This course, Writing in Digital Environments (ENC 4416), was one of the first courses I encountered that directly dealt with writing online. I minor in mass communication, so I was able to take other courses involving communication, social media, and a few others. However, this class was one of a kind as we directly focused on writing in digital environments. Our texts were very insightful as they brought things to my literal attention that I never thought about before.
Attention Span in Net Smart
In Howard Rheingold’s book NetSmart: How to Thrive Online he wrote about Five Literacies: Attention, Crap Detection, Participation, Collaboration, and Network Smarts. Attention stuck out to me the most out of the five literacies. Before reading this chapter I really didn’t care too much about how long I was spending online, on social media, and what I gave attention to and what I didn’t, and for how long. Even my perception of multitasking, I wasn’t fully aware of. I did recognized after reading the book, that when it came to me reading long documents, I would skim and search (as if I was searching Google) instead of actually reading and taking in what I needed to know. I would only skim for what I needed to know instead of reading the entire document to get full knowledge. So, I’ve been thinking more about attention and what I am paying attention to. What I really need to focus on and what I spend too much time focusing on. I also learned about distractions. This really hit home as I can get distracted very easily when working, especially online. It could be the TV in the background, the radio when a song comes on, checking e-mail or phone notifications, or me browsing other sites (aside from the ones I am supposed to be on), and anything else that takes my attention away from what I need to be doing. From reading the “Attention” chapter, I thought more about how I spend my time online. I’ve started trying to limit my time online, check my e-mails a few times a day (instead of constant) and read offline more. I’m still struggling with the distractions, however, I’m more aware that I need to stay focused when there is a task at hand.
I learned about “Attention”, but I think the most significant learning experience for me was reading Content Strategy. I’ve been one to constantly think creatively about my personal ideas and projects. Fan sites and groups are a little bit easier to maintain and create. However, creating something that is your own, your brand, is another thing. I’ve been trying to establish my personal blogs for a few years now. I would open and close them each time I run out of “content”. As I had written in my Twitter analysis about content, it takes more than just jotting ideas in a notebook. Time, effort, finding your niche, web design and online skills, and even the location/place, tools you need, and finances come into play. You also need inspiration and motivation, and I just seem to lack that over the time. I even had this issue with my fan sites. For the most part, I lacked drive, especially if I didn’t see a need for something or if I was participating and giving my all, and wasn’t getting in back in return.
With Content Strategy, since it’s easy to follow and has a TON of great ideas, I got inspired about re-crating my own brand and what I want. Chapter 5 (Audit), Chapter 6 (Analysis), and Strategy: Chapter 7 (Core) helped me the most. I think I just needed a refresher with the sites that I am currently running, and which direction I need to go with them.
Overall, both books helped me to think about being a better person online and what I do with my time online. Do I just browse Twitter and look at videos all day, or do I create something that will make a difference?
Sunday, August 2, 2015
Saturday, August 1, 2015
Twitter Activity and Refelection
This is a summary of my Twitter account activity over the semester.
1. How often did you tweet?
On my personal Twitter account (@asouthernwriter), I wasn't as active as I usually was as far as making personal tweets (I did a lot of retweeting). My fan site account for Swamp People was more active, but nonetheless, I participated on my account. I usually tweeted/retweeted a few times a day, and sometimes I took a break and tweeted a day or two later.
2. How valuable were those tweets?
I mostly tweeted things related to my general and academic interests, related to my hobbies, and random things like quotes, photos, videos, some religious and political items, etc. Topics related to Southern studies, Latin American studies, technical writing, creative writing, food, cooking, and food studies, history, digital writing and technology. Among those tweets, I occasionally posted memes, trending hashtags, music, movies, celebrities, and my favorite TV show, The Walking Dead. I got a few shout outs as well. I asked questions and got a few responses from tweeters. Through all of this tweeting so far in the semester, I gained about 30 new followers. It seems like a small number, but this course was only six weeks and that's progress as I usually don't get that many followers within that amount of time. Unfortunately, I didn't utilize the #ENC4416 hashtag as many students did, but as I learn more, I will definitely use it as a reminder of what I learned.
3. Are you following people that will provide valuable information to you?
I'm following a lot of people who provide tons of valuable information, as far as my general and academic interests. Among my followers list are current, past, and possibly future professors, some I have connected with whom I've never met, academics in a specialized field, students from different universities, various companies, and the other contains hobbies and interests.
So, I've been an avid “tweeter” for years now. Throughout those years and depending on the online project, determined my level of usage. Besides using twitter for personal tweeting, sometimes I would work on a long-term project, a short-term project, other times it was promotional and/or for blogging purposes.
What I Learned Then... I’ve worked on and off on fan pages and groups for well over a decade. Working on fan sites, of course, you had to be up-to-date with sharing the latest news, projects, TV/Tour dates, and any other important information. In addition to that, you also had to make sure you had some kind of content going on to keep the interest of your visitors. Twitter allowed me to provide the glue to ensure the “stickiness” of the content. I was able to take advantage of internet memes and hashtags such as #ThrowbackThursday (#TBT) or #MusicMondays and use them to the fullest extent to promote the person or brand I was trying to get out there. Having content (and finding new ways to create content) was a key factor, especially if you had competing fan sites, you wanted to be able to stick out from the rest, which could sometimes be a difficult task due to your level of understanding your audience, web design, using social media, and finances.
What I Learned Now...
Since taking this course, I learned more about content strategy and how certain elements are important to generating readership and gaining followers on social media (I’ll be talking about this more in my 500 word reflection). Twitter has been significant in doing this because it’s not only used for personal use, but a way to spread news and messages from various topics and from people of different demographics. Twitter has become more than just a social media site, but a social platform all on its own. Overall, even though I didn’t get to use Twitter to the fullest in this course, my experience with Twitter this semester has shown that if you reach out with good content, they will read, listen, and follow.
Twitter Activity
1. How often did you tweet?
On my personal Twitter account (@asouthernwriter), I wasn't as active as I usually was as far as making personal tweets (I did a lot of retweeting). My fan site account for Swamp People was more active, but nonetheless, I participated on my account. I usually tweeted/retweeted a few times a day, and sometimes I took a break and tweeted a day or two later.
2. How valuable were those tweets?
I mostly tweeted things related to my general and academic interests, related to my hobbies, and random things like quotes, photos, videos, some religious and political items, etc. Topics related to Southern studies, Latin American studies, technical writing, creative writing, food, cooking, and food studies, history, digital writing and technology. Among those tweets, I occasionally posted memes, trending hashtags, music, movies, celebrities, and my favorite TV show, The Walking Dead. I got a few shout outs as well. I asked questions and got a few responses from tweeters. Through all of this tweeting so far in the semester, I gained about 30 new followers. It seems like a small number, but this course was only six weeks and that's progress as I usually don't get that many followers within that amount of time. Unfortunately, I didn't utilize the #ENC4416 hashtag as many students did, but as I learn more, I will definitely use it as a reminder of what I learned.
Why #Southern #writers still captivate, 55 years after 'To Kill a Mockingbird' http://t.co/HlV0HJ2fHe
— A Southern Writer (@ASouthernWriter) July 11, 2015High fives all around @whatsherface9 @yikesks @katz_emma @GosaliaM @ASouthernWriter @passthesushi @phenixvin @FoodPhotoAward & @meljoulwan!
— Leite's Culinaria (@leitesculinaria) July 24, 2015Finished #GoSetAWatchman last night. I honestly expected a bit more, but nonetheless still a good book. The mock revival had me in tears! 😂
— A Southern Writer (@ASouthernWriter) July 16, 2015How I feel after re-watching a season of #TheWalkingDead... pic.twitter.com/rVxcw2DWAN
— A Southern Writer (@ASouthernWriter) July 3, 20153. Are you following people that will provide valuable information to you?
I'm following a lot of people who provide tons of valuable information, as far as my general and academic interests. Among my followers list are current, past, and possibly future professors, some I have connected with whom I've never met, academics in a specialized field, students from different universities, various companies, and the other contains hobbies and interests.
Twitter: A Reflection
So, I've been an avid “tweeter” for years now. Throughout those years and depending on the online project, determined my level of usage. Besides using twitter for personal tweeting, sometimes I would work on a long-term project, a short-term project, other times it was promotional and/or for blogging purposes.
What I Learned Then... I’ve worked on and off on fan pages and groups for well over a decade. Working on fan sites, of course, you had to be up-to-date with sharing the latest news, projects, TV/Tour dates, and any other important information. In addition to that, you also had to make sure you had some kind of content going on to keep the interest of your visitors. Twitter allowed me to provide the glue to ensure the “stickiness” of the content. I was able to take advantage of internet memes and hashtags such as #ThrowbackThursday (#TBT) or #MusicMondays and use them to the fullest extent to promote the person or brand I was trying to get out there. Having content (and finding new ways to create content) was a key factor, especially if you had competing fan sites, you wanted to be able to stick out from the rest, which could sometimes be a difficult task due to your level of understanding your audience, web design, using social media, and finances.
What I Learned Now...
Since taking this course, I learned more about content strategy and how certain elements are important to generating readership and gaining followers on social media (I’ll be talking about this more in my 500 word reflection). Twitter has been significant in doing this because it’s not only used for personal use, but a way to spread news and messages from various topics and from people of different demographics. Twitter has become more than just a social media site, but a social platform all on its own. Overall, even though I didn’t get to use Twitter to the fullest in this course, my experience with Twitter this semester has shown that if you reach out with good content, they will read, listen, and follow.
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