Gilligan's Island

From The Peopling of New York City

(HELEN: OK, I'll change this one to "A Pluralistic Paradise?" Regarding "Diversity Strikes Back", someone else has changed the title on the page to "Jackson Heights: The Origins." I'll change it to whichever you want--I just need to know and the titles need to stay consistent.)

Hey~ I wonder if it could be changed to simply, "A Pluralistic Paradise?". Also, could we change 'Diversity Strikes Back' to 'Diversity and its Discontents'... I guess we should just make the changes, and if someone doesn't like it, by all means we can change it again... please and thank you so much!

(HELEN: If your title change for this page is "Marketing and Selling Jackson Heights as a Pluralistic Paradise," that's a little long for a tab. what would you like the tab to say?)

HERE ARE MY GENERAL COMMENTS ABOUT THE ENTIRE WEBSITE. SPECIFIC COMMENTS ARE ALSO IN CAPS BELOW AND ON ALL SUBSEQUENT PAGES.

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THERE IS SOME GOOD CONTENT (I WILL TELL YOU WHERE EXACTLY IT IS AS I GO ALONG). BUT OVERALL THIS IS A BIG DISAPPOINTMENT. IT IS REPETITIVE, UNCLEAR AND CLEARLY UNFINISHED. WITH A FEW EXCEPTIONS, IT DOES NOT INCLUDE A COMPELLING DISCUSSION OF YOUR COGNITIVE MAPS OR INTERVIEW DATA; THE HEADINGS ARE OBTUSE; IT IS REPETITIVE; AND THE WRITING IS WEAK. AND DID I MENTION THAT IT IS REPETITIVE?

CLEARLY NO ONE -- NOT A SINGLE ONE OF YOU -- HAS STARTED AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WIKI AND READ THROUGH IT, START TO FINISH. HAD YOU DONE SO, YOU WOULD HAVE REALIZED THAT IT IS INCREDIBLY REPETITIVE. AND BY THIS I MEAN THAT YOU REPEAT YOURSELVES OVER AND OVER AGAIN WITHOUT ACTUALLY INTRODUCING NEW CONTENT. YOU COULD PROBABLY CUT THE ENTIRE WIKI IN HALF IF YOU JUST DELETED ALL OF THE TIMES YOU REPEAT YOURSELVES FROM PAGE TO PAGE. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT YOU HAVE JUST REPEATED YOURSELVES OVER AND OVER AGAIN RATHER THAN ADDING THE CONTENT THAT THE WIKI MOST ASSUREDLY NEEDS TO MAKE IT COMPELLING.

IN THE END, THIS LOOKS LIKE SOMETHING THAT ANY ONE OF YOU COULD HAVE DONE ON YOUR OWN. BUT IT IS SUPPOSED TO BE A GROUP PROJECT, AND IT IS THUS SUPPOSED TO REFLECT THE COMBINED WORK OF 15 PEOPLE. I DON'T REALLY SEE HOW YOU AS A GROUP CAN STAND BEHIND IT.

ULTIMATELY YOU WILL HAVE TO GRADE YOURSELVES ON THIS, AS YOU KNOW. IT MIGHT INTEREST YOU TO KNOW THAT IF YOU ASKED ME WHAT GRADE I THINK YOU COLLECTIVELY SHOULD GET AT THIS POINT, I WOULD SAY THAT I THINK THAT YOU ALL DESERVE A C. IF YOU WERE ACTUALLY TO RECEIVE A C, THIS WOULD MAKE IT VIRTUALLY IMPOSSIBLE FOR ANY OF YOU TO RECEIVE AN A FOR YOUR FINAL CLASS GRADE. SO LET'S HOPE BY THE END THAT YOU GUYS DECIDE THAT YOU DESERVE A HIGHER GRADE THAN THAT. BUT YOU WILL HAVE TO EARN IT, OF COURSE.

MY INTENTION, BY THE WAY, IS NOT TO ADMONISH YOU; IT IS TO INSPIRE YOU TO DO MORE.

PLEASE TAKE A GOOD LOOK AT THE CONTENT OF LAST YEAR'S WEBSITE. HELEN AND I AGREE THAT IT IS FAR BETTER THAN YOURS, IN TERMS OF BOTH FORM AND CONTENT.

FORTUNATELY, THERE IS STILL TIME FOR YOU MAKE IMPROVEMENTS. BUT YOU WILL NEED TO DEVOTE QUITE A BIT OF TIME AND EFFORT TO THIS.

NOW ON TO SPECIFIC QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS, STARTING WITH, IS THIS THE HOME PAGE? BECAUSE IF IT IS, WELL, IT COULDN'T BE LESS INTRIGUING. CALLING IT "GILLIGAN'S ISLAND" IS A MISTAKE. WHAT ABOUT JACKSON HEIGHTS -- OR THE STORY THAT YOU WANT TO TELL ABOUT IT -- IS MADE CLEAR WITH THIS REFERENCE TO AN INANE TELEVISION SHOW FROM THE 1960S ABOUT 5 CASTAWAYS ON A TROPICAL ISLAND?

Marketing and Selling Jackson Heights as a Pluralistic Paradise

IF THIS IS THE FIRST THING THAT PEOPLE ARE GOING TO READ ABOUT YOUR WEBSITE, THEN I THINK IT NEEDS TO BE MUCH STRONGER. THIS FIRST SENTENCE IS ... BAD. A REPRESENTATION IS A MARKETING STRATEGY? THE WEBSITE IS FULL OF SENTENCES LIKE THIS. YOU'VE GOT TO WRITE IN A WAY THAT IS ACTUALLY CLEAR AND COMPELLING TO YOUR READERS. IF I WERE YOU, I'D START WITH WHAT YOU HAVE UNDER "JACKSON HEIGHTS IS...." (WHICH, BY THE WAY, IS A TERRIBLY HEADING). SO GET RID OF THE HEADING AND THE JARGON BELOW AND START RIGHT OFF WITH ..."IF YOU'VE HEARD ANYTHING ABOUT JACKSON HEIGHTS, YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD THAT IT IS ONE OF THE MOST DIVERSE PLACES IN QUEENS.... THEN PROCEED.

IF I WERE YOU, I'D ADD MORE TEXT TO YOUR OPENING PAGES AS WELL, AND I'D ADD A TON OF PICTURES, TOO. THE CONTENT DOES NOT ENHANCE THE FORM; NOR DOES THE FORM ENHANCE THE CONTENT.

RIGHT NOW I THINK IT VERY UNLIKELY THAT ANY POTENTIAL READERS ARE GOING TO BE INTRIGUED ENOUGH TO CLICK ON THE "CONTINUED" LINKS YOU INCLUDE ON THIS PAGE, BASED ON WHAT YOU HAVE PRESENTED THUS FAR -- AND IF YOU TAKE THE FOUR TOPICS AND SENTENCES BELOW AT FACE VALUE, YOU HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHAT YOU GUYS ARE TRYING TO DO WITH THIS WEBSITE.

REMEMBER THAT YOU HAVE TO STRUCTURE THIS SITE SO THAT IT IS USER FRIENDLY!

THIS OPENING PARAGRAPH BELOW, WRITTEN BY JENN, IS NOT PERFECT, BUT IT IS PRETTY DARN GOOD AND ABSOLUTELY ON THE RIGHT TRACK. I WOULD FOLLOW HER LEAD, PEOPLE. --JM

If you have heard anything about Jackson Heights, you probably know that it's one of the most diverse places in Queens. You're probably also aware of the great food, courtesy of the presence of so many ethnic restaurants in the area. But is food what makes a neighborhood diverse? Does the nature of diversity extend beyond the mere presence of people from different countries who bring all sorts of food, language, and cultural style to a neighborhood? If not, then perhaps you can use the 'Jackson Heights is diverse' definition of the neighborhood. If diversity does extend beyond the pluralist idea of multi-culturalism, however, then there arises a crisis of diversity in Jackson Heights.

With this website, we intend to demonstrate that there is much more to defining diversity than meets the eye. We are going to examine who is included in this definition of diversity; who is excluded; and how those groups change over time. We are going to look beyond a simple ethnographic analysis of the neighborhood, and delve into the realm of economic and political characteristics of the neighborhood. Since the neighborhood is now being advertised by real estate agencies as a place of thriving cultural diversity, we will examine how this representation of the neighborhood overshadows the economic realities and power relationships in Jackson Heights. The question of how real estate is sold in Jackson Heights is key to understanding the economic and political implications of representing and selling the neighborhood as culturally diverse.

Edit: Let's insert pictures that align with each section to which they are assigned, for each section on the site.

If you've heard anything about Jackson Heights... REVISE - Better? A BIT BETTER BUT NOT MUCH, REALLY. IT SEEMS TO ME THAT WHAT YOU REALLY NEED TO DO ON THESE OPENING PAGES IS TO EXPLAIN IN GREATER DETAIL WHAT THE WIKI IS DOING AND HOW IT IS DOING IT AT THE SAME TIME THAT YOU INTRODUCE SOME BASIC CONTENT. SO HERE YOU CAN START OFF WITH WHAT FOLLOWS, BUT YOU NEED TO INTEGRATE THESE FOUR HEADINGS INTO A COHERENT NARRATIVE; OTHERWISE NO ONE WILL UNDERSTAND WHY THEY ARE LINKED TOGETHER ON THIS PAGE. SO... YOU SHOULD START OFF BY INTRODUCING THE NEIGHBORHOOD AS DIVERSE. BUT THEN YOU SHOULD GO ON TO ASK, BUT WHAT IS DIVERSITY? HOW DOES A NEIGHBORHOOD BECOME DIVERSE? WHO IS INCLUDED AND WHO IS EXCLUDED? AND DOES DEMOGRAPHIC DIVERSITY EQUAL POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC INTEGRATION? IS EVERYONE EQUAL IN JH? AND WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS OF DIVERSITY FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD? AND SO ON... SO THAT FROM THIS FIRST PAGE, SOMEONE CAN UNDERSTAND THE ENTIRE BIG PICTURE AND ARGUMENT OF THE WIKI. ULTIMATELY YOU NEED TO SAY THAT THIS SITE IS DESIGNED TO ANSWER CERTAIN QUESTIONS. AND YOU NEED TO EXPLAIN, FIRST WE DO THIS, THEN WE DO THAT. AND SO FORTH. UNTIL IT IS ABSOLUTELY CLEAR WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND WHY. AND YOU NEED TO DO THIS SAME THING FOR ALL OF THE MAIN PAGES, SUCH AS THE DIVERSITY STRIKES BACK AND THE EXTINCTION PAGE (THE TITLE FOR WHICH WILL HOPEFULLY GO EXTINCT). DOES THIS HELP?

AND BY THE WAY, I WOULD GET RID OF THE JACKSON HEIGHTS REALLY IS REFERENCES. I JUST DON'T KNOW WHAT THAT MIGHT MEAN.

What you've heard about Jackson Heights is probably about the ethnic diversity, the food, the Bollywood movie theater... But who is actually present in Jackson Heights, and where have the different cultural and ethnic groups 'set up shop'? Continue.

If you were looking for property here...

REVISE JACKSON HEIGHTS IS NOT SOLD. APARTMENT'S ARE SOLD; THE NEIGHBORHOOD IS DESCRIBED IN MARKETING LITERATURE. CAN YOU ALL PLEASE BE MUCH MORE PRECISE IN THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU USE. YOU INTRODUCE GENTRIFICATION HERE AS IF WE ALL KNOW THAT THIS IS WHAT IS HAPPENING.

Advertisements about apartments and houses in Jackson Heights mostly celebrate both the neighborhood's diversity and the beautifully refurbished and preserved Historic District. Who is the target audience for these advertisements, and who does this exclude? Continue.

The Complexities of Diversity
[What do you guys think of changing 'what you can't see is what you get' to 'perception's the ultimate form of deception'? Not sure, but how about something along the lines of what he recommenced, such as the new header? ]

Jackson Heights is demographically diverse, as there are certainly different ethnic groups living in the neighborhood. However, is there diffusion between ethnicities? Are there Hispanic and Indians stores on the same block, or is the neighborhood socially isolated? Continue.

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