Monday, August 31, 2009

Rise of Plagiosphere & Ecstasy of Influence

Rise of Plagiosphere : This article was pretty insightful considering I am a college student who it could very well effect. I thought it was interesting to know how extensive these plagiarism websites can be. To know that your words can be compared to millions of others writings is scary. What if there is coincidental similarities between your writing and someone elses. This article made me think about the class topic of multimedia writing in a realistic way. I didn't really comprehend how much writing is used for the internet. These numbers helped put me in place.

Ecstasy of Influence: This article was interesting because so many times I've heard lines by various music artists revamped and used as hooks in other songs. Also, the use of older music turned into pop, rap, and hip hop is very popular. I don't consider this plagiarism as long as credit is given when it is due. It's simply taking an inspiring phrase, or line, and turning into something your own by adding personal style. The example o Bob Dylan's lyric in this article is good example. In the television sense of it, there are a lot of similar characters when it comes to variations on color, and shape of cartoons. However, the story line for the most part is different. In movies, the idea of a plot often seems plagiarized. For example, any movie dealing with a "dance" theme seems to play out the same way. Step up, Step Up 2, Bring it On, Save the Last Dance, Stomp the Yard,etc...these types of movies all fall under the same idea. I guess depending on how you redo the originial, whether you copy it or enhance the idea to benefit the original, depends on whether I would consider it plagiarism.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

8.27

I use the web everyday for a variety of things. When I wake up in the morning I check my e-mail and the weather. I use the web to get dates/times for events as well as directions to these events. I also use it for school related purposes that require me to obtain blogs, check my syllabus, or research online. It allows me to keep in touch with family and friends who are scattered in areas other than Morgantown. I shop, pay bills, and look up recipes online. I use the web to stay updated on news and music, and obviously for entertainment. Sites I visit most often are our WVU sites, weather.com, MUB/Comcast/Allegheny/Verizon, Google, Youtube, Pandora, Food Network, Facebook/Myspace, ESPN, and various shopping sites.

I don't have a webpage and this is my second blog that I have kept for school purposes. I use AIM, Skype, Facebook, and Myspace to keep in touch with friends and family on a daily, if not weekly, basis. On average I probably spend about 1-2 hours a day actually sitting infront of my computer or surfing the web, and a couple more hours just leaving Pandora up to listen to music. As for writing on the web, I'm pretty contained to just writing on Facebook, Myspace, AIM, and now this blog.

Web and computer skills I have include Microsoft office programs, and an introduction to Adobe Dreamweaver in constructing a personal website in my English 304 class during my Fall semester 08.