Rate My Professors - SNS Pt 2

New Media class: In this post, I will continue the review on the social networking site, Rate My Professors.

The Writing

Based on the writing on Rate My Professors, the typical review writers are either:

1. Angry, emotional students who probably received a crappy grade
2. Students that are actually there to make a positive review for a teacher they enjoyed

As you can see the writing tone is mostly based on emotions (especially for the upset student). Which I figure is alright because students should be able to express the way they feel about their professors. I would just suggest they don't use their real name, because after all, you probably need to pass that class and bashing the teacher won't help.

The examples below will provide you with the writing reviews that are typically found on the site.

Example 1: (This is for a CCC Professor. Name has been taken out. Reviewer may also be drunk).

8/28/08

arts101

Poor Quality

Easiness1

Helpfulness1

Clarity1

Rater Interest5

This is the worst teacher in the history of teaching she is fukn retarded I am pretty sure!!! Do not tak her class run her out of the teaching profession she does not deserve to be teaching!! Durrrrrrrrrr

Example 2:

11/9/09

Acct08

Good Quality

Easiness5

Helpfulness5

Clarity5

Rater Interest4

Ryan is AWESOME!!! He has a cool way of making accounting not hard and is very helpful when you need it. He brings his character into work which makes it just as fun!!

Rate My Professors - SNS Pt 1

OK New Media classmates, in this post I will be reviewing the social networking site called Rate My Professors.

We have all had professors that we liked, disliked and downright hated in our college careers. This site gives us the chance to speak up and let the world (and potential future students) know what professors are the best, worst, hottest and weirdest at our colleges.

Viewers/Members

If you want to make a post about a professor, you must be a member. With this, members can make individual review entries for current/past professors.

However, anyone can go to the site and search professors by school or name. There you can look up a teacher by last name or department and view their total ratings read reviews by past students, view their overall quality, easiness and know if they are "hot" which is indicated by a tiny little red chili pepper.

Users can also share this information through email, Facebook and/or Twitter.

Features

There is a forum which is basically just a general forum where members can post under very broad subjects. Such as:

• Why Do Students Like to Procrastinate?
• Problems Trying to Add New Professors
• Drugs in Society
• Cool Song!

As you can see, these subjects are pretty well, general and get a little weirder as you continue to read. I don't even know why some of these members are posting this stuff, but whatever.

As far as audio/video uploading, I did not come across any member uploads. I did however find videos from professors who were "striking back." Such as this guy, Daniel Blum, a History Professor in Buffalo who saw reviews from students that said his class was boring. Under the video is a long list of comments from users who react to it.

All in all the site gives non-members a lot of useful information to view and members the chance to speak up and perhaps make an impact on a students future choice in teachers.

BlackPlanet.com - The writing

The purpose of this post is to explore the writing on BlackPlanet.

The Official writing

The official writing on BlackPlanet is mostly comprised of recent news (most of which is geared at the black american community). Such as: recent news on Lebron James, titled "Cavs Owner Calls LeBron A Coward" and "Black Inventor Could Save the Planet." They are pretty short and if the user wants to read more they must click the link. The news is pretty formal since it is really coming from news sources such as The Urban Daily.

Member writing

The users of BlackPlanet can really write about whatever they want. They are able to comment on stories, update their statuses and write blogs. For the member writing I checked out some of the users blogs. Many of these I found to be quite personal and sort of used for a venting purpose and letting things off the users chest. There is a most popular blog section, even though I found those to not have many (or any comments) by other users.

The users can also obviously join groups divided into categories such as: Entertainment & Arts, Family & Home and Relationships (which hold the most members). The largest group in the Relationship section is called So Black, So Beautiful and allows users to post on this subject. I'm not sure what the education level is as to introduce the groups purpose, but it is greatly lacking in the "traditional" spelling/grammar rules.

Worthy site?

I feel that BlackPlanet is a worthy site for those who fit the niche targeted audience. I especially like how there is a special music, blog and news section. Also, I like how the news is right on the home page, as opposed to opening up another tab and reading the news. Users do not have to go far to find anything they need as most is provided for them on the website alone.

BlackPlanet.com - SNS Pt 1

The purpose of this weeks blog is to explore a new social networking site and give a review on it.

BlackPlanet is a online social networking site that is targeted specifically for the Black community. The title alone makes it pretty clear as to whom the site is targeting.

The Purpose

The purpose of this social networking site is to allow users to write notes to each other, chat with old friends and make news ones, and read up on the latest stories, forums, job opportunities and events.

Offerings

BlackPlanet offers: users to create profiles, upload photos, videos and blogs, write notes, join groups, send gifts invite others, look for jobs & post jobs, sign guest books, connect with others through chat, "have fun" which includes: the gift shop, VIP list, quizzes and rate me. Users can also listen to music on the site and read the latest news.

The Members

The site is target towards black americans and therefore much of the online community is just that. The members can be characterized as young black americans. Based on all the offerings, BlackPlanet seems to be aimed at young users, especially considering the music selections and news.

Template change

I changed my NMB template from a red and somewhat plain (and even kind of outdated looking) background to a more creative one.

• Although viewers may prefer darker backgrounds, I chose this one because my PMB already incorporates that. I chose this new orange swirl design because its bright for summer and somewhat reminds me of a psychedelic 1960's style (as greatly enjoy music from that era).

I really like the way that my text is on a plain white background, so it doesn't get mixed in with the busy background. The colors of the background, heading and links look well together and compliment each other and the surrounding media.

The orange headings to my blogs are clear and consistent.

I feel that this template change has made my blog look more organized and the posts are clearly laid out and easy to view for readers.

Top Five Blog Tips

1. Creative blog headings. This is pretty important since I know I'm personally drawn into a post that includes an interesting or funny heading.

2. Make sure to hyperlink what you are addressing. Realize somethings don't really need to be hyperlinked (especially if mentioned 10 different times) such as Facebook, because people already know enough about that site (and probably have their own). Perhaps hyperlinking when first introducing a subject or site is the best, especially if its going to mentioned numerous times.

3. Use pictures and other media (especially videos) sparingly. Most of the time I won't watch a embedded video because I'd rather read and just get to the point. Also, many videos now include 30 second commercials before the actual content starts. Pictures and other media can also take away from your actual content if you use them too much.

4. Always try to break up your text with bullets, pictures or something entertaining. #3 states use sparingly. But make sure you use something to keep your audience entertained. A picture to break up text usually works. Subheadings and bullets work too if you want to draw your reader to a specific area. Adding color (but not too much!) also helps.

5. Make sure to structure and organize your blog accordingly. Nobody wants to go searching all over your page for a specific post. Blogs should be organized in a consistent manner so readers can differentiate between posts.

Blog Review 2: Design

In this post I will be addressing the boingboing blog and its design.

BALANCE:

• I am somewhat disappointed with the balance used in boingboing. There is a lot of good content but there is so much stuff going on (videos, links, different fonts) that your eyes are kind of looking all over the place. I was continually drawn to many different areas of the page, mostly the pictures and videos, since they were taking up the most space. I found it hard to find a natural balance while looking at the page.

COLOR:

• There is a lot of color, though it somewhat sticks to a basic color scheme. Black and red are mostly used for the text and the background stays a simple white. However, there are so many videos, pictures and ads (on the right side of the page) that continually draw my to that side instead of wanting to read what's in front of me.

CLARITY & EMPHASIS:

• The posts are pretty clear and I am able to differentiate each one. There is emphasis on the headings, which are bolded. There is a lot of white space used, but again I find myself being drawn to the right side of the page where the colorful ads are.