A Web 2.0 Learning Blog

Course Reflection When I first signed up for Writing in Digital Environments, I wasn't sure what to expect. Would we be blogging? Learning to submit our writing online? Analyzing the Web? By the end of the course however, I learned it was all that and more, and I'm very glad I took it. This course had me looking at many of the digital aspects of my life in a whole new light. The term "Digital Writing Environment" became a part of my vocabulary. Every digital environment we use, from Snapchat to Netflix and Facebook, has "digital writing" ingrained within them. This accounts for the user interface, certain button and interaction prompts, placement of text and visuals, and more. We analyzed the purposes for having certain things here or certain text there. We looked at too many websites to name, and analyzed what made them good or what made them terrible (I learned most sites are pretty poor). I even became familiar with basic HTML and CSS principles an...

Before ENC 4416, I had never used Twitter before. I might have created an account briefly in the 6th grade (as seemingly everyone did), but I quickly lost interest and never returned. I sometimes browsed other people's Twitters, but I never actively used it. I was required to create and actively use a Twitter for Writing in Digital Environments, and I'm glad I did. I actually found myself enjoying Twitter, and I will continue to use it well after the class ends. It even prepared me for managing the Twitter account for an organization on campus! All of the posts that were class/subject related had the #enc4416 hashtag. Students in the course and Professor Martin all posted a lot of interesting material related to the course. I was able to follow some notable people and organizations related to the subject material as well, such as Rheingold. Some valuable instances of material included the Writing and Rhetoric Symposium with a presentation about "Hashtag Activism...

The Internet is alive with the sounds of SoundCloud: A rhetorical analysis of SoundCloud Introduction SoundCloud, created in August 2007, was founded by the Swedish sound designer Ljung and Swedish artist Wahlforss. SoundCloud describes itself as “the world’s leading social sound platform where anyone can create sounds and share them everywhere.” (About SoundCloud 2015). These sounds include original songs, podcasts, remixes, broadcasts, new music, etc. If you can hear it, it’s probably on SoundCloud in some form. “SoundClouders”, the nickname SoundCloud gives to their music makers, collectively upload 12 hours of audio every minute, with more than 150 million registered users. (Bloomberg 2015). SoundCloud has firmly crafted its own presence among the musical streaming giants like Spotify, Amazon Prime, Apple Music, Pandora Media, and Google with a focus on spreadability, community, and creation. Users can follow artists ranging from homegrown to Hollywood, engage with other use...