- 01/19/23 -
"Laurel Schwulst, My Website is a Shifting House ..."
response:
i enjoyed Schwulst's explanation of what a website is in a more basic sense as she compares it to everyday objects and spaces, and i particularly enjoy the comparison of a website to a garden. these seedlings of ideas, concepts, can bloom to not only form a completed website, but they can continue to grow and expand with the gardeners knowledge.
"Ursula K. Le Guin, A Rant on Technology"
response:
alongside this class, i read this article for another class i am in this semester, and i really enjoy the analysis of what technology truly is and how basic it can really be. technology is mostly seen as high-tech, but breaking it down into the beginning of technology- like when wheels were invented- and understanding that if we didnt have these very small, yet impactful, technologies in the past, then we would not have what we do now.
- 01/26/23 -
"J.R. Carpenter, A Handmade Web"
response:
personally, i enjoy making everything by hand, such as clothes, jewelry, books, blankets, you name it- i've probably tried it. this is such a wonderful article to read, and i particularly enjoyed the quote: "i evoke the term 'handmade web' in order to make a correlation between handmade web pages and handmade print materials, such as zines, pamphlets, and artists books." this statement really explains why i am so drawn to code and enjoy it as much as i do (which is a shock to me!) the beauty of handmaking objects comes through with handmade and hand crafted websites.
- 02/09/23 -
"Taeyoon Choi, Hello World!"
response:
i really enjoyed the mixed visuals of type and watercolor illustrations within the pages, as it made the format easier to read and take in. it is amazing to learn the history of computers, as most people are used to the user interface of it and not the mechanics behind it, and how real people were the first computers. also, i did not realize how interconnected computers and art are, so discovering that and their connections and similar origins was pretty neat!
- 02/16/23 -
"Callum Copley, A Friend is Writing"
response:
interacting or even just exisitng on this website is overwhwelming, and it makes me feel stressed! as i have been just typing my response, i have gotten 80 notifications so far, and i am definitely someone who dislikes notification bubbles. also, the amount of interaction with this website is really intriguing and like nothing i have seen before. additionally, i really liked the quote:
"a homogenization of features amongst the leading platforms displays an obvious intention to dominate the market."
personally, i really don't like the overlapping of features on social media platforms, like each app has "stories" or "reels" or something similar, which feels too close to tiktok. now, with this explanation, it makes a lot more sense why companies and platforms do this.
- 03/02/23 -
"Frank Chimero, The Web's Grain"
response:
the overall concept of stripping web design down and creating with "the web's grain" makes a lot of sense, especially when looking over the apple mac pro website and realizing how disjointed and unnatural it feels to navigate. i enjoyed looking at hockney's work, specifically the scrabble game, as i felt like it displayed how i take in information. little pieces or pictures of information flood into my brain and then i subconsciously combine them in a way to get a full image similar to hockney's work. i also found it intriguing how many people, myself included, often create websites in this box form, when they do not need to be confined to that shape, and they can just flow without structure or borders or edges.
- 03/16/23 -
"Mindy Seu, The Poetry of Tools"
response:
i decided to explore the work debt by damon zucconi. this work "performs the errors you might get when typing by hand," and it is very interesting to see, albeit a little overwhelming due to the amount of texts popping up on your screen. i think this piece really puts into perspective not only how many errors we can make while texting by hand, but also how we have essentially trained ourselves to avoid making this mistakes as we get used to our devices. for example, if i were to switch to a bigger or smaller phone to text from, then i would make MANY more errors, as i have gotten quite used to the size of my phone and memorized its key layouts and how exact my fingers have to hit the buttons in order to not make a typo -- most people understand this. BUT recently, my hands have faced some issues where they are a bit stiffer than they were before and because of that, i had to enable autocorrect due to my many mistakes frustrating me. and we often take autocorrect for granted (or we just flat out hate it, like i do, because it changes words it doesnt need to or just makes its own errors.) this piece just made me think a lot about typing and how we do it so much every day :-)
- 03/30/23 -
"Frank Chimero, The Good Room"
response:
i really enjoy how the opening of this reading discusses how technology has shifted from simply a tool that we use into a place where we live. chimero also asks the questions: "how do we fix the way technology fits," and "is there a way to keep some of the benefits and diminish the damage?" these are great questions that i think about pretty frequently, as a user and mild hater of certain technologies. additionally, i love that chimero mentioned how it is essentially up to us, stating:
"the digital landscape has an influence on our lives, but we are more directly affected by our personal choices. we must fend for ourselves, whether or not the techology industry chooses to deal with the implications of their work."
i have shared briefly in this class that i had a stay at a hospital for my mental health and that i did not have access to a cellphone, social media, or really anything except a good-old-fashion payphone (without the paying feature) and a tv where i could watch shows or movies playing in real time. i thoroughly enjoyed my time apart from the excess of technology that we have today - it felt like such a brain reset, which i desparately needed at the time. however, when i returned home and had access, i had a really difficult time staying away from it. i feel like i need to make better personal choices to avoid harmful technologies. ultimately - i have control over it.