Didn't you also join AUTV to tackle this project? Are there examples of this idea being executed at other campuses? If so, what can you learn from them?
I can also offer to help you breakdown the footage in the examples you find. Learning to deconstruct can help you learn to construct. This will help you identify all of the components in a news package.
There are additional audiences that you are overlooking. I might even suggest that current students should not be your primary audience. Who else would be interested in seeing your creation?
See the examples provided in the Drumbeat post. Notice the way it is structured like a pitch.
For example, does your first sentence make you want to participate? If not, then rework it so it does. Give this sort of attention to all of the sentences.
BTW, as you rework these sentences the section that follows will also need to be reworked as a result. The core of what you want to say is here, but it all needs to be punched up some.
There is a lot more to unpack in the step. You need to plan for the pre-production, production, and post-production steps. I can share a rubric from my video production class if it helps.
Here's where you need to leave behind a process that others can pick up and continue in the future. If you do this, then you have the chance to leave something of yourself behind after you graduate.
Is there a way that you might envision this space as a communal location? In other words, how might you get experts in the field to contribute to your growth?
The blog is a good start, but how will you drive traffic to it? What will that traffic be encouraged to do once they are there?
It might also work for you if you simply find more pre-existing communities and figure out a way to become part of one or more. In other words, don't underestimate the importance of creating a personal brand for yourself if you hope to pursue this career.
Provide the reader with a link to that website so we can see it.
I might also recommend finding others doing something similar to what you have proposed. Evaluate what these guys are doing.
Also, aren't you and Griffin combining efforts? If so, then rework your proposal as a combined proposal. As I mentioned, I might also talk to Joe since he's doing something similar to you guys if I am not mistaken.
Think about all potential audiences and define them more specifically. The more fully your definition of your audience is the better sense you will have of how to reach that audience. Different audiences may require different strategies.
I think the sports agent audience can certainly be one, but there are others. Tailor your content in such a way that you can generate awareness of and interest in your efforts.
D & E can both be used to really pitch your idea. Think through these questions more carefully. Think of this in the same way that you might apply for a job. This is your opportunity to sell yourself. Would you buy into you based on your responses?
Take a look at some of the example Drumbeat proposals in the Drumbeat blog. Punching up the content in section #2 will help.
I think your ultimate goal is to advance yourself in respect to eventually becoming a sports agent. There are a lot of ways to accomplish that goal using social media and web-based media.
Think through all of the technologies that we've experienced. What do you need to do to achieve your goal? What technologies can be used to advance that goal?
For example, this occupation will eventually require a law degree with a focus on contract law. Can you begin learning the basics now? How can social media help you collect, organize, and retrieve what you have learned or hope to learn.
I am not suggesting that you change the project entirely, but based on your goal you ought to think carefully about what will be the best use of the technologies we've discussed for your purposes. Is the blog it?
This anecdote is useful in contextualizing your idea. The big idea here is clear. I might suggest tightening up the language just a bit but you are on the right track.
The key at this step is to analyze what others are doing. Learn from their successes and failures. Emulate or adapt the former and avoid the latter. It might be useful to even offer some links so the reader can see how your idea is different.
Moreover, if you can find certain streams of information to cull ideas from or to participate in conversations with, then it will only help your idea spread. Take a look at some of Henry Jenkins' work on the concept of spreadability.
BTW, your idea of spreading this idea into a network of universities is similar to the idea of a wire service. You may want to look at that structure for some ideas.
You have a couple of audiences worth considering and you may need to communicate with those audiences differently.
For example, you will need to recruit contributors a bit differently than readers. Try to define both fully and completely.
You also may need to divide those two audiences into smaller segments (i.e. students, alum etc.)
Revise this to really sell your idea. Use these sections as an opportunity to really make others want to participate in your project. Orient your words around your idea more than around you.
Punch up these sentences. This list of rather dry phrases does an excellent job of planning the process, but a not so excellent job of selling the idea. It might be good to keep both levels because they are both useful, but your public face needs to be a bit different.
I expect that changes to your five core sentences will also dictate changes to the descriptions below.
While learning HTML, Java, Flash etc. may eventually be necessary, you might be able to simplify things a bit for your prototype. Think about other tools you might use. I recommend that you take a look at Storify in combination with a blog to see if this might help. It may not but it's worth exploring.
What you have described is a bit different than uploading content. Also, make sure you are a familiar with copyright if part of your plan involves borrowing content from other places.
Also does the slave comprise the entire working class or just one part of it?
One way to deal with the transition issue I am referring is to more fully and clearly set up the discussion of class as it relates to blackness.
This entire paragraph is solid. Frankly, it's one of the most insightful readings of that moment I have encountered. You may want to consider moving it up in the piece. Put differently, this passage causes to wonder if either deleting the Lhamon passage or at least having it follow this might make your intro more powerful. What I'm getting at is that there is an interruption in your personal anecdote that seems unnecessary.
All in all, the intro is pretty good. As mentioned above there are a few structural things I'd revise and you might do a better job of integrating your two core topics by discussing them together when it's possible to do so. Having said that, I love the tone of the piece and the personal aspect of it.
Blackness is also defined in opposition to whiteness. Put differently, we cannot understand blackness unless we simultaneously understand its opposition.
You'll run into criticism from historians here. The Civil Rights Movement extends to the pre-Civil War era...think Frederick Douglass. You might solve this issue by tagging the Civil Rights Act of 1964 instead.
I keep seeing scenes from 8 Mile as I read this. The connections seem so clear. I wonder if using such a scene might help the piece. You could also look at Breakin or Krush Groove to find a "blacker" scene.
The past few paragraphs are quite uneven. You're really bouncing from subject to subject. I realize that the topics are interconnected, but I think more polish would better connect them. It might even take tightening things up by deleting some words.
But Chicago was a central location for the emergence of jazz, and as you mention Detroit soul. This section might stronger if it were structured more around the music and the expression than the economics. I agree that the economic considerations are important. What I am suggesting is that they take a backseat to some degree and that you use them to support the story you're trying to tell because the central story is getting lost in all of the information that you're trying to deliver. You did some solid research, but the synthesis and integration of that research could use some more work.
The stories of these early rappers are also intriguing and effective. The transition between Moses to these stories is a bit rough though. You need to make a better connection between place and expression. The ideas are in here and the research you've conducted is solid. The improvement I'm suggesting is all related to delivery, revision and refinement.
There some stuff with Disco's form that might worth acknowledging here. Disco, like rap, is primarily a production booth phenomenon. It's less about instrumentation than sound boards.
I appreciate what you're trying to do with this definition, but I'd like ask a question from the point of view of a devil's advocate. Wouldn't this definition also apply to most country music?
In essence, I am asking if a tie to its racial roots is necessary within the definition you have composed? I might also suggest including the artistic form, but I know you want this definition to include basketball later so I understand why you have not done this.
PE is also decidedly different than LL and DMC. This band wore its race on its sleeve and integrated this into the protestations of their music. Put differently, they enjoyed commercial success while embracing rather commercializing their blackness. At least I think this argument could be made.
Overall, there is a lot of great information in Part I. It still needs to polish to become something truly excellent but as it stands it's good.
The biggest issues I see involve flow, integration and connection. It possesses a series of stops and starts along with some left turns and right turns. What I mean is that it almost reads like a few different essays at points and this causes the reader to lose the train of thought. For example, there is an academic lit review that interrupts a series of biographical histories. There are moments of artistic analysis interrupted by a economic and class-based observations. All of this is worthy of academic pursuit but it needs to be better organized into topical areas, and then reconnected within the ensuing discussion via timely and concise references.
I might also mention that the thesis itself is a bit difficult to locate. The best I could find is this, "By terming my analysis one of 'ghetto' art, I am attempting to examine creations in context of environment -- a means -- rather than the end that is the artwork itself. I am trying to ask the second 'why'; what are the social, economic and political factors of environment which produce rebellion in the form of ghetto art?"
The problem here is that theses are rarely questions and secondly there are inclusions that challenge your central idea. For example, PE and KRS are rebellious but LL Cool and DMC are less so.
Having said that, your argument founded in Gramsci's ideas could be developed into something quite powerful and worthy of publication but it is a bit buried in what's been presented here.
In the end, I am more than impressed with the research you have undertaken and the thoughts that have emerged from that research. To take the next step toward graduate level work you need to edit, cut, organize and revise a few more times. This section could have been half as long and twice as strong.
I would expect to see something akin to a thesis to begin this section, but it's a bit difficult to identify--at least one that is nuanced enough to set this section up completely.
The citation style throughout the piece tends to be inconsistent. It really needs to be cleaned up before you pursue outlets for the piece.
This is part of the revision process I recommended at the end of Part I.
This section is a prime example of what I was talking about at the end of Part I. For the reader, the connection to the artistic expression of the ghetto is lost. There's almost no mention or tie in to your central topic. I'm sure this will follow momentarily, but the point I'm making is that the length of the digression is substantial and by the time you get to your point the reader has lost focus of your topic.
Isn't this the core difference between a world revolving around recorded versus live musical experiences? Moreover, didn't Dre and others move the musical style from the streets to the production booth?
I believe this is your first mention of athletics since the opening paragraphs. That topic has been completely lost in this piece. You have a lot you want to say and I think the sheer breadth of that is overcoming the coherency of your piece.
Another note that I might make about this piece if I were to compare it to a Master's thesis that the divisions are problematic, which is tied to the other issues I've raised along the way. A thesis tends to be formatted as follows: introduction, lit review, analysis, and conclusion.
Your lit review and analysis are scattered throughout the piece.
Make sure to reiterate that the profit is funneled through the industry to the artist. Put differently, even if these folks make millions they are still the labor in this equation.
This represents a decided shift in theoretical perspective. This is the first time you've moved to discuss this through a gendered lens. While this may be--and I think it is--an avenue worthy of pursuing, it's also a big enough topic to warrant section or essay of its own.
This section really comes across as incomplete and off topic. I appreciate why it's here and what you're trying to do but it seems forced into the essay.
In the end, much of what I said at the mid-point still holds true. The piece has some really excellent moments involving a depth of research. The problems do not involve the central ideas as much as they involve the presentation of them. Put simply, this piece is way too long and that's because it needs some heavy-handed editing in order to better identify and synthesize the core argument.
As much as I hate to say it, I think the opening anecdote and the closing homage Iverson need to go. You need to structure a more identifiable thesis statement and then build the essay around that. If you can turn this into a 3000 word essay then you'll solve your presentation problem. It may be that you can turn it into something bigger as you hope but the right now structural and organizational issues are really hindering reader comprehension.
In my opinion, you're running into an issue that plagues many researchers early in their careers--you've read so much that you want to display everything you've learned. The problem is that you're trying to deliver what should be 3-5 essays in a single one. By viewing this as a series of essays you may create chapters in a more coherent book eventually, but right now it's running together too much.
In the future, I'd like all project work to be presented in the blog. The Diigo sticky notes work awkwardly in Diigo. This is not your error, but it's a change I want to make for feedback purposes.
Rework this to explain your personal goal. Is the show really your goal, or is it the acquisition of certain skills?
Use the drumbeat process to really dig into your project. It should be more than basic description.
1b: Use your evaluation of what exists to inform your project. How are these programs created? What stylistic elements exist? What audiences are sought?
Also, are there communities devoted to this topic that already exist? Can you add your voice to that existing community instead of creating a new community?
1c: You might have a solid idea here. How do college students cook differently than other audiences? Is there a way to tailor your approach to this specific audience in order to offer something that does not exist?
Do college students, particularly in dorms, have access to different equipment? Can you make these differences a signature for your program?
Section 2: Use the five sentences to really summarize your project for your audience and collaborators. See the examples provided on the Drumbeat blog entry.
Don't bury your lead. The third sentence is really heart of your project. Lead with that one, then build out of that sentence to explain your project.
You, like some other folks doing video projects, might want to consider doing this step twice. One time should focus on your process and production planning. The other should focus on selling your idea in a way that might be presented on a one or two page flyer.
If you punch up this section, then you'll have something to show folks and encourage them to help. It seems like you still have a long way to go with your project and you'll need some hands along the way.
Some folks working with video might even want to consider combining efforts so you can learn from one another. The production skills are the same regardless of the content so if your primary goal is to acquire these skills then figure out a way to make this manageable.
It's really just a bit more than this. Your proposal alos develops and builds community across classes by joining students together in a common project. Don't underestimate or undersell your idea.
Ditto with this paragraph. I can see the Bucket List format sitting under this piece but since it's organized like an essay other readers won't know that you're responding to specific questions. For example, simply saying something exists comes out of the blue and reads awkwardly without the context of the proposal. You should also link back to that proposal so the readers (i.e. steering committee members can see that too.)
Pick a hard number. Find the approximate student population and the relative size of the typical incoming class. What percentage of each would you like to reach immediately? How about within five years? hard numbers are better for assessment purposes.
You are not selling this project with this list. This reads like a to do list rather than five sentences that build excitement about your project. See the examples on the Drumbeat blog.
A revision might look like this:
1. Learn about the Alfred community.
2. Meet new people.
3. Spread ideas.
4. Share experiences.
5. Look back at your accomplishments.
These sentences are not terribly different than yours but the impact of the words is markedly different.
Don't just offer the problem; offer solutions.
This is an opportunity to discuss privacy and decorum in the FYE program. This idea could be married to an information literacy component.
How will they know to do this? Explain how the FYE class should introduce this project.
You say profs will encourage, but you need to teach the profs to teach this project. Be more explicit.
In particular, using Google docs and chat will allow your group to write posts collaboratively if you choose to move in this direction.
In other words, it allows you to share the editorial responsibilities as well as the writing responsibilities. Does that help?
Analyzing your traffic is a great habit to get it into. It will allow you to experiment with different promotional strategies and easily check to see if those strategies seem to be working.
Recruiting people with different skills is advisable. Communities are formed around people with varying strengths. This also creates a solid foundation for continued learning.
I might also suggest looking at other people who are similar to you. Deconstruct the personal brands that these people have created. Learn from others and then use that knowledge to create your own brand.
Make sure that you copy edit the things that you post on the web. There are some basic errors (mire instead of more, adds instead of ads etc.) These errors become part of your brand.
I would also think that there is a more personal level to this concept. For example, if done well then it could lead to financial independence for you.
Don't underestimate the power of observation here. You're correct that only you can create your personal brand, but there are many ways that others can help both as models for and evaluators of your brand.
This is the area that needs the most improvement, but that improvement will come as you begin yo identify the presence you hope to create. This is a solid foundation for the places that will house this presence, but you will need to take the next step and reflect on what that presence can and should become. The foundation is here, now just build upon it.