My Personal Webpage

I built my own personal webpage using wix. It can be accessed by the link below!

Wilson's Personal Webpage

A Website about me

There are many aspects that go into creating an effective website. So, in making a personal website to help display my talents and achievements, it is important to incorporate these aspects.

The goal of my website is for employers to see my resume and samples of some of the work that I have done. I am hoping to work for Furman for a couple of years before eventually ending up on Capitol Hill. I can see this website being helpful in both of those ventures. With that said, this website needs to be clear, clean and easy to navigate. Employers do not have time to be fiddling around a website; they want to get to what they are looking for and they want to do it quickly. 

As far as which material I plan to incorporate, I would like to include all of my materials from this class. Additionally, I think it would be good to incorporate some of the social media that I have worked on. Therefore, I would like to provide links to the Furman Rugby Facebook and Twitter accounts that I helped to set up and manage. Additionally, I think writing samples would be good for employers to see. As much as I would like for them to read my best research papers, I do not think that they would take the time to do so. Therefore, I think the best way for them to see my writing is through my New Zealand blog, which I would like to incorporate into the website as well. Furthermore, I think it would be interesting to scan in some of the awards and certificates of achievement that I have received. I also think adding my picture with Senator Lindsey Graham (who I worked for this summer), as well as adding pictures from my abroad experience could tell employers a little bit more about me, and help visualize what is on my resume.

There are a lot of different websites that I think could help me develop my site. In particular, I think re.vu could help me create a really creative landing page for my resume and display it in a unique way. Zerply can help create a cool portfolio of my images.

The following are some links to designs that I really liked:

This first set of websites are really out of the box, crisp and have an easy to navigate lay out:

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/13-beautiful-illustrated-websites

The second set of websites incorporate a lot of color which is something that I really want to do as well:

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/13-colorful-inspiring-websites

These websites only use a single page. I do not know if I will necessarily do this, but when you talk about easy navigation, nothing is easier than not having to leave the homepage to find what you want. 

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/13-inspiring-single-page-websites

When you talk about landing pages, I think more of products. Regardless, these websites show how important the first impression is and do so well. 

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/creative-beautiful-thoughtfully-designed-landing-pages

I had not thought of doing a logo for my website, but I do think having a personal brand is important. So having a logo could be a cool thing. Even something as simple as a monogram would add to my website.

http://webdesignledger.com/inspiration/beautiful-logos-to-inspire-you

Some websites that I liked:

And some articles on web page design:

Why and how to use web pages for personal branding

PC Mag: How to create a personal webpage

How to build a website

The Redish article lays out a lot of strategies for setting up a website. The article describes the importance of audience. The most important aspect of any website is traffic. Without traffic, there is no website. Therefore, the most important aspect to a website is spreading the word and getting hits. In order to do so, you must understand your audience. The following are the seven steps that Redish lays out. 

Seven Steps to Understanding Your Audience:

1. List your audience

2. Gather information on audiences

3. Major characteristics of audience 

4. Gather questions

5. Create personas

6. Goals and tasks of personas

7. Create scenarios

Greenville, SC: Rising Culinary Hub?

I based my video off of interviews that I had with Jason Fletcher of High Street Hospitality and members of the Table 301 team. I discussed different aspects of the Greenville culinary scene centered around the idea of Greenville possibly being a rising culinary hub in the U.S.

Editing Print v. Online Media

The reading discusses the differences between web publishing and traditional print editing. It also discusses why editing web pages are far more complex, and the steps that online editors must take. According to the article, this component of media has changed the structure of traditional media outlets as well.

Traditionally, newspapers have not needed massive staffs to be successful. Certainly there are exceptions to the rule, but a traditional editor only must scan through each article and look for, as the article describes, “the ten steps of perfect proofing.” With media turning to the web, this has completely changed. And it is not just media either. All companies that post essays, articles, links to other sites etc. must check every aspect of their web page to make sure it all comes together nicely, as well as check the traditional aspects of copy editing.

The reading references the changes made at the Washington Post as they moved more content online. They hired more staffers to go through and check links, testing usability and overall making the articles more online friendly. The move to online does not always create more work, however. Online articles have the freedom to be longer, as readers are generally searching for what they want to read and not so much simply coming across it in a newspaper. While the style of writing must remain the same, the piece does not have to go through as many editors to get it down to a reasonable length. With the Internet, it is about time. Stories need to be far more punctual than in print because every outlet wants to be the first to post, and has the opportunity to be.

What do you think the major differences between print editing and online editing are?

What am I Watching?

As Douglas and Harnden write about in their piece, point of view is a critical aspect of filming today. Point of view often takes a weird, confusing piece and turns it into a piece that is smart and savvy. There are many different ways of doing this, however.

The most common viewpoint is that of the audience “looking in” on an ongoing story. It is not eye catching or glamorous, but it gets the job done. And for a lot of shows, it is the best way to capture the vibe that the director is going for.

Another point of view is first person, or the point of view of the main character. This allows the viewer to see the action in the same way that the character does. In turn, the viewer often has more sympathy and connection to the main character, even if they are a little more ragged, rough, or tough on luck.

Some shows mix points of view. The Office for example is an interesting case study. Although the show is shot in third person, the presence of the camera is well known to the characters. Characters often make gestures towards the camera and have funny side interviews about the actions of other characters.

Another show that uses different points of view strategically is the Netflix series House of Cards. Although the series is shot in third person, the main character, Frank Underwood, often turns to the camera and starts talking to it out of the blue. Often times this marks a turning point in the episode as well. Either way, it is extremely engaging.

Finally some shows leave you guessing what point of view is being shot completely. In Family Guy the viewer is often left wondering just that when they see interaction between baby Stewie and his mother Lois. Stewie often talks about killing Lois, yet the viewer can never tell if Lois can hear what Stewie is saying. Sometimes it seems that she can yet other times the viewer feels like she cannot. It certainly adds a level of intrigue.

Which point of view strategy intrigues you the most? 

The Final Cut

Editing is one of the key parts of any production. Whether its sound editing or film editing, doing the job professionally can make or break the production.

As the reading discusses, there are many different ways to make transitions smooth and aesthetically pleasing. One is the order of the shots. If a transition is choppy, aimless and hard to process, the viewer will get frustrated. On the other hand, if the transitions are smooth, logical and build off each other, they can please the viewer’s perspective of even the worst of movies.

Likewise, sound editing is equally as important. Providing film with an applicable sound track can provide a lot to the pleasure of the viewer. Additionally, making sure all of the actors voices are at the same volume (if that’s what the scene calls for) and are not overpowered by background noise is some of the most important editing there is.

Finally filters can be applied to change the aspect of the scene to the viewer. This could also include technology such as green screen that completely alters the way we view what is going on.

Advancement of modern technology has allowed editing to grow, and has also allowed editors to be more ambitious and try their hand at extravagant projects. Movies such as Avatar would not have been possible even ten years ago, but have since pushed the boundary of our belief.

What effects do you like most? Dislike?