Reflection

I have learned a lot in this course. I thought that six weeks would not be enough time for me to get my feet wet with all of the Web 2.0 technology, but I was wrong. The course was structured in a way that provided guidance to students, but allowed for the creative juices to flow.

I think that the reading was a little redundant- I found that the same topic was discussed in several chapters, when it could have been said in one chapter. Despite its flaws, the book provided insight into the complicated world of Web 2.0 technology, ideas I had never considered before this class. The text also gave me the idea for my second produsage project, so I am grateful for that.

The tools I used over this course will be helpful when communicating professionally and personally. While technology is constantly changing and might not be the same tools used in the future, the experiences I have had over the past six weeks have given me the confidence to try new things and branch out of my comfort zone. For this, I am extremely grateful.

Produsage Assignment 2 Complete

My second project is complete. I am happy that I was able to help out my brother while also completing a school assignment. I think purevolume.com is a cool website and I am glad that I chose this topic instead of the Facebook group. I might still make a Facebook group for moms in my area to share information on good outings, but I am glad that I did not choose this topic for my project. I can already see that my brother is working on the website and trying things that he might otherwise shy away from, such as embedding video from YouTube. I added the videos to his purevolume account, but he called me last night so that I could walk him through it. I guess he is planning on adding some more videos in the future.

I am really pleased with this course. I was intimidated at first because I thought that I would be in over my head and that 6 weeks was not nearly enough time to grasp some of these tools. I think that the course structure had enough guidance to steer us in the right direction, but allowed for enough freedom to inspire creativity. I am proud of what I have accomplished this semester and am very happy with the course.

Issues of authorship, copyright and open access

I am not as affected personally by issues of authorship, copyright and open access as I would be professionally. This is because I am more competitive in the professional world, and want recognition for my hard work. I don't mind sharing my ideas but I don't want someone taking credit for them. In my personal life, I am more relaxed because I don't weigh these issues as seriously.

Produsage Assignment 2

Well, I have finally narrowed down my topic for project 2. I am really excited about setting up a profile on purevolume.com for my brother's band. This task will present new challenges for me because I will be uploading music files onto the website, which is something I have not done before. I have already created the shell of the profile- the band's basic information, but I need to include a biography, photos, video and the music files. I also need to make sure that their site is interesting-looking and catches the attention of browsers. I am looking forward to the challenge!

StumbleUpon, Technorati & Citeulike

Tonight I visited the sites Dr. Dennen recommended this week. Maybe I should have paced myself, but now I feel like I have information overload. Has anyone seen the commercials for bing.com?

I think each of these sites has something to offer, but I couldn't get over how many links and ads were on each site. Citeulike seems like a good website, one that I will visit in the future when writing papers or doing other schoolwork. Technorati and StumbleUpon were a little more intimidating- I was amazed at how much information was available on each site. I would click on one link and would be taken to the video/picture/blog, only to see links for more information that had similar keywords. By the time I was done browsing on technorati, I had moved so far from the link I originally clicked on.

Expertise on the Web

I used to think that information on the Web was never as credible as information I receieved face-to-face because I could see the person in front of me. Now that I think about it, anyone can open their mouths and say something, just as easily as they can put bogus information on the Web. After reading the Bruns text, it seems that someone who takes the time to publish information on the web has motivation and therefore credibility in my eyes. I realize that there is still junk out there, and sometimes there will be people who repeatedly publish false posts, but in the grand scheme of things, I think that most people are legit.

Comments on my peers' produsage assignments

I have looked over the assignments of some of my classmates and I think they all did a great job. I have learned a lot from just reviewing their projects and I now have some ideas for my next produsage project. I liked the fact that my classmates chose a variety of topics- ranging from bbqs to traveling to ukeleles. I have more confidence about how to tackle the next project and I think I will be more creative this next time around.