Social Networks & Causes

I found this article interesting because it familiarized me with social networking sites other than MySpace and Facebook.  Prior to reading this article, I had never heard of Cyworld, Bebo, Friendster, LinkedIn, etc. I was surprised to learn that the first SNS was launched in 1997, and it was interesting to read about how they have since expanded and evolved. It seems as though every SNS has its time of popularity until something new is created and people move on.  Although it may seem far into the future as of right now, I feel that it will only be a matter of time until a new SNS is created, causing people to forgot about Facebook.

Some causes that I have found that I am considering basing my SNS on are:

1. Local farmer's markets/eating locally
2. Jumpstart
3. Education in RI
4. Texting and Driving
5. Animal rescue

Chapters 6 & 7 on Website Design

While reading Chapter 6 on Design Principles, I was surprised to learn how much designing, planning, and formatting goes into creating well designed websites. I never really thought about alignment, but after looking at the examples, I definitely agree that consistency is important.  It is extremely important for websites to be visually appealing to the audiences eye.  The way to do this is by maintaining consistency with alignment, proximity, repetition, and contrast.

Chapter 7 familiarized me with an aspect of interface design known as the navigation design.  Although I was familiar with some types of navigation prior to reading this (navigation bars, tabs, links), I did not realize that there are so many different types of navigation that can be used on websites. I now know all of the aspects that are considered when creating websites, and have a better appreciation for well designed ones.  I'm looking foward to redesigning a "website that sucks" by using the information that I learned from these two chapters.

Rhetorical Situations and Websites for Redesign

I found Bullocks article on the 5 rhetorical situations very interesting and helpful.  As I was reading it, I was thinking to myself how everything that he was saying was true.  I feel that all 5 of the aspects stem from each other; each one influences the next, and you can't have one without the others.  I feel like most people would probably assume that the purpose is the most important because it is critical that your reader know what you are trying to teach them, convince them, propose to them, etc., but that all depends on who your audience is because your genre and tone is determined by who your target audience is.  It works like a cycle.

Some websites that I found that I am considering for potential redesign are the following:

http://www.finleysfuncenter.com/
http://www.lingscars.com/
http://www.homeofheroes.com/

Palmquist reading and poorly designed websites

I knew that a lot of time and planning went into creating and designing websites, but after reading this chapter, I became familiar with all of the elements that make a website design appealing and organized versus poorly designed and unorganized.  While reading about informational flags, I thought to myself that I don't very often at all come across websites that utilize this feature, moving your mouse over links and images allowing information to pop up.  I also never really thought about or realized that there are three different types of organizational structures in which websites are designed.  In the article, I read about four different principles that underlie the design of an effective web site, and I agree with them completely.  I agree that it is important that the layout remains consistent throughout so the audience knows when he/she has left the website. Basically, all the pages of the website should be predictable to the next.  Simple definitely is better so the audience doesnt become overwhelmed.  I know that I, personally, like websites where all the information is right there and easy to find.  If you have to spend a lot of time navigating to find what you are looking for, the reader will become frustrated and decide to search a different site. Lastly, too many graphics, flashing lights, or videos can also become overwhelming and take away from the visually appealing aspect.

I spent some time on google searching for "websites that suck", "poorly designed websites", and "the worst website designs" and found the following websites that I found confusing to navigate and visually unappealing:

http://savethewords.org/

http://www.lingscars.com/

http://www.angelfire.com/super/badwebs/

http://soeasilydistracted.blogspot.com/2007/11/warning-very-distracting-web-site-ahead.html

http://www.joneschijoff.com/

Information Ecologies

In information ecologies, "humans help other humans use technology." Based on what I learned from this chapter, I believe that Wikitravel is an information ecology characterized by coevolution.  On the site Wikitravel, any person from the public can simply visit the site and add to/edit an already existing article, or create one of their own.  When a person adds to an article, they are essentially "participating in the ongoing development of their information ecologies." This type of information ecology states, "The social and technical aspects of an environment coevolve.  People's activities and tools adjust and are adjusted in relation to each other, always attempting and never quite achieving a perfect fit." Although all the people that contribute to Wikitravel are not physically working together, their own separate ideas come together to create one article.

I think that my jobs that I had the past two summers at Rite Aid and American Eagle Outfitters were examples of ecologies characterized by diversity.  In an ecology characterized by diversity, different kids of people and different types of tools work together in a complementary way. At these two jobs, I used customer service skills to help different people find things they were looking to buy. 

Lastly, I feel that this class, WRT 235 is an example of an information ecology.  You, the professor, are helping us students on how to use technology.  In our assignments, we are using both our own ideas and technology to create a project.

Project #2: Wikitravel

1. Lincoln, RI: Add to already exisiting article
2. Pawtucket, RI: create itinerary
3. Providence, RI: create itinerary

If I decide to add to what already exists for the town of Lincoln, it will add value because since it is my hometown, I know of many places to go to and to eat at that are not currently on the page. If I decide to create an itinerary for Pawtucket or Providence, I will choose what I believe to be the best places to go to, to eat at, and to visit if you are spending a day in either Pawtucket or Providence.

Wikipedia

I understand that the intended purpose of Wikipedia is to allow the public to edit and make changes to the site, but I feel that the new feature, "flagged revisions" is a good idea because I wouldnt want to go online and read inaccurate information.  However, because it can be edited or revised at any time by anyone, I understand why professors do not want students to use Wikipedia as a source when doing any type of research paper or project, because it is not considered a reliable source for those reasons.

I wouldn't say that I use Wikipedia regularly; I use it on occasion.  I know that Wikipedia is not a reliable source, but I like to sometimes use it to get a brief summary/background on a particular topic.  I like using it because it provides me with an easily written, and easy to read basic summary. Most often, it is the first website that comes up. I have never contributed to Wikipedia, probably because I don't know more than what is already on it about a specific topic.

Marissa Mardo