Dylan Nelson's Blog

The capabilities I have demonstrated through my work in New Media Lab

WRITING

I can write well-developed and supported articles for a general audience.

I can control my voice and style to write both in both opinion and objective journalistic styles.

I can generate interesting and relevant writing ideas that can find an audience and contribute significantly to topics of contemporary interest.

I can research and evaluate the credibility of sources, and I can present information in an original way that respects and gives credit to the work of others.

Harvard Article (Objective Reporting)

MeToo Article (Opinion Piece)

WORKING ONLINE

I can use a variety of online tools such as email, online word processors, social media, search engines and content management systems to communicate, research, write, and publish my work using online conventions such as hyperlinking to sources.

I can find and select images that convey the topic and tone of my writing in a way that understands and respects copyright and fair use.

I am able to use google docs, find fair use images on websites such as Pexels, I can publish on Twitter and Instagram, and am able to hyperlink sources within a piece of work.

EDITING

I can act as a leader in the classroom, assisting my classmates and helping direct our collective project.

I can use my understanding of the English language, written nonfiction genres and the needs of the audience to help develop and polish other writer’s work.

I can understand the needs of the brand and help maintain the integrity of our publishing project.

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT

I can write for social media, showing an understanding of the conventions of social media sites, in a manner that is professional and engaging.

I can portray the brand on social media, helping to create audience engagement.

I can design social media campaigns or tools to support an online project.

GRAPHIC DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATION

I can read and interpret other’s writing, and use the conventions of design and illustration to create professional images that convey topic and tone.

Instagram Post 1

Instagram Post 2

PODCASTING

I can record my voice to create engaging and clear audio materials that an online audience can use to appreciate the writing of my peers.

Podcast 1

Podcast 2

Podcast 3

Image Credit: Pexels

Burnaby high school student worried about their second pandemic summer

Another summer in quarantine? Or a busting out, hopefully post-vaccination, after over a year of pandemic blues?

For this Burnaby teens’ upcoming summer, the future’s filled with concerns of post secondary education.

A 16 year old student named Jihwana Kimlee from a Burnaby high school believes that this summer is going to be filled with preparation for university, just like last year.

“I’m gonna be indoors because I’m going to be studying a lot like last summer, Kimlee says.

“If I don’t get good marks in summer school this year, I might consider killing myself.”

Kimlee, ultimately, is feeling uncertain about his university plans.

“It’s do or die for me now, I need to get focused and get ready for my future.

Image Credit: Pexels

Ottawa says 500+ travellers have been fined for defying quarantine rules, but has no idea of total number

Here’s what you need to know to get the day started: Ottawa says 500+ travellers have been fined for defying quarantine rules, but has no idea of total number The federal government has doled out hundreds of fines since Feb. 22 — typically for $3,000 each — to air passengers who refused to quarantine in a designated hotel upon arrival in Canada. Even so, the government couldn’t provide CBC News with a total number of people who’ve violated its rule that passengers entering Canada be tested for COVID-19, then quarantine in a hotel while waiting for their results. And when CBC tried to track down the total number of hotel quarantine violators, it found no evidence of fines being issued to passengers who landed in Calgary or Montreal — two of the four cities, along with Vancouver and Toronto, where international flights are allowed to land during the pandemic. The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) told CBC News last week it was “aware” of 513 tickets being issued to air passengers who arrived in Toronto or Vancouver between Feb. 22 and April 25 and refused to go to a quarantine hotel. The agency said that in those cities, both PHAC officers and police can issue tickets. PHAC said the rules are different in Calgary and Montreal, so to check with local authorities for statistics on tickets. CBC did and found no indication that any had been issued. But that doesn’t mean all travellers arriving in those two cities obeyed the rules. CBC News interviewed several passengers who said they recently landed in Montreal or Calgary, refused to quarantine in a hotel and have yet to be hit with a fine. “I’m sure the [police] have better things to do,” said snowbird Allan Prout of Yorkton, Sask., who flew to Calgary from Puerto Vallarta on April 26. “I mean there’s real criminals out there. I’m not a criminal.” Prout said he refused to check into a quarantine hotel because of the price — up to $2,000 — and because he wanted to do his full 14-day quarantine at his house.

Read the rest of this newsletter at CBC Morning Brief

Image Credit: Pexels

Insider claims that game publisher EA entices players to purchase loot boxes in popular soccer game

An EA insider who works at EA’s Burnaby, BC location, reached out to CBC news wanting to share confidential information from within the organization. They claim that a document from within FIFA proves that the company is trying to drive its players towards a mode that encourages them to spend more money.

The 54-page document that was leaked, discusses a mode known as FIFA Ultimate Team or FUT, which features a mechanic called “loot boxes”.

Critics of these loot boxes claim that they are similar to gambling, due to the randomness of what players can obtain, and how the flashy visuals and sounds captivate the player.

Keith Whyte, executive director of the U.S. National Council on Problem Gaming, believes that loot boxes can be extremely addictive. “The features of a loot box are similar to a slot machine,” he said. “Nothing is more attractive — and in some people, addictive — to the brain than intermittent, variable reward.”

According to Niko Partners, a firm that specializes in video game market analytics, EA earned $1.49 Billion USD in 2020 from loot boxes in their sports games alone.

Although loot boxes are not illegal in the U.S. and Canada, there have been arguments made that they constitute gambling and should be regulated as such. Loot boxes were banned in Belgium in 2018, and a class-action lawsuit was proposed in Vancouver, which alleges that EA is violating gambling legislation.

An EA spokesperson, Charlie Fortescue, has defended loot boxes by stating that “All EA games can be played without spending on in-game items, and the majority of players do not spend”.

A gaming researcher and computer science lecturer at the University of York, David Zendle, believes that loot boxes shouldn’t be able to be purchased with real money.

“I think you just need to eradicate the monetization of it, allow players to earn coins in game and then let them spend those coins on card packs.”

Cover Image: EA

I interviewed an up and coming local streetwear designer to see what creating a brand is all about

Many of today’s youth want clothing from streetwear brands such as Off-White, Supreme and Bape, but some of these kids also wish to create their own brand and become successful fashion icons like Virgil Abloh and Nigo. This was the dream of 14-year-old Ryan Nelson.

The teen started his streetwear brand Crash Vancouver in early 2019, focusing the brand on comfort, design, and affordability. From the high points of earning thousands, to the low points of a shipping scandal, this is how Crash went from a company only being known by a couple friends and school, to a brand being known by thousands.

Nelson’s intention behind choosing the name was that it would be iconic, and memorable. “Just mainly wanted something that sounded catchy, and would look good on clothes.” Nelson had experience within the clothing industry creating designs for Worldwide Youth, a clothing brand created by his friend Dylan Grails in 2018. Crash quickly gained notoriety on Instagram through various postings.

Their first drop, the “Canine Collection” was announced in late April via Instagram and scheduled for release in June. The first collection would feature shirts with an aggressive design and inverted colors, with the look of the shirts being heavily inspired by an album cover.

It was also announced that each collection would never be restocked and that the price of the shirts would be 30 dollars. The posts featured B.C. Instagram models @vito.bianco and @rari_kari, which exposed their over 20 000 followers to the up and coming streetwear brand.

Crash Vancouver’s first collection sold out in only a day. “I like how it reminds me of the album Without Warning,” Mantaj, a Burnaby student said. “I also like how they made a different version of the same shirt which was inverted, and I have never seen that before.”

Shortly after this first drop, Crash began planning a second drop. In early August, they announced their second collection, the “Summer Capsule.”

The release was scheduled for August. Crash Vancouver switched to a different supplier, which increased the quality and comfort of their clothing. The brand also decided to make a comment giveaway under their post, with whoever commented the most winning a free pair of shorts. Mantaj ended up being the winner of the giveaway, with over 1900 comments.

That post and two more promotional posts combined received thousands of likes and comments, a big jump over the Canine Collection. On launch day, both the shirt and shorts sold out in under 24 hours, the same as the first drop. Crash Vancouver switched to a different supplier, which increased the quality and comfort of their clothing.

“Personally, I did not like the placement of the logo, and the sizing of the shorts were too small,” Mantaj said. “However, the quality was better than I expected from a new brand.”

With October approaching, Nelson decided to create a Halloween themed clothing drop. In early October, a post detailed the upcoming “Halloween Drop”, which would be shipping from California for the first time; this meant that Crash would no longer deliver clothing through local meetup.

Hype for the drop was building, and 3 hours before the drop a post featured Ryan’s associate Dylan Grails. Ryan’s design process for this drop was more The drop sold out in a day, as with all the previous drops.

Up until the Halloween drop, Crash Vancouver was known to be a reliable brand that delivered high-quality clothing on time. However, the brand ran into a problem due to the shipping delays of the current drop. Burnaby student Ethan, experienced these delays first hand. “I bought a longsleeve shirt on October 11. It shipped January 2, and I got it around January 18.”

After feedback from customers associated with the shipping delays, Nelson made sure to correct the shipping issues, and both of their next drops arrived in an acceptable time frame. Crash Vancouver’s New Years Drop featured their cheapest shirt yet, and their following Valentine’s Day Drop included their first jacket. In Late April, Crash also dropped their new spring collection which included an airbrush design for the first time.

Though there has highs and lows throughout creating Crash, Nelson is optimistic of his streetwear brand’s future. “I feel extremely hopeful, as I’ve got a lot of big things planned for the future of the business.”

Cover Image: Needpix

This is how I updated my site’s profile picture and header

When I decided to update the media on my site, I wanted do do something that is clean and simple. I thought that the best way to do this was using a gradient background and use modern text on top. To create my profile picture, I used Canva and used their default black background as the template. I then added the text on top of that. To update my header, I decided to follow suit by adding a black gradient background and using a simple and modern font for the header text. Overall, my design process was to make something that would be easy to read, look very clean, and appear simple and modern.

Kim Jong Un is alive and well after rumors of being dead

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur. Excepteur sint occaecat cupidatat non proident, sunt in culpa qui officia deserunt mollit anim id est laborum.

We’re all just gonna pretend that CNN and NBC’s top reporters didn’t claim Kim Jong Un was petty much dead, huh?
— Mike Cernovich (@Cernovich) May 6, 2020

https://www.instagram.com/p/B_jghhwJ0jm/

Cover Image: The Guardian

Dylan Nelson’s Media Diet

Personal Interests

Journalism
Coding
Health and Fitness

List of Websites

Other Media Sources

https://www.youtube.com/user/PowerfulJRE
Vox Newsletter

Offline Ways to Stay Engaged

Talk to my cousin or uncle who are surgeons about current health news
Read paper news to find the latest stories

Source: eschoolnews

You can avoid plagiarism by learning what it is and using these tips

During the many years that you have done English in school, you may have heard of the term, “Plagiarism.” According to Dictionary.com, plagiarism is “an act or instance of using or closely imitating the language and thoughts of another author without authorization and the representation of that author’s work as one’s own, as by not crediting the original author.” In other words, plagiarism is copying someone else’s work without their permission. If you are caught plagiarizing someone else’s work, this can result in grave consequences. These consequences can range from a mark of 0 on a project in high school, to getting kicked out of university, all the way to becoming imprisoned. You should know that plagiarism is an extremely serious offence, and you should always be careful to never commit it. After hearing about how serious of an offence plagiarism is, you should want to know how to avoid it. The best methods of avoiding plagiarism in your writing are to: keep track of all sources that you have quoted or borrowed from, take careful notes that don’t copy another source, and never take notes from a source you don’t understand. Keep in mind that even when plagiarism is done by accident, you might not always get a second chance.

Image Source: grammarly