I’m not trying to minimize the plight in Haiti, but the definition of “value” does bring up some interesting questions. As stated in class, value can be measured in a variety of ways, such as:
- Dollars earned
- Time saved
- Awareness raised
- Puppies present
It all depends on who you are, your environment, and your perception of reality. Our group decided to measure our success in entertainment value. As per the instructions, we had about an hour to create something of value with a stack of sticky notes. Nick Lamberth came up with the brilliant idea of covering his roommate in sticky notes and filming him dance to Lady Gaga’s “Bad Romance.”
As soon as we described the project to Nick’s roommate, his immediate response was, “Why don’t you write something about donating to Haiti and post them up around campus?” After about 5 seconds of awkward silence, our group agreed this video would be just as thoughtful. The sticky notes provided a costume that surprisingly looked exactly like something from Lady Gaga’s wardrobe.
While we may not be saving babies trapped in rubble, we are giving your brain a 2 minute break with this video. That has to be worth something, right?
Popularity: 2% [?]
This post does not speak highly of the character of the students in this course. It is insensitive, selfish, naive and just unnecessary.
There are many problems with what you have done here. The largest is believing that a meaningless youtube video has any value as compared to donations that can improve lives. Nor does this video meet any of your arbitrary standards of value at the top of the post. As a fellow UF student, I’m disappointed in your thought process.
Well, if I have the chance to defend myself, my thought process was as follows:
This class requires about 20 posts every week on the exact same subject. Instead of rehashing the same ideas and having my post get lost under everyone else’s, I strive to make mine stand out. One tactic I tried to use was outlandish claims and humor (I will admit I can come across incredibly dry and sarcastic). Controversy can give a blog buzz and increase the number of views.
So far, this post has the highest popularity rating of all the recently published posts, as well as the most comments. Obviously I did not find the correct balance between controversial and offensive, but then again I assumed that readers wouldn’t really believe that anyone could think this video is a larger benefit to mankind than donating money to Haiti. All I can say is I will take notes as to how to improve my writing and keep them in mind for next week.