Twitter and What I Found There

Altman, Gerd. "Twitter many f panels system" April 2015 via Pixabay. Public Domain.

Twitter is a great source for spreading information.  I explored various twitter feeds surrounding Computer Science, my major, and made some generalizations about what I found.

1. What kinds of things do people on Twitter seem to be talking about, debating, arguing about or otherwise engaging in meaningful exchanges of ideas about?

These computer science Twitter feeds tend to talk about new developments and news in the field, famous quotes, fun images, and information tidbits.  Generally there doesn't seem to be much arguing or debating, but when there is, it is usually about small technicalities in products or ways to improve the field.  Although I haven't seen it, there may also be the occasional tweet trying to correct misunderstandings in the general populace.  For the most part, these Twitter feeds just seem to be spreading information around, and include many links to external stories.

2. In your opinion, what are the two most interesting conversations or stories you found in the Twitter feeds? 

One interesting story I found on the Computer Science twitter feed @comp_science was a link to an article "Why Humans Prefer Print Books" discussing several disadvantages to reading eBooks instead of print books, and explaining why that once promising market has started to decline.  I found this article to be especially interesting to me because it dealt with reading, a hobby I enjoy, and put to words the feelings that I have toward reading print books over eBooks.

I found another interesting story as a link to the article "The resolution of the Bitcoin experiment" from the twitter feed @ryan.  Ryan Block is an editor, technology critic, and startup founder.  This story was about the imminent Bitcoin collapse from the perspective of one of the project's developers.  It was interesting to see how the experiment of virtual currency worked and what decisions led to its predicted downfall.

3. Overall, what impression do you get of your discipline based on what you saw happening on Twitter? Were the people in these feeds talking in ways you expected or did not expect, about things you anticipated they'd be talking about or things you had no idea they'd be discussing? 

I don't have a Twitter account, so I was unsure what to expect from these Twitter feeds.  I think I expected them to be more professional in nature.  While there were plenty of more professional tweets, there were also a lot of fun posts and jokes characteristic of Twitter's more social media nature.  I also didn't anticipate how broad a scope of topics these feeds would cover.  They included many tweets where the computer science aspect was secondary or even only in the background of the topics.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

The New York Times is a popular and reputable online news source with countless stories on many topics.  After exploring the Technology and Science sections I selected two articles and analyzed the characters, setting, and disagreements of each story.

"When Your Neighbor's Drone Pays an Unwelcome Visit" by Nick Bilton is a story from the Technology section raising issues about the right to use recreational drones and how they invade privacy.

 

Halftermeyer, Nicolas. "Parrot AR.Drone 2.0 - indoor hull" 10 Jan. 2012 via Wikimedia Commons. Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?

There does not seem to be a "main character" to this story but some examples of people include a man with a gun and the author himself.  The man says he was justified in shooting down his neighbors drone, whereas the author responded with cynicism and just waited for the drone to leave.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

The events take place in between the boundary of people's private property like houses, and the vantage points the drones take.  Some of the setting are specific whereas others are very general.  The incident with the man who shot down the drone took place in his yard while his daughter was sunbathing, whereas the incident with the author took place at his office window.  These settings show differing amounts of expected privacy, justifying each of the characters responses and, as a result, it influences the readers to sympathize with each side of the argument in turn.  This gives the plot of the article an exciting middle and an end that seems general and unbiased, while still leaving the issue unresolved.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

The debate in this article is how drones should be regulated to respect the privacy of others.  Depending on the regulation that gets passed, some people's privacy may be dramatically reduced, or drone users could be restricted to the point where they could almost never use the technology that they have already spent quite a bit of money on.  This debate is especially relevant to those who value outdoor privacy, those who want to use or sell new technology like drones, and political figures.

"California Votes to Retain System That Pays Solar Users Retail Rate for Excess Power" by Diane Cardwell is a story from the Science Section elaborating on the implications of the decision mentioned in the title.

Pujanak. "Solar panels on a roof" April 2007 via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

1. Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?

There are no "main characters" in this article, but there are some general entities like California regulators, energy companies, and both the solar users and non solar users that make up the consumers of the energy industry.  The regulators are the main entity that is influencing change and the others are mainly just being affected by the decisions the regulators make.

2. Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

There is not really a specific setting, but the actions take place in California and have a slight trickle down to the rest of the country as people elsewhere use the decisions made in California to influence their own.

3. Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is particiapting, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

There is a debate in the story over how to respond to the changing world of the energy industry.  The California regulators are making the decisions, but the main focus of the discussion is on the energy companies, solar users and non solar users.  The solar users risked losing some or all of the compensation they receive for switching over to renewable energy; however, every dollar they receive is money out of the energy companies pockets, and this cost could be pushed toward their consumers that don't have solar panels.  The regulators must balance the needs of these people as well as the impact their decision to promote or devalue the use of solar energy will have on the environment.

Course Projects

 

Nicholson, Jez. "Sprint006 plan" 4 July 2008 via flickr. Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic License

What are you most confused by or nervous about in regards to the four major projects?

I'm nervous about many aspects of the projects.  The more significant of these aspects are what topics to choose, matching the topics to the forms of the course genres, the research itself, and planning my time effectively.  I'm not sure what if anything I'm confused about currently, but I will probably find things once I actually start the projects and begin having difficulties.

What are you most interested in or excited by in regards to the four major projects?

I'm most interested in learning about the issues of my major.  I'm also looking forward to becoming more exposed to the course genres as they are becoming increasingly more relevant in today's society.

Based on your understanding of the major projects, what are the elements of this course that you have to plan ahead for? How will the coursework described in the four project assignment sheets challenge your time management skills this semester?

I have to plan ahead for many things.  Some of them are more obvious, like planning for interviews, while others are more vague, like planning enough time for research and deciding on topics.  This will challenge my time management skills by forcing me to plan many things way in advance and plan my own deadlines while also fitting in the other things I have to do this semester.

How has your past English coursework in high school or college prepared you for the challenges of this course? What skills will you bring into the course with you?

My high school English experience focused on essay writing, so I am not that prepared for all the different forms of the course genres.  I have some experience with the content of some of the projects, like research and persuasion.

Do you have any questions about the four major projects that haven't been answered by the assignment sheets? What do you still want to know?

Currently I don't have any questions to ask.  I am also unsure what I still want to know about the assignments that can be answered by other people. 

Investigating Genres

Solop, Nicolas. "Podcasting" 9 Feb. 2014 via flickr. Attribution 2.0 Generic License

What purpose(s) does this genre usually serve?

Podcasts are usually used to express opinions, inform, and entertain.

Where, how, or in what context do readers usually find this genre?

Readers can easily find podcasts on iTunes and various Internet websites.  They search for content that they like, usually in entertainment or journalistic contexts.  Once someone finds a podcast that they like, they can subscribe to it and get automatic notifications when new updates come out.

Who is the typical audience for this genre?

Podcasts are typically targeted toward people looking for news or entertainment.  Often this audience prefers having only audio for some reason or another, such as wanting to listen while doing other things.

What are some of the key features or characteristics of this genre, distinguishing it from other texts?

Podcasts have only audio, often including music, narration, and sound effects to enhance its content.  They tend to be a series that has many entries produced over a period of time.

Based on your answers to the questions above come up with a definition in your own words for this genre?

The podcast is a medium often used to inform, express opinions, and entertain through the use of audio narration and sound clips.  It is aimed at an audience that prefers audio to visuals.

My Writing Process

Salt, Alun. "Creativity" 26 Sept. 2006 via flickr. Share-Alike 2.0 Attribution 2.0 License.

What type(s) of writer do you consider yourself to be?

I consider myself a slow writer, and at times a bad writer despite people saying that once I actually produce writing that it is decent.  I might just be a harsh critic of my own work.  Part of it probably stems from my belief that many times the quality of the work I produce isn’t up to the standards I make when I consider the time and effort I spend writing it.  I have a hard time getting my thoughts down on paper.

Does your writing include several of the above approaches?  If so, which ones?

I think I identify strongest with the sequential composer approach.  I tend to go through the writing process in a slow slog.  I revise as I go and don’t necessarily go back all that much.  I don’t always have time to create plans or outlines; however, when I do, I try to over outline in a way that seems to fit in with the heavy planner approach.  Because I tend to struggle with writing, I often feel inclined to put it off in a way similar to the procrastinator approach, but this usually doesn’t work out well for me. 

Does your writing approach seem to be successful?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of your approach?

When I start early, my approach does seem to be successful at producing something.  On the other hand, my approach doesn’t seem efficient when faced with time restraints or other responsibilities.  I spend too much time trying to get things to sound good the first time around and run out of time for other things towards the end.  My approach is strong in terms of initial quality of writing, but it is weak because it is time consuming and makes it hard to get the initial content down.

Do you think it might be beneficial for you to try a different approach?  Why or why not?

It would be nice to try different approaches.  My approach definitely has issues for me, and some other approach might suit me better.  At the same time, I don’t have the time or motivation to experiment with new approaches on my own, and the assignments I have are too important to risk failure while trying something new.