I have been dreaming about having my own website for years. What has stopped me? Fear, mostly. But with the help of CT101, I know I will have the right tools and resources and I will succeed.

Although I am skilled in a numerous of things, my website will mainly consist of my writing, I just haven’t decided what I want to write about. I’m not clueless, just not sure. In our last class session, I shared that my biggest obstacle was being vulnerable and that is because I want to write about things unspoken, things that should be spoken about. The kind of “things” that we treat as normal, but aren’t, the things that keep us up at night.

What I have never thought about was a name for my domain, I suppose I just never got that far, but if not now then when. I aim to discuss the self that we typically suppress, whether it is due to dark thoughts or emotions, thus some possibly domain names are selfunknown, pleasedtomeetme, 1on1pillowtalk, monotalk (monologue), or midnightmono. What do you think?

I have thought of a solution for my fear, and it is a tactic often used by writers, to write under an alias until they have reached a certain point in their project/career. Some never give up their identity, I certainly would love to make myself known one day. After all, someone’s got to collect the credit. I don’t necessarily wish to avoid judgement, that isn’t my issue. Life has cruelly taught me to never let my guard down, but how can I ever make a change in the world if I don’t speak the truth many others carry as well. If not now, then when?

I don’t spend much time on the internet, but as for my favorite website, since 2008 it has been Tumblr. Tumblr allows one to express themselves in a range of ways and the best feature is being able to personalize and customize your HTML. Everything in my blog, the color, the borders, the spacing, the hover, has been personalized and chosen by me.

Aaron Swartz

After watching The Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, I have come to the realization that our government gains its control over the people by withholding information that would empower us to demand change.  The moment in the documentary that impacted me the most was here, at 25:33-25:59.

Swartz had always been very clear about his intentions and they were never targeted toward bringing down the government, instead he only wanted to give people access to our supposed “public” domain. Swartz encouraged the people to dig deeper than instructed or expected, to question everything, to never settled, and he was charged as a criminal for it. A criminal, a felon, for obtaining what the government considered too much information. If you didn’t know knowledge is literally power, please understand this now. History repeats it self, and all that has happened in our country has been written down, kept track of, and mostly hidden or locked away. Doesn’t that bother you? To know that truth is being controlled and hidden? It bothered Swartz and those who followed him, it certainly bothers me and I can only hope one day to have half the courage Swartz did.

The government did not have to handle the Aaron Swartz case the way they did, but they NEEDED to make an example out of Swartz so that no one would ever dare repeat his actions. However, all our justice system really did was to teach other programmers and activist to be more careful, to work in silence. We must never give up. As long as we live in ignorance, we will forever be slaves and puppets. It is time to start questioning.

CT 101 Re-Cap

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

 I honestly feel that I am doing pretty good in CT 101. At first I wasn’t sure I would understand what we were learning, but it turned out to be pretty easy. It can be a challenge at times, but a good one where I learn something I hadn’t known before. I believe that I am maintaining a good grade, I follow the instructions and turn the work in on time.

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

So far, I have mostly learned about the In’s and Out’s of graphic design. I never really saw myself as a graphic designer until I started CT 101. I’ve learned a lot about, blogging and citing sources, and just creating great art in general.

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

I have definitely developed more on my writing and art skills. Well, creative/commentary writing really, especially with making the GIFs and Memes. I see that more often than not, my sense of writing like how I talk has improved a lot. (A Photoshop and Meme picture I created)

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

Through self-reflection on my performance in this class, I’ve noticed that there are areas in which I could always improve. Whether it be, adding more pictures or hyperlinks. Each time I work on a new blog post, I improve.

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

After being in the class for about 6 weeks now, I have a lot of things that I wasn’t aware of before. Like the DS106 application, that in particular is my favorite, it is a great tool to use to express yourself and create new and exciting content. (My DS106 Assignment Post Below)

The “Vogue Challenge”

6. 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 have definitely that my weekly blogging continues to improve. With each new assignment, I find myself expanding my graphic design palette. Making different types of are and experimenting with new tools and websites. Because of this class, I am currently working on some new ideas for the upcoming assignment, where we will create our own websites. It seemed like a lot of work before, but now I am more motivated than ever.

After reading this weeks assignment I figured I like where this was going  and never really put thought in what my Domain name would be but I got some things that I would post on my own website like story times, podcast, live streams, shoe pickups or just me talking crazy on a topic I find interesting. Keeping everything in mind some domain names I came up with are

AmChad.com

AmChadlive.com

AmChadsaid.com

Amcoppedup.com

Amunfiltered.com

 

Your probably wondering what the Am is for and ill tell you of course  usually in my group chat with my friends instead of using I’m in a sentence I would use Am and overtime my nickname in the chat just turned into AmChad

One of my favorite websites is YouTube and one of my favorite content creators is Fanum here a funny Storytime

from him enjoy

When it comes to things that interest me, I actually only think about how to take nice pictures of myself. Thus, I want to do something like blog or vlog that can record my life in my site. And to achieve this, first I have to learn photography, learn photography composition to ensure that I can take the best landscape. For photography enthusiasts, the expansion of ideas and aesthetic improvement is very important. Example as http://Behance.net and http://film-grab.com Second one is not a photography website, but a lot of screenshots from movies, which are aesthetically reflective. These movies and screenshots are very sophisticated and worth studying to improve aesthetics.

Secondly I have to learn how to dress and how I can dress my favorite style to look better. Here I will go to learn a lot of bloggers’ dressing knowledge, instagram is a very worthy application to learn, I can find a lot of my favorite style.

Thinking about it, what I want to do should be the style of a travel blogger: nice scenery, nice people and nice photos, solitude and freedom. Since there is no way to start now, I can carry other people’s works and sort them into collections, collect my favorite photos and learn knowledge from them(With permission to transport works). Some people like my content is the best, if not, I can also do some accumulation for what I want to do.

In the case of thinking about what you want to do, you can consider the name. In fact, I think the name is rather less important, after all, this personal preference is not how to do like Google search software that we all understand. (In fact, I have little creativity to think about a domain name.) So…

suyiphoto.com

suyiphoto.net

sweetphoto.com

sweetphoto.net

I’m actually pretty excited about the idea of creating and running my own website.  I’m not really nervous about it but I do have to give it some more thought to decide how I want to approach it so that it’s thought provoking but not too heavy, informative but light hearted…I feel like I have to give this more thought before executing though.

Below are 4 domain name ideas and links that give an idea of info that might be on the site as well as my perspective.

1. “BushPeople” – This name is a play on how many people call country people that go to the bush or forest to pick herbs to boil into a tea to heal the sick..old time remedies that many still live by.

 

I like medical practitioners like above that offer a natural holistic approach to healing to prevent and combat illness. I would use my site to post other expert’s suggestions that might be helpful to others to create dialogue.

I might also post various links and info from people that take a natural approach to healing through foods and herbs like above.

2. “CreativeZone”- kinda self-explanatory…just a place for cool crafting that can be done in or around the home.

Here, I would post various cool arts and craft projects that can be done at home…not the one above obviously, but other cool artsy stuff…LOL

3. “TheOtherWorld”- This is a play on the paranormal movie “The Others”, a great movie by the way.

I think it would be pretty cool to dedicate a website for what people call paranormal experiences and hear other people’s perspectives and experiences.

4. “SpeakTheTruth!”- This is kind of a spin on my favorite tv program that came on years ago called “Like It Is” where scholars and historians would talk about historical things that we’ve been lied about in America and the world.

Black conscious perspective that analyzes negative Black images in pop culture, media & history and thinking beyond what we’ve been taught.

Here, I might post various scholars talking about history and how that affects us currently and provide my own views.

Aaron’s point was that we should always be challenging society and not going along with the flow that it has developed for us. I identify with this piece because I believe that being the same is monotonous and that it does not force you to doubt your life choices. As Arron states, we should challenge a lot of things in society and think for ourselves rather than allowing our world to think for us. I admire the fact that Arron is attempting to improve the work by assisting it, and that he is not motivated by greed.

To be honest, after watching the documentary of Aaron I felt empowered and motivated to do something for my community. Aaron was a warrior and I feel like our generation should take in his footsteps.

Before the semester began I was thinking of the type of content I’d like to create since being a game designer didn’t work out.

 

And like game design. It really has no limits. I just want to “artistically” be able to do whatever I want and be a one man wrecking machine.

 

Having a domain that can be the original home of all things me & my content is something I  don’t want to take lightly. I’m old-school minded. Just because our name carries our image and “reputations” with it, doesn’t mean we have to share our entire self with the world. I am my mother’s son. Angel DeJesus. There are too many working parts to me, my family, and my story to just casually put myself out there. Or am I paranoid?

Angel_DeJesus.com?

Eh. For that I should do…

Angel_Day_Hey_Zeus.com

Spinning the direct translation…

The_Angel_of_Jesus.com

I like that one as my runner-up. I’d rather people find out my name and develop a curiosity of who I am thru my work/content. I still believe in (some) privacy. I also thought of switching my gaming name to my domain.

Ange_De_Strange.com  or  AnJ_Da_StranJ.com

But I believe my best working domain name is…

A_Strange_Perspective.com

It’s the name I had originally thought of for a podcast of some sort. And since The Strange Perspective is taken, I believe I can at least start mine, then scale it with whatever else from my domain. The idea for that and more came from one of my favorite stand-up bits of George Carlin who famously said “…It’s a straaange culture…” Check it out down below.

Questions/Comments? Feel free to share

There are two main topics off the top of my head right now that I would love to revolve a website around. The first of which is about cars  and the second of which is about the stock market.  This would mean that the Domain names I select for either of these two topics must have some kind of faint relation to the topic.  Below are a list of domain names for each of the topicss.

 

The stock market:

“scalethewall”

I choose this topic because typical wall street terminology may be hard to follow. So in a sense, that wall of terminology is hard to scale. However, with this website I will make terminology and analysis easy to understand, hence the term “scaling the wall.”

“wallofstocks”

This is also a play on the term wall street. In this website I hope to include, everyday a list of stocks I believe will be great performers. Sort of like a hall of fame for stocks.

“wallstreetenglish”

Referring back to what i aforementioned, wall street terminology and investor terminology may be hard to follow at times. I hope to paint a clearer picture using everyday language people would be able to understand .

“stocksandstuff”

The name speaks for itself. The website wont just be talking about stocks. I will be talking about ETF’s and forex markets as well.

“tradersarewe”

Remember that toy company that was a distinct figure in our childhood but now is a distant memory? Yes I’m talking about Toys R us. I’m using the same wordplay here. However I’m not making it obvious, so the domain name has some originality.

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Here are some potential car related domain names.

“Wordonthevroom”

“Vengine”

“brakepoint”

“everythingauto”

The 4 domains above were very difficult for me to come up with, mostly because the ones I originally came up with were all taken. The challenging thing about this is it cant be too long of a domain name and it has to be catchy. This is the best I can come up with for now, but the list is subject to future review.

 

One thing I love is interactive assignments in which the only thing that limits me is my creativity.  I love visual and auditory and visual  things, such as music and pictures. Below is an assignment chosen from the class assignment bank.

Rap Remix

In order to complete this assignment I’d need to have some type of interest in music, to keep me interested and engaged long enough to create a masterpiece. I clearly possess this interest, as I love listening to all genres of music. I’d also need to know how to put words together in a rhyming fashion, which I believe just about anyone can do. Lastly, I’d need some type of software or application so I can create the remix to my song of choice. I’ve always had a love for music and I’ve always wanted to create my own song, whether it’s a remix or an original. I believe this class will give me some useful skills I can use to create my first song.  In this class I think I should do about 3-5 other assignments like this, so I can explore this. Who knows, maybe I can create the next hit by accident. Creating music needs the skills of knowing how to express one’s self in an effective way, continuously for about 2-5 minutes. Sometimes even longer. There is also a storytelling component so everything flows together. This skill is important because it gives someone freedom to express themselves. In other words, it gives an outle   t where someone can express themselves and their only limit is their imagination.

The assignment below from the assignment repository is more of a visual based assignment. I chose this assignment because it is about traveling.  I love traveling and I have lots of pictures of the places I’ve visited, This assignment is more journalism based.

Journey to Somewhere

In order to complete this assignment I’d need to know how to create a google presentation slideshow. Luckily I grew up with computers around me, so I can definitely do that. Also, I’d need to sequence the pictures in a way that tells a story.  Below is the slide show. Enjoy!

 

VACATION TO TURKEY!

 

 

 

The idea of having my own website surely is very exciting. I would like my website to be reflective of who I am as a person and my interests. Some of my interests are:

Traveling: I like to travel a lot and I believe that traveling allows to broaden one’s mindset on so many things!

Coding: Since I am majoring in Computer Science, I also have to code a lot. I would love to add my personal projects to my website.

Exploring New York: I also love to explore different areas of New York! Therefore it is one of my wishes to have a website where I can publish my most favorite places of New York.

Therefore, Keeping in mind my interest list, the list of website names that I would like to use are:

1. nafisatabassum

2. nafisacodes

3. blogsbynafisa

4. NYexplorewithNafisa

5. travelwithnafisa

Here are some domain name ideas I had for my new website:

1. Powertothepress.com

There’s a saying, “power to the people,” but I think it’s also fair to use “power to the press,” the “press” being the voice I have as a journalist/reporter.

2. Bethebridge.com

This domain name comes from part of a quote by the late Cameron Boyce, who was an inspiration of mine growing up watching the Disney Channel. The quote reads as, “Many people have the heart to give back, but a lot don’t know how to. I try to be the bridge for people— whether that means getting them involved in one of my campaigns or inspiring them by showing them a blueprint of how others get engaged.”

That quote really stands out to me, as it shows how much of a leader Cameron was as well, and moves me to be a leader as well.

3. justtypeit.org

Almost like the Nike saying, “Just Do It,” I like to say, just type it! Sometimes I procrastinate– well, VERY OFTEN I procrastinate, especially when it comes to typing articles for class assignments or for the school paper because I know it’s going to take a long time to do. I guess just seeing the domain name will remind me to not slack off.

4. Layitoutforme.com

My job as a reporter is to give the facts in the story, and make it easier for people to understand issues that seem really complex–basically, weeding out all the fluff and presenting the basic information, laying out the story. This goes hand in hand with the “Bethebridge” domain name, and part of the quote which mentions showing a “blueprint” in how others can get involved in whatever action they want to pursue. With this website, I would want to layout societal issues in which people can understand them, and also give them a way to become active.

5. Equitablewritesforall.com

Equality is great but when everyone has equity,–(defined as treating people based on what they need in society), it’s a much better world! We need to talk more about equity and who needs what, (letting the facts and communities be the dictator of that).

 

All of the names listed are tied to social justice/activism and journalism. I believe that as someone who is inspired by both of those entities, they can always come together to be inspirations for people, and in particular, have both been inspirations for me.

Just based on the domain names, my new website would be exactly about those two ideas– journalism and activism intertwining.

I don’t have a particular “favorite” website anymore, (had a couple as a kid) but I do find myself spending lots of time on YouTube each day look at new content from different channels whether it’s news media or explainer videos or reviews on shows or products. I enjoy it all and can access all of it from one site.

Here are some examples of the different things I “explore” on my “favorite” website:

Vox is a digital media company that produces several “explainer” videos that I think are really informative for the average person who isn’t paying much attention to issues circulating the mainstream media. The quality of their content was one of my inspirations for being a journalist.

(You should definitely give that video on the Texas energy grid system a watch!!)

VICE is another digital media company I grew a fascination with, around the same time as Vox. I appreciate their reporting style as well, on many abstract and often underreported topics. This one caught my eye, about the rise of conservative idols in the country, going hand-in-hand with the increasing polarization experienced in American politics.

(Note: I certainly DO NOT endorse any images presented in the above photo)

Looking for an apartment in NYC with useful tips on what to search for? Look no further than Cash Jordan! I certainly can’t afford a long-term rental property right now, but just for curiosity’s sake, I am subscribed to Cash Jordan. He’s super snarky and infuses joy in the mundane task of apartment hunting!

As for how I feel–uh, not much different because I’ve owned a website before with another class that I’ve taken that required me to have my own website for news writing. However, this is something new, so I guess this website would come with a different vibe and/or purpose to it.

 

I chose the audio assignment below because for some years now I thought it would be cool to make party/dance music using this kind of technology.  I’ve tried to use Garage Band on my Mac, but I got frustrated and gave up too soon.

I think to successfully learn this audio tool it might take me 3 or so projects to become a storyteller.  In today’s world of technology, there are many tools that can be used with this kind of audio tool to enhance your goals.  I think learning this would be important because music and other sounds can create an atmosphere, a feeling, an emotion that adds context to the story you are trying to create.

I will circle back around to the above Sick Beats software after watching a better tutorial and try and make my own song. 😳

Next is the writing assignment below.  I chose to do this assignment because I actually like to write creative stories.  It’s pretty fun and you can let you imagination go wild.  I also knew this would be an assignment I could complete fairly easily.  I like the medium of writing because it’s another creative way to reach a lot of people, especially people who like to read.  Creative writing is actually an art that I’m really interested in, but I have to figure out what I’d like my end goal to be, whether for books, screenplays, or just for my own personal outlet.

You can read my story, “Dinner with an old friend” here.

 

Nationofread.com  

I actually owned this domain name for a while. I created a website where I was selling infographic (self help ,Psychology and business) book summaries. I didn’t want to fall into legal issues so I just let go of the project.

Infographics are great way to engage your reader. 

here is an example:

getting_things_done = click for pdf.

( just a side note, the infographics were outsourced)

 

 

Psybookreviews.com 

I love reading books and talking about them.  There are some really interesting popular psychology books that anyone can benefit from. 

This is different from the previous website in that my goal would not be to make money but to review books and even recommend them. 

 

 Practicalpsych.com

I love psychology. However I hate impractical knowledge. William James the

most influential psychologist  also felt psychology should be a practical

field.

I agree.

In this blog I would take psychological principles and write with a heavy

emphasis on practice.

 

Psych4all.com

In this website I would take psychology principles ( both practical and theoretical) and explain it to psychology and non psychology majors. The target audience would mostly be college students who are trying to learn for their exam. 

 

bookinsights.com 

For the past 5 years I have been  taking notes of the new insights I come across from books , personal life, or  other sources . I take these insights and store all of them on an app called Google keep. These notes  also contain my person opinion and thoughts. I also try to connect ideas using this app.

Some of these insights are personal, however I think I would love to publish them one day. 

 

examples: