BLOG | Kim Byckowski

5.3.2018
the time has come: closing remarks

The end of the semester has finally arrived. Seeing how much I could improve in terms of understanding html and basic web coding skills was an interesting experience. My skills in this area were completely nonexistent at the beginning of this course. Also, trying to write for a web-based format and audience was a change from the academic writing style I’m used to. I liked that I didn’t have to take myself too seriously and could be creative with the projects, even injecting some humor. My inner perfectionist got the best of me sometimes and made me doubt the quality of some of my finished projects, so I wish I’d dedicated a little more time to each of them to more clearly execute my ideas.

My final project on student activism and culture turned out to be a nice wrap-up to the semester. It allowed me to reflect more on some of the ideas that had been floating around in my head based on some of my classes’ content. Going into the project, I already had an interest and basic understanding of 1960s counterculture and liberal activism. Getting to see it from a first-person, student’s perspective by reading Walrus articles was interesting (and entertaining). I’ll spare this blog post any long expansion into my reflections, comparisons, conclusions, etc. – those will be highlighted in my final project website.

After taking RHET 233, I feel inspired to continue developing my web-based writing skills and possibly create my own web content in the future, in whatever form that may take. Writing is something I have always enjoyed (since childhood), so I openly accept new opportunities to explore diverse ways to write and communicate.

5.3.2018
my thoughts on my SLC archive research experience

The painstaking bus commute to UIUC’s Student Life & Culture Archive was worth it to get to flip through physical copies of the Walrus newspaper. I’m definitely a fan of old paper memorabilia and documents – the “tangible” aspect is something that feels almost antiquated today since more and more things are becoming digital/paperless. Plus, the mere thought of holding a piece of history in my hands is pretty freakin’ cool. It’s hard to believe these papers are around 50 years old.

Maybe that’s due to the lasting legacy of the era and its political relevance even today. 1960s issues still seem contemporary, in a way. Of all U.S. cultural turning points, the Vietnam war era and its countercultural activism feels the most salient to political and cultural struggles the nation has faced in recent decades. (The Iraq war and now the Trump presidency are two examples that stand out in my mind.) The visual and writing style of the Walrus certainly feels very “of its time”, yet oddly contemporary and relatable.

Some of the struggles examined by the Walrus still haven’t been resolved today. However, underground publishing doesn’t exist in the same form anymore. Social media and the internet are the new anonymous activist tools of choice to spread political ideas, for obvious reasons. I’d argue this has its drawbacks, alongside being useful and highly accessible. That’s partially what I hope to explore in my continued research and work on this project.

4.3.2018
a delayed third post

This blog entry was supposed to be posted here on March 6, but better late than never I suppose! Such seems to be my ideology about a lot of things (whether that is a good thing remains to be seen).

As of March 6, I had completed five projects: a minicomic, my original webpage, a forgery, a clickbait article, and a faux phishing scam. I’ve previously critiqued my first few projects in my prior blog post, which you can scroll down and check out if you’d like.

For the clickbait project, I admittedly had no real concept in mind when the project was assigned. To me, clickbait is humorous and ridiculous but also makes a point about how gullible humans really are. The fact that a small, convincing blurb or image piques someone’s interest – even when they may know clicking the link is pointless – says a lot about how easily we are fooled or “sign up to waste our own time”. If we consent to giving our clicks, views, and thoughts to sensationalized or filler content on the web…what does that mean about how we respond to corporate advertisers, politicians, and entertainment media? My intent was to parody clickbait with cheesy graphics and headlines that mock people’s own willingness to fall for clickbait.

I hadn’t yet added an article to the end of my stream of mock clickbait teasers. I wrote one and added it to round out my commentary on clickbait’s role on the web.

My phishing project was not super creative or innovative, I’ll admit. I didn’t use it as a social commentary tool – I wanted to create something so easy to accept as real, even to the trained eye. A lot of phishing scams contain blatant errors that would help victims realize they’re fake.

2.20.2018
reflecting thus far

So far in the class, I have created my initial blog post (see below), a minicomic, and a forgery - along with the creation of this webpage itself. I’m satisfied with my outcomes for the projects, but still think they leave something to be desired.

My blog needs additional formatting to fit the browser window better, along with adding more advanced use of styles. I’ll definitely be updating its appearance when I redesign my webpage and start using CSS. For my minicomic, I’m glad I redrew the initial comic using ink and took a little more time on it - although I don’t totally love my use of more text than images. I do like how it reflects my stream of consciousness when “writing” papers, though. One improvement I can make is updating how the minicomic images are photographed (maybe scanning would be more effective). I also would prefer a less simplified way of presenting the images on the page. Using tables or divs will likely help me with that. As for the forgery project, I like the idea that I came up with and believe my corporate apology letter was well-written. I’d like to possibly tweak the formatting of the fake letter itself, but definitely put more effort into how the Twitter post and letter are formatted on the page. To be honest I just put them there without a lot of thought about making it look good on the webpage.

Altogether, I think putting additional time and more advanced coding techniques into the creation of my projects will make them look more professional. I’m proud of my work so far because it’s allowed me to use my creativity and learn new skills. Going forward, though, I want to work harder to execute my creative visions more effectively.

1.30.2018
here’s to expecting the unexpected

When I registered for RHET 233, my primary motivation was to fulfill my Advanced Comp requirement in any way possible.

But the concept of this course intrigued me - besides the fact that it requires very little actual paper-writing from what I can tell.

The idea of “online writing” in its various forms being a unique entity from conventional written formats makes sense to me. It’s something I’ve never considered in much depth, but I vaguely ponder it every time I’m entertained by a well-composed blog post, witty Instagram caption, or spot-on political manifesto contained within Twitter’s 140-character limit.

I guess online writing is so ubiquitous nowadays, modern humans (or maybe just me and my fellow oft-panned millennials) don’t bat an eye over it. But there’s an art to it, I just don’t know what that art is.

So my plans for this course are to:

• Improve my ability to convey my perspective and voice genuinely – the last thing I want is to come across as boring, pretentious, or annoying. Develop an online writing style that mimics what I would enjoy reading myself.

• Find ways to cater my writing to a specific audience and/or quickly capture the attention of readers.

• Learn some basic html coding skills I can build on over time – this is a great skill to have in a world where the internet is a major means of communication.

• Last but not least: create work in this class that I’m proud of, and be confident that I can continue building my skills after this course.