Weekly Blog Post 2

After viewing this video, there are many things that come to one's mind. Personally, although I use the internet on a daily basis, I had never before thought about many of the things that were mentioned. The title of the video, "Web 2.0 - The Machine is us," gets at the heart of what the film is about. Essentially, the idea is that the internet has become accessible to everyone, as the XML format allows anyone with a computer to edit and post information on the web. Along with the revolution resulting from the printing press, the invention of the world wide web has vastly changed the ways in which the world communicates. It is an entirely different medium, with a different audience as well as different purposes and strategies than other forms of communication.

In order to clearly relay a message to someone else, an important thing to do is to understand one's purpose behind the information. As discussed before, the theme behind "Web 2.0" is how people interact with the internet, as well as the vast amount of information that is organized and displayed on web pages everyday. In looking at this, the purpose of the video is to then inform people about this internet, and inspire critical thinking about how it is used. Furthermore, the pace in which the video is presented talks about just how fast and easily things can change on the web. Whereas when writing on paper one has to erase a mistake and start over, on the internet, one simply has to press a few buttons to change what they have created. This ability to easily test and revise the product is one of the reasons why the web is so useful.

Another theme that is complimentary to the purpose of the video is the type of audience that the message is intended for. The author needs to think about who might be watching the video, where this potential audience could be, how they might be feeling, and what their initial and final reactions could be. Understanding this will help the producer, as he or she can better tailor the film to be of interest to the audience. In looking at "Web 2.0," it seems as though the author carefully considered this concept of audience because the fast-paced approach of the film maintains the intensity level required to attract internet attention. Although the viewer might not retain all of the information presented, that is not the purpose of the film. Thus, in this case, the purpose directly interacts with the audience (to tell about the vast amount of information delivered to people on the internet). Overall, I believe that the film presents an interesting topic and does an excellent job of adjusting to meet the needs of the audience.

Weekly Blog Post 1

"Deliver me from writers who say the way they live doesn't matter. I'm not sure a bad person can write a good book. If art doesn't make us better, then what on earth is it for?"
--Alice Walker

I found this quote to be quite intriguing on two levels, the first of which is that Walker clearly defines writing as a form of art. As a pre-architecture major, I have learned quite a bit recently about the design process and how one goes about composing a piece of art. I agree with Walker in this sense: that writing is a form of art or communication, and that in writing, the author uses words to convey a message to a certain audience. Knowing this, the question then becomes how does the art benefit the composer? This is the second level of the quote that I find intriguing, as Walker clearly discusses this as well. Essentially, she claims that the purpose of art is to improve humanity, and that by composing art, the author becomes a better person. She uses this thought when claiming that all good writers are good people, as they have been able to discover more about themselves through their work. I partially agree with this statement, as although I have never met a famous writer, most of them generally seem like good people, as noted from their biographies. During the first semester, for example, I read several of Ted Kooser's books entitled Weather Central and Local Wonders. In reading these works, as well as the biographies in them about Kooser, he seems like a kind and generous man. I am sure, however, that there are at least a few authors in the world who have written "good books" who do not have the best lifestyles. To each is his own, however, and one man's definition of a bad lifestyle will differ from another's. Nevertheless, the main point that Walker is trying to convey to the audience is that generally speaking, writing and other forms of art are beneficial to the author, as well as society. This form of communication (writing) allows us to delve deep within ourselves and question who we are and what we think. Thus, a good book is generally written by someone who has contemplated the issues in his/her life through writing, and then made beneficial decisions as a result. In looking at this class as well as writing in general, this idea then gives me motivation to write, as it hints at one major benefit of writing. Not only will I be producing art, but the process will be beneficial to me as a student and as a member of society.