Blog Post #2: Web 2.0 Video

Our world is constant and ever changing. There are new leaps in technology and science every single day. This video, created by Michel Wesch, Assistant Professor of Cultural Anthropology at Kansas State University, is a prime example of that change. It demonstrates how stagnant paper and pencil writing is, and how fluid and malleable the web and technology have become.

This video is an example of how far humans have come in terms of communication and suggests where we might be headed in the future. It shows sharp contrast between how we have communicated in the past, the pencil writing, and not only how we communicate now, but also how we will continue evolve communication in the future. It suggests that because of all of the evolutions in technology we must rethink copyrights, authorship, ethics, identity, and ourselves.

The video begins slowly, showing simple writing with pencil and paper, and then typing and erasing, copying and pasting, and then turns into a flurry of activity as it begins to show html coding, hyper linking, websites, blogs, video, and all of the hundreds of ways we have taught computers to help us communicate with one another. While there is no way to understand all of the information shown in the video, there is a very definite purpose to that decision. The purpose is to visually explain to the viewer that although they use most of these types of communication every day, they actually understand very little about how all of it works.

The creator’s use of logos throughout the video is very effective. Not only does the video introduce many different ideas and suggestions about technology, it demonstrates the argument in real time. Reason and rationality are used throughout the video to support each claim made as well as examples provided for each different idea.

My reaction to the video was that it was an excellent example of a medium addressing another medium. It is a video about Web 2.0 using Web 2.0. I felt that gave it great credibility, as the video is the suggested answer to the arguments that it itself presents. I think this video really makes you stop and think about all of the ways that we use technology and communication. It is easy to jump on to your Facebook page, check your Twitter account, update your blog, and watch a video on YouTube without thinking about all that has gone into making them, how they were developed or considering how they have changed our world. This video really made me think not only about how we use technology, but how it has affected our society. Our world is ever changing, and because of leaps in technology, such as Web 2.0, we must rethink ourselves.

Blog Post #1: Quotation On Writing

"One of the obligations of the writer is to say or sing all that he or she can, to deal with as much of the world as becomes possible to him or her in language." - Densie Levertov

This quote about writing from Denise Levertov encompasses many different aspects of writing. It states that it is each writer’s responsibility to use language to the best of their individual ability and describe the world as they see it using the language that they have a firm grasp of and understand. The quote also discusses how varied writing can be. It describes how diverse language is and how people utilize language differently to cater to different audiences and communities, convey purpose, and construct an effective argument. This means that in order for writing to be effective and enjoyable everyone needs to employ the use of the best language that they can. That doesn’t always mean using the most sophisticated language, but language that is accessible to the author and relevant to their audience.

In writing, no matter what the understanding of language, it is important to consider who your audience is and write in a style and context that will help them best understand you. In Compose, Design, Advocate, it is stated that, "Everything you do or say not only conveys information to your audience, but it sets up a relationship between you and them, and that relationship influence how things go" (p. 80) So everything that you say and how you say it matters. So as Levertov describes, when you are talking about and dealing with the world around you, you must describe it using the most appropriate language.

This also ties in with the context in which someone is writing. Once the audience has been determined, the pretense under which you are writing and the context of the writing will greatly effect the language that is used to form an argument and convey it’s purpose. Compose, Design, Advocate explains this by stating, "The audience is always feeling something, but what you say and do can redirect their mood and build a set of emotional responses that influences in turn how the audience hears your words." (p. 82) This is in essence saying that the audience will find some meaning in whatever you write, but how you write and the context of that you write it in directly effects what they are going to react and understand what you are trying to convey.

This quote from Denise Levertov states that it is the responsibility of a writer to convey all that they can and use the best language that is available to them. She encompasses not only the idea that we should write everything we can about the world, but that when we do it we need to consider our audience, our purpose, our context, and our argument.

TEST POST