All posts by Grace Bondy

Personal and Professional Identity

Who is the Perfect Employee?

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It is not always possible or practical to divorce your professional identity from your personal identity. Sometimes they are one in the same, or they are too intertwined to distinguish between. But, on rare occasions, it is completely conceivable for an individual to maintain identities that exist separately in workplace and recreational contexts. These rare occasions are, in my experience, when a personal is most likely to succeed in the workplace.

I am not suggesting that one must alter, refine, or obscure certain aspects of their personality to fit the role of “the perfect employee.” On the contrary, I believe possessing the cognizance of when a certain set of behaviors or beliefs are inappropriate or unnecessary to display in the workplace that one more comfortable assumes the role of “the perfect employee.”
It is a time-tested truth that no social setting can exist without a status quo, and that opposing the status quo or attempting to change it, yields no results—with the exception of oppressive or bloodthirsty regimes. But the office is a far cry from Rwanda in the Spring of 1994, management does not even remotely resemble the akazu, and your boss cannot be compared to Robert Kajuga; to complain, while you are on the clock, about the break room injustices and parking garage massacres you are subjected to is a massive violation of the contextual norms of professionalism.

A little airing of grievances around the water cooler is an expected and accepted occurrence in the workplace, but it should never extend beyond mere words—and, if one of the participants were able to leave their personal identity in their personal life, and exist only in their professional identity while in their professional life, then that individual would never find grievances to air solely for the sake of adhering to the status quo, but rather because they wished to maintain an environment that perpetuated professionalism, or because they believed that they had a solution to a genuine problem.
A well-maintained and fairly balanced status quo can benefit every employee, and an employee who sticks to it, rather than vehemently disparaging it, may even go as far as to encourage other employees to work harder and strive for excellence, in hopes of recognition, promotion, or opportunity. In professional contexts, professionals are expected to perform in a specific manner or demeanor. Doing so not only reflects positively on the individual who respects these contexts, but can also have a positive influence on other employees who wish to advance in their profession, and sees others doing so by following the status quo, not fighting against it.

Nearly anyone who has held a job for any amount of time, despite the field, has heard the colloquialism, “Leave your baggage at the door,” and in the instance of professional versus personal identity, it has never been more true. The workplace is a setting with high expectations, quotas, and standards, and to succeed in such settings, one must act as the situation commands: with a professional demeanor that is not influenced by outside events.

Featured image taken from Comedy Central.

Uncategorized

Delivering Chills and Engaging Readers

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whipple
Image displayed on the homepage of Ted’s blog.

I’ve always had a certain propensity towards the things that go bump in the night.  Maybe it was because of the countless summers I spent at sleep-away camp, swapping ghost stories around a dying fire; or maybe it was my father’s immense collection of HP Lovecraft that I was forbidden to read as a child (and, of course, read every chance I got).  Maybe it was just an innate fascination.  Whatever the reason, in the years since, my love for the horror genre has only grown.  And recently, it led me to the virtual world of “Creepypasta.”

Creepypasta—an unquantifiable forum in which both amateur and professional authors create and share scary stories, has deep roots in folklore and urban legends, and seems to hold Lovecraft to the highest possible esteem—has provided a complete overhaul of the methods in which we seek fear, and seek to fear instill fear in others.

With the advent of the technologic age, and the rise of digital communication media, word of mouth has given way to word of user, or website: “These days, instead of the campfire, we are gathered around the flickering light of our computer monitors” (Wiles).

 

 

The most successful Creepypastas, in both ratings and eliciting fear, are the lengthier ones, as they rely on time-tested and true rhetorical strategies that promote user engagement.  Drawing from Lovecraft’s 1927 definition of “weird” fiction, the authors of these long works know that, in order to keep the reader engaged, “A certain atmosphere of breathless and unexplainable dread of outer, unknown forces must be present; and there must be a hint, expressed with a seriousness and portentousness becoming its subject, of that most terrible conception of the human brain” (Wiles).

Two of the oldest and most respected long-form Creepypastas,  “Ted the Caver,” and “BEN Drowned” artfully demonstrate how to keep the reader engaged, and guarantee that they will see the work through to the end, both utilize the same rhetorical strategies: a format that breaks from the traditional narrative and fabricated multimedia evidence.

The tale of “Ted The Caver,” in which two amateur spelunkers excavate a virgin cave, and unwittingly wake a beast of unfathomable evil, is presented as a genuine blog, with the narrator (presumably, Ted himself) chronicling the events of the story in real-time posts.  “BEN Drowned,” the story of a young college student who unknowingly purchases a Majora’s Mask cartridge that is haunted by the malevolent spirit of a boy named Ben, is also written as blog post entries, each stamped in real time.

 

A screenshot of the first entry on the original "Ted The Caver" blog.
A screenshot of the first entry on the original “Ted The Caver” blog.

This format—a blog maintained by a clueless narrator—demands the continued interest and attention of the reader. With unnervingly realistic narrative voices and characters, the reader is constantly engaged, wondering if what they are reading is fact or fiction, pushing forward to see how the plot unravels.

In addition to format, both Creepypastas guarantee their readers’ attention throughout the duration of the piece by offering them some form of evidence, which acts as a validation for the readers’ continued commitment to the piece, a method for ensuring that they will continue reading, and a deeper level of meaning and context for the story itself.  In “Ted The Caver,” Ted shares photos of the cave, and their progress in excavating it.  “BEN Drowned” offers videos of the supposedly haunted section of the video game, complete with music and graphics that break from canon of the original game while still maintaining its integrity and validity.  These offerings are fascinating, lend credibility to the content, and help to keep the reader engaged.

Owing to the evolution of communication as a digital medium, keeping a reader engaged until the end of a long piece can prove difficult.  But by adapting to the changing rhetorical situation, such as the authors of “Ted the Caver,” and “BEN Drowned” have done with their nontraditional formats and multimedia integrations, it is not an impossible task.

An image of "B," the narrator's companion, taken from the original "Ted The Caver" blog.
An image of “B,” the narrator’s companion, taken from the original “Ted The Caver” blog.

 

 

WORKS CITED

Jadusable. “BEN Drowned.” Creepypasta Wiki. 7 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

Wiles, Will.  “Creepypasta: With a flood of dark memes and viral horror stories, the internet is mapping the contours of modern fear.” Aeon. 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

 

Welcome to the Page of Ted. Angelfire. 19 May 2001. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

tl;dr

Delivering Chills and Engaging Readers

2 Comments

 

 

 

I’ve always had a certain propensity towards the things that go bump in the night.  Maybe it was because of the countless summers I spent at sleep-away camp, swapping ghost stories around a dying fire; or maybe it was my father’s immense collection of HP Lovecraft that I was forbidden to read as a child (and, of course, read every chance I got).  Whatever the reason, in the years since, my love for the horror genre has only grown.  And recently, it led me to the virtual world of “Creepypasta.”

whipple

Image displayed on the homepage of Ted’s blog.

Creepypasta, an unquantifiable forum in which both amateur and professional authors create and share scary stories, has deep roots in folklore and urban legends, and seems to hold Lovecraft to the highest possible esteem, has provided a complete overhaul of the methods in which we seek fear, and seek to fear others.  With the advent of the technologic age, and the rise of digital communication media, word of mouth has given way to word of user, or website: “These days, instead of the campfire, we are gathered around the flickering light of our computer monitors” (Wiles).

The most successful creepypastas, in both ratings and eliciting fear, are the lengthier ones, as they rely on time-tested and true rhetorical strategies that promote user engagement.  Drawing from Lovecraft’s 1927 definition of “weird” fiction, the authors of these long works know that, in order to keep the reader engaged, “A certain atmosphere of breathless and unexplainable dread of outer, unknown forces must be present; and there must be a hint, expressed with a seriousness and portentousness becoming its subject, of that most terrible conception of the human brain” (Wiles).

Two of the oldest and most respected long-form Creepypastas, “Ted the Caver,” and “BEN Drowned” keep the reader engaged, and guarantee that they will see the work through to the end, both utilize the same rhetorical strategies: a format that breaks from the traditional narrative and fabricated multimedia evidence.

The tale of “Ted The Caver,” in which two amateur spelunkers excavate a virgin cave, and unwittingly wake a beast of unfathomable evil, is presented as a genuine blog, with the narrator (presumably, Ted himself) chronicling the events of the story in real-time posts.  “BEN Drowned,” the story of a young college student who unknowingly purchases a “Majora’s Mask” cartridge that is haunted by the malevolent spirit of a boy named Ben, is also written as blog post entries, each stamped in real time.

This format—a blog maintained by a clueless narrator—demands the continued interest and attention of the reader. With unnervingly realistic narrative voices and characters, the reader is constantly engaged, wondering if what they are reading is fact or fiction, pushing forward to see how the plot unravels.

In addition to format, both Creepypastas guarantee their readers’ attention throughout the duration of the piece by offering them some form of evidence, which acts as a validation for the readers’ continued commitment to the piece, a method for ensuring that they will continue reading, and a deeper level of meaning and context for the story itself.  In “Ted The Caver,” Ted shares photos of the cave, and their progress in excavating it.  “BEN Drowned” offers videos of the supposedly haunted section of the video game, complete with music and graphics that break from canon of the original game while still maintaining its integrity and validity.  These offerings are fascinating, lend credibility to the content, and help to keep the reader engaged.

A video embedded in the original “BEN Drowned” post.

Owing to the evolution of communication as a digital medium, keeping a reader engaged until the end of a long piece can prove difficult.  But by adapting to the changing rhetorical situation, such as the authors of “Ted the Caver,” and “BEN Drowned” have done with their nontraditional formats and multimedia integrations, it is not an impossible task.

 

 

WORKS CITED

Jadusable. “BEN Drowned.” Creepypasta Wiki. 7 Sept. 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

Wiles, Will.  “Creepypasta: With a flood of dark memes and viral horror stories, the internet is mapping the contours of modern fear.” Aeon. 20 Dec. 2013. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

 

Welcome to the Page of Ted. Angelfire. 19 May 2001. Web. 30 Oct. 2014.

Audience Resistance

Audience Resistance: Death, Injury, and The Grand Canyon

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The danger posed by hiking trails and other similar outdoor activities is often overlooked; and each year, countless hikers, mountaineers, and other adventurers are lost to the perils of the wilderness. These individuals are often highly experienced in whatever activity they pursue, and have a specialized disciplinary knowledge of the outdoors, and the necessary skills to complete any undertaking.  The majority of these deaths and injuries are the result of carelessly overlooking posted warning signs.

Take, for example, the Bright Angel Trail.  This extremely strenuous and challenging trail begins at the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and descends 4,380 feet (nearly 4/5’s of a mile) over the course of 9.5 miles to the Bright Angel Campground, at the bottom of the canyon.  There are countless signs at the trailhead proclaiming the dangers of the trail, especially to the inexperienced hiker, that have been there since the park’s opening in 1908.  But despite this, nearly 700 people have lost their lives while hiking The Grand Canyon.

warning

As pictured, the signs clearly outline the precautions and necessary measures that must be taken to guarantee a safe trip down and back up—staying rested, well-nourished and hydrated, avoiding activity during the sunniest times of the day, and rationing supplies, time and energy.  The signs even advise that a round-trip hike on the trail cannot be completed in a single day.  But signs at the trailhead are not the only warning:  Every ranger, employee, or veteran of the trail will give the same advice of caution and discretion to any potential Bright Angel dreamer.

These deaths, and the thousands of injuries that are suffered each year, may appear to be in a completely different realm of existence than technical communication, but they share a vast amount of common ground.  Communication design can help explain the social and cultural factors that lead to audience resistance in similar circumstances.

In order to hike the Bright Angel Trail—and many of the other trails in the canyon—hikers must obtain a special permit.  As I learned from my own experiences hiking these trails, this permit is not so much a way for hiking hopefuls to prove or demonstrate their skills or wilderness proficiency, but more a system for keeping track of who enters the canyon and who exits—you must check in at a designated ranger station with your permit before embarking, and again upon completion.  If a hiker does not return for check out after a predetermined amount of time, authorities are alerted and a search begins.

But this knowledge is not necessarily communicated to a hiker before they embark, so the permit often lends itself to a tangible type of proof of their ability and dexterity, rather than its true purpose: a catalog of intentions and information.  Therefore, when a hiker obtains a permit, they tend to assume that they have received some sort of approval for their journey, and feel no obligation to pay any attention to warnings.  In the name of sticking to the status quo, and fulfilling their cultural distinctions as a permitted-hiker, they resist processing—let alone taking—any cautionary advice.  This poor communication design helps to account for the scores of overly ambitious hikers that never return to the top of the canyon.

A round-trip hike that spans nearly 20 miles, with a near 2-mile elevation change is not for the faint of heart.  Most of the individuals who decide to tackle the Bright Angel Trail condition for months beforehand, and come with adequate expectations and preparations.  But, more importantly, they heed any warnings they encounter.  The nearly 700 lives lost cannot be merely chalked up to a failure to read the signs, but it does make one wonder—would the number be just as high with a more effective communication design?

 

Cole, Cyndy. “Canyon deaths: 685 and counting.” Arizona Daily Sun 6 May 2012: Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

 

“Grand Canyon/Bright Angel Trail.” National Park Service,n.d. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

 

Haff, Gordon. “Warning sign. Bright Angel Trail, Grand Canyon.” Flickr. 2 Dec. 2012. Web. 9 Oct. 2014.

Project and Role Selection, Researcher

Statement of Interest

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For this semester’s service learning project, I would like to be considered for the position of researcher.

I am no stranger to research.  Last summer, I began a massive undertaking: writing a comprehensive encyclopedia of North American folklore, mythology, and cryptology.  This project, which I am still currently working on, has involved countless hours in various university libraries, researching a wide variety of topics, and learning how to conduct meaningful research online.  While all the work I have done has been conducted in a recreational capacity, I have no doubt that the skills I have developed would transition well to professional research.

I thoroughly enjoy conducting research and in the time since I begun my encyclopedia, I have learned valuable techniques to organization.  I can say with confidence that if I were the team researcher, I would be able to effective find relevant information and organize it in a system that was accessible to my other group members.

Audiences and Literacy

Asking The Wrong Questions

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It is nearly impossible to determine the role of textual literacy in the 21st century workplace.  This is not because of the supposedly ill-effects of illiteracy on business, but rather, because no standard definition of literacy exists—just standard expectations.  We cannot understand the importance of professional literacy without first examining what it truly means to be literate and what it truly means to be illiterate.

The problem is simple; we do not have a universal definition of literacy, and without one, we cannot hope to understand what role it might play in the success or failure of a business.  All of the most accessible resources that attempt to define literacy contradict each other to an extent, or offer varied information: “According to the National Coalition for Literacy, adult literacy is defined as the ability to use ‘printed and written information to function in society, to achieve one’s goals, and to develop one’s knowledge and potential.’ The Chicago Literacy organization Literacy Works states that their mission is to ‘fulfill the promise of a basic human right: to read, to write, and interpret the world[…]’ Similarly, fellow organization Open Books states on their website that ‘Literacy skills are life skills, and there is a literary crisis in America’” (CITE).  Instead of asking ourselves why we need our employees to be literature, we should be asking, “But what do we really mean by ‘literacy?’” and trying to understand why, “Most of these adults have some reported reading ability, yet they are not considered a member of the group labeled ‘literate’” (CITE).

There is another question that we must ask ourselves: where is the line between literacy and illiteracy?  There is no clear distinction between the two, or even between literary deficiency and illiteracy, which makes it impossible to understand the role it plays in the workplace or otherwise.

We must consider “Those who are merely ‘functionally literature’ [who] may be able to complete a set of simple reading tasks or answer simple comprehension questions, but they may not have the literacy skills needed to operate in their daily lives as determined by a sector of society, whether this is the education system, the business world, or social groups.”  Where do these individuals fall on a universal illiteracy scale?  In the workplace, are they still considered to be deficient, even though they can read material and comprehend it at a basic level?  Or does the workplace view them as illiterate?  But the line between literacy and illiteracy is blurred even outside of the workplace; are their skills proficient enough for society to view them as literate, or do they fall short, despite the setting?

When attempting to evaluate the role of literacy in the modern workplace, “It is important to keep in mind that multiple literacies exist in the world and that people have the ability to be proficient in numerous literacies, using them in different facets of their lives (CITE). Until this sentiment is recognized and accepted as true, and universal definitions of literacy and illiteracy—as well as their boundaries and grey areas—are established, we will not be able to determine their importance in any capacity, but especially in a professional capacity.

 

 

WORKS CITED

Bond, Veronica. “What We Talk About When We Talk About Literacy: A Look into the Value, Measurement, and Power Hierarchy of Literacy.” DePaul University Mar. 2011. Web. 18 Sep. 2014.

Beyond the Resume

Nontraditional Résumés: Going Above and Beyond

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Everything is a competition.  In life, everything we do, whether that’s parking a car, deciding what TV show to watch, or applying for a job, results in a winner and a loser.  Some of these acts are more clearly competitive than the others, but perhaps none so much as the act of applying for a job.

When we seek to secure a new position, regardless of the nature of the company or organization we are applying to, we are fully aware that we are going to be pitted against others, all of us vying for one, singular position.  This begs the question, what can we do to stand out against the crowd?  How do we make our knowledge and experience more appealing than our competitors?  How do we leave a positive, lasting impression on our potential employer after we leave the interview?  The answer is simple: our résumé.

A carefully crafted résumé can be the single most effective tool in landing that dream job, but also in ruining our chances.  This is where the alternative résumé debate begins.  A traditional résumé—one that merely lists our qualifications and experiences—is arguably going out of style.  Instead, employees are becoming more inclined to favor job candidates that find alternative ways to showcase the same information.

An alternative résumé gives an applicant more control over their professional presence and personal representation, which can allow the individual to present an image of themselves that distinguishes them from others with a similar background.

With a nontraditional résumé comes freedom from the conventions and restraints generally associated with building a résumé, and this can help one applicant distinguish themselves above others.  When strategically and carefully constructed in a memorable and professional capacity, it becomes an opportunity for the applicant to showcase not only their credentials, but to provide a practical demonstration of them, too.  If the applicant is pursuing a job in a creative industry, such as I will inevitably do, this opportunity is unfathomably valuable.

Take, for example, the following traditional résumé for copywriter Adam J. Fleischer.

traditional resume

While Fleischer’s information is presented in a neat and precise manner, his résumé is nondescript, dull, and easily forgotten.  On the other hand, the following nontraditional résumé for Ariane Denise, also a copywriter, leaves a lasting impression.

MY_RESUME_by_arianedenise

Denise’s résumé adheres to the basic principles of information design that are expected from any job applicant: all of the necessary bona fides are present, but they are not just merely present; they are striking and impressive.  The layout of her résumé is a direct representation of the job she is undoubtedly applying for, and her dedication to the craft.  In our current job market—overcrowded with highly qualified applicants but lacking available positions—this type of résumé lends a much needed competitive edge.

WORKS CITED:

AdamFleisher. “Technical Marketing Copywriter in San Francisco Bay Area CA Resume Adam Fleischer.” Mixed Media. Docstoc. 23 Dec. 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.

arianedenise. “MY RESUME.” Mixed Media. deviantART. 29 June 2009. Web. 11 Sept. 2014.

Blogging and Social Media in the Workplace

Corporate Blogs: More Reward Than Risk

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With the rise of technology in the past several decades, businesses and universities have been faced with a new challenge: distinguishing themselves in an age of rapid globalization. With an increased consumer market comes an increased competition for business.  Therefore, a blog is a valuable resource for distinguishing a business or university against the competition because it can make the represented agency accessible and human.

 

Regardless of their physical location, any one with internet access can read a blog, no matter where the blogger posts from, or lives.  When the blog represents a particular business or university, these corporations suddenly become more accessible to a larger audience, as “Google ranks blogs higher in its search results than static pages[.]“ Due to their dynamic nature, “[A] blog can increase a company’s visibility and its brand recognition.  Through the blog posts, a company can also connect with its customers and suppliers to share information about products and offerings, generating leads for future business” (Nordmeyer).

 

More than just a method for increasing revenue, blogs are a way for multinational corporations to facilitate the dissemination of information to a wider audience without fear of language barriers or cost constraints.  Many companies “[H]ave expanded their corporate blogs to other locations and made them available in other languages” (Strother, Zohra, and Millsap).  Previously restricted by and/or faced with the expenses of physically printing numerous translations of singular content, the virtual nature of blogs allows a company to share their knowledge, research, and observations in a potentially limitless array of languages at a much lower cost.

 

But the value of corporate blogs does not exist solely in their accessibility.  They are also a simple and effective system of humanizing an otherwise inhumane entity, of giving a voice to the company they represent, and of encouraging “[V]aluable feedback from their customers” (Strother, Zohra, and Millsap).

 

Take, for example, two of the Kodak blogs discussed in the Strother, Zohra, and Millsap article.  One blog “Allows Kodak to share stories about the power of imaging and invites the audience to do the same,” while the other “[F]ocuses on sharing expertise about ‘digital imaging’s technologies and its power to influence our world’” (Strother, Zohra, and Millsap).  They provide their consumers with an outlet to share and discuss their positive Kodak experiences, and a forum for the Kodak company itself to share anecdotes of their helpful and informative contributions to society.  These blogs—and forums—in turn, transform an unfathomably large, capitalist business into a nurturing community, populated with concerned, compassionate individuals who want nothing more than to hear the stories of their consumers.

 

Some might argue that blogs are detrimental, rather than beneficial, to corporations.  And while it is true that “Aside from potentially revealing trade secrets and confidential corporate information, bloggers could expose the corporation to suits for defamation or for infringement of intellectual property rights,” the rewards greatly outweigh the risks (Strother, Zohra, and Millsap).  The potential hazard of leaked information or lawsuits can easily be avoided with proper rules, regulations, and overviews, and should not deter corporations from starting a blog.  These hazards should be negated by the opportunity to foster a meaningful relationship with consumers, to educate a larger audience, and to present the corporation with a distinct edge over the competition.

 

 

Nordmeyer, Billie. The Advantages of Blogs in the Workplace. The Nest. Web. 28 August 2014.

 

Strother, Judith A., Zohra Fazal, and Melinda Millsap. (2009). Legal and ethical issues of the corporate blogosphere. IEEE Transactions On Professional Communication, 52(3), 243-253.