Hypertext

I read the “Hypertextnow” article because it relates to my everyday life. I always think about this contrast between reading paper and reading computers. I have to admit, I’m not a paper reader at all. My mom would beg, plead, and force me to read books and newspapers as a kid, but I refused. It wasn’t a problem with reading, though. I constantly swear that I have A.D.D. I rarely found a novel that could hold my interest enough for me to finish it through. I did better with newspapers and magazines, but often only reading about tech or sports. Not until I discovered the wonderful world of online reading did I go crazy. I constantly check ESPN.com, MSN.com, newspaper websites, etc. to read articles online. For me, it’s an issue of being able to find an article on exactly what interests me. I can browse a bunch of titles and click, there. I find exactly what I want when I want. Newspapers and magazines still make me flip and search. It was interesting when he talked about the Bolter test, because I’m in bed as I type right now. Before I can even think about going to sleep I click through my favorites on my laptop laying in bed and will read a few articles that interest me. I don’t have to have a preplanned book when the world’s at my fingertips in my laptop. I think that’s what the author’s getting at. For all the nostalgia books bring, the incredible power of an electronic reading device is limitless. So thank you Mr. Dell.

Powerpoint

"Power corrupts and PowerPoint corrupts absolutely." -Vint Cerf
Until I read this article, I never really thought about the negatives of a Powerpoint. I guess this has to do with the fact that I never used Powerpoint until I got to Stanford. They just seemed to be an easy tool to present information. I guess my hidden agenda in using Powerpoints is the problem critics like Norvig and Tufte are discussing. I'll often use a Powerpoint as a "distraction" that adds to my presentation without me actually having to add much substance at all. I'll go so far as to agree with the critics that the widespread use of Powerpoints by modern students is along the same lines as Cliffs Notes and the MTV-ization of youth. Often the flashy thing holds our attention over the more concrete thing. Perhaps the simplest way for a person to mask a thinly informed report is to add a fancy Powerpoint that didnt take more than 20 minutes of clicking to complete. At the same time, I like to use Powerpoints because they emphasize my points while I expound on them. I like the analogy to an AK-47 used by Norvig. A Powerpoint only cheapens the information it presents if the presenter chooses to let it. Its a weapon that can strengthen an argument or bastardize it. In the end, I'll agree with both sides because I use Powerpoints for both good and evil.

Oral Presentations

Not feeling this topic for some reason.

Jan. 10 Research Ideas

Well, the first idea that popped into my head was of course to write about AIM (AOL Instant Messenger) again. Christine knows that that was my topic for my PWR1 paper so I'm not sure how kosher it would be to do the topic again. That's honestly the aspect of digital culture that influences my life the most I think. I'm currently on AIM right now getting people together to play basketball tonight. Perhaps I can shift my focus on AIM to a different aspect for this project. In PWR1 I focused on how AIM changed college social interaction. One aspect that I wanted to write about but never got to in that paper was the realm of away messages and profiles on AIM. I know a lot of people (of course not me) who regularly check peoples away messages or change their profiles. There are the philosophers, the comedians, the quoters, the notifiers. Everyone does things differently. I know that this area is a little too small to do a whole project on. But I think I could relate it to the creation of "online personas" in general. That is where my second topic comes into play. I'm also a personal blogger in my spare time so I'd be interested in writing about the virtual community of the blog world. On xanga, I find myself letting out my most personal thoughts for anyone to read. I complain, reminisce, and celebrate at the same time. Sometimes I'll post publicly knowing that one person in particular will read it. Just like on AIM, blogs allow people to create a virtual self. They choose what to project and what not to reveal. I think that would be an interesting subject to attack. Maybe do a little psych work but I know how I view things and interviews will always provide the best evidence. I'm actually not sure which one I'm leaning towards right now. AIM is my sentimental favorite but after writing about blogs, I'm interested in that too. Maybe I could combine them to one online persona thing including facebook and other sources too. All good ideas in my book. I guess that's where I'm leaning right now because I think I have a separate persona online than in person I guess. Maybe I'm just a nerd. Yea, I think it's that.

Linx:
IM http://www.bigblueball.com/
Xanga http://www.xanga.com/Default.aspx?

Jan. 7 First Blog Entry

When I first read this assignment I told my roomate and he laughed because he has noted how nerdy I had become with my xanga-ing experience over the last few months. Actually, before I came to Stanford, I had never heard of a xanga or a blog or whatnot before. It was a friend in my dorm who had a link to her xanga site on her AIM profile that first introduced me to the wonderful world of blogs. At first, I simply read hers. One night I was pretending to study for chem and I decided to start my own. One of my problems has always been that I'll tell just about anyone what's going on with my life. Well with xanga, I began to write about anything that was stressing me at the time (whether it was my roomates, school, or exgirlfriend) without keeping much personal. I really said just about anything. My initial view of bloggers was one of "nerdiness" but I soon become absorbed in this world. I kept posting, joined blogrings from Stanford and Tampa, read others. Actually, one really interesting thing about my xanga that has arisen is my incredible curiosity with who reads it. I added a site meter to mine where I can see how many people read it as well as what domain they are using. I think it just adds to the nerdiness, but by now I can pretty much get a good estimate on who exactly is reading my site. It's actually interesting some of the people who regularly read mine. Another thing I found myself doing was writing novels instead of simple posts. A friend of mine cut and pasted a few of my entries into Word to get a word count. Some approached 3000 words. I had trouble writing 2000 word essays for class, but I could churn out a paper about what was on my mind at any given second. I've gotten better at keeping them short though. When I'm at home, I'll usually just recount the day or go on if I'm angry or sad. Like I said, I pretty much say anything that's on my mind. Randomly reading other people's blogs kind of weirds me out, but I do read a few people's regularly. On xanga, I can suscribe to my friends' blogs and read them all from one page. I'm not sure how all this fits into eRhetorics yet because I'm not sure what eRhetorics is yet, but I can say that I'm an active blogger. For some reason the words just flow when I'm typing on one.