I was very surprised to see exactly what words stood out during the different chats. From an outsiders view, it really showed who was more interested in discussing the quotes, and who took the conversation to a different level. But no matter what the context was, I think we all gained a lot from the chats.
I never knew what a tag cloud was before the other day, but i really enjoy them and would be interested in putting them on my work, to see what I frequently say.
Jen 
I liked reading the comics by McCloud. They portrayed the idea of life in general in a totally different aspect. The whole “this is not a…” part really made me think about things. For instance, we need to think more about things before we say them. In the comic, it showed a picture of a stop sign and it said “This is not a stop sign. “ It indeed was a stop sign, but it was a picture of one. It really makes me think about how complex life is and how unsimple things actually are. That was in 1994, so today it is a lot more complex. Really makes ya think…
The tag clouds from our group chats are actually really cool. They are interesting because they show you how common certain words are used in everyday conversation. The word “yeah,” for instance, ended up being pretty big in all three clouds because we all used it so much. Thought it was pretty funny that we all used it more then “yes.” “Authorship” was also pretty big in the clouds because that was one of the main ideas we were discussing in the chats. I never even knew that these creations existed. What exactly would you use them for, though?
I always write back to comments, but how come they never show up? Does anybody know why?
Darcy
Just wanted to say that the Plain English videos literally make me ‘LOL.’ Haha They are just so funny. I think it’s cool that they are so different yet so informative. I am a better hands-on and listening learner, so watching the videos actually sink-in better than reading directions and info on paper. I like how they never show Lee LeFever’s face. That just adds to the mystery and humor of the videos. Wouldn’t it be nice if everything that we needed direction on in the world was done through Commoncraft videos? 
I feel like I have not blogged in a while so I wanted to do another to show some views other then just on the papers and assignments in the Writing Arts Class. As a New York Yankees Fan I have taken a lot of crap this year, about how the Yankees lost it, Joe Torre should retire, the pitching staff is weak, etc. I have taken all the criticism and backed my team till the very end. They were 14 games back in the AL East and they were over 8 games back in the wild card and they lost a lot of fans. True fans stick with a team through the good times and the bad. I supported the team with all my heart, when other onlookers were counting them down and out I predicted that they would win the wild card and when they did they would then win the world series. If you dont follow baseball the Yankees clinched the wild card and all front running fans came back to the team. I know that I am a true fan because I stuck with them through the tough times. With playoffs starting I am looking foward to seeing the Yankees roll over the competition and seeing my second prediction come true also!!!
Moving onto another New York team that everyone had a misconception and an altered view about, that was the New York Mets. I am going to bash slightly I am sorry if I offend anyone. It was another prediction that I made that came true also. When the Yankees were doing bad earlier in the season and the Mets were running their division they were the ones that gave me a lot of crap so I dont feel bad about doing it now. The Mets led their division since May and everyone thought they became a better team. It looked as though the Mets and Yankees had switched spots, but if you follow baseball you can see that the Mets tripped at the finish line and did not even make playoffs. The Phillies took the spot of a team that was counted on to make the playoffs for month. I predicted exactly that the Mets were going to choke at th end and lose it all but everyone thought I was just a bitter Yankees fan. Thats all fine now, so far 2 out of 3 predictions came true, if you check back in October I will either have my foot in my mouth or an I told you so post about the third prediction of the Yankees taking the World series. We Will See!!! Keep checking for more posts….
$$Kyle$$
PS I dont know why I put dollar signs around my name but I just wanted a symbol haha
I feel like the chat the was done in class on Friday was very interesting. Personally my group strayed from the topic drastically but it was still a very insightful discussion and a very productive learing process. While reading through the logged chat I realized that life on the internet is much different then that in person. I feel like it is easier for our generation to portray our thoughts and ideas on the computer then on paper or outloud because this is the generation that we grew up in. I feel like we are on the brink of the age of computers and advanced technology. We are at the forefront and although the kids right now will eventually master these ideas at a younger age then we did, I feel the chats were filled with a lot of information that woud not have been discussed in class outloud. It prevents you from being judged to your face so you are more comfortable. Much like this blog, some of you that are reading it may think I am right and others will think I am wrong, but I have no fear about writing it because I feel like I am only writing this for my computer rather then directly to someones face. This is how my head works, and these were some of the observations that I have made. I feel like I havent blogged in a long time!! Keep checking back for more updates
Kyle
Hey fellow classmates!
I really enjoyed reading the chat from group two. I thought it showed a pretty good idea of how different writing on the Internet is compared to writing a formal paper, lecture notes, etc. It was really interesting to read something written out with so many of the abbreviations, etc. that I am used to using every day, usually without thinking about it.
Hey everyone. Just read through all of the group chats, and I pinpointed a part of Chat 3 that really interested me. ‘Superman’ brought up the idea that all of the quotes we were presented with displayed the Internet in a negative light, and then all of the others decided to discuss the idea of authorship. It truly is crazy that even if you delete something off of the Internet, sometimes people can still find it, trace it back to you, and even so much as steal it and call it their own. There are always new ways for people to figure out what other people are doing on the Internet, and it really makes me think hard about that type of thing as I’m typing this. Dr. Wolff then brought up the website of web.archive.org, which holds websites and people’s ideas and informations on the site. That is very absurd to me. I feel that if we are trying to find something on the net and it is hard to do, we should just create it ourselves. Well, in some circumstances. That goes back to the whole world of learning and creating, which is a whole other story for another blog lol.
11:23 AM: be smith: yeah the internet has an ebb and flow just like the ocean but it’s a man made one so the effects comes back to you quicker i feel
11:23 AM: be smith: it’s like that whole butterfly effect theory, a wave of your hand here could cause a tornado in arkansas
I found these two entries by ‘be smith’ really intriguing. I definitely agree with him/her because what you post or put on the Internet can mean one thing to the author, but it could mean something totally different to another person or cause a totally different effect on someone else. The Internet is so vast that people naturally interpret things in different ways, yet they do not always realize the effects of the ideas that they put out there. For instance, someone could read this very blog and not get out of it the point that I am trying to get across. I guess that’s the cool part of blogging, though. Anyway, that’s how I felt about the group chat. I think that was definitely beneficial for the whole class, at least I know it was for me. Hope everyone had a great weekend!
Darcy
