My Proposal is a series of YouTube videos on “Pomona’s Secrets”. You can see my whole thought process on my blog, but here is my latest entry and my proposal:
I blinded myself from what I wanted to do. All I had to do was take a step back to realize what the true essence of my project is about. The title of my blog, Pomona Secrets, summarizes what I want to do; I just did not put two and two together. My thoughts were so concentrated on figuring out a series of videos that every college student could relate to, but was experienced by students on campus. With that thought in mind, I came up with the ideas for asking where to sit in class and who to sit next to. It also led me to the idea to ask what types of secret concoctions people created in the dining halls with limited ingredients. Try to make the videos transcend colleges ended up limiting my perspective. I have, however, overcome my limitations.
Why do I love Pomona? What does Pomona mean to me? These questions are Pomona specific, because they have the word Pomona in them. But they also transcend the college experience. When someone says “I love Pomona because…” they are also saying “I love college because…” With that in mind, I realized what makes Pomona unique will also somewhat blend into other college experiences. I have come up with this for my extended list of possible topics to discuss with students:
1. What do you think about sponsor groups?
a. What are the unwritten rules of sponsor groups?
b. Any stories?
2. What’s a friend crush?
a. Have you acted on one?
b. How do you act on one?
c. Any awkward stories?
3. What dining hall do you like?
a. What’s the best one on all of the campuses?
b. Do you eat lunch in the dining halls?
i. Do you have a dining buddy?
ii. Ever sat with a random person for a meal?
4. Are the new buildings and renovations worth it?
a. What’s your favorite place on campus?
b. What’s the best party of the year?
c. What rule or regulation would you change if you had the power?
5. Are there rules on interclass socializing? (Interclass = Between grades)
I centered the questions on the Pomona experience, but anyone of college age can understand and relate to them. I am I genius? Maybe. Will I get some good stories? Hopefully. Can I pull it off? We will see now won’t we…
I'm looking forward to it. Keep an eye out for how you can relate it to the readings...that might be tough.
You ask on your blog about how to "dominate" the YouTube ratings and I've found it to be near impossible. I tend to find that YouTube visitors have a very different taste in videos than I do. I realize this is a whole different project, but it would be very interesting to look into the top, say, 100 most popular YouTube videos of all time and figure out what the public subconsiously looks for in videos (for example, why was Shoes such a hit to the point where the YouTube link is the #2 result in Google when you search for "shoes", ahead of any shoe manufacturer?)
Good luck and I can't wait. But honestly, listen to yourself: "I am I genius? Maybe." Yes, Bumpkins, maybe you is.
I wish I had a witty comeback, but all I can say is that at 1am on a Saturday night I cannot be held responsible for something as petty as grammar.
much obliged for the comment. WTF did shoes come from? (The w stands for where, so you don't hate on me)
I think this is a great idea, considering the substantial role YouTube seems to have in many of our lives these days...I like that you are intending to display the "college experience" as a whole, while connecting your data to an increasingly popular new form of media.
... I bet you can take this a step further and gain tons of viewers if you create a Facebook group that explains your project, and includes the link to your video, in addition to offering space for college students around the world to blog and comment on your work. With that done you are tying in our most significant form of new media used within our class, and inviting the larger population to participate.
I like the facebook group idea, I hadn't thought of mixing the two. thanks for the input.
Some themes just in case you need any other ideas:
6. President Oxtoby
7. People's behavior Pomona room-draw
8. Prospie moments
9. 5-C stereotypes
10. PP vs. CMS rivalry
I'm very much looking forward to seeing what comes of this project, and I'm glad that facebook has been suggested as a fruitful location for building a community around the project. You've got some great questions to ask, and I can see how they could build a snapshot of the Pomona zeitgeist, right now. I hope that you'll get as wide a range of respondents as you can...