Spreading Wisdom Through the World of Wikihow

With the emergence of Web 2.0 and beyond, people have been able to capture their inner thoughts, emotions and ideas, and express them to the whole world. Web 2.0 successfully brought the amateur game to a desktop computer, when previously the Web was used exclusively as an information vehicle. One medium these personal ideas are channeled is through the use of Wiki’s. Wiki’s are a self edited (but moderated/governed) fact finding website that it’s informative content is becoming ever more reliable source for this information. Wikihow is a website where users can upload in-depth, step-by-step how to’s on anything. Wikihow does not have everything however; here are three ideas of things that could make lives easier if they could find it on Wikihow.

How to make cheesy cracker bites.

People are always on the go, and now days have less time than ever to eat. What would be a quick, but easy and tasty snack that mostly everyone would have the ingredients to? Look no further. Cheesy Cracker bites are simple, a piece of cheese on a triscuit cracker with a piece of peperoni on it, topped off with a banana pepper ring, microwaved for about 30 seconds. It can be tweaked however it is preferred, but the end result is a warm, crispy, and gooey treat.

How to scout football opponents using HUDL software

For football coaches, the time and effort spent on film is mind numbing. The tedious breakdown of every single aspect of a given football play is very time consuming. One option to simplify and expedite the process is to break down opposing teams using video editing software. There is no exact science to it, and because there is so much grey area, not many coaches are as well versed on the tricks of the trade as others. A simple how-to tutorial would go a long way into gaining an edge on the competition. For the simple football fan, sounding more logical at the water cooler Monday Mornings is always worth bragging rights.

How to Spot a weightlifter

Weight lifting is becoming ever more prevalent as a part of the normal workout routine. No longer is hitting the free-weights just the preferred method for body builders alike. Normal Joe-Six Pack guy is hitting the gym with an enthusiasm unknown to mankind.  However, one of the most annoying, but consistent things that can happen is being asked to spot a fellow fitness enthusiast. Spotting is a big part of the process, from safety, to technique coaching, to simple motivation, spotting is a crucial part of the process. Having a basic understanding of how to spot someone, can go a long way.

Linking Everything Together

Having multiple platforms to market one-self is essential for landing jobs in completive job fields. Being able to express and sell you has become a premium, in addition to a solid resume. Of the many ways this can be accomplished is by having a professional website.

Building a Professional Website is a fairly simplistic, yet complicated task. Having the finished product is worth the work that goes into it. A professional website where biographical information, and contact information can be found with the click of a button is effective and efficient to those who are searching for information. The biggest advantage that a website brings with it however, is the ability to have a professional portfolio with pieces of work. This is a big advantage over the standard resume, as potential employers can see examples of many different kinds of media and work that has been completed. Examples of writing, audio, artwork, video, presentations can all be shown to promote your-self within the drop of a hat.

The social media projects in class all served as a benefit to enhance this project. The Website Project was the culmination of all the work in the class, and it was satisfying to see how it all tied together. It all comes back to how are you marketing you? One of the first things prospective employers go to is Social Media for information. It is now living in an age of transparency and it overlaps between personal and professional life. Jobs are literally lost over poor social media habits. How are you defining yourself as a person? Social Media is at the forefront of this. Having professional looking, and content filled Social Media accounts are vital to being hired in many different and diverse job fields.

Another benefit of having Social Media tie into the website, was it is all one stop shopping. The website had a portfolio page, but in essence, all of it is a portfolio in itself. The website included direct links to Twitter accounts, LinkedIn pages, blogs, email accounts, and any other form of relevant professional Social Media channels. It all goes hand in hand with each other, because it is all about marketing and selling you.

The overall experience of creating a website was actually not as tedious as first thought. Having a background in coding and different programs, such as Adobe, Photoshop, Video Editor helps tremendously, but being able to follow directions in a step-by-step sequential pattern is important. Even more important is the ability to be organized, and have a plan. It can become overwhelming when the website is being designed, edited, and filled with content simultaneously. Another critical component to handle is time management. Being able to work under pressure and meet deadlines was a challenge, as there was no overtime, the project was set to be due at the end of the class, period. There was a lot of work that had to be done under deadline, which is a good, and valuable learning experience.

Can you handle the Twitter Truth?

Twitter has become the main media outlet for social interaction. It is almost at an unhealthy level, but is used for many different mediums. Twitter is being used to really serve as a comment section to news stories to voice illogical opinions and start biased driven arguments. Twitter from a social standpoint is somewhat combustible now, however the app still is a large driving force in the distribution of information.

Twitter has become so much more as an interactive person-to-person way of communication and socialization. It was originally thought of being the shorter to the point version of Facebook. Twitter became an important part of disseminating information in real time. Due to this real time information, the site’s traffic is usually high. High traffic is music to Advertisers, and Marketing Executives ears. Twitter thrives on being short, sweet, and to the point. Quick advertisements or promoted tweets randomly pop up in news feeds, and it is almost certain they will be seen. If this is coupled with the fact that Twitter is every growing by the day, as more and more connections are made, the traffic for these ads is very high. To that point as well, Twitter has become a way where people can market themselves. Twitter has literally become an extension of a person’s voice, and can be judged solely on what may have been tweeted out. There have been celebrities, and people in power who have lost so much due to something unintentional and mindless that was Tweeted out on social media.

Twitter has served as a major, major lynchpin when it comes to the give and take balance between politics and journalism. This has become extremely evident with the prevalence, volume, and controversial divisive rhetoric our President thumbs out on a daily basis. The President sends out somewhere between 31 and 36 tweets per day now, which the majority of which is to defend his position on policy or current events. The sheer volume of it provokes a ton of reaction from the “ Joe Six Packs” of the Country. What It also does is generates a lot of attention from Journalists who want to comment, the left side hammering what is said, the right side applauding. These Journalists attract a lot of attention with the comments and threads as much of their followers are waiting to see the stance taken on the latest topics and tweets. Journalists can create a larger following with a strong Social Media presence. Micro bloggers can also generate a large following, and achieve credibility with a good Twitter presence. Twitter has changed the way events are covered, and has changed the way Journalists are ascending in the profession.

Twitter has also served as a medium for Journalists and Politicians alike to work together in the time of crisis, or emergency. Times where aid and help was needed, Twitter served as a way to share information quickly and efficiently. In California this fall, Twitter served as an important channel to disseminate information as evacuations near the Los Angeles area were taking place. Power to several communities was cut intentionally or unintentionally, but messages still needed to take place. Twitter was able to assist successfully in keeping evacuees out of harms way. Another unfortunate event that took place was the mass shooting in El Paso Texas. 46 people were shot, and in the aftermath, hospitals were running short on blood. The El Paso Police department was able to tweet out alerts on how to donate blood and solicit donations. This undoubtedly saved countless lives that day. In early October in Dallas, a Tornado struck the northern suburbs just outside of the city. There was not a large warning time, and because it struck during the 9:00pm hour during a Cowboys game 40 minutes away in Arlington, it created complications. Twitter was able to spread information to people leaving the game as to where it was safe to drive and not. Getting that information real time prevented many potential issues.

Some Twitter subjects that were interesting had to do with the evolution of the game, and ways that its been made safer as a result of innovations. By following and tweeting certain accounts that are relevant towards the game, raise awareness and knowledge that can hopefully give tangible information regarding the game. Tweeting at TV figureheads and pundits is always entertaining as well. Being able to send irrelevant unheard tweets towards the President that will go unanswered fits within today’s cultural social norms.

Wikihow do you do?

One of the advents of the increasing mediums of technology is the knowledge that is at the palm of anyone’s hand. There is a convenient aspect for people that are always on the go, and looking to pick up some easy information on virtually any topic available. Wiki has been a tremendous user-friendly resource for people looking to share or pick up information on topics.

Wikipedia was the first wiki that became popular. Wikipedia is a user-edited database of information on really any topic there is out there. To have information of that extent on anything in the world, the old way of doing this was going out and buying a wonderful Encyclopedias that were very expensive, aesthetically pleasing until they ultimately collect dust and sit on a shelf near a family room fireplace. Even so there were only so many topics that would be covered in these thick leather bound books. These Encyclopedias were also static, so as new things happened in the world, and information changed on things they would become outdated.

Another form of wiki, which is extremely useful, is Wikihow. Wikihow is a step-by-step tutorial for a how to do just about anything. It is a simple tool for anyone looking to complete simple projects, or try new life adventures out. This can include new recipes for cooking. Need to change a tire on the side of the road for the first time just search Wikihow and a tutorial will pop up with step-by-step instructions.

Wikihow is not just all about receiving; users can share information, or pass along ideas as well. Writing a Wikihow article is a somewhat involved process, however not terribly overwhelming. This is to keep it easy and not dissuade average Internet users to shy away from interacting using this medium. Writing a wiki is a fun process, starting with identifying a piece of information to share. Once that is established, a detailed step-by-step account of what is being put together has to be laid out. This detail has to be meticulous, as simple things that might be taken for granted by the writer, can be overlooked and affect the whole process. A great example is if the article is about cooking something in a stove or microwave, include the dish might be hot. A simple detail that is crucial and seemingly obvious, but it should be included in the article.

The article can be put together quickly without much work on the back end of things. The back end is known as the coding end, the skeleton of any webpage on the Internet. Internet coding can be tricky and tedious because it is like learning a new language. What Wikihow does to make this more user friendly and downright capable of using, is allowing access to other user published articles, so the Coding can be copied and pasted into your article, so it does not have to be done from scratch.

Another good way to communicate the steps to the article is by using pictures. These pictures can be of the actual process taking place, or simple drawing like pictures from Wikihow. Most people are visual learners so pictures are crucial to the process. The simplicity of a Wikihow is what makes it so efficient. Being able to communicate a process in short, simple statements as opposed to reading bulky, and technical instructions make Wikihow work. The following is an example of a Wikihow page. https://www.wikihow.com/Make-Kraft-Macaroni-and-Cheese

Another effective and cool aspects of wiki’s are the ability to easily connect and link into easy and relatable topics at the drop of a hat. An example would be looking for Christmas recipes where there isn’t maybe something exact that is being searched, but if a user was fishing for ideas, this is extremely helpful. What Wikihow also does which is convenient is it allows users to interact via comments and messages so if there are any further questions regarding what the user posted then those loose ends can be mended. Being basically edited and developed by the user also makes the tweaking process simple. Because these are not static pages, they can be constantly edited and tweaked to find the perfect formula to accomplish really any task that needs to be taken care of.

Communicating what has been written on Wiki is easy to share amongst the Social Media community. People who write these articles can use that information and interaction to make a difference in the world, one step at a time.

Director for a Day

With all the advents and proliferation of the Amaturization of the Web, it was only a matter of time before the video format followed suit. YouTube was started in 2005 as a way for Amateurs to create, and publish their own videos. Other Social Media platforms became compatible to allow easier access to YouTube videos to be seen, such as Twitter embedding these links. However, the thing about most amateur YouTube videos is it is just a singular video with little actual editing. Film production crews make a lot of money during countless hours of work to put these movies together. So what goes into making an amateur production?

To make a video or movie production, it cannot be understated enough the amount of effort, and attention to detail that must be present. Typically this is all done while collaborating with a group of people that have their own creative and artistic perspective on how the final product should be assembled. The team has to remain super organized on how the project should be put together, and which order the final product will be sequenced. That point cannot be overstated enough due to the difficulty. For an example in a three-minute project; there can be upwards of 50 different clips that have to be edited in a certain order.  The group must be on the same page with how this needs to work.  Any production needs to tell a story related to a specific message or topic the film makers are trying to portray. So having to balance the creative flow between collaborating minds can be a difficult task at times. Anytime a group project is being assembled, each group member has to rely on others to get certain parts of it done. Each member has to tow the line in a sense and trust each other to deliver their parts.

The fun part of these projects is the acting out of the scenes, and building the bank for scene selection. In the movie industry; paid Actors will handle this. It must be a tremendous experience being able to watch Actors who have worked their entire lives scratching and engraving their craft, and becoming capable of delivering a wide range of scenes is no doubt fun to see. In smaller projects, or self-projects…the producer, and director sometimes has to be an actor. This part of the project is still fun, however it does have a different feel due to being caught up in the minutia of the work. There is no real order to which the clips are being shot as they are just being assembled out of convince. Putting together a checklist of what is needed based off the storyboard is essential, as remaining organized is at the utmost importance. It is fun to act them out, then get together with the group and watch the acting job the self-video producer’s did. It still is an awkward feeling to see one’s self on camera on a screen, no matter how many times it has been done before. There are stories out there of celebrities who do not watch themselves on TV, or Musicians who do not listen to their work on the radio.

The editing process is somewhat tedious, but the most crucial aspect to seeing a production come to life. Editing it all together is where all of the organization, and details from the storyboard are crucial. The first main aspect of the editing process is making sure there are no continuity errors, meaning there are no duplicate clips seen. The editing software used is actually fairly user friendly, and easy to navigate through. The clips must be edited together in a sequence that tells a story, and paints a picture for the viewer of the final project to process logical thought. Music, and background noise is another essential piece to be edited in the production.

The struggles that can be encountered have to do with time. Professionals have their entire life devoted to these projects. Amateurs have to maneuver around work schedules, class schedules, social and family schedules. Then there are other group members who have to account for these things. Circumstances outside of the realm of control can derail projects; group members can become ill, or unreliable which puts the bulk of the work on other people. It is safe to say however, when these projects do work out, and the final cut comes together, it is a fantastic experience seeing the project come to life.