Blog Fodder

I have just turned in Project One for W390. The project was to write about the avatars we created and why we created them the way they are. How do they project the "voice" we want to have with those who play Second Life?

The feedback I received from my paper was very helpful. In general, the reviewers thought I had captured all the elements required for the paper, and they also suggested some additional things to incorporate. I think the ideas provided made the paper stronger and provided an answer for some lingering questions they thought of when they were reading the paper.

I read a few papers before I submitted mine to get a feel for what others were doing. I could see the voice they chose to write their papers was very much like the voice I chose for mine; that is, first person and as though I were having a conversation with you. I did not read any more papers again before working on my revision except for the three I chose to evaluate. I didn't want to take ideas from others' papers and include them in my own. I think my paper was honest to my avatar which in essence is me.

I wish I would have left better feedback for my peers.

Nothing and More Nothing

What a day. My lemonade life was reduced to lemons today. Ugh. I'll try again tomorrow.

Blog Fodder

The question of the day is, "What media do you have experience writing for or with and how might writing for other media be similar or differ? How might you make your strengths work for you? How might you work around your obstacles?"

First, what kind of media do I use? I use the Internet, a camera, and a recording device. Besides writing this blog, for my job I write for two websites and create and edit a newsletter. For both of those media, I try to be creative and give the facts but be concise. I realize that not everyone finds my work fascinating, so they won't want to spend a lot of time reading through endless paragraphs to find the information they want.

For the IUPUI Faculty Council, I helped design the site and then create all the writing and upkeep on it. I do the same for the IUPUI Staff Council. Go ahead. Take a look at the sites. Now, if you actually looked at the sites, you'll notice they are set up about the same way. That's because the university has a template that must be followed. What I truly designed on my own is the Staff Council Newsletter.

I really like writing content for the newsletter. I can be creative with my articles, or I can ask others to write a feature article instead. As I've learned in class, it's best to be concise as people tend to scan the newsletter for things that are pertinent to them. They can move on quickly if there is nothing they need information about.

I mention that I use a recording device. It's a Zoom numbered-thing-a-ma-jig I use to record faculty hearings. Once the hearing is over, I burn the conversations onto a CD.

If I had to write for television, especially the news, I think I would be fired within about one day. Why? Because I find that in the rush to get something on the evening news, the reporters don't always have time to get their facts checked. I would also have to cut out the question, "How did you feel when you heard your (mother, father, child, dog, etc) was hit by the train?" Come on, how would you feel? I don't think those types of questions even need to be considered! Then there are the stories that I don't consider giving the time of day to. Why do I care if Lindsay Lohan has been charged with theft? But, getting back to the questions! How is writing for television or audio any different than writing for the web? Not a whole lot actually. Both media need to be written concisely, scanned easily, half the word count of conventional writing, and using the active voice.

I think I write pretty well for the websites using what I have learned in this class and other similar ones. I use my knowledge of the university and the contacts I have to draw out things of interest to the faculty and staff. But, I also have obstacles that I have to cross. For example, a website without video or pictures is kind of blah. I use my iPhone 3GS to take pictures of events by the councils, but once I took the pictures, I didn't know how to make them more interesting or sharper for the audience. So, I took a Photoshop class a month ago! I need more practice, but I'm not as rusty as I once was.

All in all, I enjoy writing for websites and the newsletter. The newsletter especially lets me write as those I were having a conversation with my readers.  Just like I'm having a conversation with you here!

The Quest to Understand a Change in Writing Guidelines

During the fall semester, I took the course ENG W365 “The Theory and Practices of Editing” with Professor J. J. Stenzoski. The course was designed “to learn and practice the craft of copyediting nonfiction prose.” I would recommend this course to every staff member at IUPUI because what you might have learned in high school English, typing or computing, or journalism has changed. Granted, I graduated from high school many years ago, but who would have thought that rules for grammar, punctuation, and style would have changed? Not me! Well, I was wrong.

Below are just a few of the changes I learned:

• There are no longer TWO spaces between ending punctuation and the next word of writing. (Example: Is it hard to learn to type one space instead of two after ending punctuation? Yes, it is!)
• One space, not two, follows a colon.
• Numbers one through one hundred are spelled out, not just one through ten.
• Titles are capitalized only if preceding a person’s name (Examples: President Michael McRobbie is the current president of Indiana University. Michael McRobbie, president of Indiana University, will attend the Board of Trustees meeting next week.) Board of Trustees would not normally be capitalized because in some places it is not considered an official title for the body. However, at Indiana University, it is considered an official name. Tricky, right? It’s a good idea to use the style guide for IU to know how the university wants things listed.
• Is it email or e-mail? It’s e-mail. It will probably evolve to “email” in a few years, but for now, hyphenate it.
• Watch for compound words. Is it on-line or online? It’s online. Be sure to have a good dictionary on hand.
• Periods and commas go inside single or double quotation marks. A semicolon or colon goes outside. A question mark or exclamation point can go inside or outside.
• Ellipsis or suspension points are three spaced periods.
• Degree abbreviation: The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) says NOT to put periods in abbreviations for degrees (PhD), but the IU Style Guide does (Ph.D.). Always go with the Style Guide first.

If you don’t already have these tools for proper writing, I recommend purchasing the Chicago Manual of Style, 16^th ed., and Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11^th ed. The Chicago Manual of Style can also be accessed online. Another valuable resource for IUPUI faculty and staff is the style guide for Indiana University. This guide follows many of the practices in CMOS, but tells you specifically the guidelines Indiana University wants you to use.

My new rule for writing and grammar? When in doubt, look it up!

Blog Fodder

David Riordan says, "Infinite choice equals a database. Just because you can make a choice doesn't mean it's an interesting one."

Have you ever been to a website that just didn't make sense? Here is one that is a good example of a choice that isn't interesting. Go ahead, I'll pause while you take a look. Yeah, I heard your confused minds wondering just what it was you were looking at. Some of you may have recognized the songs, some may have wondered why you could move the thumb around the dial like you can on a regular iPod. The graphics were cool, but what were you supposed to see or experience when you made your choice?

When I write in this blog, in the Staff Council Newsletter that I write and edit, or on the websites I manage for my job, I need to be mindful of the audience I am trying to reach. I need to be sure that the articles I write or accept for publication are relevant, interesting, and provide something appealing to the eye. Usually this includes a piece of multimedia; some kind of link that takes the reader to another location for more information. Is the link interesting to me or interesting to all?

To answer that question, I need to again look at who I am writing for. Since I don't have a following in my blog at this time (...and will I ever?), I'm pretty much writing for myself and linking for my own pleasure. But in the back of my mind, I'm still wanting the links to be relevant. I don't want to link for linked sake! To be effective in my writing, I have some control over what I write, how I display it, and how busy the multimedia will be.

Let's think about going to The Cheesecake Factory. When I look at the menu, I see chaos or clutter. The same thing goes with their website.When you click on the "menu" tab at the top, you are taken to the same menu selections you see in the menu at the restaurant. Click on appetizers and you see a whole slew of them! I don't know about you, but there are just too many selections on the menu! I don't want my readers to be overwhelmed with writing or multimedia choices. I want them to be engaged but not overwhelmed!

My own opinion on this is that I don't like my life cluttered with too much choice. Therefore, my multimedia in my writing assignments won't be cluttered as well (never mind the length of this posting!).

Is Second Life Safe?

As I was working on some homework last night, my son wanted to know what Second Life was. I opened the program and showed him what it was all about. At thirteen, he asked a surprising question. "Isn't this environment dangerous? I mean, you can meet people in there just like you do on Facebook. Can't you meet some bad people?" Wise, huh? This has been a concern of mine as well. One of the first days I was in SL, I walked past a few avatars that were dropping the f-bomb like it was commonplace. They were dressed in some provocative clothing, too. I was laughed at as I walked past. My pastor has even spoken of SL in a sermon. It seems some people use it as a place to live a life outside marriage.

I suppose SL is just like real life. You need to be careful where you go, who you are with, and what you say and do. Here is an interesting article about safety in SL for teens/children. What is your opinion?

The Quest to Understand Second Life

Have you ever wanted to be someone else? Look different? Perhaps you'd like to be skinny, have brown hair, and wear cool clothes. Have you ever wanted to visit Ireland or some other destination? Now you can! In a class I'm taking at IUPUI, we are exploring Second Life, an on-line world where you can be someone else, live somewhere else, and meet new people. You can even spend money called Lindens. But, DON'T tell anyone that you are "playing" Second Life. Persons who spend a lot of time in the environment will take great offense at that. They are "residents" in Second Life. They are someone in a virtual world that they are not in the real world!

First, you need to have an avatar. This is one of the hardest things to do in Second Life (my opinion) because when you create an avatar, you can either make yourself look like you or you can create a new you. There are hundreds of different combinations of body sizes, shapes, facial features, and clothes. There are even stores in SL that you can go in and purchase new clothing for your avatar. However, I am going to stick with all the free items because I'm cheap! If I want to buy some clothes, I'm going to buy them for me, not an avatar!

My quest to understand Second Life has been slow. Although there is Orientation Island where you are taught how to walk, stand, fly, and sit, there is still much more to learn. The most challenging thing on my quest is to actually find free things to do. For example, in our scavenger hunt, we could choose to ride in a hot air balloon or scuba dive. I wanted to scuba dive, but when I searched for a place to dive, I was sent to an island with no one on it and no place to try scuba diving for free. I could purchase items to dive, but I couldn't find where the place was to dive for free. The search box said you could do it there, but I never found it. I experienced other things like that in my hunt to find items on the hunt list. The items may be hard to find because the scenery is slow to load on the screen. When you're used to a fast computer pulling up graphics, and then you get slow graphics in Second Life, well, let's just say I'm not too patient.

When graphics do come up, they are beautiful. I enjoyed especially the botanical gardens. You name a type of garden, you'll find it in that location (or, landmark in SL-speak). I even met a fairy avatar there and her pet lion. It was fun to talk to her. She was totally in character as she told me she lived in the garden with her lion. It was almost as if she created the garden. This is a picture of me looking at some flowers in the botanical garden.

As I'm still new to SL, the concept is difficult. However, the more I work with my avatar by teleporting her to different locations, changing her appearance, and making her run, fly, or walk, the easier it is becoming. I still find the search function rather difficult, but I'm getting a better hang of it.

I expected to see more avatars in the landmarks. I visited many places where I was the only one there. I visited the Stardust Treehouse several times hoping to run into one of my classmates, but no one was ever there either.

I will continue my quest to understand and "be" in Second Life. It is more enjoyable than I expected it to be, but I anticipate once this class is over, so will my life be in Second Life.

 

The Impossible Quest

As I read Don Quixote for a class at IUPUI, I was struck by the song about Quixote and his quest from Man of La Mancha. As a child of the ‘70s, my mother would listen to elevator music as we cleaned the house. “The Impossible Dream” played most every Saturday and I always liked that song. I don’t know why I liked the song so much, but having finally read the book after singing the song and actually seeing the play at the American Cabaret Theatre many years ago, the song makes total sense to me. Below is a portion of the song:

To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
“The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha (1972) Music by Mitch Leigh and Lyrics by Joe Darion

I think I might be a little like Don Quixote. I want to experience life as though it were a quest – one adventure after another. But, I want life to be good and free from sorrow and anger and everything else that goes with the bad side of life. It would be great to go into life seeing only what you wanted to see. But, I know I can’t have only the perfect and good side because if I only experienced the good, how would I know what good really is?

Don Quixote took adventures and was beaten up along the way. He kept on with his quest “no matter how hopeless; no matter how far.” How is your life like that of Don Quixote?