Community Essay Wrap Up

This assignment was actually alot more difficult than I thought it would be originally. Doing observations was pretty easy, but collecting interviews and analyzing what I had observed was very difficult for me. Putting it all together in writing was even harder still. I am not a proficient writer by any stretch of the imagination so finding ways to word an essay to meet the requirements and make a solid arguement was extremely exhausting. I can't say that I didn't learn anything from this assignment but I definitely would not want to do a similar one in the future.

Group Project

I am actually really surprised at how far I have progressed on the project. This topic we have, implimenting sources in your writing, is weirdly enough something that one of my other teachers has already covered to some detail. I already have a majority of the project roughly completed; now I need to fine tune the presentation and "cut out the fat", making it more focused on what the actual assignment is. In my group is Iris, Jim and Nate; so far they have been awesome and really open to any suggestions and comments. I think that we make a great team and this assignment is going to go off without a hitch.

Change of Mind

I think that instead of doing the Xbox live community for my project I will focus my attention on the Dunkin Donut's community...mainly because the people on Xbox refuse every attempt I make at communication, even my friends! The Dunkin community is also a lot more vast and diverse. It'll probably make for a much more interesting essay topic. At least thats what im hoping for.

Social Media

Reading into the stories in the Remix english book about the worlds social media site and how dependent people have become on them really appalled me. It is pretty pathetic when someone is overwhelmed by a one on one interaction with a person in real life and has to resort to the virtual realm to communicate with others. On a much creepier note, apparently there is a website that allows you to create an avatar and explore the world, much like Sims, except in this game you are able to solicite prostitutes and even file sexual abuse claims to the police. Thats unreal! How socially awkward must someone be that they can only live their life behind a computer screen?

Xbox Live: A Community on another Plane

       For my community I chose the vast and seemingly endless world of Xbox live. In the multiplayer realm people visit daily, there seems to be none of the ideas or connections in a typical community. Players will curse out opponents in vivid detail if they are losing a match. Age does not seem to matter, but if someone starts trash talking then it usually ends with the rest of the lobby insulting and berating that sole player as immature or childish. There is not a lot of communication amongst individual players, even when on the same team, as most everyone is concerned solely about themselves. The only real talking that goes on is usually between small groups of players that have formed together in "clans" and exclude themselves from everyone else. Overall, the online community on Xbox is the polar opposite of communities in the real world.

Dave Berreby & Jon Stewart Articles

     In Dave Berrerby's article he refers to college life as living within different tribes. Each person doesnt consciously think that they are doing so but they associate themselves with the campus they are on and talk smack about their school's rivals.
     On the other hand Jon Stewart's article focuses more on life lessons that he learned from his experiences at college and along his life path. He speaks of how fruitless the labors of college really are when you get into the real world. I found both articles very interesting, especially Stewart's, because his directly addresses the fears and concerns that almost every college student, including myself, has.