Cluster of Stakeholders

In this post I will be explaining my flowchart regarding the stakeholders involved in this controversy.

Tels~enwiki. "Lava Lamp Flowchart" uploaded 8/18/2006 via wikimedia. Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike

My flowchart is organized so that the stakeholders that benefited are colored green, the stakeholders that did not benefit are colored red, and the stakeholders that were not effected are colored in yellow. This is a simple and intuitive design that will make identifying the stakeholders and how they were effected easy. All of the sponsors were negatively effected because when the controversy came up, FIFA stock and popularity plummeted, which is not good for the sponsors.

Considering Genre

In this post I will discuss the genre I have chosen for project 1: a Quick Reference Guide

GFlores. "Person typing on a notebook computer keyboard" 11/25/2014 via Wikipedia. Public Domain.

I am going to be writing my first project using the genre of a Quick Reference Guide. I am doing this because I find this genre to be very widely used online. I like this because then by learning how to use it I will be learning how to communicate over the internet effectively.

One convention of this genre is the use of hyperlinks. I love this convention because it does not take a lot of time to hyperlink when comparing it to creating a references page. I look forward to learning how to best incorporate hyperlinks into my project. One convention I want to refine in class is the way that a QRG is sectioned. I want to learn how to section my project most effectively with the help of my peers and instructor.

I am looking forward to Project 1. I am hoping that this will be a good start to a successful semester and I hope to learn about the use of my genre. I am anticipating a lot of work being necessary in completing this project, which is what I think will be my biggest challenge.

Evaluation of General Sources

The controversy I will be talking about is the scandal that involved the arrest of nine executives of the company FIFA. These executives were arrested on counts of corruption, embezzlement, and bribery. The sources I will be analyzing are The Guardian and CNN

EA Sports. "FIFA logo" uploaded 8/8/2011 via wikimedia. Public Domain

The Guardian:

• URL- Ends in .com, which means it is commercial and therefore less credible than other sources. However, The Guardian is fairly well-known so it can be considered a trusted source.
• Author- The authors name is Josh Halliday. He is a home news reporter who previously worked in the media as a technology reporter. 
• Last Updated- This article was last updated in May of 2015. Because that is around the time this controversy came up, this is not surprising. 
• Purpose- This is just a list of the people arrested accompanied by a brief description of their jobs. The purpose is to inform the reader of who was arrested.
• Graphics- The graphics supplied in this post were pictures of each of the people arrested.
• Position on Subject- Because it was just a list of people, the article did not take any specific position on the controversy.
• Links- Links to other pages providing more detailed backgrounds of each person were provided.

CNN

• URL- Ends in .com, which means it is commercial and therefore less credible than other sources. However, CNN is fairly well-known so it can be considered a trusted source.
• Author- There is no attributed author on this article
• Last Updated- This article is being constantly updated with links pertaining to the controversy as it evolves.
• Purpose- This article seems to serve as a starting point for anyone interested in the controversy, as it includes links to tons of other sources about it. This is made to inform the reader of what happened.
• Graphics- Includes several pictures of the people arrested, along with pictures and videos to accompany the links provided.
• Position on Subject- This article is just a compilation of links, so it does not take a certain position.
• Links- Provides more than a dozen links concerning the controversy.

Reddit and What I Found There

In this blog I will be discussing two sub reddits concerning business. Those subreddits are /r/business and /r/entrepreneurship.

ZyMOS-BOT "File:Reddit.svg" Uploaded 1/28/2010 via wikimedia. Public Domain

Scrolling through these subreddits felt a lot like going through Twitter. I would see something that interested me and click on it. However, when looking for conversations and debates, reddit seems to be full of them. when exploring my two subreddits, I found many interesting things. They were mostly posted by anonymous users and contained anything from advice to complaints. These subreddits boasted a vibrant and responsive community, which I greatly appreciated.

When searching through /r/business, I came across a post concerning the seemingly slower shipping rates that Amazon had for non-prime members. This grabbed my attention because I am a Prime member, and any validation that my money is well spent is comforting. Another interesting thing about this post is that it had over 80 comments. I read through the thread and found myself mad at Amazon for things that had never happened to me. Being witness to a large scale discussion like that was very interesting and exactly what I was looking for. On /r/entrepreneurship I found a post titled "How to wake up at 5AM and build your startup". I have always found the prospect of building my own business interesting, so I clicked on it to see where it would take me. What I found was a massive in depth guide on how to exactly what the title suggested. What was even more valuable was the 50+ comments on the thread in which users shared their own experiences and tips. This is definitely a place to go when considering starting your own business.

What I noticed and liked about Reddit was the massive community. I loved all of the personalized feedback and the lively debate. I honestly was not expecting the large amount of productive conversation that was being had, as my experience with the internet has shown me that when people are anonymous they are infinitely more superfluous. Talk about a pleasant surprise.

Evaluation of News Magazine Sources

In this blog I will discuss two articles I read in magazines concerning my field of interest: business. The two magazines I read were Fortune and Forbes.

Hawkins, Ken. "City Java Magazine Rack" uploaded on 2/15/2011 via flickr.

What is the debate, disagreement or argument in the story about?

Fortune: This article is about the battle between the FCC and major cable companies. The FCC wants consumers to be able to buy cable boxes from any vendor (which would lead to them being much cheaper). this is obviously not an interesting prospect for cable companies. Their defense is an interesting one: they say its a bad idea because they themselves are working towards eliminating the need for a cable box entirely.

Forbes: This article is about the mismanagement of Walmart and how it effects its customers. This argument is made up of the author highlighting and arguing points brought up in another article. He responds to comments left on the other article, and analyzes what they are saying. Like most comment sections on the internet, it turns out to be a lively debate.

Who is the most sympathetic character in the story?

Fortune: The most sympathetic character in the story is the FCC. The reason I can sympathize with them is that they seem to be trying to help the people of America. By opening up the market on cable boxes, the allow for competition, which is the most prominent factor of any business.

Forbes: The most sympathetic character in this article are the people commenting. They are easy to sympathize with because they are everyday people sharing their everyday problems which I can easily relate to.

Who is the least sympathetic character in the story? 

Fortune: The least sympathetic character in this story is the cable companies. It is very apparent that they are charging far too much for a cable box, and they can only do this because they have a monopoly on the market. I have a very hard time sympathizing with anyone who has a monopoly.

Forbes: The least sympathetic character in this story is Walmart. A massive business well known for terrible customer service that I have experienced first hand. With big companies like this, you know they have the money to fix the problem, they just aren't willing to spend it.

Twitter and What I Found There

In this blog I will be discussing what I found when I went on the business-side of Twitter. I looked at the main feed under #business, and also examined a few business focused twitters.

ClkerFreeVectorImages "Twitter Tweet Twitter Bird" Uploaded on 8/4/2014 via pixabay.

When browsing through Twitter reading through tweets with #business in them, I noticed a lot of different kinds of posts. There were a good amount of ads and self promotions for random companies, there were a few posts from big businesses like Apple and Netflix, and there was also a lot of regular people posting about certain businesses and how they interacted with them. The ads were annoying, and I scrolled past them as do most people. I enjoyed reading the posts by the big companies, because I am always interested in whats going on with the big businesses of America. But I liked the personal tweets the most, because they really show what's going on in the everyday lives of people who interact with businesses around the country.

One feed that I saw a couple of times in the overall "business feed" was called Business News. It caught my attention because it was a feed compiled entirely of current news relating to the world of business. It included links in its tweets to big news stories, and basically acted as a center point for business news. I loved this, and followed it in order to be kept up with the world of business. I am interested in what goes on in the world around us so a Twitter like this is exactly what I am looking for. The second feed I found that interested me was one very similar to the other feed. It is called World Business News. This feed is similar to the other in that it shares interesting stories concerning the modern business world. Another good thing that this feed has is links to videos and podcasts that actually talk about stories, trends, and controversies in the world of business.

My experience looking at business through the medium of Twitter has been an interesting one. I have learned that Twitter is actually a very good place to find cool new things about business, which I had never considered before. It also shows business in motion, as wide tags like #business open me up to all kinds of businesses and how they effect the people around them. Even the ads and promotions on Twitter are an example of how business interacts with the world.

Evaluation of New York Times Stories

In this post, I will be discussing two stories from the Business and Tech sections of the New York Times. From the Business side, I will be talking about Terrorism in Europe and Apple's interest in Virtual Reality (VR)

New York Times. "New York Times Logo Variations". 2/27/01 via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain.

Does there seem to be a "main character" or "protagonist" to the story? If so, who is it and how are they are the "center" of the story? If not, are there any important or central characters in the story at all? What role do they play?

Apple's interest in VR: The main character in this article would be Apple. They are what the story is about, and they are the only entity mentioned that could be described as a character. The article talks about how Apple is delving into VR research, so it makes sense that Apple would be the main character.

Terrorism in Europe: There isn't a specific main character, as the article talks about several European nations such as France, Germany, and Britain. The most appropriate main character in this article would be the European union, though I am not sure such a large group could be considered one single character. The article is about the European Union changing the way that European countries are spending their money on anti-terrorism.

Where do the specific events in the story take place? Is there a specific setting? Describe the settings for the stories and how they influence the plot and characters.

Apple's interest in VR: The setting for this article is not clear, as this article is about business deals that have happened all over the country. The most appropriate setting I can attribute to this article is modern day America. The type of technology we are creating in these modern times is the center-piece of this article, as it is talking about an up and coming technology. The article discusses American companies as well.

Terrorism in Europe: The setting for this article is much more clear. This is set in post-terrorist attack Europe. The actions carried out by the European Union that are discussed in this article are in response to the terrorist attacks that occurred in Paris last year. 

Is there any kind of disagreement or debate happening in the story? If so, who is participating, why are people debating and what seems to be at stake for the different characters in the story?

Apple's interest in VR: There is not debate in this article. The article explains the process that Apple went through in acquiring VR technology, and highlights how other big companies did so.

Terrorism in Europe: There is no debate in this article, as it is simply describing the actions being taken by European countries as dictated by the European Union.  

Course Projects

Gregory, Ed. "Hands-Coffee-Cup-Apple" 9/9/2014 via Pexels. Public Domain

1. I am most nervous about the projects as a whole. They are worth a lot of points and so there is a lot of pressure. Mostly I am nervous because I am not very comfortable with 3 of the four required formats.

2. I am excited to learn how to create content in the different genres. I look forward to furthering my understanding of writing and expanding it to ou modern world.

3. I have to be ready to really sit down and work on these projects. With the amount of work that they require, There is no way that I will be able to complete them last minute. I will have to push myself to work ahead and be responsible with my time.

4. My past experiences have prepared me for a few things.I am prepared for the normal college, essay, as that is what I have been doing all my life. I am prepared to research because I have been doing that all my life as well. I think that I am fairly good at doing both of those things, So those skills will aid me greatly this semester.

5. The assignment sheets have done a good job in letting us know what we need to do. I am curious to see how the in class aspect of the projects will work, so I look forward to doing that in the coming weeks.

Investigating Dramas

I will be writing about the literary genre of a quick reference guide

GFlores. "Person typing on a notebook computer keyboard" 11/25/2014 via Wikipedia. Public Domain.

1. A quick reference guide usually serves as a small but informative piece on any issue or trending story. It is meant to portray the writers opinion and inform the reader of what they are writing about. Quick reference guides are a great tool to use if you want to quickly get up to date on the content, but be careful because they are written based on the opinion of the writer.

2. A quick reference guide is almost always found on the internet. In times like these, where technology is such a huge part of our society, this means that they are easily accessible. One thing to note about a quick reference guide is that they can be written by anyone, regardless of their background.

3. The quick reference guide is posted online, so it has the opportunity to reach just about any audience. However, its audience is mostly focused on people who use the internet as a primary news source and are willing to spend a couple of minutes reading. People who will be reading these will mostly be young adults, students, and social media users.

4. When  reading through a few examples of quick reference guides, I noticed that one thing that seemed to be a key feature was the use of hyperlinks. Instead of providing sources for the information they were using, I noticed that the authors would simply include a link in their writing. Another key feature would be the use of mini titles introducing each point. Instead of transitioning naturally between points, the authors would split them up with mini titles.

5. A quick reference guide is a short and simple piece that is put onto the internet by any author. It portrays the authors opinion and point of view and analyzes the subject of the writing. It is made easy and accessible by incorporating links and mini titles to make it easier to read and understand.

Reflection: I appreciate the good responses I got. I reviewed Benjamins point on the audience, and I see what he was saying. I think he and I agree on the audience, so I think I should have done a better job expressing exactly what I meant. 

My Writing Process

1. I consider myself to be a heavy reviser. When writing a paper, I prefer to just sit down, analyze the prompt, and then write down anything that comes to mind. I do this all at the same time in order to keep writing in one continuous thought, which I have found is most productive. I don't usually pay attention to format or conventions when I'm writing my ideas for the first time, and I sometimes don't even attempt to use correct grammar. I do this because I have found that I want to get all of my ideas down as fast as possible and that I can worry about the other stuff later when revising.

McPhee, Nic. "Editing a Paper" 1/26/2008 via Flickr. Creative Commons Attribution-Sharealike 2.0

2. My writing process tends to only include one other of the processes: procrastination. I admit that I procrastinate quite often, and this has been an issue for me when writing papers. The biggest reason for this is that when I do my work I tend to just use my ideas, which don't need much planning. I also can usually write an unedited paper very fast, so I have been able to write a paper the night before it was due and been fine. However, I believe that if I were to procrastinate less, then my work would be more polished and edited better.

3. As I mentioned before, I have had great success with this writing process. I have found that writing the way I do has helped me in forming a paper that flows well, and my ideas tend to be easy to write about and explain. However, I have run into issues with procrastination. When I don't use my time wisely, I have had trouble finishing papers on time. Though I can usually do this no problem, I find difficulty when I am working with a prompt that I don't understand or don't have any ideas about.

4. I think that the way I write works very well for me. I think it would work better if instead of incorporating the procrastination approach in my writing, I used the sequential composer approach. I think that if I separated my writing into a brief planning period, my usual writing period, and then an extensive editing period I would find more success. I feel that this would help me avoid all of the issues I have experienced in the past with my writing.