Final Thoughts W14

I think my podcast could not have come out any better. If I had known more about using GarageBand software, it may have had better sound quality; but the content was clear. Me and my partner Sabike worked as a team the entire way through. Our partnership is what I would call an ideal way to work in a group.

Something I would do differently is, again, the software. If my software knowledge had been better, I would have been able to edit the sound quality better. Other than that, I think everything went nice and smooth.

A piece of advice I'd give students next year is to not procrastinate. I did everything before it was due (except perhaps the blog posts) and it left a lot of time for final edits and other class work.

Also, to not forget about the blog posts. It's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of school, but they're and important and easy way to get higher grades.

(I didn't know I had to upload this post 72 hours after uploading my podcast, but here it is).

Under the Influence: by Hannah Kastoryano and Sabike Abbas

Here it is, today is the day. "Under the Influence" -Racism Redefined- with Hannah Kastoryano and Sabike Abbas is now available on SoundCloud. In our podcast, we discuss the ramifications of inner-cultural racism, and how it has affected consumers along with advertisers and product makers. We talk about the harmful effects of bleaching creams, tanning lotions, and tanning beds. We've done extensive research on the topic of skin bleaching and skin tanning and have come to share our knowledge. We follow the timeline of inter-cultural racism and inner-cultural classism to find the reasoning behind the apparent opposing beauty ideals between East-Asia and North America. This podcast's goal is to open the eyes of the listeners and teach them that their beauty ideals are based on classist and racist phenomena. These ancient ideals need not continue, especially with what  we know today. Please enjoy: "Under the Influence" -Racism Redefined- with Hannah Kastoryano and Sabike Abbas.


(Not sure how to remove the image from behind the soundcloud link)    

Mac comes with some pretty cool gadgets!

The software I had been planning on using for my podcast didn't have many instructional videos or review websites, but looking further into the software available, I discovered that I'm a complete fool. The entire time I was looking for initial software, I had had it all along on my computer!

GarageBand is a program that comes with mac computers (of which I have), and there is endless amounts of online advice on how to use it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0AqMkTmlvM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=USo-jTpIycw

http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/how-to-create-podcasts-in-garageband.html

I've opened up Garageband and tried it out a few times using the methods listed in each of these sites. I can do all of the recording, clipping, and adding of outside audio all within this one program. It appears to be fairly simple, and I'm excited to snip out all the pesky imperfections that I couldn't with my previous software, eXtra Voice Recorder Plus Lite.

The sound quality on GarageBand is much better than that of the other software, which is odd considering I was using the same recording equipment.

Either way, I'm happy with my change in programming, and excited to start creating!

Structure

Like many other people in our tutorial blog, my partner and my podcast is very similar to "Morning Edition." We start with the history and context of the particular racism we're speaking of, and then go into more detail about social context today and how marketers promote this racism. Under the Influence has a similar structure, starting with history and moving forward in time, covering different aspects of the entire topic.

I counted 22 citations in Episode 102 "Icon for Access" of 99% Invisible.

Boolean Logic, et al.

Boolean logic is used when researching. It is the process of putting like ideas together in a search engine to gather certain information using the terms: AND, NOT, and OR.

I've always struggled using this researching method, because I always forget where and when to use brackets, and when to use each term. Now that I've looked farther into it, however, I will probably try using it again. It makes researching a lot less tedious if the information you need comes first, rather than filtering through pages and pages of unhelpful search results.

Especially now that I've seen a few lectures on Boolean logic, I've grasped how to use it better. For my research plan, my partner and I used Boolean logic to find our sources, which made the researching process very easy. Now that I've practiced using it, Boolean logic is a breeze.

Hannah's 5th Blog Post.

The podcast pitch was really quite helpful in helping refine my topic and research question. Doing a pre-podcast summary helped me with decide what kind of research I needed to do when I started. I don't know another kind of project doing a pitch would be good for, but for doing a podcast it was helpful.

We're still looking at the difference between East-Asian and North American beauty ideals, and how they're shown in skin lightning/tinting advertisements. 

Pitching and Advice

Pitching advice that I've gathered over the last few days are from three seemingly reliable sources: CBC, BBC, and Business Week. CBC and BBC both have successful podcasts, while Business Week's article was written by Aileen Pincus, who works for Pincus Group Inc. specializing in training people on presenting, speech, and communication.


CBC's tips:
What makes this show a great idea?
This tip really made me thing about whether or not my topic idea was relevant and new. Looking at racism within advertising seems like an "over-done" topic, which is why I altered my idea to looking at the comparison between inner and inter-cultural racism. Something fresh and not looked at often.

Who you are:
In the beginning of our podcast, we were not going to originally specify that we were the hosts. After seeing this tip, it makes sense to specify. When pitching an idea, it is a good idea to specify who will actually be an active part of it, especially the hosts.


BBC's tips:
Be clear:
It's important to our group that we stay on topic, and keep coming back to the advertisements. That's why the majority of our pitch looks directly at the advertisements we'll be discussing. It's important to keep linking back to the original advertisements, and not digress too far in the analysis of inner cultural racism. This clarity tip was helpful in reminding us of that.

Be passionate:
Both Sabike and I are personally touched by this inner-cultural racism we'll be analyzing. This personal connection to the issue brings us the passion and determination to get this topic fully analyzed, and bring awareness to Canadian listeners of this issue.

Business Week's tips:
Always Be Prepared: 
Sabike and I planned out our pitch for many hours, continuously asking ourselves the questions that may be asked. I believe we're prepared for any reaction, and ready to take on the challenge of pitching our podcast.





Works Cited: 
"CBC Radio Pitch - Index." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, n.d. Web. 25 Jan. 2014.
"The Killer Pitch – Pitching Tips." BBC News. BBC, 2014. Web. 26 Jan. 2014.

"The Perfect (Elevator) Pitch." BloomburgBusinessWeek. Business Week, 2007. Web. 24 Jan. 2014

Week 2: Podcast Topic

I've decided to emulate the style of Under the Influence. I'm working with Sabike Abbas, and we'll be looking at advertisements from the past containing blunt racism, and new advertising containing "acceptable racism." I've been listening to the podcasts that CBC made, and "How Hollywood Portrays Ad People" and the pace, and storytelling style of it is the way I'd like to create my podcast.

Looking at Spark did not seem to help; however, now I know what Spark is, and can use it in the future. 

Introduction: A bit about Han

Hello Group A,
My name is Hannah Kastoryano. This is my third year at York taking Professional Writing (I'm obviously taking my time). I know that research is a pain, so it's going to be be nice to learn how to research in a fun environment (especially excited for the podcasts and these blog posts).

I love my program. When people ask me what I'm taking, it just puts a smile on my face to answer. Every class I'm in for Professional Writing makes me happy. I never dread going to my classes. I guess I'm lucky that I've found my passion, and truly enjoy school.

I can't say I've ever used RefWorks or Zotero.

The worst kind of research I've done was for my elective classes. Research is only enjoyable when you really like the topic you're researching. Women's Studies and Greek and Biblical Traditions were not too fun to research for. When I go off researching for my own knowledge (for a poem, book, or general knowledge) it's more worth my time, so I do it quickly. I find if I'm not engaged in the topic, the research is laborious.

I have absolutely no experience with radio stations or podcasting but I'm not scared to find out how to do it. I love being creative, so making it only 15 minutes should be the challenge, not finding out how to make it.

I tend to analyze advertising, anyway. Doing a 15 minute podcast on a topic I already have an opinion on makes my life easier, and makes writing a podcast much easier. I'm excited to find out how advertisers from the past compare to those making ads now.   (Under the Influence)

After just leaving my grammar class, putting my knowledge to good use will be fun. Teaching "my listeners" how to use semicolons will be hard, but interesting. (Grammar Girl)

Anyway, that's all about me and my introduction!