Linking Assignment 1 – Task 8: Golden Record Curation

I decided on a linking assignment to Brian’s blog on the Golden Record Curation.  When I completed task nine which was the network assignment using the Golden Record, I was in group two with one of the members being Brain.   After analyzing the data using the Palladio tool, the graph showed that in my group, I had four songs that were not connected to anyone while Brian had only one.  Brian seem to be a central node where his songs had connections with everyone in the group.  Thus, I was intrigued.

Brian Ham’s Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/brianhametec54066b/2020/07/03/task-8-golden-record-curation/

My Blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/melomart/2020/07/01/task-8-golden-record/

 

Picture retrieved from: https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/golden-record-cover/

 

This was a straightforward task where we had to pick ten songs out of the twenty-seven songs.  I think it is the process that gives this task individuality.

It’s interesting that Brian and I had the same goal in that we wanted to have a list of songs that would represent different geographical places and have as much cultural diversity in sound and instruments.  However, our approach in choosing the list was completely different.  I went in a very methodical way by picking different countries first, then adding songs that would give a glimpse of culture, and then moving on to picking instruments to complete the list.  While I enjoy listening to different kinds of music, Brian’s post showed his background knowledge in the history as well as his talent in knowing the different instruments and how each functioned.  He was able to give a comprehensive detailed reason for each of his choice.  I enjoyed reading the historical background he gave for the songs he picked.

To complete this task, we both relied heavily on text without audio or visual but Brian’s post had different font sizes and spaces between paragraphs that gave an interesting texture to the text.  Our layout was completely different from each other.  I wrote my top ten list first and then wrote my thinking process in a paragraph after. Brian did the opposite and delineated his process as a beginning paragraph followed by his detailed list with an information blurb under each one.  Looking at his layout, I could see that his post was easier to read because his introduction set the stage for the reader on what is about to follow.  As well, the larger font size and bigger spaces between paragraph made it easier to read.

Both of us used UBC WordPress as our online platform.  Brian’s website was not distracting and it was easy to navigate.  He had a clear vision of how he wanted his website to look like and I had a feeling of being in a mellow jazz lounge.  Even though his cover page was black with an outline of a person, it was still an impactful image and his home page with a picture of him and a short biography.  This is my first time using WordPress and this just made me realize that I don’t have a home page.  The only part I wondered about was that I had to scroll to the bottom of the page in order to find links to other posts.  However, if the headings were at the top or as a side bar, it would deter the clean and sleek image of the post.  I do like that the website had two very clear headings for recent posts and comments.  I also found it useful to have the tasks numbered in chronological order for the reader, whereas I had a mixture where some tasks were numbered and others weren’t.  Thank you Brian for the interesting post on the Golden Record !