Ekta’s Portfolio
Introduction
When I decided to take this class, I had no idea what we would be doing. Exploring internet arguments? What did that even mean? At the time, all I could think of when someone said “internet arguments” was angry debates on Twitter. Now, I understand it to be something much more—it is how we all communicate. From the simplest hashtag or meme to the most complex podcast or phone app, we all form our own arguments online.
I wanted a break from all the coding and analytical thinking I would be doing in my econometrics and computer science courses this semester. What I got was a challenge—and it wasn’t an unwelcome one. I loved how I was able to think creatively in this class and then go back and look at my work analytically. Was my work engaging and creative? Was my work actually getting the task done? What did I learn from this project?
I hadn’t ever considered how entrenched technology is in our society. I never really sat down to really think about how technology and communication are related. This class taught me how internet culture has evolved over time and how argumentation styles are used online. I loved analyzing how simple or complex the medium was and how overly emotional some arguments could be. I think I discovered how I could become a better debater online, and I even picked up a few skills in some programs that I had never used before.
Twitter Report
In this project, I decided to analyze the Popeyes vs. Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich debate. Knowing most of my peers were taking more serious approaches like Planned Parenthood, vaccines, and political debates, I knew I wanted to examine a more casual part of internet culture.
I used the software TAGS to analyze many tweets under the hashtag #chickenSandwichWars and compiled data on which restaurant was more popular and how people were supporting their statements. Then, I decided to make my report more casual and even somewhat mocking of internet culture. I was shocked to see how many people were extremely passionate about chicken sandwiches. The hashtag #chickenSandwichWars was accurate—it was truly a war.
Revisions
My revisions included slight changes in wording. Other than that, I was happy with my first draft and didn’t need any drastic revisions.
Takeaways
I discovered that internet arguments are pretty much the same across Twitter. Whether the hashtag is #chickenSandwichWars or #PlannedParenthood, most of the posts and tweets found were emotionally-charged and relied heavily on pathos. I think this is because pathos is often the most compelling part of an argument, but I feel that it would be more compelling if a logical appeal was also used to back up the argument. I was surprised to see that many people relied on using the same principle in two different ways. People who supported Popeyes said Popeyes ran out of chicken because it was so popular. People who supported Chick-fil-A said Popeyes ran out of chicken because it didn’t know how to normally handle a good and consistent lunch rush. It was interesting to see how people could use the same fact to support two different theories.
Audio Essay
For the audio essay, I decided to talk about how social media affected relationships. I was nervous to use Audacity because I had never used it before. Overall, I think this project turned out great. I liked the software as well, so hopefully I’ll get another chance to use it!
I found clips on YouTube that related to social media and relationships, and I thought they were really interesting and explained some quick and easy points that I could add into my audio essay. I didn’t want to have long clips of other people talking because I wanted to be the one delivering my own argument, and I didn’t want other voices talking about my topic for too long. I created my script based on the clips I found because I wanted to make sure my talking points and evidence blended together seamlessly with the clips I found.
I thought a good way to introduce how distracting and flashy social media could be was to create a quick segment of different phone notifications going off all at the same time. The noise would be overwhelming and distracting for the listener, but it would also grab their attention. The overlap of notifications sounded amazing when I put it together, and I was pleased with the results. I added some background music that faded in after the notifications and faded out after I was finished talking five minutes later.
Revisions
My audio essay was used in class as an example. Listening to my voice being played out for the class to hear and listening to the critiques everyone had was something that made me uncomfortable at the time, but I have come to appreciate the critiques. All of them were very useful—I just had to pick and choose which critiques I agreed with and which ones I didn’t agree with. The first critique was to find stronger supporting clips. This critique I disagreed with; I liked how the clips flowed in with my argument. One person in the class said that “it was nice to hear another voice saying the same thing” because it offered support and an anecdotal aspect to my audio essay. So, I went with my gut and kept the clips I originally had. Another critique I received was to remove the background music during my essay. I decided to fade it out while I was talking, but I wanted to keep it there to provide some background noise to my voice. I liked how the music made it seem more elevated. Looking back at my first draft, I do think that the newer draft sounds better with quieter music when I am talking. I also adjusted the volume to make sure my voice stayed at the same volume throughout, but I wasn’t able to completely get rid of the static noises. I was able to lessen them so that it didn’t impede the listening experience.
Takeaways
I learned that it’s important to trust your instincts when it comes to your own work. I knew what I wanted my end product to look like, so I kept that in mind when revising my project. Rejecting a critique doesn’t mean that you are saying you don’t value it; it simply means that you didn’t agree with it. I thought of each critique and evaluated how the changes—if implemented—would affect my piece.
Podcast
For this project, my group decided to focus on politics and social media. We split our podcast into subtopics, which each of us handling our own. We became experts in our own topic, and then met up to discuss how all the subtopics related to each other. We chose one moderator who would guide the conversation and one person who would play the supplementary clips.
Our first run through went well, and we were able to have a free flow of thoughts. We all spoke about our individual topics and gave input on other subtopics. After a good run, we were feeling confident about our upcoming presentation. We decided that one “expert” would talk, and at least two people should give feedback on what the expert w as saying. Our plan and layout for the podcast was a good one, and our presentation was good. We bounced ideas off of each other well, and the conversation was interesting and engaging.
Revisions
Editing the podcast was hard and tedious. Removing background noises like doors shutting and people shifting was almost impossible, but our voices and clips were clear and easy to hear. I think it sounds very much like a lot of the podcasts I have listened to.
Takeaways
I realized my group worked really well together. We worked hard on our topics, and we knew what were talking about when we presented. Teamwork was crucial to this project, and I’m glad that we all worked together and communicated effectively. Podcasts are more conversational and casual than the audio essays we did. The audio essays were more interesting when there were fewer and shorter clips, but the podcasts were more interesting when there were multiple people talking for longer amounts of time. In my opinion, the audio essay needed to be more like a speech and the podcast needed to be more like a conversation.
App Argument
My app was about making Lenoir more environmentally-friendly. I used a series of Yes/No questions to lead the user to making a decision that would make Lenoir get rid of plastic bags. I chose a green color scheme to go along with the environmentally-friendly theme and picked readable fonts. Adobe XD was hard for me to use, so I initially shied away from anything ambitious. I made my app short and simple, but in the process, I gave up having a stronger argument.
Revisions
Revising this project was extremely hard. The program was somewhat unwieldy, but I managed to implement all the suggestions. I added supporting details where I asked the user if they liked different aspects of nature and showing them how the world was impacted by human actions. I also added a call-to-action at the end to make sure the user would feel like they could take part in a movement. I was able to reconfigure the pathways the buttons took, and now the app is more functional and puts forth a stronger argument.
Takeaways
This project taught me to keep trying. When the software was hard to download, I went to ITS until I was able to download it onto my laptop. When I was having difficulty with using the program, I consulted online resources, my peers, and my professor until I was able to use the program proficiently. I think I have a firmer grasp on how to use the software now, and I feel more comfortable venturing out to other programs I have not used before.
Meme
I thought this project would take me back to my comfort zone. I thought that it was easy to create memes—it wasn’t. I thought that it was easy to use Photoshop—it wasn’t. After I was finally able to download the software, I ran into many issues in using the software and creating good memes.
I created three memes: one about the pro-life movement that focused on putting text on top of an image, another about spicy food that focused on blending and layering images, and a final one about internet arguments and fights. I met with my professor to create these memes since I was having trouble using the different functions on Photoshop. After meeting with my professor, I was able to create three strong and entertaining memes.
Revisions
I didn’t need revisions for this project since I had already met with my professor and gotten revisions as I created the memes. I liked that I was able to get feedback while I was creating the memes; it helped me see what the end result needed to look like.
Takeaways
This project showed me that people of all backgrounds can laugh at a good meme. Even though there was a generational gap between my professor and I, I saw that we both found my memes entertaining. This form of internet communication had the power to bring people together through quick wit and humor. I also realized that creating a meme is hard; being creative and witty is challenging. It was imperative to be witty in only a few words, and that’s hard to do when the topic (like the pro-life movement) is more complicated and requires more explanation. I learned that sometimes the creativity takes time to flow, and it’s okay to ask for help for ideas from your peers and professors.
Animated GIF Essay
Since my computer was very slow and hard to work with, my professor and I decided to find an alternative assignment. I wrote an essay on two gifs I found on the Internet. The first gif was of a purple flower blooming, and the second was a gif of two kids fighting. I compared them and analyzed internet culture in the context of gifs.
Revisions
I reconsidered some aspects of internet culture and wrote my paper considering memes and gifs together. I felt as if talking about both memes and gifs would help further my points on casual modern internet culture.
Takeaways
I saw that I could still analyze internet culture without having to actually create a gif. While I missed out on the creative aspect of creating a gif, I did get to take a step back and analyze what thoughts went into a gif. I also liked being able to analyze casual internet culture.
Portfolio Video Essay
For this project, I wrote another essay since I wasn’t able to use the software on my computer. My professor told me to compare two of my projects from the semester and discuss how they fostered learning and related to internet communication. I chose to focus on how the projects taught me to venture outside my comfort zone, communicate more with my peers and professor, and stay optimistic and adaptable. I also focused on how prevalent internet communication is in our daily lives.
Revisions
I made some minor edits in wording and some minor grammatical changes, but I was satisfied with my essay and didn’t need to make too many structural or conceptual changes.
Takeaways
This project and the GIF project taught me to be adaptable. I had to learn to be okay with the fact that I wasn’t able to create as many different projects on my laptop, and I found another way to complete my work. I created something that I was proud of, and I was still able to learn and analyze what work I was doing. I got to take a step back and observe instead of create, and I think that was also valuable to my learning experience.
Comments
Some of the comments I made this semester:
The Hashtag is Ruining the English Language
More can be found at this link.
Conclusion
To say I enjoyed this class would be an understatement. I really think this class pushed me to do my best, but I had my professor to guide me if I needed it. I also learned a lot from my peers and had a good time in the classroom. The atmosphere was very collaborative and engaging, and I definitely learned more than I anticipated I would.