Another semester is coming to a close and somehow I know how to create a blog, make YouTube videos, add music to my podcasts… that is proof I can learn new things! Who knew making a YouTube video was so labor intensive? That is something I probably would not have done without taking this class. I have always wanted to make a YouTube video to teach people how to chop, but never in my mind did I think it would be so technical. I’m stoked that I know how to create and upload videos. The most important part of this class was to learn how to brand myself and make a blog showcasing what I’ve learned in restaurants and industrial kitchens over the years. This class has taught me how to navigate around a website with ease. The thought of creating a blog seemed overwhelming before, which is why I probably hadn’t gotten around to making one prior to this semester. By learning how to create my own page I’ve taken another step toward changing my career from chef to food writer and I’m so excited!

Now, to discuss my “take-aways”: Mind blown over finding out my phone and my laptop are listening to me. The thought just bugs me out. It really shouldn’t surprise me, but I guess in my world of thinking I wasn’t technologically advanced so I didn’t have to worry about these things. I figured because I don’t use Facebook or other social media platforms I was safe. Little did I know… I’m mildly disappointed to know that the suggestion to go to Fiji after I talked about it wasn’t a sign.

Learning about algorithms in social media was also eye opening. I knew it was happening, I just didn’t know to what extent. The professor schooled the class on how Instagram and Facebook algorithms work, in regards to who appears in your feed. Finding out that people who pop up in your suggestions or feed are the ones who spend the most time stalking you online or vice versa was great. I saw some students who were mighty surprised. Nothing says WHOA like the moment you realize the person you’ve been creeping on receives suggestions to friend you. All of a sudden your suggestions take on a whole new meaning.

So now I can officially say I’m definitely, almost, nearly a semi-professional strategic presenter. Do you need tips on how to ethically obtain freely shared music or images? No problem. Want tips on how to start up a WordPress blog and embed images? Done. Why does that person keep coming up on your feed in Instagram? Let me tell you why! As long as you don’t need help with Audacity, I got you.

https://anchor.fm/jessica467/embed/episodes/Rutgers–Restaurants–and-Harassment-e2km20/a-a6la49

WOAH Twitter

WOAH Facebook

The Patch- Rutgers Rape Stats

Taking the Heat

Sexual Harassment in the Industry

WOAH tumblr

I struggled with doing what I needed to do on Audacity and found it unfriendly for beginning users. I found a very user friendly podcast site in my Apps. It’s called Anchor and online rates it one of the highest for creating podcasts. The music is licensed through the app and it easily allows you to copy and paste your vocals. I could change the order of each section I recorded by dragging and dropping the file within the app. It easily allowed me to add music to each section. Once you finish recording, music is provided and divided up by theme (upbeat, dramatic, curious) so you can chose what goes best with your topic. It also has interludes available which make the transition from one speech to another sound seamless.

My podcast delves into the two podcasts I listened to previously and I share some of my kitchen experiences which describe the culture inside a professional kitchen. Part of WOAH’s mission is to be a support group for women so one of my points was addressing female students who work at restaurants while going to Rutgers. Some women who struggle with the harsh environment in a kitchen could benefit from having a support group on campus that could help them make a change in their work place. Sexual Harassment and the new wave to meet this sensitive topic head on makes this the perfect time to explore and address women and the challenges they face in industrial kitchens.

Maria Lozano– Maria Writes

Sarah Osmun– Tattoos

Cara Smith– The Scarlet Knights

Erika Etkine– Erika Etkine

Light After Darkness Attribution ShareAlike Generic (CC by SA 2.0)

Purple Leaf Oxalis Attribution Generic (CC by 2.0)

Memes by Jessica Campbell Meme Generator

Since you said we could do a meme on anything we talked about during this semester I had to do it on your explanation of why phones and laptops suggest ads of things we talk about. I have to admit, it never occurred to me it wasn’t a sign or a coincidence that things I talked about appeared in online ads. Realizing my phone and laptop are always listening was eye opening. Also, you enlightening everyone on how it’s impossible to anonymously stalk someone’s page was interesting. I watched classmates cringe after they found out about the algorithms on Instagram and Facebook. It made me laugh because memes immediately popped in my head. Providing the opportunity to make memes on the anything, I couldn’t pass up touching on that class discussion. One of the things that I love about memes is the way the facial expressions displayed on some of them encompass how I actually feel. Woody’s face probably reflected mine thinking about everything I say near my phone or laptop going into a databank somewhere. The idea creeps me out. Just because they can do it to help market to an individual doesn’t mean it’s ethical to do so. What happens when someone else taps in? I’m sure people think it’s paranoia to say it, but the fact that they are listening to begin with is ridiculous. Who knows what else could be done with these recordings. That’s just something to mull over the next time an ad for White Castle pops up after you mention craving some sliders.

Women Organizing Against Harassment

Sexual Harassment in the Industry

Taking the Heat

This week I wanted to shed light on a non-profit organization on the Rutgers Campus, Women Organizing Against Harassment (WOAH). Being that sexual harassment for women working in kitchens is something we have all dealt with sometime or another I thought it would be prevalent to share some information about an organization working hard to empower women. WOAH’s mission is to stop violence and sexual assault on women and offer support to survivors of abuse. Links to their Facebook, tumblr, and twitter pages are available from the WOAH homepage. They have weekly meetings and organize events to reach the community with the hopes of bringing awareness about rape, the culture surrounding it, and enthusiastic consent. Their goal is to provide a community for women where they can be loved, understood, and built up. After 20 years in the culinary field I can speak from experience when I say, you better have tough skin. It shouldn’t be like that, but it is. Groups like WOAH give women the tools (and the friends) they need to get through difficult situations that can arise from living on campuses, working in the culinary field, or dealing with harassment on any level.

The other links I provided are to share with women in the industry or those who want to enter the industry- there will be struggles, but you can get through them. Deborah Harris in “Taking the Heat” highlights the struggles of women working as chefs in professional kitchens, from the gender hierarchy which forces them to continually prove their worth to the sexual harassment that goes along with the territory. There is a part in this podcast where Harris describes a woman chef telling another woman in the kitchen who is crying at work that her actions set the chef back 5 years. Front of house (FOH) female staff are allowed to have emotions but back of house (BOH) female staff have to be strong, able to take whatever is thrown their way and never show weakness. I’m going to take the time in a later post to interview a woman who has worked in restaurants to highlight some of the issues that Harris mentions encountering during her social study. Women Organizing Against Harassment is an organization whose mission addresses the culture of places where sexual harassment thrives, which is why the topic of female chefs resonates with WOAH’s target audience. Women often struggle with being marginalized in their place of employment and it is time to unite, to combat these practices and make a change for the future. The more these topics are brought up, the more women will be empowered by knowing they are not alone and they do have ways to fight against it.

“Kitchen Ready” photo by Jessica Plante-Campbell. All Rights Reserved.

Ok followers! I am officially no longer completely inept on the internet as I have taken my first steps to stardom. The first video I produced was on the proper way to hold a knife and the food you are cutting. In the video I demonstrate on onions and peppers showing my viewers how to place their fingers with their knuckles against the blade which eliminates the danger of the blade slipping off the food and cutting through a finger. I have watched people cut food over the years and cringe as they leave the tips of their fingers out, so my hope in making this video is to bring a little more awareness to how to hold a knife and the item you are trying to cut. The key is how your knuckles need to be pressed against the blade, which act as a guide for the size cut you desire and a safe guard for your fingertips. I start with a sharp knife, something so many people underestimate the importance of. Then I show videos on how to position your hand when holding food. I understand many people feel awkward when trying this technique the first few times but I hope you will give it a chance because with a little bit of practice it will become second nature. If you try this at home and find your knife not doing what it’s supposed to do, chances are your knife is dull. You can buy a decent chef knife at Walmart, you don’t need a ridiculously expensive knife. The important thing is having a way to sharpen it. I run my finger across (NOT down) the blade to check the sharpness, which will be something I have to produce another video for at a later date, but the key is to feel and hear the edge. I can’t wait to hear your feedback on my video. Be gentle though, I’m a novice in video making. Let me know what you would like to see me elaborate on, or how I can make it better for you. I would also love to hear ideas on what you would like to see next!

I mention this Diamond Steel in my video because it is inexpensive and easy to buy through Amazon. Notice, I didn’t say to buy a steel. Many people have honing steels, which are only good for realigning the edge not sharpening it, so please don’t make the mistake of buying a regular honing steel. It has to be for sharpening, which means it has to be diamond coated steel.

The video was completely done from my kitchen with my husband as my helper, holding the camera and moving around to get just the right angle so my hand position could be easily seen.

During an interview Christine Wolf surmised one of her participant’s thoughts as  “how the dynamic nature of video watching someone via a video is easier than reading a printed page”. People are able to garner more information by visual aids then by reading alone, which is why “how to” videos on YouTube are so popular. She also goes on to mention “This reflection also highlights the role videos can play in expanding vocabularies: beyond the DIY task itself, videos can also offer contextual information about tools and supplies.” I highlight this by showing the importance of a good knife and a diamond steel. One of the things that I didn’t mention, but definitely should have, is that using a wood cutting board is the best tool, over plastic or glass. I’m highly against using glass cutting boards as 1) they dull your blade quickly and 2) the knife is more liable to slip across it. Also glass boards slip on counter tops. A good way to stop that from happening is by using a damp kitchen towel or damp paper towels underneath it to create a solid contact between the counter and your board. Plastic boards are a little better if they have grips on the corners and if they are a softer grade plastic so the knife doesn’t get damaged against the hard surface. There’s so many things I can teach you and so little time to do it in.

The interesting ways YouTube uses algorithms in their search engine is so users get suggestions to other sites they may like. Wolf’s interview with Cristos Goodrow shows how YouTube finds suggestions for videos. He explains that the suggestions are based off of what other users have watched next, so the server suggests the those videos to you, thinking that if they liked it so will you. That algorithm could be very helpful to me as people are always looking up tips on “how to” in the kitchen. This would give my page a broader fan base with a higher likelihood of getting more views.

Wolf, Christine T. “DIY Videos on YouTube: Identity and possibility in the age of algorithms.” First Monday.

1. The header image I choose were pictures of some of the salads I made this summer. Figs, fried goat cheese, fresh fruit, tomatoes from the garden, grilled chicken left over from dinner, all turned into something satisfying that was too pretty not to photograph. These images epitomize what I want to show people about creating a meal, it doesn’t have to be difficult. The chicken was grilled for dinner the night before so I took the leftover and chopped them up, the strawberries were on sale at the farmers market for a $1 and the avocados were from Walmart- $2 for a bag of 5. The pecans and almonds were leftover from a previous baking project, I roasted them in the toaster oven for 5-10 min (checking often so they don’t burn and get bitter) and I always keep a health food nut blend (sold at BJs, Walmart, and every farmers market around) which has cranberries, pepitas, whole almonds, and dried cranberries for around $4 a container. The mangos in the background picture were on sale at the farmers market because they were ready to eat (meaning they need to be used within a day or two before they turn overripe) so they only cost .50 a piece. Finally the blend of lettuce I use either comes from Whole Foods (50/50 blend, or Sweet Baby lettuce blend), Bjs, Costco, or the farmers market. Whole Foods sells a small container for 3.99 which you should get about 3-4 salads out of and large for 5.99 which you will get about 6-8 salads. BJs and Costco have beautiful blends for $4 but I can never finish a container before it begins to turn and the farmers market has the cheapest but the blends are usually just spinach and mixed greens for about $1-$2 a container. Steer clear of Walmart for mixed blends, as I found no matter what I do their lettuce tastes like dirt. Seriously. These pictures encompass the message I want to spread about educating people on creating meals and that making something delicious can be fun and easy. It doesn’t have to be the same thing every night and fresh salads don’t have to be boring, you can eat healthy without living off rabbit food. I hear people all the time say they don’t like eating salads because they’re tired of lettuce, but that doesn’t have to be the case. I also think this relates to my target audience on where to source food and the prices they should expect when shopping.
2. Well my sources are from photos I have taken which I have noted in the images so I’m not using anyone else’s work. I received permission from my professor ahead of time, who explained as long as I properly cite my images they can be used, which I hope I have done.
3. I must admit, trying to get the photos to size right was difficult. As I tried layering the image I struggled to not allow it to overtake the whole screen which ended up minimizing the photo beneath it which became my headache for the evening. I used the layering tools described in Manovich’s article by using the grids to crop the image and place it on top of the background image. I found Pixlr difficult to use when trying to get the images to resize properly and layer them right. The format for my webpage already had a header photo so I set the dimensions for my custom header and then added pictures I had previously taken to the background photo. I couldn’t figure out how to go back to the background photo once I added layers to it without restarting the whole process. It seems like it would make a more user friendly experience if you could just click and edit the photo you wanted to at any stage during the process. I layered text on top of the background image which I did in the last step to cite the photo credit. I used auto enhancement on google photos to brighten the top layer images so this way the top two photos stood out from the darker background photo.
4. The production process concept from MS Paint to modern applications have the same concept with being able to edit an image, except the original models weren’t able to create smooth lines or non pixelated images.  It wasn’t a site to edit a photograph per se but more to create an image or “drawing”. You were able to add text to a screen and use the mouse to drop and drag geometric shapes and lines but the ability to make it look smooth or (for lack of a better term) professional is because technology surpasses it by miles today. It’s like comparing GeoCities to todays webpages. The idea was there but the technology wasn’t. The original MS Paint was fundamental to helping design websites on GeoCities, but now programs are much more integrated. For an example, photo editing on my phone allows me to black and white an entire picture and then color in what I want by zooming in as far as possible (pixelating the image, but making it possible to color within the lines using your finger).
5. “Salads” photos by Jessica Plante-Campbell. All rights reserved