October 2006 Archives

So in class today we were told to edit an article regarding a subject we knew something about. Sounds easy enough, right? Not for this guy, apparently. Rather than merely edit an article, I decided that it would be a good idea to write a whole new one, full of witty rhetoric and misleading facts. Seeing as how my next class was Chaucer, and I wasn't particularly happy about it at the time, I took it upon myself to write the man a new biography. Geoffrey Chaucer was, of course, already taken, so I named my character "Jeffrey" with the same last name.

If reading the entry, you would find out several shocking facts about Chaucer, not the least of which is that he was a good friend of Adolf Hitler, and one of the first proponents of Gay marriage. Hey, I enjoyed this excercise, and it was a good outlet for my frustrations. If Wikipedia can't take a joke, screw them, right?


Update: By the time I got home Wikipedia had already removed the article. Before I even had a chance to print it. Damn their efficiency.

First and foremost, we as a class have learned the vast importance of putting an interesting, provocative title on our works. the body of your work could be amazing, and yet no one would bother to read it if it lacked a catchy heading.

Once you've got the catchy title down pat, you're free to move onto the body of the work. Since this is writing for the internet, oftentimes you find some interesting articles regarding the most popular sites of the times, giving both positive and negative reviews. Sometimes you can even put together some online research, a dash of witty emo, and a densly linked article on technology to really make the folks at home have a good laugh.

If laughs aren't what you're looking for though, perhaps youd prefer a news article from the future, or even a helpful critique of a book about writing for the internet.

Now as many of you probably know, I happen to be an English major, and one of the most common questions I get is what the hell I plan on doing with it, since teaching isn't my goal. Well I thought long and hard about this, and while I didn't come up with an answer, I did come up with a helpful list for the unemployed, detailing what I feel to be the most important parts of profesional email.

We've also had a number of good, long, in-class talks about the importance of having your own style of writing, one which captures the reader's interest and attention while at the same time staying original and unique. This one, in my oppinion goes into a little more depth and detail about my views on Professor Swissler and the nasty email she sent to a group of rowdy students. I feel that this piece really showcases my writing style because it not only utilizes an original voice, but uses memorable phrases, one of which was even specifically commented about by a student.

Out of all my blog entries, it seems that one not even required by the class was the one which recieved the most attention. I mean, I just thought it was a little silly that even after hours of class discussion, people were still writing blogs with names like "quotes from the homework."

On top of this, it's always nice to see that people are reading your blogs, and comments and/or other entries which make reference to your own are a good way to let you know that youve been read. For instance, I have a feeling that Jeremy Barrick didn't really like the tone of one of my entries, and therefore chose to write an entry of his own with regards to how some people aren't nearly as nice as they should be. Though interaction might not always be positive, it is still always nice to know youre being read. Many of my entries have recieved comments, questions and commendations by other bloggers, and rather than link to each one seperately, they can easily be found by visiting my main page (blogs.setonhill.edu/PaulCrossman), or by clicking any of the links above.

Though comments on my own site are important, it is equally important to leave comments on the sites of others, whether the reason is to start a coversation, spark a debate, or even just say hi. Some of my comments on the sites of others include: A comment on Erin Waite's blog offering a bit of HTML help, an integral part of a discussion on a different blog of Erin's, and having the honor being the "Comment Primo" on one of Tiffany Gilbert's entries.


The majority of my entries have been timely, and all in all I feel that they have sparked a good amount of discussion both on the net and in class. If I had to pick one thing to change, it would be the amount of comments I have left on other's blogs...though there have been some, it is in this department that I am lacking. Hopefully before the next portfolio I'll have plenty of time to correct this mistake.


Other than that though, I'm amazing.

In one ear and out the other...

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So what was it, less than a week ago that we read a bunch of text and spent almost a whole class on the importance of a title on your work? I mean it wasn't even a debate, the entire class whole-heartedly agreed, saying that no would even bother to read what was written underneath if there was no catchy title at the top.

...

I just looked at the Writing for the Internet homepage, and over half the entries are titled "Interesting quotes for chapter _____." Some of them don't even bother to let the reader in on the fact that the quotes might be interesting. I know when I see a title called "Quotes from chapter 9," I just can't wait to see what those quotes might be, especially if they're labeled "interesting."

I know what you're thinking right now. Yeah, you...the one who's reading this after using one of the titles mentioned above. "But Paul, these are just my class entries, I don't care if anyone actually reads them!!!11 LOL!!!."
Good, then quit bitching when no one comments on your site. Why do you think we have mandatory comment requirements before we come to class now? I'll tell you why, because people like you are boring and no one wants to read what you wrote, much less comment on it.

All that work for this. I'll bet Dennis Jerz is turning in his grave...oh wait.

Untitled.

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Now do you really want to read the rest of this? No, I thought not, because how interesting could an article labelled untiltled really be? Just as interesting as any other, truthfully, but no one will ever get far enough to find out if you don't take the extra two minutes to come up with a title. If a reader looks at your page and sees that you don't have a title, he or she is going to think one of two things. First, he might assume that you're too lazy or uncreative to bother writing one, and exit your page on the spot. Second, he might think that you didn't know how to make one, or that you just forgot, and surprise surprise, exit your page immediately.

Dr. Jerz makes some good points about why both the in context and out of conext titles are important on your webpage, and why both need to be interesting and catchy enough to catch the attention of the reader. If your page is lacking either one of these titles, the for all practical purposes, you may as well just take it down.

Unless it happens to be my page. Because regardless of the title, my page is sweet.

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from October 2006 listed from newest to oldest.

September 2006 is the previous archive.

November 2006 is the next archive.

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