I did do the Five Website Comparison, but I did it before the blog that came before it.
Here is a link to it if you didn't see it, but if you did, well, continue to have a nice weekend!
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Chris Anderson - Designing Media
Chris Anderson has had a rare seat at the forefront of the redesigning of Media as we know it. Quite possibly, there was no better seat for this than being at the head of Wired Magazine during the hayday of the Internet boom in the late 90's and early 2000's.
Anderson has seen the way that media has changed, from a sort of "big boys" club, where only those "in the know" are allowed to do something in a certain field. He mentions that, before today, if you wanted to produce and broadcast something, you needed to be in the television industry. But today, anyone can get a cheap camera, cheap editing software, and upload anything and everything they create to YouTube. And this is seen in all aspects, where people write, sing, create, and just simply become apart of any medium they wish, with very little bar of entry to do so. Media used to be a way for those in power to communicate. Media has now become just another way for everyone to communicate.
Not only has the way people do this changed, but also the why. Beforehand, the predominant reason could've been stated as money. Media was big, fast moving, fun, and paid well. Everyone wanted in, and only a few could get in. But, as time went on, those in the spotlight seemed to be doing it for a different reason. Not so much for cash, but for the explicit reason of being in the spotlight. People all over the world would worship these people. And like before with the issue of money, people wanted in. They wanted to be seen for no other reason than to be seen.
People all over the internet now, offer their services for free, just to be apart of something bigger. Novelists write books, programmers design software, musicians make music, artists make art, and distribute them freely over the Net for anyone to see.
From Chris Anderson's eyes, the way media works is changing drastically. In some ways for the worse, but ultimately, for the better.
Anderson has seen the way that media has changed, from a sort of "big boys" club, where only those "in the know" are allowed to do something in a certain field. He mentions that, before today, if you wanted to produce and broadcast something, you needed to be in the television industry. But today, anyone can get a cheap camera, cheap editing software, and upload anything and everything they create to YouTube. And this is seen in all aspects, where people write, sing, create, and just simply become apart of any medium they wish, with very little bar of entry to do so. Media used to be a way for those in power to communicate. Media has now become just another way for everyone to communicate.
Not only has the way people do this changed, but also the why. Beforehand, the predominant reason could've been stated as money. Media was big, fast moving, fun, and paid well. Everyone wanted in, and only a few could get in. But, as time went on, those in the spotlight seemed to be doing it for a different reason. Not so much for cash, but for the explicit reason of being in the spotlight. People all over the world would worship these people. And like before with the issue of money, people wanted in. They wanted to be seen for no other reason than to be seen.
People all over the internet now, offer their services for free, just to be apart of something bigger. Novelists write books, programmers design software, musicians make music, artists make art, and distribute them freely over the Net for anyone to see.
From Chris Anderson's eyes, the way media works is changing drastically. In some ways for the worse, but ultimately, for the better.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Five Websites of Awesome
First of we have Destructoid, a blog dedicated to gaming. Like most game blogs, it has a simple design. The stories get loaded in, and the new ones get placed on top, pushing the rest down. It is a design that is stories, simple, and works very well. I am also a fan of the general theme of the site.
On the other hand, we have Kotaku, another gaming blog that is under the Gawker brand of lifestyle blogs (other blogs include io9, a blog dedicated to sci-fi and fantasty, and Gizmodo, a blog dedicated to gadgets). The problem here is that, until a few weeks ago, Kotaku had the same blog style layout that Destructoid had, but then they decided to try out the new layout you see now, and it is quite horrid. Their are two many frames, some don't load all the way, and it's just generally confusing. I understand trying to innovate, but breaking something that worked so well just isn't a very good idea.
Next we have Reddit, which is currently the website to beat in term of Social News sites. A Social News site is basically any site that shares links to other websites, and has comments on those links built into Reddit itself, letting people have a discussion about said link, be it a picture, video, or link to a whole other website. It's simple, text based, and very easy to use.
Next, we have a message board website, called GameFAQs. This website is just about as old as dirt now. Founded way back in 1998, the overall design hasn't changed that much. The most major redesign came when the site was purchased wholesale by gaming news giant Gamespot, which now duplicates the GameFAQs message boards in it's own site, with it's own layout, while still allowing GameFAQs to keep it's own design on it's side. It's a bit of technical wizardry that worked for everyone.
Lastly, we have the web-comic Questionable Content (don't worry about the name, there really isn't any questionable content in there). This is another standard design that works well and doesn't really need much dressing up. For most web-comics, the central fixture is always going to be the comic, and thus the focus. Basically, all most web comic artists do is gussy up the back end, making it more functional. This site in general has one of my favorites, wherein if you are ever browsing the back catalog, whenever you click on the comic proper, it turns the page to the next strip. Extremely simple, but extremely functional.
On the other hand, we have Kotaku, another gaming blog that is under the Gawker brand of lifestyle blogs (other blogs include io9, a blog dedicated to sci-fi and fantasty, and Gizmodo, a blog dedicated to gadgets). The problem here is that, until a few weeks ago, Kotaku had the same blog style layout that Destructoid had, but then they decided to try out the new layout you see now, and it is quite horrid. Their are two many frames, some don't load all the way, and it's just generally confusing. I understand trying to innovate, but breaking something that worked so well just isn't a very good idea.
Next we have Reddit, which is currently the website to beat in term of Social News sites. A Social News site is basically any site that shares links to other websites, and has comments on those links built into Reddit itself, letting people have a discussion about said link, be it a picture, video, or link to a whole other website. It's simple, text based, and very easy to use.
Next, we have a message board website, called GameFAQs. This website is just about as old as dirt now. Founded way back in 1998, the overall design hasn't changed that much. The most major redesign came when the site was purchased wholesale by gaming news giant Gamespot, which now duplicates the GameFAQs message boards in it's own site, with it's own layout, while still allowing GameFAQs to keep it's own design on it's side. It's a bit of technical wizardry that worked for everyone.
Lastly, we have the web-comic Questionable Content (don't worry about the name, there really isn't any questionable content in there). This is another standard design that works well and doesn't really need much dressing up. For most web-comics, the central fixture is always going to be the comic, and thus the focus. Basically, all most web comic artists do is gussy up the back end, making it more functional. This site in general has one of my favorites, wherein if you are ever browsing the back catalog, whenever you click on the comic proper, it turns the page to the next strip. Extremely simple, but extremely functional.
Sunday, February 6, 2011
I am a Reader
I am a reader who reads for fun.
I am a reader who reads to learn.
I am a reader who hates grounded stories.
I am a reader who hates when something ends.
I am a reader who has trouble visualizing characters.
I am a reader who can read anywhere.
I am a reader who reads the same things twice.
I am a reader who skims descriptions of landscapes.
I am a reader who reads for characters.
I am a reader who reads to live.
Based on these, I think it's hard to say exactly what type of reader I am. A lot of what I do seems to be from Behaviorist point of view. Growing up, it took me a little longer to get things, making me read things over and over again before I fully got them. Now, being an adult, I am able to understand things easily the first time, but I still read it twice.
But on that note, I have a hard time visualizing things with words, which would suggest Cognitive view on my reading.
Yet, I am also obsessed with characters, and viewing the various strife and troubles they go through, feeling connected to them through their actions. Is this a Community based mindset?
As said, from my stand point, I cannot honestly say that it is one way or the other definitively. For sure, I am an amalgamation of all four to different extents. But, if I have to choose one, I would say I was definitely influenced by Behaviorism the most out of them. I saw what others did around me, I was influenced by them, and emulated them. Or is that Social Constructivism? I still have so much to learn.
I am a reader who reads to learn.
I am a reader who hates grounded stories.
I am a reader who hates when something ends.
I am a reader who has trouble visualizing characters.
I am a reader who can read anywhere.
I am a reader who reads the same things twice.
I am a reader who skims descriptions of landscapes.
I am a reader who reads for characters.
I am a reader who reads to live.
Based on these, I think it's hard to say exactly what type of reader I am. A lot of what I do seems to be from Behaviorist point of view. Growing up, it took me a little longer to get things, making me read things over and over again before I fully got them. Now, being an adult, I am able to understand things easily the first time, but I still read it twice.
But on that note, I have a hard time visualizing things with words, which would suggest Cognitive view on my reading.
Yet, I am also obsessed with characters, and viewing the various strife and troubles they go through, feeling connected to them through their actions. Is this a Community based mindset?
As said, from my stand point, I cannot honestly say that it is one way or the other definitively. For sure, I am an amalgamation of all four to different extents. But, if I have to choose one, I would say I was definitely influenced by Behaviorism the most out of them. I saw what others did around me, I was influenced by them, and emulated them. Or is that Social Constructivism? I still have so much to learn.
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