Sunday, June 27, 2010

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.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

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.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

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.

Monday, June 14, 2010

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:


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.

Sunday, June 6, 2010

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.

Friday, June 4, 2010

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.