Peer Reviewing Reviewed

I have discovered that peer reviewing has its pros and cons and unfortunately, for this class, the cons are outweighing the pros as the semester wears on and approaches the finish line. I have learned a lot in this class, and one reason was the chance to receive feedback from my classmates on the work completed. In fact, it was assigned work that they do give feedback in the form of constructive criticism. However, that does not mean that everyone gave it on time (before deadline) or even gave it all.

For our first class asignment - clubhouse blogs - I got feedback from one student, and I have to say it really wasn't helpful. For some reason, she thought Ask Tazi-Kat! was an advice column for pet lovers, and that it should run tips on caring for pets. The column offers general advice on a range of subjects, and has hardly ever addressed issues dealing with pets. As of this writing, it is up to 1100 hits (in 11 weeks), with 100 of those hits coming in over the past 3 days and a third of the total hits coming in within the last three weeks; as well as an ebook of the archives planned for January publication through Amazon.com; and daily subscription numbers also on the rise. If I had taken the advice to change the format, I don't think it would have been so successful, as pet-care is a very niche market; nor is it my forte.

Project Two did offer some very helpful review advice on travel writing, offering hints on what people look for when they travel to Providence; but even so, one of the reviewers did not offer their thoughts until after the due date for the project. As luck would have it, I got paired with this person for the next two group projects; and as expected, all deadlines were ignored. Thank God that I lucked out on Project Three, as the other member of the three-person group - the only other person I consider to be a contributing member - is an amazing student and an amazing worker. I know I keep touting him, but he seriously is that good. He graduates in May, and I have no doubt I will be seeing his name in the Wall Street Journal some day! (FYI: He is a Business and Finance major).

For Project Three, the recreation of a restaurant website, only one person got their peer reivew in by deadline (others were a week late!) and he gave some very helpful suggestions that were incorporated, and acknowledged on our Peer Review forum message board (including the suggestion that we add a Directions page to the site). The remainder of the reviewers posted their thoughts a week late, and basically said the same exact thing as the first person - lighten the background and add a Directions page - ignoring the fact that the edits had been made a full week prior. Explanations as to why there were no pictures of the restaurant or its food were posted to the forum (after the first reviewer suggested they be added), and completely ignored. Criticisms that we should add some kept pouring into the forum. It was all I could do not to post in a bold, red font "PULL YOUR HEAD OUT OF YOU A$$ AND READ THE G-D D-MN PROJECT UPDATE!!! FOR THE LOVE OF G-D YOU ARE A SENIOR IN COLLEGE!!! PULL THIS KIND OF CR@P IN THE PROFESSIONAL WORLD AND YOU WON'T MAKE IT PAST YOUR FIRST 90-DAYS!!!!!!!" Thankfully, I have been practicing the art of patience since leaving the professional world of Marketing, and managed to keep my cool. (FYI, part 2: just in case you were wondering, we used placeholders [generic graphics] in place of actual pictures, so as to leave the picture choice open for the business owner to visualize).

With Project Four, the three contributing members of the group all agreed that the criticisms received were bulls--t, and only offered up because the reviewers had to say something. We received criticisms such as:

"You have too many links" (several of the links were required for the project, and could not be removed; the others were essential to the opertation of the site)

"I don't like the sports theme" (the page name is Intercepting Traffick and its purpose is to raise awareness of child sex trafficking at major league sporting events. DUH!)

"I think you have too much information on your site",with the suggestion that people would get bored and move on to another site (the site itself is an informational site with a targeted audience, not a general interest site.)

I have always tried to make my criticisms constructive...which is why this blog has so often turned into a rant. It's all just part of the process.

Group Project Mom

I don't have children, yet somethimes, I feel like such a Mom. Here is the latest post I put on the Group Project Forum:

Our submission draft of the website is due on Monday at 11:55 PM. For the most part, the group portions are done and only individual contributions remain.

I will be working on a better Facebook/Twitter default pic/graphic/logo. In the meantime, here is a list of what still needs to be done:

1) Personal profiles and pictures. If your profile and/or pic are not yet posted, this is just a friendly reminder that they are a required part of the assignment.

2) 1 blog post (minimum) from each of us - also part of the assignment. After signing in, at the top of the page will be a small link that says "Post New Blog". Be sure to post it to "A Word From The Refs". This is our blog page. (Sydney and I have already posted our submissions.)

3) Videos. songs, commercials, etc. Essentially, media! According to the assignment parameters, we are all required to have a minimum of ONE posting on the "Let's go To Video" page.

4) Thus far, the Organizations We Support page has only three listings. We need more!!


5) Game Analysis is our "Forums" page. We each need to post a topic and respond to the posts others have posted.

6) Calendar of events...how do we want to work this? An interactive calendar? I have looked online and am having trouble finding one...do we just want to have a list of dates and events in text form? This could work if we set it up in datebook form.

Although this last one is not required, it would be a nice touch if we all signed up as "Members" of the site by having a SocialGo.com log-in - this also allows us to Take The Pledge by signing in the Comments section of that page.

If anyone has any questions about how to work with the SocialGo software or how to post anything, please look through the other threads on this forum to see if your question has already been answered. If you still can't find an answer, please post what you need posted to this site (in a new thread) and someone who knows how to do it can see that it gets done!

GO TEAM!!!

I just feel like if I hadn't taken change, this project would have languished.

P.S. If you haven't checked it out yet, check go to the Intercepting Traffick website now!

Deadlines Aren't Arbitrary

It is 2:20 AM and I cannot sleep because this group project is on my mind. I have to say, I am extremely impressed with how Group Member #2 took the draft/template website I created and turned it into the amazing finished product that it is, and how s/he managed to do it in such a short time. It blows my own efforts away (and I have been told that my efforts were quite impressive!), and I am happy to have been teamed with this person...I truly am; but at the same time I am somewhat annoyed that I have to be exclusionary of our third group member, who thus far has contributed nothing because "web design" isn't their "strong point". The beauty of this forum is that it is a classroom - if something is not your strong point, then that is what you are here to learn and it is all the more reason that you should be actively participating instead of taking a back-seat to others. Layout formatting isn't my strongest point, but I gave it a shot; and some of my efforts even made it into the final draft of the site!

The complete lack of communication from Group Member #3 also bothers me, although s/he claims to have left messages for me on Facebook. I double checked the link to my page that I posted, and it is correct, yet no messages have been received there. Anything posted to Sakai goes directly to my URI email, so there is no reason to post outside the closed forum of our classroom. I only provided my Facebook info because it is a quick way to get in touch with me in the case of an emergency - but then poor planning on someone else's part does not constitute an emergency on mine.

Having been asked to wear the mantle of Group Leader, I posted a thread about the final leg of this project today - the proposal memo. I was planning on doing it myself since Group Member #2 worked so hard these past few days in turning what started as my vision into a first-class cooperative; and, quite honestly, because the third member of the group has proven that s/he feels deadlines are arbitrary. I am really excited about this project, and if Group Member #2 agrees to it, I would like to submit the proposed website to the owners of the company who's site we chose to improve. Although I have no plans to return to design work, this site would be a huge plus for any portfolio, student or professional.

Anyhow, the reason I can't sleep is because Group Member #3 has requested the assignment of doing the proposal memo. Seeing how s/he has contributed nothing to the project yet, I realize it is only fair to give them the chance to do something...and yet I wonder: had I not posted the request for input into it, would s/he had taken the initiative to draft the proposal anyway? The assignment was posted 12 days ago, and here it is only 3 or 4 days before deadline before s/he makes an effort to contribute - and business writing is what s/he called their "strong point". If that were me, I would have jumped on it a week ago!

I guess I just feel that this group member is only seeking to contribute at this point because s/he would otherwise face the very real possibility of getting a zero for the entire assignment, considering that is what s/he has contributed to it. Therein is my quandry: Do I trust this person's motivation? Do I trust that writing the business proposal will play to their strengths, and thus strengthen the overall impact of this project?

What has me second guessing my decision to give this person the go-ahead to handle the proposal memo is that I can't even refer to their "reaction writing" for the last two readings (Palmquist's piece on what constitutes a good website and the "Design for Non-Designers" chapter) to judge whether or not assigning them the proposal memo would be a solid decision. S/he hasn't posted either of these required reaction responses to our group's forum, even though the first was due a week ago and the second due a few hours ago. See what I mean when I say s/he has proven that s/he finds deadlines to be arbitrary?

This proposal memo has become a monkey on my back, one which I would love to send sailing off of a cliff. I have a Physics exam on Monday, and studying for it is going to require a lot of my time this weekend. I want to believe that the proposal memo is in good hands, and that when I wake Tuesday morning, it will be posted to our group forum where the completed*** website now sits; but I can't...something tells me that in order to shed the monkey I am going to have to put together a back-up proposal just in case the assigned proposal is not posted in time to be included with the rest of the project.

[***I added these stars because one thought led to another, but I did not want to digress (for a change): Group Member #3 has informed us that s/he will review the site we created and add their own edits, which we can include or reject. When I commented that the site was complete unless anyone had any more edits, it was worded inclusively because it is a group project, but directed at Group Member #2 since s/he is the only other one who has been working on it!! As far as I am concerned, the website looks perfect - to add to it would be like putting lipstick on a pig - and Group Member #3 has no right to make edits to the website when s/he has contributed nothing to the creative process thus far.]

Well, it is now 3:21 AM, and I have a long day ahead of me...now that this is all out of my system, maybe I will be able to sleep.

Thoughts On Leadership

It has been suggested that I be the Group Leader for Project 3 - Redesigning a Website; but I believe a person can only lead if others are willing to follow. I do my best to inspire, but if the message is not heard the result is the same as writing a blog that has no readers: zero impact.

A person must first be willing to be an active part of a group before they can follow. I will not accept the Captaincy of the Titanic knowing she is going to sink. Rather, I will Captain my own ship and whether she sinks or sails will be on me and not the result of another's apathy.