#Skillset Renzo

Outreach & Project Management: My current passion project is producing a YouTube series where I interview artists, publishers, and creators working in comics. So I have to stay abreast of what artists are big, who’s up and coming, and what are the new trends. Then I have to find those people that are now or soon will be movers-and-shakers and convince them to sit down and talk to me, then work with my editor to make something watchable. So keeping this going feels a bit like outreach and project management combine.

Developer: I have a modest knowledge of Photoshop from running a little blog about old Japanese magazines. Other than that my technical know-how could be better.

Design: After working in film distribution, art museum management, blogging, and film producing, I’d like to think I have a decent grasp of aesthetics and what looks/feels right on a project.

I make good connections with contacts and get some mileage out of a small amount of information.  I do some freelance journalism so I enjoy writing. My previous work was in museum and PR for a horror movie company, so my knowledge spans from art history to how to make a convincing looking exploding head using common household items. I like connecting the dots between things. Think of it as playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon, but with arts, world events, people etc..

 

#skillset – Juliana

Hey all,

Good to see you guys again. Here are my skill sets:

  • Outreach Coordinator:  My professional life include 6 years of business development, marketing and public relations. What I’m particularly good at is finding new areas of expansion, by finding potential clients/partnerships and seeing how we can enter a mutually beneficial relationship. In more friendly, DH speak, I can find possible collaboration opportunities that can help our project go beyond its reach as if it was just on its own- whether it is finding a like-minded organization that can link to our project site, sending project updates to publications (not just academic), inviting fellow DH’ers during the beta testing phases, or exchanging data, ideas, or code with others to build up a network. I think an outreach coordinator should go beyond telling the world about our project, but also attempt to build and actively engage with a community, much like a brand.  My everyday job is asking and answering questions like: Why would anyone care? How does this help other people? Why should they share our story?
  • Project Manager: I’m organized, deadline oriented and I pick up things pretty quickly, which is important when you are collaborating cross-functions. I may not be the best developer, but I trust my abilities to pick up the necessary details so I can talk about it intelligently. I’m good at stepping back and thinking how we can make better connections so all the functions are working at optimal levels, like coordinating outreach on important development stages. I’m also willing and able to help other team members in case they need additional help.
  • Designer/UX: I have opinions on what  looks nice and my personal preference on user experience. But my skill set in this area is limited. I’m not proficient in any of the programs that others have named. But I am willing to learn.
  • Developer: I would love to develop this skill set more. I’m taking the module on HTML and CSS at the J-School this month. Depending on the project’s technical requirements, I would be open to it.

Skillset, Sarah

Developer–I’m pretty sure I have no skills in this area. Basic HTML and the ability to write SQL queries just about covers it. I am going to quote Chris M, who summed up my feelings on this role perfectly “Relatively little experience in this area and so I fear that this would be biting off more than I could chew. I have interest in learning alongside my team’s developer, but in the interest of efficiency, I’m probably not the team member best suited for this role.”

Outreach–I have social media accounts. Occasionally I use them. Definitely a growth area for me.

Designer–This is the role that interests me the most. I have some basic design program knowledge–Photoshop, InDesign etc. I critique usability and web design all the time, so I’d like try and put my $ where my mouth is and move beyond critique. As a quilter and a former pastry chef, I have experience working in some really different visual languages.

Program Manager–I love to make lists & organize things. I run super-efficient meetings. I’m goal oriented and good at problem solving. I think this is my strongest skill area.

#skillset Chris M.

Hi all,

Here are some things that I bring to the table. I got a handle on some of this in my previous career as a digital archivist at a media company, where I helped build, design, and launch a number of archive projects/products, working across *constituencies* and with many *stakeholders* (and have the argot to prove it). Now as a teacher, I like to think that all of my lesson-planning and focus on presenting and conveying meaning also informs my approach to our class. Most days are a logic problem in reverse: I know the ideal outcome of each lesson, but figuring out how to get there sequentially is what it’s all about. This is not unrelated to project development, I think.

Outreach: I recently stepped down as a founding co-editor of a (then) brand-new digital magazine for librarians and archivists. This involved raising awareness, getting in touch with partners and vendors, and generally building the case for why we mattered. Lotsa standard stuff re: social media and putting together announcements and going to meetings, etc.

Project Manager: Through assisting in planning and implementing a number of archive projects, I’ve worked to get different partners and players to talk in common languages, hew to best practices and deadlines, and respect all workflows and schedules. My volunteer editing experience definitely helped with this, too.

Designer/UX: In helping build digital archives, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how sites should look, feel, and function. I have some site design experience and feel comfortable with basic publishing platforms. Definitely a skill-set I’m looking to build on.

Developer: Relatively little experience in this area and so I fear that this would be biting off more than I could chew. I have interest in learning alongside my team’s developer, but in the interest of efficiency, I’m probably not the team member best suited for this role.

Also wanted to echo Julia’s support in encouraging all of these great projects, and toss in my support for Daria’s pitch, too, which sounds rad.

TANDEM (0.5)

Let’s build a GUI that combines the power of Google’s Tesseract OCR and FeatureExtractor.

The idea is to build an environment (web-based or standalone) where you can take your text overlayed object, toss it in, and have a save ready output file to take away with you. Generate the data you need to visualize, explore, parse apart, and build the story. There is an interesting dialogue between text and images happening in comics, children’s picture books, marketing materials, illustrated maps, illuminated manuscripts, etc. Get your data, understand the output variables in simple and easy to reference ways, and get back to finding your story.

  • Team Note: Be ready to learn. Everyone involved in this intimidating project will bleed through their role and engage in collaborative learning of each of the elements needed to complete the project. Developers must understand design, designers must understand branding, outreach/branding must understand how the thing works, and the project coordinator must understand how to get conversations rolling to hit deadlines.
  • Developer:  Bravery. Develop clean and clear code that will allow us to wrap our OCR and Image Processing Software as modules to be placed in the overall software. Working understanding of code and willingness to dedicate time to digging into what needs to be written to get this off the ground. Knowledge of Python or a single language at the very least.
  • Designer: Understand user interaction and develop aesthetically simple, intuitive interface. Understand design basics, have a working proficiency in Adobe Design programs. Also maintain brand identity in conjunction with Outreach Coordinator.
  • Outreach Coordinator: Social butterflies. We need community support. Work on creating a voice and an audience for this project. Using not only social media but having the ability to track where our message is working best. What tweets work, what outlets are giving good feedback. We need to make a communal conversation that helps us reach our goal.
  • Project Manager: Keep your hand on the pulse of the schedule, set deadlines, gather learning resources, keep open lines of communication between team members. I have so many people in mind for this and each one can potentially bring an entirely different outcome to the project. I want a project manager who wants to see this thing materialize.

Reassurance – Let’s say we build it in Python and Javascript – Here are key some pieces we can consider:

Google’s Tesseract OCR

Python-tesseract is a python wrapper for google’s Tesseract-OCR

FeatureExtractor (Let’s talk to Lev about this. It is one of his tools afterall.) –

PyJamas GUI Toolkit

#skillset – James Mason (@mamesjason)

Willingness and interest in learning: I think that as students, we all pretty much have this. That said, I spent a good portion of my Winter break learning Python. As such, I am willing to take on roles that I am unfamiliar with, and step outside my comfort zone (like the soon-to-be dreaded developer role). Aside from Python, I went to most of the workshops last semester, and followed up study on several languages. Aside from Python, I am interested in R and Ruby, but have not looked into them as deeply thus far. I learned basic coding in high school in C++ (let’s just use C++, right??) and HTML via tending to my Neopets back to 2002. Better times.

I like to write and communicate: My Bachelors is in English. I write every day and I enjoy doing it. However, I also love speaking–even public speaking! As such, I think that the Outreach Coordinator is a solid fit for me. In my own project proposal, I realized that the OC is going to be a large undertaking, and I am sure the same rings true for many of the projects we intend to work on. That said, I have a great deal of confidence in all of you and your projects. I believe that we are capable of succeeding, and I would like to share this conclusion with the world such that they might help us achieve our goals.

I believe in simplicity: I do not believe in spending four syllables where one would suffice. I prefer to speak and write in the simplest terms as possible. Does this make me a good designer? My style is minimalist, as can be seen from the website I tend to (where I post & host my podcast). I mostly work in templates, and know very little CSS. I am familiar with Adobe Photoshop, but that’s pretty much it. I would love to work with someone who knows more about design programs.

Strong memory and time management: My primary goal in my own project was to ensure that I could achieve my base goals by the end of the semester. I think it’s very exciting that many of you have theory-crafted projects that will take a considerable amount of time and effort. If I undertake the role of project manager I want to ensure that by the end of the semester, we have something to show for all of our efforts. This might mean cutting and streamlining the project down to a very “alpha” state. I am more than willing to create timelines and deadlines to make this happen.

In summation: I love working with people. I have great respect for the people in this class, and regardless of which project and role I end up doing, I will be happy. I am ready and willing to jump into any position, but I want to work on a project that has a lot of bleed between roles, such that I can learn a little of this and a little of that.

Regardless of our tentative successes and failures, I am very interested in seeing what happens.  Maybe it’ll all turn into one big romantic comedy and Steve can break it down for us shot-by-shot.

#Skillset Vote For My Project

Hello Friends –
I really hope you’ll help me get this Mother Studies project started!

I’ve finally got my 3 word short description of my project:
#Hacking June Cleaver

Major Points:
Great class. Great projects.
I need your help to make Mother Studies a reality
I’m looking for a great team to bring a new area of study to the academy!

Description:  Mother Studies is an introduction to the concept of motherhood, fatherhood and family through a critical lens. Coursework includes articles, research, popular media, film, and literature to demonstrate that ‘mothering’, birthing, caregiving, and childrearing are actually ‘work’ in the true sense of the word. From pregnancy to ‘labor’ the requirements of women, physically, emotionally and spiritually are challenged and stretched, and therefore so are men’s. Participants examine changing perceptions of mothers throughout history, including some feminist theory, political theory, and sociological theory. Materials will predominantly be focused on representations of mothers in the United States, but we’ll also peek at global perspectives, policies, health statistics, and methods of conception. This degree takes a scholarly approach to ideas of motherhood, but students will be encouraged to examine their personal experiences as well. This degree offers students a chance to explore the evolution of family, gain understanding of the historic marginalization of women, and expand on notions of caregiving so we can collectively move future family experiences forward in educated and empowered ways. This is a useful degree for nurses, students of the social sciences, women’s and gender studies, philosophy, history, public health, early childhood studies, digital humanities, and education majors.

I made a power point and uploaded it to YouTube. This project incorporates many of the elements you have expressed interest in, including: syllabi collection, data mapping, pod-cast or video production, and coding. I promise this project will be a real collective endeavor. I need your unbiased, smart, and beautiful contributions. [CLICK] to see YouTube, or PDF file of project proposal is attached at the bottom of this post and here: Class Preso Final PDF

Plea – This is my thesis proposal
Bribe – My son (Ali Marpet) is in the top 100 NFL draft picks for the 2015 season. Swag to come….
__________________________________________
My skills (for this project or another) –

Project Management: I am used to successfully collaborating with short and long-term task-oriented groups. I’ve worked as a coordinator for large-scale events organizing teams across the country, and I collaborate annually with small academic teams creating conferences here in NYC which require regular meetings, spreadsheets, excel files, and deadlines. I recognize the importance of keeping projects on task with reasonable goals. This requires drive and flexibility, as well as quick thinking in a crisis. I feel very comfortable in this role, and will do my best for the greater good – whatever that is.

Outreach: Communication is my strongest skill. I’ve worked in media: radio, and tv. I’ve blogged professionally and I am good at creating press releases, media packets, and using social media. I have a fairly wide following between my various ventures, and I believe in the DH mandate for making work public. Communication is all about connection. I realize that. I look to get people excited and invested in important things.

Designer: I have designed and implemented several successful websites using WordPress and other platforms for projects, businesses, and organizations. I am graphically inclined, and good with branding and layout.

Developer: Mmmm…. not so much. But, I’m on a learning curve and open to new knowledge.

If any of you have questions about this project over the weekend, please write me and I will try to answer them, or clarify any points that need further explanation. Write me here or privately at [email protected]
I hope you’ll vote for this project.
Thanks Much!
#DHpraxis14
MAPPING MOTHER STUDIES PDF

Digital Praxis Class 2014-15

Digital Praxis Class 2014-15

Encourage Pitches: U People Rule

I would like to send encouragement to some of the pitches that I liked in class.

@James I am a podcatsting nerd, I love em, I am always thinking about ones I should make. I imagine a kind of protocol that would make this idea very streamline and easy for prof’s to use. maybe like an app that would record and add intro’s automatically and upload seamlessly.

@JoJo I love this idea. I have told you before I imagine a very abstract digital space where sound and artifact behave in chaotic or beautiful ways. A kind of antithesis to ansestry.com. This project would be less about which king you are related to and more about a space to let memories stream around. kinda like the 9/11 sonic memorial archive.

@Kelly This project is important and good and practical and something that we could make and be able to distribute. It would be good for my professional development 🙂

@Tessa I like the idea of a collection for web trends. I am sad that RSS seems to be less than cool, I like Pinterest but it is SO proprietary (and full of weddings). I want to think about this project a bit more, what could it be? what could it do? how could it function?

@Chris V I mean I want to see what happens with this.

@Joy I am so into mother studies and alternative spaces for scholarship and history. My interest in this is about the content like @Sarah and @Juliana

@Liam I think social citation could be fun I think we should talk about it

I was gonna try to keep it to 4 oops (sorry profs), but I would be happy to pre brainstorm before class

@ http://pixgood.com/cat-computer.html