Sampling is my job...

As a sound designer, I have to be able to design sounds from scratch. I have to make noises to flush out other noises. For example, if there is a video of a guy cutting onions, I have to record myself cutting onions. If I don't have onions, I have to cut something else in the kitchen like apples or carrots to get that cutting sound. This is the longest but efficient way of sound designing. The golden rule is to use the cheapest source for sound.

But if I had to use a big budget sound like two cars exploding, I would record the sound from a film or video game. I could also download it from a sound library. I borrow from these things when the going gets tough. In the real world, these companies had money and access to the real sounds on location. Once they capture the sound, they just alter it to make it work.

Sampling in music is a little different. Some hip-hop producers like Kayne West sampled old records and made them hits. Legally, he had to get permission from the authors or else he would get sued. When money is involved, that is when it becomes a problem. I think this kind of sampling does not display skill. It shows your lack of confidence in originality. Some might not care about that. So if you can get permission and make money of it, go ahead and knock yourself out.

I stray away from sampling other music to make music because of the procedures. I wouldn't even know where to begin contacting the author. If he or she wanted money in advance for their music, I wouldn't be able to pay up. I could sample and ignore contacting the author, but the minute I make money of it, a law suit will be handed to me. These reasons make me stay making music from scratch.

Literacy

http://owusunmfall0901.blogspot.com/

Literacy pt. 2

http://owusunmfall0902.blogspot.com/

Literacy pt. 3

http://owusunmfall0903.blogspot.com/

CC vs. ©

The CC (Creative Commons) site sounds like a good idea, but this is the beginning of the end for originality. The site informed me about the new stipulations dealing with Copyrighted work. For example, I didn't know that your work is copyrighted after you create it. When you publish it, the work is already protected.

The CC is not necessary a bad thing. Now people can remix original work without getting permission from the author. The rules that the OWL (Online Writing Lab) site states are fair. For example, they state that you should purchase the work before altering it. This ensures that the author gets something out of it.

There were two systems authors would use to protect their work. The Poor man's copyright and the library of congress system. For the poor man, you would mail your work to yourself stamped and dated. When the package arrived, you would store it unopened in your house. This proof of authorship was inexpensive, but it wouldn't hold up in court.

The Copyright Office used to be responsible for protecting an author's work legally. They would collect fourty-five dollars to file your application. This used to be the procedure. But now your work is protected after it has been created. This way works out for the independent author.

The rise of the amateurs

Amateurism

What's the difference between a rookie and an amateur? Both might mean the same thing, but they are slightly different. A rookie is somebody who is trained in a field, but they lack the experience. An amateur is a beginner who is just starting out in a field, with a little prior knowledge. Sites like Wikipedia has given amateurs a chance to shine along with the professionals. The organization does not have to employ these writers, so the site is made out of volunteers.

Wiki might be saving money, but some of the information being spread on the site is not accurate. These authors might be teenagers leading or misleading readers. This balances the board experts and the amateurs stand on. According to Marshall Poe, he states that the info amateurs post is not exactly knowledge; it's common knowledge. Street smarts can pass for common knowledge. For example, in the movie "Slum Dog Millionaire" an uneducated peasant wins the Who wants to be a Millionaire contest. He was arrested because he answered every question right. Teachers, lawyers, and doctors lose all the time on the show. These are people that are educated. So they thought the peasant cheated.

This is the case between experts and non-experts. This is equivalent to buying material from any market. A Sony radio will work just like a regular radio. If you want to purchase the Sony radio based on expertise, you will have to pay more. Buying a regular radio is going to be less and it will still work. As long as either radio works, there shouldn't be a problem. The same thing goes for information that is right. Should it matter where the information came from? As long as it answers questions correctly, I think the voice of the amateurs belong in the digital world.

Citizen Journalists

A non journalist can be a journalist without a degree. If I saw an article posted by non journalist, I would assume that they got their report from another source. In the ideal world, a journalist has access to places that civilians don't. They have permits, badges, and special parking privileges that allow them to report to us. They are reporting real events as they happen. They are risking their life to feed the mini tape recorders and note pads.

If a non journalist is relying on the internet for information, then this is not journalism. But if they encountered an event; they would write the whole truth. A journalist takes orders, and they will edit information to cover the truth. They have information that people depend on daily. As long as their credited as a journalist, I think their words hold more power than the non journalist.

According to Al Saracevic, he states that "bloggers don't go to jail for their work." This means that you can blog about government secrets and nothing will happen to you. But as a journalist, they have to abide by the Journalistic Code. Failure to do so can put him or her in a pool of trouble. This separates the real from the phonies. In this case, degrees and expertise does matter. There is a structure that goes for journalism. How would you know this structure if you have never learned how to report news effectively?

Plagiarism is a bad thing! Right?

What is plagiarism? In my words, this is when you as an author steals written material and treat the material like its your own. Before the world wide web, there were books that contained all the information. So if a student wanted to plagiarize, he would have to write the material down word by word. But since the student would have to write it down, he or she might not copy every single word. Unless the student is just desperate and has time to steal.

In the web world, all one has to do is copy and paste. This takes a micro second. You would think that people would give credit to the author, but they don't. They want to sound smart or be smart like the person they are stealing from. I agree that this copy and paste system is the new age of digital authorship. You don't have to credit the information you take.

As time flies, plagiarism is plaguing the literal world. Its up to the educational institutions to track down these word thieves. But the schools can't stop them all. The authors that produce material might as well make a site like Wiki. Since these amateurs wanna take your two sense and add it along theirs, why not help them?

Open your ears, I mean your eyes.

Some people don't research the material they encounter. They just go with the program. They assume that the material is correct, so they acknowledge the author for it. For example, Yahoo Answers is a site that people log on to ask questions randomly.

The problem comes in when the questions are answered by anyone with fingers. He or she might not have the proper expertise about the subject. Who is to blame for this abomination? The creators of the interactive forums or the new age digital authors? One would have to blame both. People are easily mislead with the wrong information. This is when the audience isn't listening, but participating. Gibson's theory plays a role here. So if someone copies and pastes an answer, the audience are going to participate with answers of their own.

Blog Design Templates

Minima Dark

This is my original template for my PB. My blogging site is called S.W.A.T which stands for Stating With Aggressive Truth. I chose this template because the black background gives this site an attitude. The title font is in green letters. This adds a militant feel to my blogs. The black background goes well with the green font. Although the message is written in white, it does not distract you from the overall theme. The army colors are black, green, and brown. This works well with my theme when you look at it from this perspective.

Jellyfish

My site is called S.W.A.T. This template pulls the militant power away from that. It replaces the serious tone with some cartoonish features. As you can see, my border title no longer contains capital letters. The page has become brighter and happier. When you look at army photos, the soldiers rarely smile. You can't expect soldiers to smile after tough training and fighting in the war. The demeanor is meant to be serious. As you can see ladies and gentleman, this makes a mockery out of my original theme. The hyperlinks now are pink, and it really pokes fun at the seriousness. The colors bounce all over the place, and it gives a sense of disorganization. The message describing the site is bright. You would have to squint or come closer to read it.

Scribe

This template works with my theme. This does not have a militant feel, but it looks presentable. By presentable, the page looks informative. Compared to the Jellyfish, this adds realism to the theme. The background borders are brown, the page itself is light brown, and the border title matches with the border. Even the hyperlinks are brown. In other words, the colors are well coordinated. Instead of random colors splashing over the place, this has a sense of order. The title itself is underlined for importance, which adds style to it.

Top 5 Blog Tips

Tip 5) Make sure you are knowledgeable about the subject you present.

Reason: It’s hard to get people to follow you. People do not have time to waste. The first words should get them hooked. Especially, since human beings have an urge to want things right away. This is why Mcdonalds has a drive thru, Comcast has hi-speed, and Pizza Hut delivers pizzas. Do you expect people to follow a dumb individual? You will look like a real A-hole if someone comments on your blog with better facts. All the viewers would just follow that person due to your mistake. So remember, don’t blog about something without proper research. You will look like A-hole for wasting everybody’s precious time.

Tip 4) Know your market, your audience sorta speak.

Reason: You have to give people what they want. For example, a clown gets paid more for using balloons and a mini tricycle. He feels like carrying the tricycle is too much work. So he shows up with balloons instead. The people that hired him would have a fit. They might pay him less or refuse to pay. The clown would have nobody to blame, but himself. In this case, the customer is always right. You need them to thrive in the world of business. In the blogging world, if your followers demand a certain subject. Give it to them. Don’t try to switch your routine because you’re tired of your theme. You are not blogging for yourself, you are blogging for your followers. They believe in your words, so why switch it up? My dad always told me “if it is not broken, don’t fix it.” Unless, your followers demand something else, don’t make the mistake on introducing new material outside the box.

Tip 3) Use a unique font, especially big letters. The size should be around 18-20 pt.

Reason: Your followers follow you because they believe in your words. What about the new viewers? They don’t know anything about you. They are just strangers passing by. They are browsing to see who they should follow. The majority are going to glance at your page. If your font is too little, you are forcing readers to squint too much. They are in a hurry. They don’t have time to squint. They have 50 other blogs to look at before they log off. You might have the exact insight viewers are looking for, but they can easily miss it with a small font. The bigger the font, the bolder your information looks. So when viewers pass by, a simple word or sentence can catch his or her eye. Who knows? They could be your next group of followers.

Tip 2) Insert as many images and videos to back up your blog.

Reason: Images and videos can enhance a preexisting page by 50%. This is a huge increase when you look at it. These items provide flavor for your blog. Plus, these are your tools of evidence. “The absence of evidence is the evidence of absence”--Samuel L. Jackson in “The Boondocks”. Evidence is important just as the oxygen in a court room. Without it, most guilty people are set free. When you are blogging about a controversial topic, you need evidence to back it up. If you have videos or images that back up your claim, people will believe in your word. Plus, when you toss around images and videos, it makes the overall page look good. People are intrigued more with visual components anyway.

Tip 1) Last and not least. The most important tip for a successful blog is a custom or eye candy background design template.

Reason: “Image is everything, so obey your thirst”--Sprite’s slogan. If your content is not intriguing at all, your design template might do some justice for you. This is the first thing viewers see when they click on your page. The flashier your page, the better. If you put in a lot of time to make your page look good, people will appreciate your blog spot more. Some won’t. If your design goes along with your theme, it gives the impression that you put a lot of thought into it. This adds professionalism to your blog page. A custom design template will separate you from the rest of the bunch. You might have a few bloggers out there who might browse just to look at designs. The trick is to hook them while they are on your site. if you don’t hook them and they leave your site, your page will be forgotten.

Blog review 1

"Logical Authors and their Audiences"

AUTHOR

I like Authors who think outside the box. There is nothing more entertaining than conspiracies that make sense. An author should provide enough evidence to back up his or her theory. This piece that I chose has one author. He is a male who believes that Aliens exist in the universe.

The language he uses is English and he resides in the United States. There is nothing that gives away his ethnicity or age. The author does not seem to have a sense of humor. He is straight forward with the information. I have a sense of humor and I like the authors I encounter to have it too. But this subject matter has no room for jokes. So I can allow the seriousness from this author.

He doesn't try to convince his audience that aliens exist. He assumes that his readers believe in the subject matter, so he dives right in with information. The author seems to be educated. His vocabulary box is overfilled with words. I had to look up some of the words for understanding. He provides images that were shot using thermal vision. Here is an author extending the truth with images that you rarely see. When you look at the images, you can see the shapes of the heads. He even goes into detail explaining what the images look like at the bottom of each one. The thermal imagery makes it hard to view the images clearly. The author does a good job getting his point across, and he posts daily with his theories.

AUDIENCE

I consider myself to be a 'thinker' among the 'stinkers'. In other words, people who still believe that we are just here and not on a planet called Earth are the 'stinkers'. They stink the atmosphere with idiotic wisdom. The author's intended audience are those that believe in other beings living in the universe. For the non-believers, he has videos of witnesses claiming that they saw an UFO in their area.

The piece blogged makes it unclear about the demographical target. But if I had to choose one, it would be the older generation. The younger generation might not understand this piece because of the author's lingo. The audience intended seems to be in the United States. This piece felt limited. The subject of Aliens is a worldly topic, but the author targets the U.S.A. Everybody has a stereotypical image of aliens. Big head and eyes is associated with these beings. The author provides the audience with images that might change their perception.

Blog Review

"Therealworldno.blogspot.com"

First impressions are based on your appearance all the time. If you dress poorly, it projects that you don't love yourself. If you loved yourself, you would groom and dress yourself with class. If you don't love yourself, then how can you expect people to love you.

This is the same with blogs. If you have misspelled words floating around like helium balloons, then your blog cannot be taken serious.

The blogs that interest me are the ones that have all the right spellings and I can learn from it. The author that I have been following does this with style. The page layout is in black and the letters are in yellow. The letters scream for attention holding substantial information. The author stays on top with his theories. He supplies videos with alien images to back up his theories. The videos clarify his fight more than his words.

The author makes his theories universal for anybody to read. He doesn't direct his piece to a specific culture. He tries to enlighten all the minds, because the subject of aliens is world wide. If there should be any war between aliens and mankind, the world would have to fight not just the United States. His choice of videos makes his page presentable and worthy. This isn't a guy who is just make believing in front of his desktop.

The author even adds a link on his page directing to the infamous facebook. He has his own group of followers outside of the blog spot. This brings the seriousness to his discussions. He is trying to reach as many people as he can. He even has more links that direct people to other discussions about Ufos and Aliens on his page. The list he has covers up the majority on the right side of his page. The author also has a missing person flasher on his page. I don't know if he is trying to suggest that aliens abducted them, but at least he cares about missing people.