“Inside the heart of each and every one of us there is a longing to be understood by someone who really cares. When a person is understood, he or she can put up with almost anything in the world.”
-Ed Hird
Tuesday, September 22
Friday, September 18
Godin vs. Shirky
Godin and Shirky’s videos on Ted.com were thought-provoking and interesting, providing opinions and different messages using a very similar format.
The tone of the videos was perhaps the biggest difference between the two. Godin seemed more inspirational and frantic, urging the audience to go out and make a change. Shirky appeared to be more calm and organized, illustrating his points clearly and insistently. Godin’s ideas were centered around change: people who have inspired change, how technology changes the way ideas are created and spread, and the benfits of change. Shirky was relaying the message that our generation is experiencing the biggest increase in expression and interaction in human history, and that we should react to make the best of it. Both Godin and Shirky pointed out how the Internet has affected the way everyday people interact. Godin emphasized how leadership and the Internet connect and unify people with similar ideas, taking the concept as far as giving his audience “permission to lead” and urging anyone listening to challenge the status quo. Shirky’s approach was less aggressive. He pointed out that the Internet has become the medium of all media, creating both groups and conversations, as no other media could. He called the Internet the “site of coordination,” where the audience can suddenly communicate back, as well as to each other.
The presenters pointed out progress that has happened over time: Godin illustrated change from factories to TV ads to leadership online as methods of influencing the consumer, and Shirky showed pictures of the printing press, telegraph, photos and movies, radio and TV, and the Internet to illustrate changes in communication.
Both speakers’ videos featured the speaker on a stage, with some kind of slideshow behind them and an audience in front. Godin and Shirky used their slideshows to illustrate their points, keep the audience stimulated, and draw attention to certain points. However, Godin used his slides mostly as comic relief, showing a little girl with a pirate patch on her eye along with examples of tribes, and pictures of balloon animals as an opening asking what people do for a living. Shirky’s, on the other hand, were less distracting and more informative
The structure of Godin’s presentation was slightly choppy, but his lists were effective and memorable. Shirky, on the other hand, used specific stories as examples for his eloquent assertions. The speakers’ closing statements illustrated their messages well. Godin finished with a firm instruction: “Create a movement. Start. Do it. We need it.” Shirky’s measured conclusion asked how we can best make use of a changing media environment.
If one day Godin and Shirky were locked in a room together, they would enjoy discussing the effect of the media on the world today. They would reflect excitedly on the possibilities and potential created by the Internet. Godin would no doubt try to challenge Shirky to create his own movement, and Shirky would congratulate him for spreading his ideas so well online.
The tone of the videos was perhaps the biggest difference between the two. Godin seemed more inspirational and frantic, urging the audience to go out and make a change. Shirky appeared to be more calm and organized, illustrating his points clearly and insistently. Godin’s ideas were centered around change: people who have inspired change, how technology changes the way ideas are created and spread, and the benfits of change. Shirky was relaying the message that our generation is experiencing the biggest increase in expression and interaction in human history, and that we should react to make the best of it. Both Godin and Shirky pointed out how the Internet has affected the way everyday people interact. Godin emphasized how leadership and the Internet connect and unify people with similar ideas, taking the concept as far as giving his audience “permission to lead” and urging anyone listening to challenge the status quo. Shirky’s approach was less aggressive. He pointed out that the Internet has become the medium of all media, creating both groups and conversations, as no other media could. He called the Internet the “site of coordination,” where the audience can suddenly communicate back, as well as to each other.
The presenters pointed out progress that has happened over time: Godin illustrated change from factories to TV ads to leadership online as methods of influencing the consumer, and Shirky showed pictures of the printing press, telegraph, photos and movies, radio and TV, and the Internet to illustrate changes in communication.
Both speakers’ videos featured the speaker on a stage, with some kind of slideshow behind them and an audience in front. Godin and Shirky used their slideshows to illustrate their points, keep the audience stimulated, and draw attention to certain points. However, Godin used his slides mostly as comic relief, showing a little girl with a pirate patch on her eye along with examples of tribes, and pictures of balloon animals as an opening asking what people do for a living. Shirky’s, on the other hand, were less distracting and more informative
The structure of Godin’s presentation was slightly choppy, but his lists were effective and memorable. Shirky, on the other hand, used specific stories as examples for his eloquent assertions. The speakers’ closing statements illustrated their messages well. Godin finished with a firm instruction: “Create a movement. Start. Do it. We need it.” Shirky’s measured conclusion asked how we can best make use of a changing media environment.
If one day Godin and Shirky were locked in a room together, they would enjoy discussing the effect of the media on the world today. They would reflect excitedly on the possibilities and potential created by the Internet. Godin would no doubt try to challenge Shirky to create his own movement, and Shirky would congratulate him for spreading his ideas so well online.
Tuesday, September 15
Screenshot and Reflection
First of all, the screenshot I saved is pretty girly. It also looks cluttered, even though only two windows are open. It's strange to see the screen as a picture, knowing that the Start button or the Back arrow are useless when the screen is only an image.
Composing anything on a computer makes writing significantly more complicated, while at the same time streamlining every thought we record. The image is packed full of tabs, symbols, links, and highlighted words available to be clicked and followed to other screens. In that way, composition in digital spaces is far more distracting. I realized a while ago how much longer I take to type a paper than to write the same thing by hand because of everything else I'm tempted to explore. So much is available digitally, competing for attention. On the other hand, when composing on a computer, this availability is immensely helpful. Students today have dictionaries, references, pictures, calculators, and ways of communicating at our fingertips. In a way, composition is more streamlined on a computer, with files saved neatly, everything the same size and font if we choose.
We better understand how we compose, and what is involved, by doing just that: composing. Not until we have tried to write a paper with six windows open, boxes flashing, or music playing can we understand how it affects writing. The only way to know what it's like to record your thoughts as a blog, for example, is to sign up for one.
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