Visual Data

Using WikiMapia, I was able to actually locate my house in Charlotte. I used different landmarks that were close to my area to get a general location, and then I could follow the streets and find it.  I can tell that the picture is still pretty old because our driveway hasn't been redone yet, and that happened a while back.  However, I don't see the functional use of WikiMapia except for the fact that anyone can edit it. 

Google Earth has a more detailed feel to it and there are many more features that can be used. With Google Earth, you not only have the capability of looking at locations on the earth, but you can also look at astronomical objects in space.  If you have a GPS system, you can actually track yourself on the map, and it can also be used for virtual tours. It even has a feature that allows you to see traffic movement at certain places.  Google Earth definitely has a high level of functionality, as it is used by many major corporations and in many different industries.  It's also something that's just cool to look at.  

I wasn't able to figure out how to use Swivel, but I did take a look at some of the data graphs that had been posted. Many of them post really obscure material, and some things that may not seem to have any correlations.  Many of them are pretty interesting, and it is also helpful how the site is able to break down each row and column.  One interesting one that I saw was a graph where somebody was recording exactly how much time they slept each night.   

Online Identity

It was very interesting looking up my online identity and seeing everything on the internet that was associated with my name.  When I searched for myself on Google, almost all of the articles had something to do with my football career.  Many of the search results pulled up interviews that I had been quoted in, statistics, and recruiting forums.  It was amusing to read all of the articles that analyzed me as a football player and just to see what people's opinions are about me.  However, I wasn't able to find any real personal information, so on a certain level that was comforting. 

I don't really use Amazon, so I wasn't able to get any recommendations. I also looked up my credit report, and although I've never knowingly had one, there were a few entries in the report that claimed I had currently active credit cards.  One was a CITI credit card that I had gotten in the mail, and the other ones were department store cards.  Luckily I had already paid everything off, and I had never really used them except for a couple of times, so my credit is still pretty good.  

PodCast

Finally here is my podcast.  I tried to upload it to iTunes U, but the link wasn't working.  I could tell it was messing up because I used it in a previous class and it was quite easy to upload files.  I used GarageBand on a Mac to create it, and it was pretty easy to understand and use.  Making a podcast was interesting because you want it to seem natural and genuine, so you don't want to really cut or edit anything.  I had to force myself to relax and just act like I was holding a conversation with somebody or something.  It gave me a new perspective and appreciation for radio broadcasters and this kind of "digital public speaking."

Something Cool

My dad sent me this link and I thought it was really creative and interesting

Animator vs. Animation

Multimedia Project

With this multimedia presentation, I wanted to focus more on still images than just video.  Almost all the pictures were taken from wallpapers from the movie Black Hawk Down.  I felt like the photographs were really able to capture the feelings and emotions of soldiers as they fight on foreign soil for our country.  However, just like the actual movie does itself, I wanted to capture the sad, dark side of war, instead of the picture perfect, appealing images we are constantly desensitized with on the Military commercials we see on TV everyday.  I used the zooming techniques to direct the focus of the viewer throughout the video.  I also thought the music set the right tone and mood that I wanted.  Although the battle in the movie is not related to the war in Iraq, war is still war and I thought that these pictures could still properly convey that message.

MashUp

I made my mashUp movie using iMovie and just cutting and editing clips from the Lion King movie.  When I first started this assignment, I didn't really know what a mashup was, but after doing a little research and watching a few of them, the ones I saw were pretty funny.  I think the best one I saw was a Simpsons remake of The Departed movie trailer. Not only did the scenes go together, even the lip movements were coordinated with the dialogue. It was pretty impressive. Mine isn't that detailed but I think I did a good job of putting it together.  The hardest part was getting all of the scenes to be the right length and then fit them properly with the music.   

Flickr, ImageLabeler

I know this post is kind of late, but I decided to post it anyways since I already did the assignments.  I created a Flickr account and uploaded ten pictures. They're all old pictures that I've had for a while, but I tried to pick out a diverse array of them.  Although Flickr is a good site that makes it easy for people to post pictures, I feel like more people would probably use sites such as Facebook andMyspace where they can upload pictures, videos and links and do many other things as well.   

I also played the Google ImageLabeler game and I thought it was a very innovative, fun and competitive way for Google to get a lot of people to be (or just feel) involved with the way they solve problems and actually do things.  It took a while to get used to the game, but after a few tries I started to do alright.  The frustrating thing about the game is trying to get the same words as the other anonymous person that you're playing with.  The game will restrict one person from using some of the easier key words associated with the picture, so there's the challenge of attempting to get the same words that may not be that obvious. The highest score I got was 570, which is probably not very good, but whatever...