Final Blog Post

As I reflect on my podcast episode, I can say that I am pleased with the way it turned out. We used a Blue Microphones Yeti USB Microphone, and that experience alone was very cool. I'm also proud of our music choices; they're quite varied, and we chose to do that in order to convey the diversity of the contexts in which we discuss our topic.

If I had more time, or the guts, I would have asked my downstairs neighbors to keep it down. After spending so much time padding the walls and appliances in my kitchen (to avoid sound bouncing back into the microphone) it was a little irritating to deal with their noise. Perhaps this was in part due to the fact that they were partying, while we had to work. Oh well...

I have two things to say to the student just beginning this course:

Start your research early and don't get overwhelmed. Speaking as someone with a full (overflowing) course-load, you don't want to get stuck with a topic you don't care about, and have this unique experience become a chore. Working with a partner definitely helps, in all kinds of ways, so if you can work with someone else, do it.

Practice early- both recording yourself and using recording software. The blog prompts help to keep you on the ball but nothing really prepares you for all of the problems you will run into the way starting early will. If you start early, you can resolve your questions early.

As they always used to say, friends: this concludes our broadcast day.

Contributing to this course and to this course blog has been an unforgettable experience; thanks WRIT 2300.

Jessica

My Podcast- Beautiful, Ugly, Powerful Words

I recorded this podcast with Michael Pietrobon. We are emulating Lexicon Valley in content and form. The podcast explores principles of phonaesthetics and the inherent power of euphonious and cacophonous words in common vernacular and popular culture. 

Enjoy.

Week 9

My partner and I have decided to use Apple’s GarageBand software to record our podcast. I’m quite familiar with this program, as I purchased my Mac in the beginning of last summer, and have had plenty of time to experiment with it. At the time, I was working on a personal project and came across this- a user guide from Miami University called Podcasting With GarageBand. I decided to bookmark it because it is so helpful and I had a feeling it would come in handy in the future. Thank you, past-self.

In addition to this resource, a quick search on YouTube using the phrase “use GarageBand to record podcast” bears many useful results. The first video “How to use GarageBand to record a Podcast” tells us about audio levels, podcast quality, and other details that are relevant to the first time user.

I won’t try out the software now, because I still have some work to do and I’m sure I’ll become distracted… but also because I don’t have a microphone. But from experience I know this— and I’m sure many others would agree— it’s always unpleasant to hear your own voice on a recording of any kind.  

Week 8

“Beautiful, Ugly, Powerful Words” is: “The Wave”!

It looks a little crazy, I know. Let me explain:

Our introduction begins just as many of them do, building up to our main point (as highlighted by the black circle). We point to our purpose, and the podcast falls from there to explore the main components of our purpose (that’s where the current of sideways waves begin). Each sideways wave represents our exploration of these components, the facts and research we present, which build off into other waves. The final wave curves upward until it peaks, aligning with the peak (our established main point) of the very first wave. I’ve highlighted the second peak with another black circle, and connected the two to show how we return to our purpose.

I believe our structure follows the typical structure of Lexicon Valley podcasts. The episodes often wander away from the purpose, but the research is always presented with some kind of unity.

In terms of 99% Invisible's "Icon for Access", my citation count is 21. 

Week 7

Boolean logic is a research strategy that employs the use of “and”, “or”, and “not” in combination with search terms. For example, if one is conducting research on antique furniture meant for sitting, perhaps to analyze the 16^th Century family’s desire for comfort and stylish decor, their Boolean search might look like this:

Antique sofas and antique loveseats

Antique chairs not antique tables

Antique stools or antique seats

This method of searching is supposed to be helpful because it filters through what the researcher does not need; by using “and”, “or”, and “not”, the researcher is able to expand or taper their search, and thus their search results.

I have used Boolean logic both successfully and unsuccessfully. Depending on what I am searching for, the filters are either a great help, or cause me to miss important resources. However, from this I’ve learned to use a variety of combinations, and then no combinations at all, to ensure I don’t miss anything important.

All in all, I believe Boolean logic is efficient and effective. In the past, it’s awarded me with some great resources in practically no time, and I will continue to use it in the future. 

Week 6

In conducting the preliminary research for our topic, my partner and I have agreed to begin first by researching broad, general subtopics, in order to move more swiftly through our topic’s more detailed, specific components. I’ve begun to view our research strategy, all of this tedious digging, as an opportunity to become an expert on our research topic, which I think will translate positively into our final product.

We are flooded with scholarly sources and popular sources that all, somehow, involve linguistics. However, my partner and I have yet to find any single scholarly source that touches upon phonaesthetics, euphony, and cacophony. We continue to search for this golden ticket. Our popular sources so far include expanded dictionaries and an article in Forbes regarding influential words. We’re continuing to look for magazine and journal articles on linguistics and linguistics and advertisements. It’s a lot of work, but I can dig it (sorry).

Week 5

The pitching portion of the podcast assignment was a great help towards refining my topic. It presented me with the task of exploring my topic in detail, and it forced me to think about the assignment in an organized and timely manner which I appreciated. I do believe that pitching exercises are useful in the pre-writing stage; I think this is in part due to the research and thought development that go into learning more about the topic/ idea. It has been my experience that pitching exercises are useful for all kinds of writing assignments, and I am fond of them. 


Our refined show idea: 
We will explore the way corporations (advertisements) and individuals (vernaculars/colloquialisms) use principles of phonaesthetics to influence the emotions of their intended audiences.

Week 3

UPDATE

It wasn't until after the last blog post when my partner and I realized just how much threshing through the fields we still needed to do before we could uncover the heart of our topic. We are still echoing the styles of  "Under the Influence" and "Lexicon Valley" however we have revised last week's ambition of discussing rhetoric and power to:

Assessing the power of positive language, mainly the word "YES" (This includes defining "positive language", "negative language") and understanding how individuals and corporations use positive language to influence their audiences.

We're much more confident and happy with this topic, and we're both really excited to share what we're learning!

WEEK 3

With only one short week before podcast pitches, my research, though slow and steady, is underway. I started with a basic Google search: "How to pitch a podcast"

1. CBC Radio Pitch- This was the first source on the page that I recognized. Because the CBC is well established and I've taken reliable information from their broadcasts before, I determined the site to be a trustworthy source and began gathering tips:

• Shoot for the moon (This may look like a very juvenile piece of advice, but it's something I often forget. When I'm stuck in a "follow the guidelines" frame of mind, my creativity often goes untapped; this will be the difference, I believe, between a mediocre podcast pitch and the kind of podcast pitch that I want to present.)
• Fall in love with your ideas, but don’t marry them just yet 

2. BBC Academy Production- (video/ transcript) Again, a familiar and reputable source. I had no hesitations about the BBC, and found these points on the transcript page:

• It's not a lecture: Have a conversation with the commissioners, you're not giving a lecture! Make them curious, make them laugh
  
• Research and plan: Know the audience, know the channel, know the network. Match the tone of your pitch to these 

3. AIR: Pitches that Work I was not familiar with the Association of Independents in Radio so I browsed their site and read through their About Us page to get a better idea about their team and their mission, and based on what I read, I decided they were reputable. From AIR, I learned: 

• Frame your pitch so there can be no doubt about the focus of your story
  
• [Good pitches are] focused, clear, straightforward and short. [Bad pitches are] vague, too obvious, unclear about what is new

Based on the advice I've gathered, I think my next steps are to organize my ideas about my podcast so that I can concisely present them in my pitch, write and practice a script, work with my partner and my peers to ensure clarity and appeal, and maintain confidence in the importance of my ideas, so that I do not undersell them.

This mound of work is shaping up nicely. 

Jessica Cat, W14, Topic Selection

     I mentioned in last week's post that I enjoy researching social sciences. Well, I began topic selection by researching "Under the Influence". As part of my research, I listened to The Psychology of Price. I admired the relaxed, conversational tone in which the podcast was conducted and the fluid way the information was presented. Plus the theme song is damn cool. The topics that "Under the Influence" explore are quite in line with what I enjoy learning about, and it wasn't long before I had questions of my own:

What other elements of media have power over consumers?

     My partner's interests lie faithfully in language and so, I wasn't surprised to know he was researching "Lexicon Valley". I was engaged by its example-style method of presenting research. Ultimately, after listening to "Lexicon Valley"'s Learning to Say No, I had more questions:

What about language, and rhetoric? 

Who yields the power and how? 

     My partner and I have chosen to emulate both "Under the Influence" and "Lexicon Valley" and discuss language as a method of persuasion and a source of power. The significance of exploring this topic is to learn about the language we speak, its persuasive powers and linguistic history.

     I'm looking forward to learning about the history of this topic, and contributing to its development.