Who would have thought that I found a class just as fun as CT101?  I’m a studio art major wanting to expand my skills, I’m good with digital art but if I have to be honest I never knew about  Communication Technology.

I know I know, I only knew about studio art since I am a transfer student. Walking into the first day, well I was a bit late but that’s beside the point. I walked in expecting a very serious class and teacher but that was the opposite. Ryan is a  pretty chill teacher, he very welcoming and a pretty cool teacher to talk to. Not to mention the class felt very welcoming to people who are in different majors and technological skills.

So far  CT101 is a pretty chill class so far compared to my other classes where I have multiple projects at once each other is more time-consuming than the others which makes my brain hurt.

I feel like I have a lot of creative potential in the project as well since we’re able to use this to help us to express how we feel with gifs. It’s also fun to try and mix and matches gifs to make a story in a sense. I also feel that learning internet skills tools is helpful because I can use these techniques in the future.

Till next time!!

So as you can tell from the title before now I had never heard of Communications Technology as a major. I had studied architecture since I was about 8 years old and it was my major in college for 2 years. Considering my experience with a creative major being a soul-sucking drag before now I was not expecting the first day to be as fun as it was.

But the fact that Ryan listens to us and makes sure to treat us as more than just students on a roster creates cool energy in the class. When he told us about the homework style and the fact that there was no set schedule or due dates to stress over I was elated!!

The fact that we get to blog as homework is the coolest thing ever and I’m excited to see what all of us wind up making in the future. This class helps to stretch my creative thought process which is a muscle I haven’t flexed in a while, to be honest XD.

Having a class that allows me to express myself is what I was looking for in a major. So far this has felt like the perfect blend of learning and showing off skills that we may already have which is most likely more than I do in math.

This assignment in particular has been an exciting learning experience. Finding out that the history of gifs is a long and complicated trail of copyright laws, boycotts, and intellectual properties is something I was expecting. What caught me off guard, however, was the amount of individuality the gif has now. I also didn’t expect it to be 30 years old.

I was pleased to learn that oxford had to weigh in on the gif vs jif war even if they only made it worse by declaring both valid. I’ll of course still say gif because it makes the most sense.

But learning how to make these supposedly simple gifs were the hardest part for me. I didn’t expect to have so much difficulty getting the loops that I wanted, let alone thinking of the material I wanted to loop in the first place. The internet normally comes second-hand to me but this genuinely made me draw a blank. I welcome the challenge of course but in the end, was not able to make all of the gifs that I wanted to.

I found both Imgur and Giphy a little difficult to navigate but in the end, I’ll probably use them for different sources. Imgur is easier for gifs that are a bit longer but Giphy is better for short clips. I look forward to experimenting more with both and learning to be an active participant in internet culture. But that’s all I have for now. Ciao Y’all!!

Personally I try my best to stay off of the internet *(I heard it boosts productivity). But I still find myself scrolling endlessly through the internet daily. If I had to choose the best part of the internet it would be google search engine. I REALLY LOVE GOOGLE!

You can find the answer to anything as it pops into your head. It is like a personal genius at your side constantly. This past week I saw an article  about how humans were evolving in the age of cellphones. I could not locate the exact article but it was also about peoples sculls changing because of cellphone use. I started wondering how evolution could even be possible. Because it contradicts some of the basic facts of life, you know. Like it is common knowledge that people are born with all of their ovaries… so how could the genetics of the the next generation remember to adjust to real world adversity and events if they already exist and can not change their genetic code because it already is what it is?

Like if you were in an escape room that you could only exit if you completed a sequence of tasks… but you did not know that you were in an escape room because you’ve never heard of an escape room… how could you be expected to know to complete the puzzle?  Thats how I was looking at it. I also saw another article about how researchers discovered the oldest star ever…. How could they know how old a star is?  I wondered.

So I looked to google. And it made me realize the internet kind of is productive. It promotes new thoughts and shows you new things. And new is great. Above that thinking is also fundamental. Without the internet, specifically google I would  be a tad bit uninformed. So I love google.

The first day of CT101 was the first day I went on campus since summer. I woke up pretty early because I knew that if I didn’t start the day ahead of time I would be late for class.

It was quite exciting because I barely leave the house. So I was happy that I had a class on campus to take a slight break from the serialized mundanity I’ve endured for most of my life.

Yet I was wondering why I chose a class that started at 10 AM. I knew how awful I functioned in the morning, so why would I sabotage myself like that?

I arrived super early, around 9 AM. Waited for class to start. So when I enter the class and saw Ryan, I thought he looked like Jeff Bezos (I’m sorry, Ryan…).

Once some other classmates trickled in and got settled he started discussing the curriculum.

I was pretty excited about all the stuff he discussed in class because it was in a world that I’m pretty familiar with, the Internet.

So experimenting with assets on the internet that I take for granted like GIFs and YouTube made me excited. Perhaps doing so will increase my understanding and knowledge of the internet.

Just through this class alone and the resources, they provided I already learned that GIFs were created in 1987 and were commonly used in the early internet because of their low quality.

But this was way before the invention of the internet itself. I found it pretty cool.

I also knew that Gifs can also be stagnant but the first image online was also a Gif. Gifs were also patented at one point which eventually lead to the creation of the PNG.

It is so weird that the things I took for granted had such a fascinating history behind them.

When discussing things, I’m always thinking about ways I can apply this to my career. If my work gets enough traction I was hoping I could create a website where I can house all of my work.

My fixation on my career easily seeped into the class because the Internet is where I’m building it and I think, maybe I can learn something new or deepen my understanding of the Internet.

The Process

Making Gifs on Imgur

Making a GIF on Gifphy

Personally, I like to use adobe premiere because I feel like it’s more flexible for me. Plus I’m paying for it so might as well put it to use. If I had to choose between Imgur and GIFPHY though, I’d choose GIFPHY, it’s a pretty basic interface that’s easy to adapt to. Plus there’s a diverse range of decorations to use on your GIF,

Even though my professor is a darling person; I felt, and still feel a bit out of place just as Dorothy did in a foreign land. I also felt like I needed more heart, a brain, and courage, LOL!!! I was quite shaken up. This class is a bit out of my depth due to my lack of skills/knowledge of computer technology. But…..Slowly but surely, step by step, inch by inch, I’m receiving the accurate knowledge of this amazing field. “I’m ripping it apart and knocking it out.” WHEW! Please do not take these words out of context. This class is amazing, extraordinary, inviting, and enticing.  Actually, a better word to define this class would be exhilarating.

Learning new Internet tools is a bit hairy for me; nonetheless, if you shave off the hair you get to the meat and the bare bone. Just imagine big foot hairless. In my mind he wouldn’t look or seem so intimidating, dangerous, nor scary.

Learning new tools on the internet is like mastering the floss dance, Lol!!! It takes timing, ingenuity, and patience. Once you have mastered it, WHOA, it is massive kool. The sky is the limit, and it seems as though the world is at your fingertips. I am eager to learn so much more. I am not ashamed to admit that some skills are a bit difficult for me to grasp, but this just sharpens my intellectual capabilities which encourages me to climb higher and higher. I reiterate, “the sky is the limit” with the use of modern day technology. All everyone must do, is to use it positively. We must use it as a lifting platform, and not one of tearing down or demolishing.

The creative potential of this class is that of the genius of Bob Ross. Bob Ross was an excellent painter that expressed his feelings on canvas. His paintings were vivid, lively, and freeing. Upon hearing about this class, Ross is the best person that I can equate to this feeling of creativity. So light, so airy, so invigorating!

https://giphy.com/stories/censoring-education-is-denying-education-27b6633a-1c4b

Giphy.com is where I obtained this gif. My professor of digital storytelling 101 is an excellent instructor. Even though he is hearing impaired, I find him to be a great listener. I’m sure that most people cannot wrap their mind around this concept; however, it is so very true. He is an advocate of making sure that his scholars learn while alleviating unnecessary pressures that many professors put upon their students. I am pleased to have chosen CT101, and Blessed to have happened upon this professor. Kudos to Professor Ryan Seslow.

I retrieved this from Imgur.com. It reminds me of the art work that was created by an adolescent and posted in my CT101 class. Talking about raw talent, this is just one example of what that is. So pure. So sweet. So raw.   While both IMGUR and GIPHY are excellent platforms that serve a particular purpose, I prefer GIPHY. IMGUR seems to have more of a dark side to it GIF”S. I choose to remain light and breezy. “What the world needs now, is love sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.”

Good morning!

First of all, to get here was a mess! These here internets are so ghetto. I thought i was the problem but turns out I wasn’t.

  FrannyFran is not the drama !

What has been taking up most of my time on the internet this week and for the past couple of months is Youtube. Since I’ve left the shackles of  Instagram in February 2021 my meme game has been lacking. I’ve been counting on my big bro to keep me up to date with the memes and gifs.

Youtube has been annoying tho!

I’ve been use it to listening to Praise and Worship from all around the world, specially Haitian Praise and Worship ( Louranj e Adorasyon).  This would murder my battery and Youtube kept trying to shove their Premium app down my throat.

                          Me and my good sis Gee during louranj

This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. ~Psalm 118:24

✨Be Safe, Be great y’all ✨

One thing that makes me really happy this week is music. I used to dance when i was younger so music has always been the key to happiness for me. Recently I’ve been listening to new music / genres of music more than what I was used to. That being said, i feel like music has just been hitting different since i’ve been discovering new music. Thanks to  Spotify ; where I get to listen to all my music :)).

My favorite song at the moment would have to be Cinderella by Mac Miller Ft. Ty Dolla Sign. I’ll post the song below

I would say this is my favorite song because of the way it was just produced and how everything just comes together so well. I feel like some people don’t  really like long songs (this song is 8 minutes by the way) but I feel like this is a huge exception LOL.  I love how Ty Dolla Sign just fits the song perfectly too.

My favorite artist to listen to this past week would have to be…

YE DUH

Kanye was the first artist to really show me there was more to what i was used to in the past. His recent album Donda is what really got me into Kanye and other hip-hop/rap artists. I love his style and really love to just sit and blast his music and just appreciate it.

Thanks for reading !!

I’m mostly excited about music on the internet.  It allows people to have a platform of their musical work and allows people to express themselves freely to people in the virtual world.

http://www.soundcloud.com/tiffanyasmin1

Soundcloud is a great website for new artists to distribute music.

https://music.amazon.com.au/albums/B0B72GK3ML

This is my favorite song I ever created is called A Thousand Suns, and I created it with a talented producer who created the beat for me. I’m truly excited about how people are going out there and publishing their own music, and it’s been fun for all people to become inspired and share thoughts through music.

Making our first GIF & GIF Post Narratives!

Assignment #2 – (week #3)

***the full video tutorial will posted after class at the bottom of this post***

Exciting Times!

Let’s make some GIFS and explore their history, contexts and the potentials of this Internet culture sensation! GIFs are obviously here to stay! How far will they go? Can you tell a story with GIFs?

Some of you have already applied some great GIFS to your posts from last week!

But First, and Importantly:

What makes a successful, compelling and engaging Blog Post?

You can certainly see my examples, but now, you have a contrast and a result to work from now that we have published our first assignment (did you publish assignment #1?), looking back, did you cover all of these aspects listed below? (you can always edit and update your existing posts, I highly encourage it! And make sure that you are responding to your comments!)

Good Blogging is:

• being thoughtful with your post titles –  How will your audience know what the post is about if you don’t make this clear and engaging?
• giving your opinions, feelings, insights & philosophies – Ct101 is a platform for you to share, express and discover the potentials of creative writing through embedded media and well crafted narratives.
• backing up your resources, inspiration and research with hyperlinks, we need to see where the source information has come from.
• proof reading your grammar and punctuation. It’s OK to work stylistically, but it should be kept consistent.
• and always embedding cool media that’s made or found from elsewhere to give context and keep the audience engaged.
• what else could we add to this list?

(You can click on the images above and they will re-direct you to their websites. I did this by selecting the “custom URL” option in the media / image uploading specifications area in the blogging editor and added the URL – watch my demo)

Imgur and Giphy are great platforms to explore and create GIFS with!

They both have a HUGE repository to choose from! In our class this week let’s check out both of these platforms in a series of video tutorials, both Imgur & Giphy are free to use and work with. (I encourage you to sign up for your own account, both are free) Let’s experiment with both platforms this week as we work on this week’s new assignment blog post.

Be sure to share your thoughts on what you think about both platforms, did one work better for you? If so, what were those features?

*The Assignment #2 Details:

Let’s publish a NEW BLOG POST of your own and be sure to comment on one or two of your Classmate’s GIF Posts too!

Video tutorial from today’s class on 9/13 – 

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/wkNQuBZd1SlZnAJKX2fXnHpKjRhfUDWrcvb7Ay3KY7VbbjqpdR02DPyxIvjJl7Fh.naDxMPOMs4HZDUQH

Passcode: 47.JuH8P

Create a NEW blog post on our class website and embed a series of new Reaction GIF s that narrates your feelings about our CT101 class so far!

Let’s get creative, how can you tell your story in GIFs so far? Hmm?

Think about these questions, and answer them:

What did you think on the first day of the CT101?

Did you like hearing about the course and its creative content? How did it make you feel?

How does CT101 compare to some of your other classes so far?

What are the creative potentials of this class?

How do you feel about learning new skills that use Internet tools?

(yes, you can make this post as long you wish and make it flow like a story – This assignment description that you are reading is also a BLOG post example of the assignment!)

***Each reaction GIF that you use should be accompanied by a sentence or two or three of verbiage to help describe the GIF and narrative you are communicating.

Here is an example of me responding in GIF expressing the above GIF:

“Demonstrations and examples will be shared and executed during our class time, don’t miss it!” (and if you do miss it, I’ll post the video tutorial from class here below) Sinister audio fades in and out as Skeletor mercilessly GIFs himself into oblivion!

**PS – Here is a handy tutorial on how to make a GIF from a YouTube URL using Imgur from Prof. Smith a few years back –  My first GIF post

How do you say it / pronounce it? Gi-f or Ji-f?

The battle continues! 

Oh, wait, you cant possible publish your new post without referencing and discovering some GIF history! How will you incorporate it into your new post?

Here is the WIKI for the GIF file format – its a good read.

Smithsonian – History of the GIF

A good article for WIRED on the 30th Birthday of the GIF

GIF History via – VOX

Let’s get started!

Here is the class video tutorial below:

(to be posted after class on 9/13)

**And be sure to also comment on one of your Classmate’s GIF Posts!

Let’s Do it!

Assignment #1 – Happy weekend!

I think the internet will stay undefeated forever. When I’m not doing what I am suppose to be doing most likely I am on instagram or Twitter catch up something funny. Sooo …

I am a huge sports fan. My favorite sports are Baseball, Football, and basketball. I watch and play all three when I can. In every sport, I root for all New York teams meaning Mets, then Yankees, Giants then Jets, and the Knicks.

This Sunday the New York Giants played against the Tennessee Titans in a hard fought battle the game came down to the final seconds and the New York Giants came away with a win in New York fashion which is a nail bitter. New York in every sport leaves you at the edge of your seat I was certainly going crazy yelling at the TV with all the exciting action going on.  Sort of like this. BEFORE WATCHING this video has a bit explicit language sorry in advance but I find it hilarious.

Internet Happiness

As a 19-year-old, I use the internet pretty much daily just by living. I take it for granted as it’s just a staple in my routines and just about everything I partake in. This week coming from the internet what would make me the happiest would be the ability to interact with my friends. I play video games if I’m home and thanks to the internet I am able to add my friends to this.

This is just one of several games known as “among us” that thanks to the internet many people are able to come together to play.

My friends and I play NBA live 19 and WWE 2K22 as our main games especially as of late and they’re always a great time.

https://www.xbox.com/play/media/J7A9RFW5

The link above is to watch a clip of mine from NBA live 19

Like any other college student, instead of working on their homework due the next day, I’m stuck scrolling on Tiktok. I lay on my bed and thought about the assignment prompt, “Huh, what does make me happy on the internet”. I thought of completely…

NOTHING

My for you page is completely random. One moment I’ll see a selfless person willing to give and share their money to others and in just ONE scroll, I see Joe and Murry from Impractical Jokesters butting heads. It is my fyp after all :p (I guess I’m just as random).

On Tiktok, you can post your own content and like and share other people’s content too. Of course nothing tops Vine, but people like to see it as the so called “new and improved” version.

Some people still post the classic Vines such as:

@m4rkus409

#fyp #fypシ #foryou #foryoupage #foryourpage

♬ original sound – marcus

But recently, tiktokers have been finding many ways to give back money to the community, whether it’s through a social experiment or a “give and take” kind of thing, it’s just heartwarming to see the smiles on their faces. 

Ricky Spencer, a famous tiktoker, did this social experiment where he was asking other people for food. This one woman denied him, but he saw another opportunity to ask another person for food. When the man proceeded to give Ricky food, Ricky then returned back the food and even gave money to the man for being so generous. 

@rickyspencerrr

#fyp #fypシ #topnotchidiots #socialexperiment #karma #karen #funny

♬ original sound – rickyspencer01

The funny thing was, the woman was STILL in the premises and can see the entire thing go down and even dared to justify why she turned him down. :|||

And I’m pretty sure everyone knows the two guys that just stand infront of a campus and says completely nothing, but everyone JUST KNOWS to read the sign on their shirt. They do this thing where people have to do challenges and the reward can range to $20 or more. Just last night, I saw them post this Tiktok:

@areyoukiddingtv

Would you do it? #comedy #funny #funnyvideos #fyp #foryou #viral #wow #lol

♬ original sound – AreYouKiddingTV

If I were that guy, I would do the same thing BUT I also thought it was just so cute to have these random selfies of other people.

Though, the guy didn’t enjoy not having his phone, the strangers for sure had a blast with it B)

Another scroll down in my fyp, and once in a while we always see this guy:

@tiktoktips

Guess what time it is? Time to get some sleep!

♬ original sound – TikTok Tips

Or even this one:

@tiktoktips

Pause your scrolling. Time for a night time snack break!

♬ original sound – TikTok Tips

And sometimes, I just want to go:

To be honest, I’m a sucker for pranks. I recently discovered the Impractical Jokers through my friend who shared it to me, and ever since that one share, they’ve just been all over my fyp.

There’s this one old clip that I thought was so wholesome where Joe, Murr, Q, and Sal pretended to know this guy and it really shows how it made the guy’s day because he was being recognized for something he was proud of. 

@wa.ji.wa

Hilarious #fyp #foryoupage #comedycentral #trutv #impracticaljokers #viral #goviral #blowthisup #fypシ゚viral

♬ original sound – 𝑤𝑎.𝑗𝑖.𝑤𝑎

And I guess that’s what I love so much about the internet :DDD

I love how there’s a variety of things to be entertained to. It can be completely random, something that makes completely no sense or it can be something that’s so uplifting that can actually inspire others to help one another. I understand sometimes on the internet it can be scary, seeing the news and the reality of life, but I feel as if life doesn’t always have to be negative if we spread positivity all around. c: 

To end this wholesomely, enjoy this last clip.

ty <3

What has been making me happy on the internet this week and forever is…. music :).

I do not necessarily use it to give me a feeling (except for calm of course) more so when i am feeling. As people we go through the motions everyday. Something as simple as music can make everyday tasks more bearable (walking down the street, cooking, cleaning, driving, etc…) even waiting in an elevator.

I play music when i am feeling happy, sad, angry, motivated, hopeful, sexy… whenever. I also have a very deep love for a certain type of music and artists. I am in love with R&B. When you think of R&B, you may think of a slower type of music. Correct. I enjoy R&B on all occasions. It regulates my emotions when it comes to my mental health and overall saved my life.

My favorite artist is Partynextdoor <3 I discovered him my freshman year in highschool and I’ve been smitten since. I’d identify his music as being in a mild trance but not creepy like.

I have access to all his music due to Apple music, Youtube, Soundcloud, Musi, Spotify..etc. Youtube is a great platform to find music. I get to find his music slowed and reverbed when i am in the mood for something even slower 😉 .

Here is one of my favorite songs by him.

POV: a Partynextdoor song happens to play next on your apple music playlist

Thats all. Thank you 🙂