Domain Name Registration, Hosting Set Up & WordPress Installation!

**Please read through this post carefully – it contains several steps and pieces of information- if you are not in attendance during the normal class-time you will need to watch the video tutorial to follow along**

Here is the Step by Step Video tutorial from class on 11/7 – 

“The Journey Begins!”

*Individual student Coupon Codes for the domain name & web hosting set up will be e-mailed to you- be sure to check your York college e-mail address to get the code (if you do not receive the code on the day that your class meets this week please e-mail me to let me know) –  The coupon code can only be used 1 time.

We began talking about Domain Names and what role they play in creating a digital identity on the web (and as a part of this class.) If you missed that post, please be sure to check out our course schedule page under weeks #7 & 8 as it has context and will help make this next step a bit smoother. 

This week we are going to get started!

We are going to begin the process of registering a domain name and also setting up web hosting, which will allow you to put files up online that will be discoverable through your new domain name! We are going to use a form of ‘shared hosting’ where you get a portion of a server – think of it as having an apartment in a building. With this shared hosting you will be able to do a lot of things including installing your own instance of WordPress (**remember, this is NOT wordpress.com but the open source version of wordpress.org) so that you can start building your website for your domain name. I will walk you through the steps that are needed, please follow my exact steps.

We use a company called Reclaim Hosting, with which we have a contract with so you will enter a coupon code and start your account for free.

*The coupon code will be e-emailed to everyone on the morning that your class meets (or I can give it to you in class)

We chose this hosting company because they have a lot of experience working with students just like you, that are likely getting their first domain name and web hosting account. You will be creating an account just like you would with any online vendor with which you want to purchase something. So it’s not a ‘CUNY’ account, we’re just giving you the coupon code to pay for the year’s service. The service will last for 1 year.

You do not need to pay for anything, so please reach out if you have questions – rseslow@york.cuny.edu

With that said, you will need to provide a name, address, and phone number. Lets go to this sign-up page <— to get started with the domain name selection process.

1. First you will need to pick your domain name, make sure that it is available and make your selection to proceed. (I suggest sticking with the .com or .net extensions)

2. On the next page, check the ‘add ID protection box.’

3. On the next page you should see two items in your cart and a price of $45 with ID protection, you will then enter the needed information for your new account and provided the coupon code and validate it. (you will NOT be charged for this, its already included in the course.)

After you fill in your personal information, and select the payment “Invoice Only” option. (again, you will not be charged anything.)

6. Click the “Complete Order” button and allow for the transaction to go through. Please check your e-mail for your account information and a verification of your e-mail link. With your new account information, log-on to Reclaiming Hosting.

Shortly after setting up your account and registering your domain you must verify your account via e-mail by clicking on the link they send to you. (be on the look out for a series of e-mails from Reclaim Hosting)

7. YOU ARE NOW ALL SET AND READY TO START WORKING WITH YOUR NEW DOMAIN NAME AND WEB HOSTING ACCOUNT!

8. It’s now TIME TO INSTALL WORDPRESS. – I will begin the set up installation – You can refer to the video recording posted after class and follow the step by step guide to install WordPress correctly. 

Coupon codes for the set up will be e-mail from blackboard – be sure to check your York e-mail to get the code.

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Assignment #9 – (you must complete part 1 before moving on to part 2 – After following along in our class this week and reregistering your domain name, setting up your web hosting account & installing WordPress – please publish a detailed blog post about the overall experience of registering your own domain, and setting up your web hosting account. Be sure to include screenshots, images, videos and hyperlinks for context. (as always)

Assignment #1 Internet Happy

JIFs

Are Memes Art?

Assignment #4 – Blogging about Your Passions

Assignment #5

Assignment #6 – Digital Art Making Immediacy

I believe I am doing well in CT101. I have learned a lot about blogging and expressing myself creatively. Also how to create JIFS and MEMEs. The new skills I developed would be creating and formatting a blog post because I’ve never done this before or had a class where I use or do anything like this (regarding the memes and jifs). I have learned how to use Photopea, Figma, GIPHY and other tools.

I believe I am maintaining an A or A+ and I deserve that because I do everything that is asked and I put effort into it.

I see my blogs expanding as I get more comfortable creating them. Before I would be unsure what to say or what to hyperlink but now it feels like I understand and get it. I also don’t have any missing assignments.

I comment on my classmates when I like their content or something catches my interest and I respond to feedback. I don’t really talk during class time I just nod my head I don’t talk that much. I can make needed improvements by just doing my work a little bit quicker and not waiting that would probably be the only improvement and just making sure the quality of my work is consistent.

For my domain name I’ll probably just make it my name or something random in my head. I don’t really have any outstanding ideas right now.

My aspiration is to become a digital editor for a major magazine. I am committed to improving my knowledge in every area, especially concerning the art of digital storytelling.

As I reflect on this semester, I am reminded of the exciting new mediums that have been introduced to us. With these tools, we can enhance our various projects. While I am not a blogger and don’t have a long-term interest in blogging, I welcome the opportunity to acquire new knowledge. I also appreciate the Zoom recordings because they have been a tremendous help to me this semester. At the moment, I would say I am currently at a B+ in the class, honestly. This is because I wish I had more time to fully invest in a “blogger lifestyle.” By the end of the semester, I hope to immerse myself more in the websites you introduced and create some impressive projects that I can hopefully add to my portfolio. Overall, I am enjoying this class.…

This week on my blog, for my second magazine art piece, I created a magazine cover in its raw form.

Adobe Illustrator was the main mode of creation, along with canva.

I decided to continue my blog series with the girls. I have a fondness for “weird” art because I believe it will make a comeback, mark my words. I have been on a spiritual journey that began two years ago, so I am currently in the Eryka Badu phase. I am stuck, to be honest. Lol! I just wanted to experiment with a cover that’s both perplexing, badass, and fresh. I wouldn’t say it’s one-of-a-kind because it’s my first draft with no edits whatsoever.

Honestly, I’m uncertain about how to assess my performance in CT101. While I’m a full-stack developer, I didn’t gain any new technical insights from the course. However, as someone who isn’t particularly fond of blogging and doesn’t often use memes in my daily life, I did find a bit of enjoyment in the experience. I believe I deserve an A because, even though I didn’t acquire new knowledge, I genuinely appreciated the classroom environment. I’m not inclined to write blogs or engage in comment replies; I mainly approached them as tasks to complete.

I’m not sure what I could improve upon, but if there were a “like” feature for blogs, I’d be more than happy to give others a thumbs up.

I started using Figma in 2022; before that, I had been using Adobe XD for design.

Figma is a very user-friendly tool; I can’t even remember how many designs I’ve created with it.

This is the first design I’ve created using Figma, and it’s called “Pathfinder”.

my passion is…

learning new things!

i struggled writing this blog post as i am very much a jack of all trades, master of none and I am excruciatingly aware of the fact that my past projects and burnt out passions are all commiserating in a graveyard somewhere…

so now this may sound like a lame passion but hear me out- i had to think to myself ‘what do dancing, trekking, rock climbing, crocheting, reading, writing (might seem counter intuitive on a post without capital letters but here we are), drawing, cooking, and language learning all have in common?’ the answer was right in front of my face- i had to learn all of these things (for most of them, the learning does not stop) and then this realization had a second wave- i very much enjoy learning/having learned these skills.

i dance just for fun but in dance, you never stop learning- you need to learn the steps and their names you learn about what makes choreography good and unique, there’s also dance history where you can learn about well… the history of dance. when i was in middle school, we had a dance history class where i learned about  the foundations of modern dance and queen martha graham who said this about passion-

studying language(s) is also never ending because no matter how much you study, there is always more to learn. english is my first language and i am still learning about it! just last year i took a phonetics class and learned IPA and the sounds of the letters in american english, specifically in the northeastern dialect. in learning polish i had to learn how to use cases and how to pronounce grzegorsz brzeczyszczykiewicz   which is easier done than said 😉 and i’ve been studying spanish in school from the 6th grade until present day and i still have plenty of distance between me and fluency but i’ve never stopped enjoying the process.

“You have no power here…”

i also learn about linguistics and can tell you about whorfianism and why i believe neo-whorfianism is garbage theory

in rock climbing, the learning never stops either- besides learning how to physically climb, the first technical skill of the sport you have to learn  is how to tie a figure 8 knot and later you’ll learn harder things like how to make a stable anchor , how to place gear and how to clean up gear- i’m still working on those…

with trekking, you need to learn how to train your body for long excursions and you need to learn how to stay warm, what kind of clothes are suitable and how to navigate

with every book you read, you are learning- you  learn the plot of the book if its fiction and if it is non fiction you learn about its subject matter. books can also teach you new perspectives and genuinely alter your life. this year i read a book called the four agreements that showed me a different approach to life, even though i did not find the whole book completely realistic or doable, it definitely broadened my perspective.

and with writing, you learn effective styles over time, new vocabulary, and proper formats for different kinds of writing

all of this to say… i am passionate about a lot of things but I am most passionate about learning. reading helps me to learn about the perspectives of others, writing helps me learn the perspective of myself and getting outside helps me learn about the world and my place in it. i one day desire to be a vessel of knowledge, but so far i just know a lot about nothing… i still have such a long way to go but i will never end my pursuit because

Assignment 7- Mid Semester Reflection

The time has come….the time we have all known was coming…time to reflect on your work in CT 101 so far😱

CT 101 has become the highlight of my week and I talk about this class with some of my friends from other colleges. I love the creative atmosphere generated in this room and despite the lax vibe, I feel compelled to create high quality work that I can look back on and be proud of. Even though this can be a challenge for me when working with unfamiliar programs producing work that I don’t necessarily align with my “perfectionist” standards. I’m proud of myself for stepping out of that mindset and pushing myself to accept what I create and be proud of it regardless.

Soooooooo what do you guys think? Are my blog posts unique and engaging?

For some reason I haven’t been on top of my commenting game. It seems like everyone is, but that’s not excuse for me to let my classmates go without some sort of feedback or support for their posts. We all like a little encouragement, so I’m making a promise to myself to start commenting on at least three or my classmate’s posts every week. I easily reply to others when they leave a comment on my posts, so the least I could do is leave a comment for someone else.

Now let’s move onto my 2nd weakness…

Along with this, my participation in class is not where I want it to be…even though I do speak up from time to time I’d like to more openly answer some of the questions posed when class is still happening, because I usually strike up a conversation with Ryan and other classmates still in the room after we’ve dismissed so I’d like to work on doing that when we’re all still together.

Domain Names

Now moving on to more pressing matters…

I never know what to name things so coming up with a domain name for the website we are each going to make has been a STRUGGLE, but I’ve narrowed it down to a few I actually like:

1. Jstar
2. Joshsplace
3. Jstreet
4. J.the.Good.Man
5. Joshthestar
6. Black Lavender
7. Aesthetically.Joshua
8. J.vibe

I don’t exactly know how i feel about my time in CT101. Id say I’m really trying. I struggle a lot with the creative side and i am not someone who gets assignments on time. its one of my biggest flaws but i know I’m Definitely trying. during the lectures i try hard to stay awake but i am so tired sometimes its hard for me. I have tried a lot of caffeinated drinks and have not been able to stay fully conscious for many of the lectures but i am really trying.

i have mainly retained skills on incorporating a variety of media into my writing. i think its some helpful practice. for example, i would incorporate as many images and gyfs in order to give my posts and writing life. id also ad as many hyperlinks to my posts in order for people to visit incase they want more information on my subject. One of the works i feel that captured this the most was my post on my addictive passion. This class has helped me find a variety of websites that i can use for any creative projects that i would like to indulge in in the future.

I don’t believe I’m getting a good grade. i don’t really know if that is me being humble or just self doubt talking. i would think a B as my highest grade. i feel like i deserve this grade because my posts may not be as long as they should be. My post possibly don’t have enough images or hyperlinks or my topics and way of explaining things are very weird. i feel like i definitely got better at blogging compared to when i started. i feel like i can type more and elaborate on my ideas better compared to my first post which what about the library of babel.

As I’m writing this post, i have 3 missing assignments. that includes this one. i also need to complete the optional assignment and the creative assignment. i have not been making any comments, not replied to any comments on my posts. I am very anti social and i understand its a really bad excuse. But i just cant into the mindset of telling people their posts are interesting or replying with at least a thank you. i also don’t participate in class because half the time I’m struggling to stay awake. I’m always trying to keep myself preoccupied in order to stay awake because caffeine doesn’t help me. I’m responsible for all of this and i could possibly improve on these bad habits. maybe starting with a comment or two one day.

How am I doing in CT101? In CT 101 I believe I’m doing alright just for the reason that I have three assignments to complete.

What have I learned and retained the most?I have learned how to convert things into hyperlinks and how to be more hands with creativity. For this class if you take thinks bit by bit you can understand it better.

What new skills have I developed , cultivated and displayed regularly in my weekly posts? Some skills that I’ve developed is how to create a digital story using ideas from other sites.

What do I know now that I did not know before taking this class? I know that you don’t have to have a limit to what you do there’s always time for progress when it come to your own creativity.

What grade do I believe I am maintaining and why do I deserve that grade? I believe I deserve an around the 80s or 70s. I believe I deserved around that grade range because I can give it a better progression in my work going forward.

Do I see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively? If so, please explain why –  or am I stuck in a loop where my posts seem to look the same most of the time, how will I change that? My post are not really the same but I can definitely improve on going back and editing my post to have more details.

Are there any assignments that you are missing? If so, list them. Week2,week 7,week8

Are you commenting regularly on your classmates posts? Are you responding back to comments given to you by the professor & your classmates? I am not regularly commenting on weekly posts.

Are you participating during the class time? If not, explain why. I participate but not on a regular basis

This is the time to be accountable. How will you make needed improvements? I will try commenting on posts and doing my assignments that I am missing and try to participate 

Panoramic Multiplicity – Assignment #8 – (This is an optional assignment)

Here is the class recording from 10/31:

Let’s play with the idea of non traditional image-making and multiplying ourselves into a single image frame. By using the panoramic feature of our smart phones we can create a series of examples (like the image above) to show the potentials of the idea by using our immediate surrounding, in this case, the hallway outside of our classroom and the class itself.

This is a perfect opportunity to submit your experimental images as a project to the NET-ART open call for submissions! No pressure though 🙂 – explore the NET ART website and feel free to leave a comment or find something that may inspire you.

The image above is another example. We see how the bright light from the windows serves as back-lighting when the photographer is behind the light source shooting the image directly at it. The light places an emphasis on the absence of that light and creates a shadow effect of the students in their composition. We talked about how lighting can add this effect and extend a narrative. Students broke up into small groups and proceeded to experiment.

We wanted to see how could we push the idea further? We discussed, should we collaborate as a group or work in smaller groups? Will other objects be added to the potentials of the project? 

So, how is this image created, especially the top one above?

1. Open your smart phones camera and set it to panoramic mode.
2. Arrange your subject(s) in one area to the left side of the photographer. Give a good amount of distance between the photographer and the subject(s). The subject(s) need to hold still as the photographer begins to move the camera past them until they are out of the view finders frame.
3. Once the subjects are out of the viewfinders frame the photographer stops the motion of the camera and holds it in place. The subjects then move behind the photographer and slowly gather themselves back into a new pose or position on the right side of the photographer.
4. The photographer continues to move the camera past the subjects until they fit into the composition.

What will you do with this new technique?

How will you use it to tell a story in one frame using the same subjects/objects? What kind of situation or narrative can you create?

Jump in! Create a new blog post that tells a multiplicity story in one panoramic image frame, the potentials are endless! Perhaps your story is fictional? Perhaps your story is a How-To tutorial about your process? What will you do?

For this assignment I used, mmm.page and remove.bg

https://kyledharam.mmm.page/assignment6
Incase the link doesn’t work

This is what I was inspired to create, I just kinda let my mind roam with some of my interests and things I like. Such as spider-man fighting in a desert against sandman and then Goku being all the way back there. I don’t really like whales but I like the idea of sky whales I think it’s pretty cool but I do like whale sharks that’s why I added it there.

This is what I came up with. For the TV one I thought it would look interesting with the error and the bouncing dvd’s. For the second slide I had no idea what to do so I just decided to create a winter type slide. My favorite season is winter and it was around the time of halloween so I added the nightmare before christmas.

So I was reading assignment #5 and I wasn’t sure which visual assignment to pick but thankfully the d106 website had a “try random one” button.

So it landed on this

Then I inserted the classic Mona Lisa in photopea

Then comes the cat. I decided to try out Google’s AI Generator and this is what I got

Final product!!!

Get your best headphones ready!!!!

Excited to make my own website, I knew I had everything needed to make something cool. Again, off the strength of my passion for music (in my post below… lol) I created a mmm.page where I can showcase all my work on one place. It kind of makes it easier since I don’t want to put everything out right now officially, SoundCloud has become my testing ground. I don’t promote my music often or at all so I’ve herd. This website will be my start to sharing what I created quickly without anyone getting to bored of the plain everyday websites we listen to music on. I would love to know how people would react to this layout I put together, so in that case you all are my test subjects…  >:)

https://jaysxeast.mmm.page

Honestly I like how the page came out a lot and being able to personalize it so quickly is a game changer. I considered the Pro upgrade but, lets just see where this goes for now because $10 a month is still an investment, haha.

Its probably going to be on my tabs 24/7 if I ever want to listen to my own stuff, mmm.page is so quirky and cool, Also I kept in mind that the desktop is different from the mobile version. This made me want to spice it up for different platforms, so I added the clouds and an extra playlist in that area, pretty neat stuff.

🙂 Thank YOU for reading THIS FAR…!

anddd we finally CAUGHT UP TO ASSIGNT MENT #7

Its been a long day and night ladies and gentlemen, it feels like I worked a Digital Storytelling Shift somewhere on somebodies website… @ryanseslow … lol jk But I honestly Enjoyed every last minute of it.

When you put your mind to something, you best believe you can achieve it. but also I want to graduate so cheers to that. Now I got an 8 page paper, Some finals and some pictures to get funky with for my photography class, and we cannot forget about the COMMENTS haha the sweet comments, yes Professor, The comments gotta go-

maybe something where we are assigned to a different person in the class for the week and we deep dive on each others work and ideas instead so people can get a solid insight and motivate each other in the creation process. While also engaging with the class as a whole eventually. Maybe it could work but its worth mentioning ykno? <3 

And how did the whole class not know this? I CANNOT BELIEVE THEY DIDNT KNOW??!!? THIS!!!!!!! LIKE I COULDNT BELIEVE MY EARS WATCHING THE VIDEO FOR LAST WEEK!!!! like no way this was possible… PROFESSOR PLEASE CLICK THIS!

Always with love,

Jonathan signing out~

GOOD NIGHT

STORY TIME // TRIX 7 NEWS

The first project that I choose was Sound Effect Story 
I picked this one because I have experience with audio on a digital workstation and have experimented with creating sounds with synths that sound like real life sound like animals or sound effects. Mostly for this project I found samples of other sounds like sirens and glass breaking to gun shots and etc. While also adding in my own method of creating life like sounds. I was able to create a helicopter sound cutting thru the air as you would hear it from inside the building. This was the challenging part because taking music and making it into something else isn’t what you tend to see everyday.

Can you Guess what the story is about? (Lower Volume at first!!!)

I used the same program that I talked about in my previous assignment Called FL Studios. Adding a reverb and using filters helped me achieve these sounds while also playing with the sound and volume levels I found what works best in this situation.

And for the second Assignment I choose to do Breaking News
This was a good one because I want to practice recording my voice to nice levels and manipulating it to sound like different people so this was a nice challenge as well as an addition to my previous assignment where I made the audio of the story, but if you guess correctly you would know that this is the 2nd part to the story! Enjoy!

The most interesting part about this is that I was actually able to get AI Using CHATGPT to generate the WHOLE script FOR ME! I just added names location and setting and bam. Technology is really getting advanced, because damn, it sounds so good. 

Now that I have the chance to talk about my passions, boy do I have so much to share with yall.

So much to talk about but Ill just focus on my main thing right now which is 

MUSIC!!!

Music is my main thing, I consider myself to be a pretty well seasoned producer/artist. I began making music in late April 2017. I was born in Brooklyn, NY and  lived in Queens, NY my whole life. That’s where my stage name comes from, JAYSXEAST. A blend of my name and where I’m from. [JAY-SEE-EAST]. I always loved music as a kid and would keep a Toy piano that played Greensleeves and it would help me fall asleep every night.

I then got a battery antenna radio where I would listen to music directly from there, and would always need new batteries and couldn’t sleep if the radio was dead either.  Mostly stations like Radio Disney and Z100. I was falling in love with music everyday and  I never realized it. I got a CD player and got my first album from my sister Under my Skin by Avril Lavigne and would funny enough go on to associate her songs with an elementary crush of mine named, Veronica. I was a strange kid lol. I Got Justin Timberlake’s – Future Sex/Love Sound for X-mas and played that on repeat religiously. My mom also got me a Pussycats Dolls album, but I  give that back to her unopened… I went on to downloading Mp3s off of LimeWire and Ripping them from the local library’s collection on the computer at home, and finally loading them on to my mp3 player that was the size of a AirPods case, could you believe that!

In 2017 I explored my inner self deeply meditated and tried so hard to deeply understand myself and what my existence means to me, and where does my passion begin? I came to the conclusion that music has been all around me and close to me for my whole life. I never thought that I would be able to make a song of my own, on my own. Strut is still one of my favorite songs to listen to. 

It was released on my birthday about 3 years ago July 2020.

So far ive been releasing music online via Distrokid to distribute my songs to multiple streaming services. Distrokid was something that I always dreamed about, a service that allows me to post music officially just like my favorite artist.

The music program I use is called FL Studios, and its been my favorite since. My other music friends and teachers that I meet tend to use other DAW’s Like Ableton or Pro Tools but I’ve kind of settled for this one.

Unfortunately I only put one song out for now because I fear that I want the quality of my songs to be perfected and after some time after improving I will take things down that don’t align with me anymore, but thankfully I started to repost my older stuff on Soundcloud.com so people close to me can have somewhere to check my old stuff out and to see what I’ve been working on.

There was also a point where I believed I was sounding good… until I paid 300 Bucks to compete in a showcase tour in Brooklyn. Man it was fun to participate but boy did I regret not being more prepared, I am today but now I just enjoy the sounds I make and when I drop some FIRE BE READY!!! 😉

Also I was scammed, Coast 2 Coast did not do it for artist they did it for money…