My Logo -

I used onlinelogomaker.com for mine. There were plenty of options for symbols and you could upload your own image. I wasn't crazy about the font choices - they seemed ideal if I were opening up a skateboarding shoe company, though.

Wordle Images -

Here's my first - this is from my class profile:

And this one is from a faux cover letter describing multimedia study guides to an education director at a museum:

I LOVED the idea of writing a cover letter for a job or position I really wanted, and then seeing it as a visual.  I don't know where you all stand on the whole "visualization of goals and dreams to make them a reality," but I come from a pretty new-agey momma (who, incidentally, is the media specialist for her elementary school) who really encourages me (and anyone else in her circle of friends) to do visualization exercises.  I've always been a bit cynical about the whole thing, but this assignment was pretty powerful for me personally.

Tagxedo Word Cloud in the Shape of a Rooster -

Because why not?

Web 2.0 to a Grandfather

My grandmothers and grandfathers have all passed away - and before computers really even came on the scene.  I think that this exercise is a bit easier when you imagine speaking to a specific person, so I chose my father (who is also a grandfather) and who struggles to understand just what it is I'm doing in this program.

* * *

So, Dad, you have a computer and you send and receive emails through the Internet (online).  You have also purchased things online. That's about the extent, right?

Web 2.0 takes this to a more interactive level.  These sites, or platforms, or applications allow you to communicate and share information with people all over the world.  With a site like Pinterest, you can trade recipes for deviled eggs - even though we both know you already have the best!  With a site like Foursquare, you could find out which of your friends are where when you're tailgating at the Clemson games. Scott and his friends are running their fantasy multi-ball league with Google Docs, which basically means that each multi-ball participant has access to spreadsheets that each can update (no more emailing around copies of the same document and trying to keep track of the correct version) at the same time.

With Twitter, you can "follow" your favorite sports commentators and be the first to find out about trades, injuries, or anything else.  And if you'd join Facebook, I wouldn't have to email you separately all those pictures of your grandkids - and you'd get to see all the sweet comments other people make about them.

All of this can happen on your computer with your current Internet settings.  But if you want information even more quickly, and when you're away from your desk, you could always get a smartphone...

But that's another conversation -

Impromp 2.0 -

A definition in 60 seconds:

Web 2.0 is a collection of applications and websites that are interactive on the part of the user.  Users can edit, change, and collaborate through sites.

Weekly Video #2 -

When thinking through Weekly Video #3, I suddenly realized I had not posted Weekly Video #2! Yikes!

For this video, I thought taking a short tour through the theatre where I work would be interesting.  I would still like to get away from pointing out inanimate, uninteresting objects to comment on - will do my best to work on that further with Weekly Video #3.  I do think that I was more confident in what I had to say this time.

The last video was filmed with my Flip Cam.  This one was with my iPhone.  I think the quality of the Flip Cam video is actually better!

Here it is:

Games With a Purpose

I think Mary Poppins really nailed it:

In every job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap!
The job's a game

And every task you undertake
Becomes a piece of cake
A lark! A spree!
It's very clear to me

And then Luis von Ahn took it to the next level. Towards the end of his session, during the Q&A, he said, "There's no procedure for coming up with an efficient algorithm to solve something ... I think it's going to be an art, much like coming up with efficient algorithms."

I thought that was very interesting to think about the ways that computers can help us to categorize, organize, draw, research, and so on, but a computer cannot know the myriad of connections a human could make between an image seen, a poem read, a conversation remembered, and put it all together into a new concept. A computer would not know that this video could, in some minds, be related to the lyrics to "A Spoonful of Sugar." And I liked the comparison between art and algorithms - both are very much centered on creativity.

But I'm having a bit of a block on thinking through usages of crowdsourcing in the field of theatre. What is the work that we need to get done that many people could help to do? I loved the video of the virtual choir that was posted at some point - and I suppose that could count as a crowdsourced performance. Social media has been invaluable as a marketing tool for theatre - the "word of mouth" aspect of getting new audience has been so much easier and further spread with platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Foursquare. Ostensibly, you could do a city-wide collaborative design for costumes and sets for a specific production. But then again, the effort involved in designing those algorithms would probably be better spent on something else. I think the brainstorming part of this class is where I could use a live discussion element!