English 5365 - Internet Writing: Class Request - More Pet Pictures

Chloe
Ally
Molly

English 5365 - Internet Writing: Week 4 Post Topic

What topic(s) are you considering for the paper? Discuss one or more alternatives in detail and explain its relation to some of the concepts and theories we're reading (or are going to be reading).

One of the reasons that my employer gave for the move to an XML workflow was that it would eventually give us the ability to more semantically tag our files. My impression during our meetings was that semantic tagging meant more granular tagging, for example, tagging chemical names and database links. This does not seem to be the definition presented by W3C, which states, “The Semantic Web provides a common framework that allows data to be shared and reused across application, enterprise, and community boundaries.” I wonder if this is a misunderstanding on my companies’ part or if it is simply the way that they present it in the meeting.

Tim Berners-Lee, James Hendler, and Ora Lassila are reported as saying, “The Semantic Web is not a separate Web but an extension of the current one, in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation.” This sounds more like the granular tagging that was mentioned in company meetings, tagging which states this is a compound name, etc.

For my paper, I would like to investigate what Semantic Tagging really is? And how this tagging fits in the Semantic Web? What makes it Semantic and what is the expected impact of Semantic Tagging on the web as we know it?

English 5365 - Internet Writing: Mini Assignment. Pictures of my work space

I have 3 primary work spaces: my personal space, my workplace space, and my work at home space. My work at home space and personal space should be the same, but my work laptop doesn't fit well on the desk with everything else, so I invaded my husband's personal space.

Personal work space (this is where I sit in class)


Workplace space


Work at home space


Notice the cat and the pile of junk on the desk in the last one. The junk is the mail and misc pile. My personal work space desk from the first picture can be seen in this picture as well. I take over all spaces; my poor husband gets none. To be honest, he likes my computer better than his, so he hasn't turned his on in months.

English 5365 - Internet Writing: Week 3 Post Topic

If you were to think of digital literacy as a two-tiered model, standard skills and advanced skills, how would you characterize each? Speculate as to what skills will be required in the not too distant future (say 5-10 years).

In class, we examined convoluted webs, trees, and diagrams breaking down skills into multiple sections, standard, advanced, etc. If I break digital literacy into two tiers, then the most basic skills that would allow the user to access desired information would fit into the standard category. These standard or basic skills would vary with chosen device, for example, computer, phone, iPad, Kindle, Nook, etc. As long as the user had the skill to access required information on his or her chosen device, even with no knowledge of other devices, I would say that they have the basic skills needed.

On this most basic level, the user needs to be able to operate his or her chosen device well enough to turn it on, launch his or her chosen application to access the Internet via WiFi, 3G, cable modem, etc., and to navigate to his or her chosen information source. It would be best if this standard skill set included an understanding of how to protect oneself on the web. For example, don’t click on the virus pop-up and don’t send your bank account information to a wealthy foreign businessperson trying to get his or her money out of his or her home country. In addition, I believe that this set should include information about how to protect your computer from attacks through the firewall, even if it is as basic as installing a package program from McAfee, Norton, etc.

More advanced skills would include familiarity with multiple devices, browsers, applications, etc., or the ability to quickly learn how to use an unfamiliar device to access information. It would include the ability to decide to venture beyond familiar boundaries and the ability to create information for these spaces by blogging, building webpages, creating podcasts, etc. This ability would extend beyond template-based construction to an understanding of the underlying code.

It is difficult to predict where we will end up in the future, what the technologies will look like and what we will need to be able to do to use them. Personal devices will likely become more accessible in the future, perhaps less expensive. Standard skills will likely include multi-device familiarity and there will likely be fewer people who do not use the Internet at all, at least in the United States. I predict the access to the Internet will increase even in less-developed nations, though, not quite at the current rate. Perhaps the green movement will have caught up with the consumer movement and slowed the rate of throw-a-way devices. It will be interesting to see what develops.

English 5365 - Internet Writing: Week 2 Blog Assignment

What new media theorist, which you have read (either avidly and/or recently) would you want to read further? What ideas, concepts, books, and articles interest you most and why?

This is one of those questions that makes me feel out of sync with my classmates. I am not even sure what defines a New Media Theorist. One of the detriments of being a working adult in school is that I read what I need to read for my classes, paper research, and work, and precious little else, so I decided to look into what a New Media Theorist is for this blog.

I located PDF titled New Media Theory Primer by J. Bardzel at Indiana University. Bardzel states, “New media theory is an intellectual discipline that examines the nature, roles, and functioning of new media objects (that is, works) in their cultures.” Bardzel indicates that the dividing line between new media theory and old media theory seems to be rather vague and that you can read hundreds of definitions of new media theory and new media theorists that are not quite the same although they are similar.
I would assume that the New Media Theorist is on who studies these complex definitions if not one who makes them up. I would also assume that a New Media Theorist would be involved in word-smithing or what I like to call “acute wordification” as they move forward crafting words to suit their definitions, often new words for old concepts that had perfectly good words already. (Can we tell that I don't care for wordification? It gives me no end of problems at work.)
I work in a field where we embrace scientific change, yet making a technological change is like turning the Titanic. I would like to see work on how New Media Theory impacts those who change slowly, those who are required to make a reliable product for their consumers. I am certain that I will learn more about New Media Theory as I work through the readings for this class and the additional readings that I will need to keep up with my classmates.

English 5365 - Internet Writing: Week One Assignment

What was the most recent news or scholarly item of interest that you read that relates to Internet studies (excluding what you read for class this week)? Discuss the impact and significance of the issue and relate it to your own scholarly interests.

On May 27, 2010, The New York Times published an article titled "At Book Expo, Anxiety Amid the Chatter." In addition to a discussion of the events in the publishing world and advertising authors to bookstores and publishers, there was discussion on the impact of ebooks. Julie Bosman notes, "But as in conventions over the past several years, most of the talk involved e-books and their ramifications"(Bosman, 2010).

These publishers are worried about how the ebook will impact them; they are worried about the price, the market, the role of booksellers, the role of publishers, etc. At the expo, Jonathan Galassi described the ebook as “the first wave of a technological revolution, with the depth and force we haven’t experienced since the invention of movable type.”In addition, there was speculation that the ebook would move from 8% of the current market share for books to greater than 50% of the market in 5 years, although "some industry experts dismissed" this figure "as far-fetched"(Bosman, 2010).

These concerns mirror those seen in the Scientific Publishing World with concerns about declining print subscriptions, pricing models for e-subscriptions, and the battle with Open Access. As an employee of a Scientific Publisher, I have seen the graphs of declining print subscriptions and increasing cost to print. In fact, in July 2009, we began publishing a rotated and condensed version of our journals to save "paper, printing, and distribution costs" (Royner, 2009).

I believe that the transition to paperless books will occur and perhaps as quickly as predicted above. The speed of the transition will depend on a unified format, a scheme by which libraries can lend eBooks, and the cost and accessibility of the devices. The move to a unified format is already on the minds of publishers according to an article in Mobile Computing News published on June 4, 2010. According to the article, “publishers have begun grumbling for a standardised platform that will, one give power back to them and, two, remove the barriers that come with proprietary formats” (James, 2010). In addition, the Barnes & Noble Nook already gives users to power to lend their eBooks to others (Barnes & Noble). If the publishers succeed in demanding and unified format and if a lending mechanism becomes available for libraries, all we will need to move to the eReader world will be cheaper, more accessible devices.

Barnes & Noble. (n.d.). Nook. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from Barnes & Noble Homepage: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp

Bosman, J. (2010, May 26). At Book Expo, Anxiety Amid the Chatter. The New York Times .

James. (2010, June 4). Publishers want unified eBooks format. Retrieved June 9, 2010, from Mobile Computing News: http://www.mobile-computing-news.co.uk/ebook-readers/4840/publishers-want-unified-ebooks-format.html

Royner, S. L. (2009, June 15). ACS Journals In Transition. Chemical & Engineering News , 87 (24), p. 7.

New Class: English 5365 - Internet Writing

For summer 2010, I am taking English 5365 - Internet Writing. My interest in Internet Writing stems from my opinion that it will be the medium of the future. I can see our print publications dying; at each department meeting, it seems as though the print subscriptions become fewer and fewer. However, the articles written at my work are not yet written for the Internet. We are essentially preparing our Internet product in the same fashion as the print product, although we have changed the underlying structure to allow us to leverage the power of Internet Writing in the future.

It will be interesting to examine the differences in things written specifically for the Internet. I hope to see that grammar and well-phrased work will still be valued in an Internet-writing world.

Please note that the blog is wearing a new set of clothes. I have tested it in Firefox, Internet Explorer, and Safari, but not in Chrome. If you use Chrome and notice any issues, please let me know. I also need to make some additional changes to the CSS to fix some of the contrast issues.