3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that has not already been discussed during this discussion week, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

I actually feel the RISK procedure is a good thing to mention this week because I have met many people who do not realize the problems that can arise in starting a small group. One example I can give is my friend's Karate Club at SJSU, he was very positive of the club's opening but he did not come up with a way to bring more members in or how to create dedicated members. All the events were announced through facebook and no personal contacts were really made, he kind of just expected people to come now that he made the club. I find it important that someone like him refer to the RISK procedure only because I feel that when you want to start a group you should be aware of failure and attempt to find a way to prevent roadblocks in your progress. For those of you who do not know what the RISK procedure is, it is where you list and brainstorm ways to prevent yourself from lacking success and preventing roadblocks.

2). Briefly outline an example of collaborative conflict resolution that you have engaged in. Contrast that with competitive conflict. Which was more satisfying to you? To the other party?

I can't say that I 100% understand this question but I can say that I went through a style of accommodation that could contrast into a competitive conflict. I once offered all the information I had to my senior instructor in hopes of having my Wing Chun School gain understanding in who I am, why I'm there, and what I'm willing to do for the school. It turned out that my senior instructor completely misinterpreted 80% of the things I said as if I was a bad guy just trying to embezzle in the school's reputation and funds. In a competitive contrast I assume he was only doing it so I would not become a future threat to him so he used my information to try and have me expelled from further attendance to the school. I had no real gain in this situation, I only learned that the man was a jerk. As for which was more satisfying to me I cannot really say. But I'm sure my senior instructor was satisfied only because he was able to show off his knowledge of something once again, but this time in a horrible context. I'm not quite sure if this is the answer to the question but hey I tried my best trying to answer it.

1). (Regarding chapter 11) Distinguish among a forum, panel, colloquium, and symposium as a mans for making a public presentation. Which one would you prefer? Why?

Out of the four different types of public presentations I would prefer to use a colloquium. I chose the colloquium only because it sounds a bit more informal than the other styles of public presentation and it still can be capable of exerting power to the audience. Allowing humor can create bonds with the audience and they're likely to listen but just having speeches and Q&A alone can seem like a threat to our presentation at times. Just a simple single word question like “Why?” can actually boggle a persons memory and the speech can quickly lose track of what its intention is. Which is still reason to why I think that a colloquium is my public presentation of choice because at least I will be allowed on stage as a flexible human being with quick and flexible emotions. Speeches with just a Q&A alone are like speeding trains, even 2 cents can cause it to run right off the track and start a fire.

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading, that has not already been discussed during this discussion week, that you found useful or interesting, and discuss it.

Emotional barriers is a topic I would like to speak about this week, mainly because I had faced emotional barriers all throughout this week. This week I was supposed to complete a 2500 word project, I had the idea, storyboard, and action sequence set. But then I caught something like a stomach flu or just plain flu and I felt terrible all week. I could not think of the outgoing ideas that were running all throughout my mind before. I had become cynical and slept 80% of the day for 4 days straight. In the end I lost all motivation toward the project and just wanted to scrap it. I felt I had to inspire myself so I played some games and watched some shows, it helped me a little but it was enough to kick me hard enough into working on my project like I was before. The book says that some ideas are not even challenged because they have already been done. I normally challenge the existing products by going around the actual product and adding things that it did not have before. For example if you assume that a motorcycle can not be improved you are very wrong, put some wings and jet fuel in that thing and maybe you'll have a flying motorcycle.

2). Name five cultural barriers to creativity. What do you think these would keep a group from being creative? Have you experienced any of these personally? Explain.

The cultural barriers I have faced would have to do with technology, religion, politics, gender, and age. I feel that technology is a large creative barrier solely because there are many users that do not know how to become creative with technology. When I look at apple technology I feel it is linear and too simple, have you noticed that each of their new products do the exact same thing in most cases? The idea of being simple all the time and having little change has given technology alone a creative barrier. Religion stops our ideas of a functioning America solely because old school conservatives believe (in short) that pride comes before action. The bible says that gays cannot marry is one of the reasons why orphans cannot be adopted, is a strong American the one that grows up alone or with a family and people united behind them? Politics is a creative barrier only because of the dual party system we run in America, I feel that there are many uneducated voters that just choose a side and stick with it to the end without actually looking at the policies during election time. Gender causes creativity in fashion to be very one sided, for example skirt-like features only go on women's clothes and suits and collars for men, need I go on? Age is the final cultural barrier because everyone's beliefs are so much different from those people who grew up in the old days, the older generation are the ones with the money while us young generation people jump hoops in hopes for their approval for our ideas. Overall cultural barriers are pretty much in my opinion “Just trying to get on mommy or daddy's good side.”

1). Provide an example of creativity from your own experience. How does it fit with the chapter's discussion of creativity?

I prefer to be creative in my assignments only because I like to go around the assignment to make it larger as opposed to making my creative assignments in a single direct goal. For example I just recently chose to do a 5 senses writing assignment as my final paper in my comm100w class. When you think of the 5 senses you just think of see, hear, smell, taste, touch. But when I did my 5 senses assignment thought of how to make the scene lively and active just like a living breathing person who has the 5 senses. So I decided to make a movie as a visual aid for the paper's presentation (mainly because a movie is the one place where you can see how a person reacts emotionally using their 5 senses). How this fits the chapter's discussion is the use of doing the assignment in a way not many people would choose. I chose to go outside of the box which applies to the power to originate in the chapter's creativity discussion.

3). Pick one concept from the assigned reading this week, not already discussed, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

Gender Swapping sounds like a bad term but it is an important aspect of CMC communication only because it can be a total game changer. In massive multiplayer online role playing games also known as MMORPGs we often assume because of American television and the internet, that most of the MMORPG players are men who do not have much to do. But don't you find it surprising that there are many female characters being played on these games? In these games you can pick a gender of your choice, these character genders can create an image that we see on the game and instinctually we assume that the player is either male or female. Many men who play these MMORPGs lack a relationship and when they meet women who have the same interest of playing video games they fall head over heels in love with them as long as they're attractive to them. Just like society in person the men could appear much more helpful and generous to someone that they are sexually attracted to. On these MMORPGs some men use that in advantage, as disgusting as it sounds some men choose a female gender in their MMORPGs just so they can trick other men into giving them items. Because CMC requires that we build our own image of who we speak to through CMC only a character avatar or image can really trick us into assuming something about others. I could totally just change the name of my blog to something like Susie's flowery blog and you would assume I am a woman. Beware of the CMC dangers!

2). How do anonymity, group size, and proximity influence participation and communication in CMC groups?

These factors influence participation and communication in CMC only because we all have our own opinions on what or who a person can be. When you meet someone through CMC and have a lot in common with them, talk to them on a daily basis, and have a sense of dependency on them you would probably have a positive image of the person even if you haven't seen their face. The best example I can give about how we create an image of others through CMC would have to be issues with customer services of companies. Sometimes when we send an email to something such as Best Buy or Toys r Us and do not receive a message back we could develop a negative image of the company (possibly because when we send questions to a company, it is usually important or urgent to us). Some people would say that best buy or toys r us after not hearing back from the companies, are unreliable and lazy (this is because they are large companies that rely solely on sales and need people to stay alive and kicking). Now if we knew the majority of the people that work for these companies personally, then we would be a bit more lenient on the companies actions or use a scapegoat of a new worker making an error. If these companies treat us well that would very well be another reason why we could end up lenient for a company that others consider bad.

1). How does CMC differ from f2f communication? (Think outside the box).

CMC is computer mediated communication which is communication done through text only sources such as emails, chat rooms, and social media. There is no face to face contact, no emotional tones, and no images of a person involved. In CMC we have to get to know a person through responsiveness of the texts received, use of words in messages, and how long we spend talking to the person through CMC. Some say that CMC takes much longer when it comes to building a relationship compared to face to face methods. But others have claimed that relationships built through CMC can be no different than relationships built from Face to Face contact as long as an appropriate amount of time has been put into CMC. Building relationships through CMC is tough only because we do not have an image or emotional impression of a person that we can only obtain through F2F contact. In CMC we can only build an image we create on our own of the other person until we meet them in person. In my opinion pictures with no sound and no expression do not do the same justice as meeting people in person.