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.

Blog Review 2: Content

In this second review assignment, I will be reviewing the content of boingboing, a blog dedicated to technology, culture and business.

PURPOSE:

• The purpose of this blog is to keep readers updated on recently news in technology, culture, and science among other areas. I will be mostly sticking to the technology section.

AUDIENCE:

• I feel the audience for this blog is early 20 somethings. Although college students can easily be thrown in that mix, there isn't a specific college section like there was on the Huffington Post. This is also known because of the content used on boingboing's blog. The language used seems to be aimed at a younger audience.

ORGANIZATION:

• The organization of this blog is a bit overwhelming and somewhat a challenge to navigate. Yes, it is easy to get to the technology section, but once your there, a lot is going on. Also, if users want to jump to a different section is a bit confusing as the headings continually change under the large red "boingboing" sign in the top left corner. For example, if one wants to jump from tech to culture, then games pops up. This is hard to explain but easy to see once your at the site. There are many different fonts and headings going on here. I am more drawn to the media than I am actual text.

STYLE:

• The writing style of this blog is informative and also somewhat humorous.

Blog Review 1: Design

The Huffington Post's Technology blog that I chose to write about in my last is very strong in content but perhaps not as strong in design. Listen below are the following criteria I used when considering the blogs design.

BALANCE:

• The blog is well balanced. It is structured in a way that lets users first glance at the headlines, read a quick preview of the post provided, then decide if they want to read the whole article. It is well balanced because the bolding of the headlines are consistent and easily distinguishable from the actual text of the blog.

COLOR:

• With a white background, black bold headings and the occasional splash of color (for links, Facebook "likes" and other various social media linking tools) this blog does not experiment too much with color. However, there are small thumbnail pictures of the bloggers, but even those are black and white. It is a little boring, but it works since it is consistent and the linking of the pages to other sites help a bit. Also, the blogs content may be lacking a tad but on both sides there are colorful boxes enticing the user to click on them if they want to explore the remainder of the site.

FUNCTIONALITY:

• The blog is very functional, once you there. However, when I was first starting out, I found it a bit difficult to distinguish the blogs from the actual news. I like how users can preview all posts before committing to reading the entire thing.

Overall, this is a pretty well designed blog, but it is really a personal preference. If you need color headings and the blog to look like a coloring book, then thats your preference. I however, am satisfied with the simple background and the bold headlines.

Blog Review 1: Content

In order to consider the the issue of content in discourse, I am in this post going to look at the criteria used and what the blog is trying to communicate. The purpose of this blog is to review the content of a blog related to my personal blog.

For this post, I have chosen to review the Huffington Post's technology section, as it was closely related to my personal blog.

CONTENT:

• The content of this blog is similar to mine, because it does focus on the Internet but also technology in general. As most of us know, technology today usually integrates the Internet. This blog is located under Huffington Post's "Technology" section. There you will find all news and updated articles relating to such. You will also see the bloggers on the same page to the left. Many of the recent posts have been relating to the new iPhone, iPad, Twitter ect. The purpose of the blogs are to keep the tech savvy informed with updated information and the not so tech savvy updated, so they don't fall off the face of the earth.

AUDIENCE:

• The audience, I feel, is aimed at college students to early 30 somethings. Again, it is also aimed at the tech savvy who want the most up to date information and those who are not so tech savvy that may just like to stay in the loop of things. The audience is those concerned with anything and everything going on that is technology related, which covers a wide area. Some titles of recent posts have been, "Technologically Outsource your Relationship," The BP Crisis, "How to Use Your Social Media and the Web to Diffuse Your PR Crisis."

MESSAGE:

• The message is really just to keep people informed and also encourage participation. They want to hear the readers reactions and feedback, as you can post any comments at the bottom of the article. They are also using the blogs not only to relate information but to introduce new sites, upgrades and user feedback.

ORGANIZATION:

• Each post is dedicated to a different subject within the technology field. However, it is a little messy looking. The blog itself is located under the "Technology" headline. The reader must go to that page then look to the left column for the blogs. The first time I read Huffington Post, I have a hard time finding out if the entire website was a blog or if just certain sections were. Either way, the headlines stand out and catch the readers attention, even if it is a little hard to navigate.

STYLE:

• I feel the style could use a little bit of work, along with the organization. However, I seem to have no problem being drawn into the text as many of the headlines catch my attention, with their bold font and interesting titles.

I really enjoy the Huffington Post's technology section and I think many others would as well. It always gives me the most up to date information so I am in the know. When Facebook was having all its major privacy issues (and reactions from users), The Huffington Post is the first place I turned to for answers. It gets right to the point and makes it easy to understand, even if you aren't the most tech savvy person.

Amateurs and writing

To be qualified to write on the web is a joke.

Anyone and everyone is qualified and has in fact, done so already.

Do you have a personal bio on your Facebook? Favorite music on your Myspace? A link to your personal blog perhaps? Ever write a review on Yelp?

These are all amateur writers posting on the web. I am an amateur writer.

Whose to say I shouldn't be allowed to write what I want, when I want? If I'm not stealing someone else's work then I am qualified. Some use their blogs for creative outlets, and whose to take that away from them?

Facebook and Myspace have recently been used for police investigations involving sex predators, Internet bullying and extramarital affairs, among others.

If these amateur writers never posted on the Internet, it would be harder to find them. When they post information on the Internet, it is out there for the world to see. This makes it an extremely easy and valuable tool for tracking.

They are also idiots to put anything on the web that could get them into trouble because someone, somewhere is always watching. THAT is a known fact.

Participating, not listening

First of all, I think every student knows by now that cutting and pasting a "well phrased thought or opinion" does NOT make it their own. We are reminded every semester.

We know how to cite sources and make a bibliography, and if we don't then there's always site such as EasyBib that will do it for us.

Maybe today's audience isn't listening at all and just participating. In fact, they (especially teachers and professors) have always pushed kids to participate. Remember, its part of the grading system. So maybe active listening is out in order for us just to participate and make grades.

Participating is also something anybody can do especially when it comes to writing and posting. A great example of this is Wikipedia. Anybody can go in there, write what they want (correct or incorrect) cite it or don't cite it.

This causes problems obviously for students looking for information or anybody reading it in general. How will we cite a great piece of writing if there's nothing to cite? What will Easybib even cite?!

Yes, those posting to Wikipedia may or may not know (or care) about the concept of authorships/ownerships, but then again that's not their fault.

Wikipedia was created and gave users a chance to participate.

The people behind the Internet knew putting information out there had to pose major risks. Its an obviously fact to consider.

Readers experience

As reading textbooks online are one thing, reading a novel for fun or leisure is another. The main different is when reading a textbook, most aren't really reading, they are viewing. Viewing the information to end up with some sort of answer or conclusion.

Textbooks online (netbooks) are usually not read by those in their free time. They are read with a purpose and the purpose is to get answers to complete your assignment or study for a test (perhaps scan or cram very quickly before). They hold pros and cons, but mostly I see online textbooks with a clear purpose as a pro.

In the case of reading for fun, my views change. As a reader, the experience I gain from reading a book online greatly impacts whether or not I want to read at all. Do I want to sit in front of my computer before bed with the bright glow of the screen? No. I want to relax by a soft light not coming from the book so I can eventually get tired and go to bed.

I would rather have the physical book in my hands. I can't really explain why this is so, but it has always been that way for me.

When I see people bringing out their Kindles and iPads on the train, I think what a waste. It's a 30 minute train ride, by the time you turn it on and figure out what your going to read and what page your on; your almost home.

However, if people are still reading though, that is a good thing. Although most of the time I bet those iPad users are surfing through their Facebooks and other useless things.

Online textbooks

Textbooks have always been a part of my life (as with every student) and have certainly come a long way. Most of my youth was spent with a book bag that was filled with a couple light weight books, easy. Throughout the years my books got thicker and thicker and my bag got heavier and heavier.

Most of my recent memories are filled with lugging the books around the city in my book bag, which felt like I was carrying a bag of bricks.

The solution? An online textbook.

This semester I decided to take one of my classes online. Instead of buying the textbook in its traditional medium (physical form), I ordered an ebook for the class or an online textbook. I could eliminate the textbook (and its weight) all together and also pay $90 vs. the $180. That is a lot of money to save.

It certainly impacts the way in which I read or view the information.

The online textbook has pros and cons.

PROS:

• Cheaper, lighter
• Downloads right to your computer as opposed to going to a bookstore to pic it up
• The design makes it extremely easy to look up definitions and key words, as they are searchable
• The searchable key words make assignments easier for me to complete and much faster as apposed to physically turning pages and looking up definitions in the glossary

CONS:

• Somewhat hard to navigate when there are other tabs open. I need to organize my computer screen and space constantly

In all honesty, a online textbook is a good option if you are looking to save money and perhaps find it easier to navigate on your computer. I would definitely consider an online textbook for other classes such as Finance or Accounting. However, when it comes to an English class, I'd rather have the tradition paper book as my medium.