Blog Posts, daily updates

September 12th Summary

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What I Did:

  1. I added a page with recommended music videos.
  2. I reformatted the titles of my posts and messed about with the arrangements and headers of the posts.
  3. I removed and rearranged some of my widgets.
  4. I changed the header and cropped it.

Why I did It:

I wanted to add an aural and visual element to the blog an the most straightforward way to approach that seemed to be to add a personalized page with recommended music videos that emphasized the gestural and aural aspects of design. They’re all fun videos so if you haven’t heard those songs before they are worth watching for just the visual aspect alone. I then reworked the format of some of my posts and added headers to make the blocks of text in my posts more spatially appealing to the eye.

While working on that I realized that giving my blog a static  front page meant I needed to make the posts  more easy to find so I reworked my sidebar and put the archives at the top so that anyone new to the page would hopefully see it right away. I also changed the header because I seem to be in a constant struggle to find an image that works with this theme’s resolution constraints on the header. I still have some minor editing to do but my last hurdle seems to be finding the right color balance in the limited pallet that my theme allows for.


Blog Posts, The Ones That Are Reflections

The One Where I Want to Go Back to Bed

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What I did…

Since Wednesday I went in and moved my photos around to be aligned to either the left or the right instead of having them directly above the posts. I also reviewed what my classmates and professor commented about my blog. They said that I should add a personal touch to my blog and devote a page to something I else I do.

Why I did it…

I decided that I wanted to add a page that was devoted to VTTV because of how much time and effort I have put into the organization. I also added two of the videos that I produced last year. I did this because I thought it would be a good way for me to share something about my life. I also decided to wrap my photos in my text to make the posts flow better. Having the photos on top of the text made it look too generic and boring.


Blog Posts, Daily Posts

9/12/14 – Final Touches

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What I Did

Since Wednesday, I put the final touches on my blog. I edited my pages for content and mechanical/grammatical accuracy. I checked to make sure that my pages have a variety of multimodal texts – mostly linguistic and visual – and I checked to make sure I don’t have spelling and grammar errors.

Why I Did It

I checked thoroughly for grammatical and mechanical errors because I want my site to look professional and polished. Even if I have great visual and design elements, my blog will look sloppy if it’s filled with small errors.


Air, Blog Posts, Book, Mac, Peer review, post, Project 1

Blog Post for September 10, 2014

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I apologize for my tardiness, with this post.  I had some computer issues yesterday took my laptop to get fixed.  On a more positive note, I am loving the Mac Book Air that I am using on loan from Newman Library.

After reviewing my peers blogs and getting their feedback on mine, I made a few changes.

What I Did:

I eliminated the quote from my main page so that the cover page is no longer static.  I deleted the Posts link from the main menu.

Why I Did It:

I made this large change back from what I had worked so hard to figure out for several reasons.  First, while reviewing my peers blogs I was distracted by the usability.  The easiest blog to use and read looked like it had taken the least amount of time to create.  Additionally, both peers that reviewed my blog mentioned that they were confused when looking for the blog posts.  Third, I realized that the “Featured Posts” feature of the Superhero theme only works when the main page is not static.

What I Still Need to Do:

I plan on further testing how to make my site more user friendly.  I plan on updating my Site Information and About Me pages.  I hope to resolve the issue of not being able to add the background color I wanted through the creative, consistent, and conscious placement of images.


Blog Posts

Emma R. Weiss 2014-09-10 20:23:21

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Since Monday, in my opinion my blog has significantly improved. Read below to hear about all the changes!

What I Did

The first change I made was to my home page. Previously, it had been the page where all my daily posts went. When I moved these posts to the “Daily Posts” section, I needed something else to go to the home page. I inserted a paragraph detailing the purpose of the blog and information about the class. The next change was to put the “Site Information” page on the menu and change the name of this page to “About the Site.” My final significant change since Monday was to re-vamp my about me page. 

Why I Did It

I chose to add information about the blog and the class to the front page because it gives the entire blog context from the first moment someone visits my blog. Now once someone reads that, they understand what the context in which everything on the blog has been published. Site information was a necessary page on the blog, but I changed the name to “About the Site” because it makes it consistent with the other headers, such as “About Me.” When I say I re-vamped my about page, I mean I inserted a section that gave a very brief synopsis of who I am. Sometimes when you first are looking at a big chunk of text, you don’t read further. By giving a snapchat, I’ll get people to start reading and then hopefully they will continue to read the rest. 

What I Still Need To Do

My to-do list until this project is due:

  1. Add my resume 
  2. Edit every blog post for grammar and spelling
  3. Decide what to do about the featured images- keep them consist or add a new one to each page?
  4. Come up with a creative name and tagline for the blog

After these changes, it should be good to go!


Blog Posts

Nokes' Notes 2014-09-10 13:53:05

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What I Did

Today, I added a photograph complete with a caption to my “about” page. The photo is of a co-worker and I broadcasting a VT baseball game against Pittsburgh on ESPN3.

Why I Did It

I planned on adding this picture because it’s a good representation of the work I’ve already done and also the work that I hope to continue doing.

What I Still Need to Do

I still need to put a sample of one of my broadcasts on my “about” page. This will also serve as a good preview of my work to anyone that wishes to visit this site. I must take the audio clip and turn it into a video clip using iMovie. This will allow me to upload the video to YouTube, which will allow me to put the video on this site.

I would also like to add additional pages to the site. One of my classmates suggested I create a page that is dedicated the what I am currently working on in my internship, which I found to be a wonderful idea. I could also create pages that show off other work I’ve done, as well as my resume.


Blog Posts

Peer Review & Blog Update

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What I did

Today was full of some major changes to my blog. The biggest thing I did today was change my background, it still goes with my theme and adds to the overall concept. I took away the other one because it was to busy and distracted the reader. I liked the visual aspect of it, but when it works against you then it’s not worth it. This time it is a photo of a football field, it runs on all my pages and all the way down the page. The other things I changed and updated where on my page titled “Virginia Tech Football History” I added the slideshow with 20 different football pictures. I also added the players name of who is in the picture. Those were the big things I did today, I feel the peer review was great and helped me see things that I had not noticed before which was perfect

Why I did it

The biggest reason I changed my background picture was because, as my peer reviews pointed out, it was just to busy and distracting. My thought and use of it was great and it was a great picture, but it was too much. I went for a more simple picture that still added to my blog. I wanted to stay to theme and I think I did just that. I also added the slideshow because I wanted more visuals for the reader. Everyone loves to look at pictures. I hope by doing this my blog became more visually appealing.

What I still need to do

For my blog, I still want to refine things. I want to make sure the pictures and videos work properly. I also need to proofread everything and make sure things make sense for the reader. I think my blog is coming along very well, and I am pleased with how things are going. I think the changes I have made over the last couple days have enhanced it greatly.


Blog Posts

My Peers Have Spoken

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Things I Did Today (And Last Night)

I changed my theme! In previous posts, I talked about how much I liked my theme, but last night I decided I hated it, and changed it. Well I didn’t hate it. Just decided it wasn’t right for the tone of my blog.

I also added some widgets, and ALL the new pages, including two personal pages, one about food, the other about food related things, and one about word related/creative things. The food page is entirely on suggestion of one of the peer reviews. And then I talked to Traci (hi, Traci!) about how to make what is basically a blog within a blog, without being a blog. Does anyone follow?

Why I Did It

I changed my theme because I found it to be too soft and, frankly, feminine. My overall tone is just too sarcastic to really support that sort of feel. Other changes were just necessary to fulfill requirements.

What I Still Need to Do

Oh good lord, so much. I have links I need to make/add in. I have videos I need to find so that I can have the links. Pictures to take, since I have none. All of that. And probably more.


Blog Posts

Wednesday, September 10

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Today I made a lot of changes on my blog.  I decided that my previous theme, Tonal, was not an effective theme to display everything that I wanted, such as widgets and other pages.  I switched to the Twenty Ten theme, which allows me to have a menu of pages on my home page, as well as widgets.

I added three widgets – Instagram, about.me, and Twitter.  For Instagram it shows my most recent picture, and for Twitter it shows my most recent 5 tweets.  I like that I can add these features to my site.

I think I still need to change the colors on my site – right now they seem to be pretty bland and standard.  Also, I’d like to have more pages, maybe including my resume or links to publications.