, 2016
• Purpose: To persuade Mark Zuckerberg that it is neither economical nor realistic to build a fully-operating servant by the end of 2016.
• Graphics: Zuckerberg in a dope iron man suit, his mansion
• Position on Subject: The title suggests that he is the only person in opposition of his ideals - the article aligns with Zuckerberg more.
• Links: None

• URL: WSJ article
• Author: Deepa Seetharaman
• Last Updated: 9:13 AM ET, January 4, 2016
• Purpose: To simply introduce Zuckerberg's endeavors, but simultaneously showing amazement and disbelief that it will happen.
• Graphics: None
• Position on Subject: The first line of sentence both reveres his ambitions but trivializes his quest for AI ... "He wants to be more like Tony Stark"... what?
• Links:Jarvis Video

Reddit and What I Found There.

This blog post discusses my findings on reddit with regards to Electrical and Computer Engineering!

User : franchise help, "Reddit", 12/09/14 Public Domain

1. What kinds of things do people in the Reddit forums seem to be arguing about, debating, disagreeing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exhanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in the Reddit forums.

People on r/ElectricalEngineering primarily bounce ideas on how to build, tune, and perfect various inventions. The one that sticks out to me the most right now is this article where this guy basically talks about how he wants to build a lightsaber! In this article, people give him advice on how he can fix 100 different LED lightbulbs in succession in the most effective, streamlined way. There is also lots of advice artistically, too!

2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting debates/disagreements you found in the Reddit forums? Hyperlink us to the two different Reddit threads and explain why you found those debates interesting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.

The most interesting was pretty easy to find - all I did was go to r/ElectricalEngineering, then click on "Top" of "All Time". The article was about how Khan Academy added Electrical Engineering to their plethora of informational videos that help teach kids and adults online. There's complaints that the material that it covers is too baseline, however I find it great that the website is encouraging kids to not only pursue engineering, but demonstrate that it isn't impossible to get into the field.

Another interesting article was about how engineers and robots are taking over jobs that used to be run by people. This article in specific talks about a quote from "True Detective", the TV show. "I used to want to be an astronaut. Now they don't go to the moon anymore." The reason that this intrigues me so much is because it is EXTREMELY IMPORTANT to note how replaceable medical, technical, and technological jobs are. The only way to maintain your employability is to have a creative edge that a robot cannot replace.

3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening in the Reddit forums? Were the people in those forums talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking aboput or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

I learned that to succeed in engineering, it's not enough to just be a good math student. Almost everyone who goes into engineering would consider math their strong suite! You need to be able to discern your abilities from the pack, and add a creative edge to learning. A robot can easily reach over the counter and give you your prescription, but can a robot determine whether you actually need the prescription? Life is a greyscale, not black and white. We shouldn't treat it so.

Evaluation of News Magazine Stories

My online selections are taken from wired.com as well as forbes.com with a focus on technology.

Wired Magazine "Wired Logo" 04/02/12 Public Domain

WIRED website

1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.

This article talks about how women's armor in battle is now being engineered to fit the female body much closer and to more proprietary specs than just that of a small male. Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter was the first person to come out and announce the military's plans to ensure that both genders receive not "equal" gear, but fitting gear. One specific example that sticks out to me is the helmets - they were created in such a way that they don't snag long hair, which isn't normally a problem for guys in the military because of their buzz cuts, but women retain their long hair, so these new helmet straps are extremely important for taking their helmet on and off while maintaining a secure fit.

2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?

Major Ranking Galloway is the most sympathetic character in the story. He talks about specifications and how they vary based on gender. However, there is a certain sincerity to his voice that goes around simply spewing technical jargon that no one can relate to. "Even when you aren’t in the heat of battle, poorly-fitting gear can be a deadly distraction. It’s difficult to keep your wits if you’re constantly tugging at your armor straps and waddling like a toddler.", he says.

3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?

There is no LEAST sympathetic character in the story, however, when it mentions individuals, it's a lot easier to relate to them as people, whereas when they mention "women", it's hard to feel emotional... That pertains to roughly 50% of the US population. It's hard to sympathize with 1.5 million women in the military at once.

User:wp_content "forbes-logo.jpg" 06/01/2013, Public Domain

Forbes website

1. What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about? Explain cocisely, but with specificity and precision. Name specific people, places, things, events, dates, times and/or other identifying details.

This article discusses how Apple's plummeting stocks could be ameliorated if they partnered/merged with Netflix, who also is struggling hardcore. Combining the two forces would mean that Hulu, Prime Video, HBO Now, and all other streaming services would be ran into the ground because of the ease of use of Apple's interface coupled with the cheap, subscription-based Netflix.

2. Who is the most sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why do they evoke feelings of sympathy from you?

Apple and Netflix are the two companies that I can sympathize best with. Maybe this is because I personally use them, but primarily it is because they are both known for revolutionizing the tech industry and taking it by storm. In this way it's easy for me to feel bad when I see them suffering horrible stock losses.

3. Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? Who are they? How are they involved? Why can't you easily sympathize with them?

The least sympathetic businesses in the story are the smaller companies mentioned above (Hulu, etc). They are introduced in the light as competitors. We don't side with the villain! The reason we can't sympathize easily with them is because Apple and Netflix are given both background and justification for why they are so great, whereas Hulu just gets a "We can run you into the ground" from the authors.

Twitter and What I Found There.

In this post, I will be discussing electrical engineering as it pertains to my findings on twitter.

User:muzahid123 "twitter-bird3-square-webtreatsetc", Unknown Date, Photobucket (Public Domain).

1. What kinds of things do people on Twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exhanges of ideas about? Give us a descriptive and clear sense of the kinds of stories you're seeing in these Twitter feeds.

When I search "electrical engineering" on twitter, The majority of accounts, not surprisingly, are either seniors in high school bragging about how they got into electrical engineering school at a particular University. Check out this Amazing student on twitter! But seriously, electrical engineering on twitter doesn't regard anything controversial, other than sparking arguments about the widening wage gap and disproportionate amount of males in the industry, shown here.

2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? Hyperlink us to the two different Twitter feeds and explain why you found those conversations nteresting. Be specific and honest and be yourself. I don't want you to blah-blah-blah this. I want you to really engage.

The first story that jumped out to me in particular was about a girl who was getting hit on by a guy. The guy was guessing what major she was, and he was guessing all sorts of different majors, but nothing science/math heavy. This insinuated how society depicts that women should not integrate into the STEM community, which I found very eye-opening. The second one depicts another girl who talks about how she used to be an electrical engineer major, yet found it hard to use computers/technology. Electrical engineering does deal with computers and stuff, but I also saw this as a commentary that people revere engineering as an extremely difficult discipline, which is somewhat misleading... it just requires a different skill set that is not found in humanities, for example.

3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? Explain in concise specific detail.

Based on what I found, there was a lot of people who were talking about the rigor of electrical engineering as a major. Obviously the coursework can be challenging, however I was surprised by the sheer number of people who were just on there to talk about how they got into a program or about how much they get paid, or even how much homework they have. Overall, twitter is a terrible medium if you are actually trying to find anything besides bragging and complaining about engineering. Reddit is a better bet for actual discussion.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

I selected O.J.'s story from the business part and Microsoft 's story from the tech part of the Wall Street Journal front page.

User:ryanmurphy, "american_crime_story_revelada", 09/02/2015, nerdunderground.net

Link to O.J. Simpson Story

O.J. Simpson Drama Resurfaces Old Trial Packed With Familiar Issues

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?

There is no central “character” to the story, but more so an organization. FX Productions is the focus of this story. They are the center of the story because they are in charge of creating and producing the new drama titled “The People vs. O.J. Simpson, American Crime Story”. Nina Jacobson is one of the executives who works at FX Productions, but she mainly works as a figurehead for the brand.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The setting of the story is a little bit ambiguous. Nothing explicitly happened in person, and most of the dialogue is taken directly from interviews or interactions on the web. That's the weird thing about setting in this era now, is that physical locations are not as important as WHO said them over the internet.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

There is all sorts of disagreement in this article. The people at FX Productions are revisiting a topic that many people believe to be "stale", this topic being the OJ Simpson trial. There is also disagreement because the focal point of the show revolves around the case/incremental perturbations more so than the actual crime. In my opinion, it's completely fascinating and the way the trial was executed tells a lot about the motives of the jury and the flaws in the legal system.

Microsoft Plumbs Ocean’s Depths to Test Underwater Data Center

Link to Microsoft Story

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the stoy at all? What role do they play?

The protagonist of the story is Microsoft. They tell us that the number one cost of running high tech facilities is the air conditioning bill. In order to negate these costs, Microsoft created a facility underwater that effectively serves to eliminate the cost of cooling a huge office with tons of heat-producing electronics. Microsoft basically plays the role of a brick wall and deflects attempts to discredit/trivialize their efforts.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The events in the story mostly take place at the research facilities. The majority of these research takes place on the Pacific Coast, more specifically Central California off of the San Obispo Coast, with plans to put similar research facilities in Northern Europe and off of the coast of Florida to see quantitative differences between the West and East coast.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

There is a lot of disagreement that extensive research that is sea-based will cause pollution to the surrounding coasts. Official researchers from Microsoft retorted that there is heating that there was an "extremely" small amount of local heating of the capsule, implying that it was not detrimental to the health of the immediate ecosystem. We can't be for sure the effects that this would have on the environment until it is implemented on a somewhat larger scale.

Course Projects

                         In this post, I will talk about course projects, especially what's to come.

              wmdkitty. "Procrastination" Unknown Publication Date. via Photobucket. Public Domain.

1. I am not nervous or pensive about these presentations. The reason behind this is because I know myself too well. I procrastinate until the very last second, and this will be no different. However, I am nervous of if I will be able to do it. Hopefully I can pace myself a little bit better than the last time, but I know that from past experience that might not happen.

2. I'm extremely excited to finally be able to use video and audio recording in a school project! Usually I am limited to only having an iPhone to record, but with the school-provided equipment, hopefully I can make something. I like to tinker around with electronics in my spare time and always have wanted to make youtube videos, maybe this is my debut?

3. The biggest challenge was already mentioned in (1.) , but I think that the biggest limitation for me is going to be coming up with the ideas. If I can match ahead of time which topic would mesh best with which medium, then actually executing the course work should not be difficult at all.

4. Past experiences have taught me to suck it up. When I was younger and I had to do something that I didn't want to do, I would make the worst of the situation. However I try to find the best in each circumstance now. I see what I can make of it, and try to learn what I can, even if for me (brutal honesty) that involves finishing the assignment as fast as possible. For me, I find that it's not the time that I set aside to do an allocated task, but how EFFECTIVE I can be with said limited time.

5. I want to know one thing and one thing only... Will these be presented to the class? If our target audience is you, that is way different than 20 bored college kids.

Investigating Genres

                            In this post, I will investigate genres, specifically reference guides.

Million_Miki. "Spaghetti" Publication Date Unknown. via Photobucket. Public Domain.

1. Quick reference guides are extremely important. The majority of the time we engage text in the real world, we don't have time to read lengthy text. As a general rule of thumb, laconic is best. Quick reference guides are nice because they condense the information from a larger body of work and cut out the extraneous details. The only downside is that often times these quick reference guides fall back on archetypes, or the editor's interpretation of the author's work.

2. Readers can find these genres when they are looking online for new articles. People often think political articles are the primary users of quick reference guides, such as FOX News and CNN, but the better example in my opinion is a recipe book. You don't have time to read paragraphs about how to cook spaghetti and meatballs. A bullet-point list of ingredients and instructions not only suffices, but works much better!

3. Anyone and everyone uses quick reference guides. Long bodies of text are primarily for learning new information, such as technical skills that require detailed instructions, or to hear somebody's opinion. However in daily life and routine, we go through the motions and don't wish to hear new things, so shortcuts and abbreviated works are preferential.

4. The key features of this genre is that it assumes that you already have a brief understanding of the subject matter. If it is a reference guide about how to assemble a bunk bed, then it already assumes you possess the knowledge to hit a hammer and can use a screwdriver. It makes assumption about the reader and assumes fruition/basic understanding of the subject premise.

5. In my own words, a quick reference guide is a how-to guide, or a brief rundown of the particular course matter. It is extremely important because in day to day life, we don't have time to keep reviewing things we have already learned, so we take shortcuts to cut to the nitty-gritty of the topic.

My Writing Process

This blog focuses about how I pre-write, write, and revise.

jamesensorod. "pencil-paper" 03/29/2006 via Photobucket. Public Domain.

1. When I write, it is like water gushing out of a busted-open kitchen sink pipe. The words flow without restraint, and there usually is a lot of garbage that comes along with it. However, amongst this heap of trash is usually a gem - a really solid, creative topic that I can use to center my story about. I never pre-write; that is what a rough draft is for! I am also in the 1% of people where my first draft is usually the best - when I go over my writing, I censor details that make my writing style unique, which is bad.

2. I think everybody can agree that procrastination is not so much a character trait, but a situational thing. OK, I admit it, maybe I procrastinate. A lot. But who doesn't to some extent? It all comes down to priorities anyways. And I'm an extremely quick typer and thinker, so the extra time really isn't necessary. Too much time and I overthink the assignment.

However, I guess it could be healthier if I just dealt with the homework ahead of time and didn't wait until the VERY last minute. Oh well!

3. Yes, I find my writing styles to be very effective. Words are just a medium to transmit the thoughts and feelings of the speaker, and I feel that the more important issue is for the speaker to have substance first.

What I mean by this is that if you have a really solid idea, that the paper will write itself. The writing is the easy part, the hard part is the idea.

4. The whole purpose of elementary, middle, and high school is to introduce you to new styles of writing, focusing on pre-writing. However I am a firm proponent that your first draft is your most pure, uncensored attempt at writing, and that's what people want to hear. It's what you sound like on social media, to your friends over text, etc. 99% of the time you message someone you don't proofread!

My philosophy is to do it right the first time, and scan through the second time for conventions only, because your first take is the most true to your character and what you exhibit the majority of the time.