No Doubt About It- Memes are Art.

 Art comes in many different mediums, whether you are a dancer, singer, stylist, painter, or graphic designer- You are ultimately trying to communicate and express  yourself through an aesthetic manner or in a way you know best. It can revolve around themes like trending topics, world news, feelings, and events but delivered in any medium I mentioned above, including MEMES.

Elon Musk meme convinces people to buy DOGECOIN

To the most sophisticated Art critics, memes might not be “Art,” but by definition, the term “meme” describes any “cultural artifact that spreads quickly and uncontrollably within and across cultures.” 

At its simplicity, this description highlights some of the most famous art paintings like Salvator Mundi, The Scream, and many other influential paintings that have traveled through time, cultures, and continents, keeping its demand.

In conclusion, memes share traditional art values yet gauge a new and youthful audience allowing people to exercise their creative muscles, be funny, and share a more profound message. I believe Art is ever-evolving, and it is a conscious choice that we make to accept new mediums or stay true to what we know.   #teammemealltheway #memeyou

 

 

On the first day of class, I felt excited, optimistic about the things we would learn, and finally getting to take a class that I was interested  in.

 

 

 

I  still feel great about CT101 but am a “little” nervous considering this is my first Communications Technology class… haha

 

How am I doing in CT 101? What grade do I believe I am maintaining?

I think I am doing well in CT 101. I was a bit worried at the start that I would not be able to function well since I am not used to online but with prof. Ryan that has not been the case. This class is the most enjoyable class that I have this semester and I like the things that I have learned. I am able to use gifs efficiently and I can make them whenever I want now. I want to say I am maintaining an A- right now. I am caught up on my post and have joined the classes regularly. I have commented on classmates’ posts, as for my post I think they are going well but can use a bit of improvement. 

What have I learned the most? What is my greatest learned asset in this class so far?

What I have learned the most so far is the use of Gifs. I had said this to the professor when I was talking to him. I use Gifs more often now because I enjoy making them and using them. They are fun to me and there are so many that can be created. I am glad I learned the usage of gifs.

My greatest learned asset so far in this class is learning the blog post. Posting different weeks and reading what others post is a cool aspect that I like. I do not mind posting weekly, responding to others, being creative.

What skills have I developed, cultivated, and displayed regularly in my posts?

For this, I would put the use of memes or gifs. I will start using them more for sure in my blog post, but it is definitely memes or gifs.

How do I assess my performance through self-reflection in this class?

For this, I would say by my blog post. When I’m in the lecture I’ll either talk sometimes or just listen for most of it. When I do the blog post I am being creative, putting down different answers and ideas, trying to be creative. The blog post shows how much effort I’m putting in and they are a good recap to go back to. Now let’s take a look at my blogpost

 Post 1 My first post was asking what makes me happy on the internet. At the time, it was Minecraft. Minecraft became my second favorite game and I really enjoyed playing and watching it.

Post 2 my second post was about making gifs. I had a lot of fun making gifs and this was probably the most fun assignment for me. I liked doing this and will use this for future purposes.

Post 3 This post, I was glad to make memes. I was having fun with this and making different things left and right. I still remember watching and looking at memes daily a few years ago. I still look at memes daily, even though they are different. Memes are fun to make and I will continue making them. 

Post 4 This post was about DS160. This is the post that I had the most trouble with. Taking a screenshot from the computer and uploading it gave me the most trouble. 

Post 5 This post was about picking a Domain name. I actually enjoyed doing this. It made me think about the comics that I want to do and produce. I thought about some more domain names but didn’t like them as much.

What do I know now that I did not know before taking this class?

One main thing would be the amount of money that people make from memes. When we had the discussion that people not only bought memes but they also sold millions for a meme, I was amazed. I knew that people loved to make memes, but hearing that amazed me. Another thing was gifs. I now know how to make gifs and apply them for myself.

Do I see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively? If so, please explain –  or am I stuck in a loop where my posts seem to look the same most of the time, how will I change that?

I do not think that I am in a loop, I think that I should use more creativity in my post. I think adding more gifs, memes or something else can expand my post. My post are not usually short, but they do seem short. This is something I will definitely work on.

A good domain name is a hard find and can make or break your website. That being said, I am not the best at coming up with unique names but lucky I have a pretty unique name and a bunch of odd nicknames and aliases so I am confident that one of them will stick. So without further ado, here are my domain names.

1. Shem.us
2. SLCumber.com
3. SteezUrkel.com
4. Shemdelashem.com
5. ShemmyF.com

Under one of these lovely domain names I will make a website that is focused on myself and my talents. A simple exhibit of my past works and future goals with some promotion going towards my online ventures. I have a few videos up online that I think could get more traction and so many ideas for future projects. Im excited to have my own little space of the internet, especially since I lost my tumblr a few years back and haven’t really been able to express myself in a website like fashion in a while.

A few of my fav website are Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Reddit. They are pretty much where I spend all of my time when I am online.

This assignment gave me some trouble when I realized that my photoshop skills were lacking. I looked through many different genres of the assignments and was discouraged time and time again when I tried to do my own version. I think my favorite fail of the bunch came from the assignment titled BIG EYES. After many many hilarious fails, this is the best I came up with before I finally called it quits. 

Although I eventually gave up on this assignment, I will admit that I learned a lot more than I ever knew about photoshop than I ever imagined I could in such a short period of time. Maybe if I kept fiddling with the numbers, I could have made a perfect bigger eyed me.

After my numerous failures, I decided it was probably best to attack a project that would better fit the skills I learned already in this class. So I went to the gif section and my eyes got wider when I saw the Best Sports Play project. I already knew the play I had in mind and once I found a good video, the rest was history.

In this GIF, One of my favorite basketball players, Jaylen Brown is seen putting OG Anunoby on a poster. This GIF is one of my favorite dunk in the past year and is actually my background on my  computer. Although I had a fun time making this, I hope I can make even cooler GIFs and images in the future with the tools at my disposal.

 

Hello all, I still cant get used to the fact that we’re still in a Panasonic. Sorry, I mean a panini. Excuse me, what I really meant was a pandemic. Even with its drawbacks, I think online learning actually makes sense for this particular class. Its a communication’s technology class…..that’s being held strictly online. This does a lot to emphasize the practicality of communications technology and how to use a combination of some new learned skills and creativity to create new content. Anyways, back to the main topic. It’s been six weeks since we’ve been in class. Sheesh, time flies indeed.

So far I think I’m doing pretty well in this class. I put a lot of time and effort into my blog posts and try to add as much personality as I can. I used to rush to complete assignments but now I take my time to make sure I make each blog post “reading worthy.” I don’t want my blog posts to sound like an assignment, or a research paper. I want them to sound like something you would actually read in your free time.  In terms of grading I think I’ll give myself an A-.

I seriously hope my parents didn’t hear me say “A-.” They’ll kill me if I get anything less than a 105% in any class. The reason I gave myself this grade is because I still have a lot of improvement to do, such as making my posts more engaging and adding more creativity. Creativity has never really been my strong suit, as I’m more of a “logical” and “sciencey” person. I promise you that’s not as boring as it sounds. Speaking of which, I have learned how to unlock the creative side of me. I never was the person to do things such as painting, draw, etc. I though I just didn’t have it in me. However, in this class I get to  build my creativity one week at a time and add on to it. By the end of this semester, I should be completely comfortable with my creativity and maybe even find ways to monetize it. So far my greatest learned asset is learning how to create a blog post. A blog post has several components, which may include hyperlinks, gifs and memes. I’m one to always laugh at memes from the internet, but learning how to make my own memes is even better. I also make sure to develop my expressive skills. I discovered that I don’t like writing in a monotonous voice. I like writing as if I’m writing a conversation, where there’s change in tone and emotion. In my opinion, the closer a blog post is to a casual conversation, the easier it is to read. Ya dig?

Through self reflection I can assess my performance by keeping track of my blog post content. Also, over time my blog posts should get progressively longer. So naturally, I can track my progress in this class based on how long my blog posts are getting, However, quality should also increase, as quantity doesn’t always equate to higher quality. By self reflecting here and there I can see what I need to improve and what I need to keep consistent. In this class I now know that the traditional route of learning isn’t always the best. By traditional I mean the classic “going to class, taking notes, going home to study and taking exams based on the learning material.” Through this class I learned a different approach of learning, where new skills are taught in real time and we get to apply them immediately.

Since the first week or so I’ve been putting a lot of energy into my blog posts. I set the bar really high when I created the meme stocks blog posts. From that point, I made sure to expand my blood posts with m ore creativity and taking more time to curate my content. As this semester progresses I hope to be able to write entire blog post articles. Well, this concludes my reflection. Hopefully you didn’t fall asleep halfway through. Till next time, I’m OUT.

 

 

This is my favorite class this semester, and I feel like I’m doing my best in it. I don’t have to worry about having a bad grade because I’m doing my best. The skills I’ve gained in this class are creative learning and thinking because I’ve learned and applied what I’ve learned to my next thought. By responding to and interacting with my peers’ work, I’ve also improved my communication skills in this class.

Working in class contributes to my weekly progress because I apply the skills I learn in class outside of class during my free time. I’ve honed a variety of digital skills, such as writing posts on social media about topics that interest me.

In this class, I discovered that I have a strong desire to complete work as soon as possible. However, in recent weeks, I’ve reconsidered and told myself that creativity is a process that takes time. I wanted to do more of the creative process and thought for people to enjoy with this critique I took of myself. To be honest, I used to feel insecure about my work, as if it wasn’t creative enough for this class, or that my colleagues’ work was more creative and better than mine.

How am I doing in CT101? What grade do I believe I am maintaining? 

At the beginning of the semester I had high hopes for this class and i still do its been lots of fun and straight forward. In this class I’ve been able to do many things that I wouldn’t see myself sitting down to do like making a Gif. This class is making be able to express myself other than just using words. The grade that I believe I’m maintaining I think be a calm A if not a A- because I’ve been doing all the assignments but not joining every call because I feel like this class is straightforward that you can definitely do it asynchronously.

What have I learned the most? What is my greatest learned asset in this class so far?

In this class I feel like I’ve learned everything like creating a meme and make a gif but my greatest learned asset in this class would be running the blog. The blog is fun, cool, unique to me and a experience that I’m loving and is helping me learn how I would run my own website and how to put in hyperlinks, a post element and more and I’m still learning it, playing around with it every week.

What skills have I developed , cultivated and displayed regularly in my posts?

This would definitely be the use of the gifs although I don’t display them as regular within my post I did learn how to do them.

How do I assess my performance through self-reflection in this class?

I asses my performance from the post that I put out, if I feel like the effort was there then I feel like I’m doing good within the class.

What do I know now that I did not know before taking this class?

I can use a gif as a answer to a question in this class, I use a website for assignments in this class, other than that I expected everything else that the class had to offer.

Do I see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively? If so, please explain –  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 you can argue kind of seems the same most of the time but I feel like each one is slightly different but I will try to make some changes to that by adding more gifs extra hyperlinks and much more to make my posts more creative.

How am I doing in CT101?

That’s a great question.  Before this class, I was a little nervous if I’d be able to keep up because prior to this I had no background in the creative techy arts, but Prof. Seslow does an awesome job making this class easy to understand.  His process has allowed me to not only keep up but to relax enough to be my authentic self and show my personality in these creative assignments.  I’m no filmmaker yet, but I can make a mean meme and gif now…from where I started up to now, I think that has earned me a solid A. 😃

What grade do I believe I am maintaining?

I still have more to learn but I think I’m maintaining a solid A.  With each assignment I try to make it honestly, but also with a touch of humor, maybe thought provoking, but easy to digest…a balance.

What have I learned the most? What is my greatest learned asset in this class so far?

I think the thing I’ve learned the most is everything in this class, how to make a gif, a meme, how to arrange it on the blog with narrative so that it flows and it pleasing to the eye, to keep all the images uniform size.  There’s not one thing I’d say I’ve learned the most.  It’s all been equally beneficial.  Likewise, my greatest asset learned is the same, everything that I have learned that I can now use even after the class is over for personal or business purposes, which is pretty exciting. 😃

What skills have I developed , cultivated and displayed regularly in my posts?

I think the biggest skill I’ve developed that I’m still improving on is the art of telling a story in a blog using gifs and memes, but not to add so much content that you lose the reader, or too little that the message is not clear.  This process has helped me become a better storyteller overall I think.

How do I assess my performance through self-reflection in this class?

I think the best way to assess my own performance is to take an honest look at where I was when the class started, what I had no knowledge of prior to the class, then look at what I can do now, look back at my own assignments and see if they were clear and entertaining, thought provoking or both, and was I honest in my assignments overall in how I represented my ideas.  To me, honesty and projecting a story in a way that is entertaining or inspirational is the mark of progress in this kind of class.

What do I know now that I did not know before taking this class?

Before taking this class, I had no idea how to make a gif.  I would always see cool gifs and react to them on facebook, but I had no knowledge of how to make them.  Now I do which is cool.  I knew how to make memes but by looking at other classmates’ memes I’m drawing inspiration how to make mine better.  So this class has been a great experience overall. 😃

Do I see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively? If so, please explain –  or am I stuck in a loop where my posts seem to look the same most of the time, how will I change that?

I think so far my blogging work might be ok because I’m still in the beginning stages learning to use my voice with narrative, gifs and memes in a blog given the weekly assignment.  There are a number of interests that I have that I would definitely like to express at some point when the opportunity presents itself in future blogs.  I think it’s just a matter of not continuing in the spirit of being authentic and honest but light hearted and fun.  Trying to find that balance while using creativity and my voice to tell stories. 😃

How am I doing in CT101 so far???

How am I doing in CT101? What grade do I believe I am maintaining? 

I think that in CT 101 I am maintaining a high 70 or low 80 kind of grade. I have completed most of the blog posts in the beginning of the semester but admittedly have been on a downward slope in terms of getting my assignments posted on time or at all. This is something I plan to fix moving forward however.

What have I learned the most? What is my greatest learned asset in this class so far?

I wouldn’t say this is my greatest learned asset in the class but something that I definitely learned that I didn’t know before taking this class was how to make my own animated Gifs.

What skills have I developed , cultivated and displayed regularly in my posts?

A huge takeaway from CT101 that I slowly start incorporating in some of my other classes is the usage of hyperlinks. Hyperlinking sources or websites to my work was something that I never done before when doing online assignments. And while It hasn’t made siting sources and website easier or harder by any means, it makes essays and other assignments look very clean in my opinion.

How do I assess my performance through self-reflection in this class?

I think in this class the way I assess my performance the most is if I have a good understanding of the assignment that we are completing for the class. Even if its something that I’m not necessarily interested in a deep understanding of the concept can usually go a long way.

What do I know now that I did not know before taking this class?

One of the things, as stated before, that I didn’t know before taking the class that I know how to do now is how to make my own animated gifs. Gifs is something that I know a lot about and I really like looking at gifs as a form of entertainment. But making them for myself was something I had never done before or knew how to do before the course.

Mid Semester Point- Mayday! Mayday!

How am I doing in CT101? What grade do I believe I am maintaining? 

Ct101 has been a really fun, engaging, and mentally stimulating class thus far. As a political science major, I’m very used to writing-intensive papers and the actual workload is a lot! but CT101 has allowed me to release my creative juices. I feel like the assignments are becoming more intense but in a good way. It’s forcing me to think and analyze each assignment in a different way, surely different than I’m used to because each assignment tackles something creatively different. I’ve utilized what I’ve learned so far as well as trying my own hand (whether I figure it out or not) to create interesting blog posts. I feel like overall I’m doing “okay” in CT101. I definitely started off stronger in the beginning but as the weeks have gone by I think a lot of people can relate to this feeling of being burned out by the semester, online learning, and what’s going on in the world. I know I can maintain an A but it requires me to be a bit more vocal and active, which is something I plan to work on for the second half of this semester.

What have I learned the most? What is my greatest learned asset in this class so far?

I think besides learning how to use BlackBoard Commons and obvious technical skills I think the knowledge I’ve acquired thus far is the greatest asset. The knowledge about the “digital world” I find to be beneficial for someone who is very new to this. Learning about intricate details, things I didn’t even think of as being significant such as domain names for example. At the end of the class I know I’ll always have this knowledge and can go on to building my own website if I chose to or even show someone else how to. Something I found to be equally satisfying is learning how to actually blog. Writing down my thoughts, opinions, and ideas I’ve found to be therapeutic but has also helped to strengthen my writing skills. I appreciate this kind of digital journaling.

What skills have I developed, cultivated, and displayed regularly in my posts?

Other than sharpening my writing skills through blogging, another layer I can identify is the story-telling abilities I’ve applied to each post. I’m essentially narrating what’s going on in my head in a healthy way. I’ve also developed the ability to make gifs/memes and the technical aspect that comes with that: animating them, embedding them, etc. and I think that shows in my post. I learned on a minor level through a very late all-nighter, determination, and a lot of music how to use Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator, as well as hyperlinking things in my post, embedding videos so of which I need to incorporate more into my post.

How do I assess my performance through self-reflection in this class?

Honestly, I think self-reflecting is a well-needed skill and it’s one I use often, but, this class has shown me looking back at previous blog posts can help me to improve my future ones even if it’s the simplest thing. So let me reflect here on the work I’ve done so far.

Blog Post 1 – my very first post asked me to think about my slice of happiness on the internet but it was also my first blog post which is a bit obvious. I enjoyed the content but I think it was “chaotic” in the flow of the post.

Blog Post 2 – in this post I not only got to make my first animated gif but I improved in the flow of my post. I preferred how I wrote this blog and how each gif connected back to each of my thoughts.

Blog Post 3 – my third post I can safely say I got the flow how I want my post a bit more down pact – telling my narrative! however, I think I’m also getting a bit too comfortable with this pattern and need to branch out just to try and mix it up and make more interesting posts.

Blog Post 4 – this was one of my favorite but very frustrating assignments because I took a leap of faith to try something completely out of my comfort zone. I don’t think my blog post was done well enough to me but I think it’s cause I spent the majority of the time trying to get the 80s theme Sci-fi VHS tape to be perfect (as far as perfect goes) especially cause I never used Adobe applications. I see where I need to balance between the blog and if I have to create something . . . alas progress!

Blog Post 5 – this is my least favorite assignment in part cause I struggled with trying to figure out domain names. I tried my best and think I finally came up with good ones but it wasn’t easy, but I did include more hyperlinks which is an improvement.

Between these 5 blog posts and the one on The Internets Own Boy, I have improved my writing skills, the flow of blog posts, using more media forms but I need to try to push the boundaries more and try embedding videos for example.

What do I know now that I did not know before taking this class?

For one thing, I had no idea how to blog, or even create memes/gifs even though I use them every day. Pretty much everything I’ve learned so far is something I didn’t know how to do before.

Do I see my weekly blogging work expanding creatively? If so, please explain –  or am I stuck in a loop where my posts seem to look the same most of the time, how will I change that?

Indeed I see my blogs expanding creatively in terms of trying to include more media and but I also feel like I’m stuck in a bit of a loop where my post has this certain flow or look to it and I would like to change it up but I’m not sure how to go about doing it. I think trying to use other media or playing around with the format, adding catchy titles and such can help. It’s a work in progress but any suggestions are welcomed!

Almost done with this semester . . . I look forward to the next set of assignments and my website to come and hopefully with all this reflection I create something really creative and cool.

How am I doing in CT101? What grade do I believe I am maintaining? 

I have enough self confidence in what I’ve done so far to know I’m definitely not failing. This may sound weird but I like to shoot for A- since it let’s me know I’m a couple steps shy of “perfection” and the A in my first name is technically supposed to have an accent. I’d like to think I’m close to my goal so I’d say I’m…

What have I learned the most? What is my greatest learned asset in this class so far?

The Story of Aaron Swartz

The documentary “The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz” was truly an inspiring but very tragic story. I, for the most part, felt a sense of being proud of what Aaron stood for and fought for but by the end, I was very much discouraged and even a bit afraid. One part that particularly stood out to me during the documentary was right around 1 hour and 12/13 minutes in and the documentary was discussing Aaron’s role in fighting the SOPA Bill that Congress was trying to introduce that would essentially tighten the reins on censorship on the internet. I think what makes this part so significant was the fact that the threat of going to prison was looming over his head yet he saw an opportunity to continue to fight for what he believed in, even though it looked really bleak. My dream is to become a lawyer and Aaron’s political activism inspires me. One person can make a difference in the world and watching how his effort led to the “SOPA Blackout Day”, the number of people who signed petitions and protested against the government for a cause makes me feel even more sure of my dream of being a lawyer can help to make a change in the world. The government did make an example out of Aaron, but he is also a symbol of what standing up for what you believe in can go a long way, no matter the obstacles. Open Access can save lives.