A good struggle

Source: FILE magazine

Through the whole procedure of finding information and writing an academic web log on Issues in Publication and Design, I must admit that it definitely has been a learning process for me. In addition to gaining a better understanding of how document design works, I have also managed to implement the different concepts and theories into IPD & Me and also my other blogs.

I have learnt how to balance prose and graphics; to use the concept of redundancy and design them in such a way that the pictures and words convey the message to readers and help them understand the main idea behind the topic. According to Schriver (1997), "Multiple representations may have important benefits, helping people build stronger and more elaborate connections about the subject matter in memory".

As a blogger, I have also learnt to be aware of sensitive issues such as culture and politics when I post or comment online. Plaisance (2008) maintains that "Ethics is about our thinking process", therefore it is important to step back and think what I am writing about before I offend somebody out there on the Internet. I am also more aware of blogging ethically; it is important to respect other people's viewpoints and how they may interpret your document content. Learning how people read and understand text and images has definitely proven to be a valuable tool for me as a serious blogger.

References:

• Plaisance, PL 2008, Media Ethics, 1st edn, viewed 16 June 2009, http://books.google.com/books?id=LUJ6s31o_NMC
  
• Schriver, K.A 1997, Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Texts for Readers, Wiley Computer Pub., New York.
  

Facebook comments gone bad

Be careful about your comments on Facebook; it isn't easily forgotten by readers.

Source: Mike Baird, Flickr

An article on CNET news mentions a GOP activist using Facebook to compare the first lady, Michelle Obama, to a gorilla. Matyszczyk (2009) states that Rusty DePass, a prominent Republican Party activist, happened to see a Facebook post describing an escape by a gorilla and commented: "I'm sure it's just one of Michelle's ancestors - probably harmless." This got him into quite a lot of trouble with the local media and the Mayor of Columbia also commented on his behaviour.

Facebook is an innovative idea that focuses on serving the interests of people online. It builds a massive community for the people to interact with their friends and family to share their interests and activities. However, along with the great benefits offered by this service, there are also certain risks attached to the standardization of this social networking, such as privacy and racial issues. There have been a lot of cases about people or companies posting controversial images or comments on the Internet, leading to outrage among religious groups or political parties.

Berkman and Shumway (2003) mention that "those who seek to wear the mantle of information provider for their society...must be particularly attuned to the ethical dimension of their choices and decisions". We should be careful on what we post on the Internet - and particularly social networking sites as it may prove offensive to other people who see it. The Internet may prove to be an invaluable tool for information, but it may work against people as well. In this era where everyone uses Yahoo or Google to look a person up, think about your online activities and how they may affect what people. Past activities over the years, including posts on social forums may even show up on search engine results. People, it's called the World Wide Web for a reason!


References:

• Berkman, RI, Shumway, CA 2003, Digital dilemmas, 1st edn, viewed 16 June 2009, http://books.google.com/books?id=ZYxi34Yw8-QC&client=firefox-a
• Matyszczyk, C 2009, GOP activist uses Facebook to compare first lady to gorilla, Technically Incorrect, CNET news, viewed 16 June 2009, http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-10264440-71.html?tag=mncol;title
  

Online payment: good or bad?

Say that you are surfing the Internet one day and you see a product that you have been wanting to get your hands on but unable to find it locally. You then log on a website that specializes in the trading of products (such as Ebay) and select a payment provider like PayPal to pay for your product and a few days later it's sent to your doorstep. That's a form of online transaction.

An article from The Star Online talks about online banking. Basically, it involves customers transferring their money to different banks through e-transaction and receiving confirmation in a matter of seconds. This procedure has already been implement in many countries around the world and may represent the way payment is conducted on a daily basis in the future. as Dorn (1997) emphasizes that "the basis of a new monetary universe is sand rather than paper - a computer chip rather than a Federal Reserve note". It won't be surprising to see cards and payment machines replace money bills in the future.

Pros: Very convenient to pay bills and transfer funds anywhere in the world, and on a more advanced level users can set their bills to be paid automatically from their accounts every month.

Cons: Users may be tricked into scam websites by following email links, and there is also the security risk of a user's account being hacked and the funds siphoned.

There may be still people out there who do not feel comfortable transferring their money online. Nevertheless, online transactions are here to stay and will continue to develop even more in the future, as Cronin (1997) mentions that "the Internet has emerged as a key competitive arena for the future of financial services". More and more opportunities will arise, not only for internet marketeers, but for consumers as well.


References:

• Cronin, MJ 1997, Banking and finance on the Internet, 2nd edn, viewed 15 June 2009, http://books.google.com/books?id=l94FEs-lMu4C&client=firefox-a
• Dorn, JA 1997, The future of money in the information age, 1st edn, viewed 15 June 2009, http://books.google.com/books?id=SL3-W7_bQTkC&client=firefox-a

The big impact of social networking media

There's a news article on The Australian website which talks about twittering and the FIFA World Cup in Australia (for those who are ignorant about Twitter, it is a free real-time social messaging utility which lets people tell the world what they are doing).

The main attraction here is using social networking media such as Twitter to conduct national campaigns and encourage people to bid for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Australia. The power to attract the world to participate in an event through online communities. Brown (2008) mentions that "The great power of social media is by giving the people the time to...get connected to everybody who wants to coexist with other members of the social network". Social networking is a powerful tool, whether it be for socializing or marketing. People get to know a lot of friends on these sites and the links posted to these social networking platforms are sometimes high-ranked in search engines. This makes these type of sites extremely valuable to Internet marketers.

On a more personal level, it can be seen that a lot of Internet users are producing their own content and there is an increasing shift towards online participation. Consumers are also preferring on-demand media such as video clips and podcasts. Google has made a big impact by enabling Internet users to create their own blogs on Blogger, and also provides advertising programs for advertisers and site/blog owners. See how clever Google is? By creating two network tools that complement each other, advertisers have the chance to broadcast their brands online and website owners/bloggers can also get paid for their hard work. Social media is shifting the emphasis from professional content producers to the consumer.

References:

• Brown, G 2008, Social Media 100 Success Secrets, 1st edn, viewed 15 June 2009, http://books.google.com.my/books?id=bEZM2rxryEEC&dq=the+power+of+online+social+media&as_brr=3&client=firefox-a&source=gbs_navlinks_s

The media-listic future of journalism

The Media Report of ABC Radio National recorded a podcast in May 2008 where Roy Greenslade (the uber-blogger for The Guardian) had a special discussion with some of the V.I.Ps of the Australian media - Campbell Reid, Mark Scott and Max Uechtritz - regarding the survival of media platforms for journalism.

Greenslade (2008) mentioned in the media release that "the single platform of the net will be how we'll receive television and radio, audio, and text in future". This is very likely to be true, as we can see how the world is revolving around the Internet these days. Almost everything and anything can be converged online, and the newer generation is more likely to read the online version rather than buy a hard copy from the local shop. Many newspaper companies are gradually uploading part of their sections online, such as the Classifieds ads.

One of the important points that was highlighted in their discussion is this: not only can the Internet incorporate old forms of media such as text and images, it also provides new functions such as added interactivity and user customization. A journalist can tell his or her own story by using whatever features are appropriate for a news story. For example, a journalist can write a news story about a major earthquake and add in a live telecast of the whole process (buildings crumbling, people panicking, etc...) to further enhance its new value.

New media can change the way journalism works. Everyone is a journalist and is able to upload and share their news resources all over the world. Add in hyperlinks, audio and video, interactive images and this will not only give the online newspaper a more attractive feel, it will also provide audiences with a much more engaging experience and in-depth understanding of stories being reported all around the world.



References:

• Greenslade, R 2008, Survival of media platforms for journalism, media release, 1 April, The Media Report, ABC Radio National, viewed 14 June 2009, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2009/2436717.htm

The way media publishing is evolving

In the 1960s, if people needed to find out more about the latest news and what was happening around in the world, they would have to buy a newspaper from the local stall or tune in to their radio stations. Today, with the emergence of the thing that changed the way the world revolved (also known as the Internet), the media is rapidly changing to provide information in counjuntion with people's requirements.

Besides the humble newspaper that is so common nowadays, there is an online version of it together with blogs, video websites, social networking sites, online search engines and the list goes on. Why did all these different types of media publishing appear for? The main reason would be people. Through the adoption of the public of new network services such as broadband and wireless television, people wanted information accessible to them, anywhere and at anytime. Therefore, websites were established to present ideas in different formats to people, also known as redundancy. Schriver (1997) mentions that "Redundancy is often achieved in document design by presenting similar ideas in alternative representations, in alternative media, or through different senses".

Of course, giving the public the right to upload and access information has its strong points and drawbacks as well; an example would be Youtube. Youtube gives people the right to upload their own videos and provides people with audio and visual information on almost any issue available. But in some circumstances where users circulate sensitive content, such as the Negarakuku video (a parody of the Malaysian anthem) would raise controversial opinions about the flaws in the Malaysian government.

Maltoni (2007) states that we are "more and more in a collaborative story-centric approach of publishing". Media publishing will still continue to grow and evolve to suit people's needs, and it will be hard to guess what is to come in the future.


References:

• Maltoni, V 2007, What is New Media?, Conversation Agent, viewed 12 June 2009, http://www.conversationagent.com/2007/11/what-is-new-med.html

• Schriver, K.A 1997, Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Texts for Readers, Wiley Computer Pub., New York.
  
  
  

Blog varieties and the blogging community

Williams and Jacobs (2004) mention that "Blogs have evolved along similar lines to other form of human communication in that they are a product of convenience rather than design". With so many blogs out there on the Internet, it is necessary to classify all of them so as to make the online search for information easier. Blogs can be categorized based on their status, content and media type.

Status-wise, blogs can be divided into personal and corporate. The personal blog is more like an individual's online diary, whereas the corporate blog is mostly used by companies for promotion and advertising products.

Content-wise, the more common blog topics are music, technology, politics, fashion and personal life.

Media types include vlogs, photoblogs and linklogs. A vlog is a medium for promoting videos that are updated regularly. A photoblog contains mostly photos and text descriptions. A linklog is basically a blog that contains links to other websites with the same content, and it may contain videos or a description.

In my opinion, the most important thing that classifies blogs - whether simple or unique -is their content.

Source: Australian Flexible Learning Network

A blogging community is made up of bloggers with a common interest, such as Xanga.com. White (2006) categorizes them into the Single Blogger Centric Community, the Central Connecting Topic Community and the Boundaried Community. The first community is made up of a single blogging platform with a single blog and multiple authors, like Blogger. The second community is a specific site which has a network of bloggers with their own blogs and tools. The third community is made up of bloggers and readers, together with social networking and instant messaging tools. There are also different hybrid forms which comprise the functions in between the three, as seen in the picture above.

Blogging communities are vital as they give bloggers the freedom of speech and provides business opportunities for individuals and companies alike.

References:

• White, N 2006, Blogs and Community – launching a new paradigm for online community?, The Knowledge Tree, Australian Flexible Learning Network, viewed 14 June 2009, http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community

• Williams, JB, Jacobs, J 2004, Exploring the use of blogs as learning spaces in the highereducation sector, Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, viewed 12 June 2009, http://eprints.qut.edu.au/13066/1/13066.pdf

Blogs as current phenomenon & benefits to the community

The phenomenon that has taken over the Internet by storm and has already worked its way into people's lives and changed the way society works: web logging, or generally known as blogging. More and more people have begun to use this feature to express their views and opinions about various topics or just everyday events. The current size of the blogosphere (a collective community of all blogs and their connections with each other) is vast. Based on a survey by Universal McCann in March 2008, a total of 184 million people worldwide have started a blog!

Based on Technorati, the blogger statistics in Europe currently stand at 27 per cent and in Asia 13 per cent. The remaining 60 per cent is made up of of other continents such as America and Australia. Music blogs are more popular in Asia and Malaysia, whereas in Europe the more prevalent blogs are based on music and computers. Blogs are not to be taken lightly as they represent the voice of the people, especially in Malaysia. Not only can Malaysians express their opinions about current issues and problems in society, they can also share common interests and post comments - all without having to leave the comfort of their couch.

Watch this video to get an idea what blogs are about: