• Appreciate blog hostings

It has challenged me into familiarising with a new blog host and I now realized how different each blog hosts can be. Not to mention, I now understand how much effort were put into making the experience of a non-HTML user much easier with the blogging programs.

• Importance of multimodality

I am now more familiar with not only writing and designing for an online material, but also ensuring that the blog consists of multimodal elements such as hypertext, hyperlink and images. Having done this blog, I understand the importance of multimodality in the design of a document as it helps to create and give a clearer meaning (Walsh, 2006).

• Blogging = Beneficial activity

Apart from that, I believe that blogging is a beneficial activity and I foresee it to grow more in a few years, especially with new usage and trends of blogs such as the Advertlets and Google Adsense advertisings; generating income for many bloggers.

Having said that, people need to appreciate the freedom of speech and expression given and use it wisely and appropriately; eliminating cyber-bullying, spamming and avoiding law suits regarding defamation. Otherwise, laws that may be enacted can restrict internet movement and expression which will make the experience less entertaining.

Overall, this has been great. Thank you.

Companies such as Google have come up with their Google Adsense whereas, closer to home, in Malaysia, a new company called Advertlets have taken a step into the same direction as Google by providing Malaysians an opportunity to make some money out of blogging (Lee, 2007). Popular bloggers such as KinkyBlueFairy and Yvonne Foong have taken this opportunity to make money out of their high amount of blog visitors.

Google Adsense screenshot

Advertlets screenshot

Basically, bloggers have to write and ensure that their blogs have a high number of visitors while the companies mentioned above (Google or Advertlets) will provide advertisements that are relevant to the content of the blog. Bloggers make money out of advertisement clicks or even doing write-ups on a particular product advertised. The combination of the appropriate advertisements relevant to the writing content is brilliant as the readers can connect with the writing and the advertisement better. As Shriver (1997; p.411) said that pictures and text used properly can affect the clarity and engagement of the message. Therefore, this way of advertising is more effective and cost-efficient.

Bloggers and advertisers, both benefit out of this new method and usage of blogs.

As a blogger and a new member of Advertlets myself, I must say that it is a reasonably good way of doing something that I love and generating some revenue from it. Perhaps, this new form of money making program will boost the growth of blogging more in years to come.

Reference:

Lee, C 2007, ‘Blogging and big bucks’, viewed 7 June 2007; [internet], http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/5/29/itfeature/17847964&sec=itfeature.

Shriver, KA 1997, ‘Dynamics in document design: creating text for readers’, Chapter 6, pp.361-441, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.

Wikipedia, the free online encyclopaedia have been compared to Encyclopaedia Britannica with much controversy. People have questioned Wikipedia’s reliability and accuracy (Giles, 2006). Due to Wikipedia’s unusual and forward move that allows anyone to edit information on the encyclopaedia have caused its reliability to be in question.

PERSONAL IDEA

However, I truly enjoy using Wikipedia as a point of reference as informations are always up-to-date. The information are also constantly edited and cited. Therefore, I personally feel that it is a good place to start reading about something. After all, any form of reading or research requires a lot more reading than simply from one source. Therefore, it would not be harmful to use Wikipedia as long as more readings are done to garner more perspective.

REPORT BY ‘NATURE’

Coming back to the accuracy and reliability of Wikipedia, a research report by Nature have concluded that the difference in accuracy between Wikipedia and Britannica, is actually not that big. In fact, when compared, Wikipedia had 4 inaccuracies where Britannica had 3 inaccuracies (Giles, 2006). This is actually quite stunning considering the standard of Britannica which has been considered top-notch; and the only slight difference with Wikipedia makes Wikipedia seems somewhat reliable.

WIKIPEDIA ACCURACY & USABILITY

No doubt Wikipedia’s editing element is flawed by ‘fake professors’ or uncredited contributors, this research results by ‘Nature’ have somewhat thrown the Wikipedia’s inaccuracy idea. It is constantly being edited and its accuracy is there. Combined with its hypertext and links to other articles and citations on the net, this multimodal (Walsh, 2006) design of encyclopaedia can be beneficial if used properly. Therefore, I feel that Wikipedia is usable and reliable.

References:

Giles, J 2006, ‘Internet encyclopaedias go head to head’, viewed 5 June 2007; [internet], http://www.nature.com/news/2005/051212/full/438900a.html.

Walsh, M 2006, ‘The textual shift’, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp.24-37, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy.

BAD BLOG

However, a good example of a blog that does not follow these rules must be “Pink is the new blog” as I find it messy and completely going against all rules of composition.

‘Pink is the new blog’ screenshot

FRAMING

First of all, it would be great if the website had a proper border or framing to guide the audiences’ eyes when trying to scan and look out for information. As it is now, there are words everywhere including advertisements and graphics making it really disorganised. A simple line to divide the sidebar and the writing area would have made such a difference.

COLOURS

Next, the colours are too painful to look at. Pink and white on black, does not look pleasing to the eyes and it disrupts the reading flow. As it is, reading online is already 25% slower than on paper (Nielsen, 2007), therefore a disturbing colour is really unnecessary.

ALIGNMENT

The alignment of the sentences and alphabets in the website is terrible. There seems to be no fixed alignment. The sidebar started of with a center alignment before moving to a left alignment all of the sudden. This does not work if online readers’ eyes were to try and scan through the page.

Elements of design are simply essential in helping online layout and writing. Therefore, I truly feel that the author of the blog needs to rethink and revamp his website in order to help his readers read more easily and pleasantly.

References

Kress, G & Van Leeuwen, T 2006, ‘Reading Images: The grammar of visual design’, 2^nd edn, Chapter 6, pp.175-214, Routledge, London.

Nielsen, J 2007, ‘Writing for the web’, viewed on 6 June 2007; [internet], http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/.

Disclaimer: This is solely for education purposes and does not intend to defame the owner of “Pink is the new blog”.

Although internet has kicked off the ground; and according to Ramasamy (2004), most people in the urban areas – 93% of urban Malaysians (Zaitun, 2005) – have access to the internet, many around the globe still do not have access or have limited access to it. Therefore, I feel that there is a digital divide and information divide amongst people who are internet savvy and those who are incapable of getting access.

RESTRICTIONS

This is happening due to location in the rural areas or for some, due to restrictions and regulations. For instance, in China, the government have the ability to censor materials coming in from outside China (Stroehlein, 2002). In Iraq, internet is only available to some ministries, not to the public (Stroehlein, 2002). Therefore, books and other reading materials that we, in Malaysia can easily have access to; are limited to them. This creates a divide in information accessibility.

DIGITAL AND INFORMATION DIVIDE

As we are living in an internet age, I feel that this is a flaw in information flow. This digital divide is unfair, as they are denied access to all the information and knowledge that we can obtain. Perhaps, if this digital divide cannot be overcome soon, internet books and reading materials should be made available to them in printed form if possible so that the ‘information’ divide will not be there anymore. This form of publishing issue needs to be address in order to create a balance in the dissemination of information.

References:

Stroehlein, A 2002, ‘Censorship wins out’, viewed on 5 June 2007; [internet], http://alternet.org/story/12965.

Zaitun, AB 2005, ‘Overcoming the Digital Divide – A Proposal on How Institutions of Higher Education Can Play a Role’, viewed 4 June 2007; [internet], http://pppjj.usm.my/mojit/articles/pdf/April05/10-Zaitun-final.pdf.

COST EFFECTIVE

Producing e-newsletters are cheaper compared to its print counterpart. Wilcox & Cameron (2006; p.375) said that print newsletters will cost up to 50 cents a piece while the e-newsletter probably cost less than 5 cents. Therefore, it would be beneficial for organisations to distribute newsletters online, as they get to disseminate information to its publics at a less cost. Organisations such as MarketQuiz (2007) that helps produce e-newsletters for other organisations; said that ‘e-newsletters costs 90% less than traditional newsletter’.

TIMELINESS

With e-newsletter, distribution would be a really fast process, compared to a print version as the internet allows e-newsletter to be sent out almost instantly (Wilcox & Cameron, 2006; p.375). Professor Ian Walker from Warwick University has found through a series of equation that time literally is money (CNN.com, 2002). Therefore, e-newsletter would be beneficial as its timeliness will help save cost for the company in reaching its key publics effectively. Not to mention, audiences – me included – love quick accessibility.

VISUAL ATTRACTIVENESS

The visual attractiveness of an e-newsletter is more interesting as it can include moving graphics and pictures compared to its print counterpart which only produce a 2-D still-image. Nickerson (1968) said that pictures or graphics have the ability to evoke interest in the audiences as well as affect their ability to recall it (Shriver, 1997; p.407). In fact, I prefer graphics as the movement looks more attractive and it helps me engage in the reading.

References:

Bear, JH 2007, ‘Magazines vs. Newsletters – What is the difference between magazines and newsletters’, viewed on 27 May 2007; [internet], http://desktoppub.about.com/od/newsletters/f/magnews.htm.

CNN.com 2002, ‘Time is money, professor proves’, viewed on 27 May 2007; [internet], http://archives.cnn.com/2002/TECH/science/05/29/time.money/.

MarketQuiz 2007, ‘Advantages of electronic newsletters’, viewed on 26 May 2007; [internet], http://www.marketquiz.com/marketing/services/newsletters-adv.asp.

Schriver, KA 1997, ‘Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers’, Ch. 6, p.407, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. New York.

Wilcox, DL & Cameron, GT 2006, ‘Public Relations: Strategies and tactics’, 8^th edition, Pearson Education Inc, United States.

Why, you may ask?

Jeff Ooi (above): Malaysian blogger, being sued for defamation

For some countries like Malaysia, the government believes that internet (blogging) laws will help to maintain the integrity of internet users, as to not disseminate lies over the internet (Hah, 2006). With bloggers such as Jeff Ooi (picture above) being sued for defamation (Sohan, 2007), perhaps the government is concern over the effects of complete speech freedom on the net.

This brings up another focus which is cyber-bullying. Is complete speech freedom on the internet contributing to cyber-bullying?

As I have seen before, some bloggers uses their blog to bad mouth someone else or publish things that might not be necessarily. I have even read a blog-fight whereby people set up blogs specifically to criticise and have a fight of words with someone else (the blog name shall remain nameless). Should internet laws be enacted to prevent this sort of blogging?

Although I feel the necessity for some form of control over this type of bloggers, it worries me that internet laws may be used to eliminate internet freedom altogether, thus, cancelling out this form of alternative media that is otherwise very useful.

Therefore, I believe that internet users should appreciate the internet as a borderless world and use it appropriately and wisely, not for cyber-bullying.

References:

Hah, FL 2006, ‘Cyber law mulled to block lies in blogs’, viewed 6 June 2007; [internet], http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/12/3/nation/16212999&sec=nation.

Sohan, AA 2007, ‘Defamation suit to test the limits of freedom of speech in cyberspace’, viewed on 6 June 2007; [internet], http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/1/20/itedit/20070120121945&sec=itedit.

Stroehlein, A 2002, ‘Censorship wins out’, viewed on 5 June 2007; [internet], http://alternet.org/story/12965.

This blog cater to readers who have keen interest and concern in document design and publishing issues. As the world evolve and more and more technological advancement takes place, new media trends and usage appears. Therefore, the design and publishing issues discussed would be related to current media trends and media usage to further elaborate on the current trends of media usage.

Hopefully with this blog, readers would be able to be informed and able to gauge a different perspective on the importance of document design and publication issues.

WHAT ARE BLOGS?

Blogs are basically short for “web logs” (NetAlert, 2004) which according to Winer (2003) of Harvard are a ‘chronological arrangement of text, images or data able to be viewed in an HTML browser’.

PURPOSE OF BLOGS

These days, blogs are used for many different purposes. People use it in various different ways or areas in their lives depending on the writer’s purpose as well as the target audience. Some blogs are used for professional and business purposes, others for specialised interest groups or personal usage.

CLASSIFICATION OF BLOGS

Just by searching for blogs on Google, you would be able to come across various different types of blogs. Since the possibility is vast, blogs can be classified under several different categories before broken down into smaller categories. Here is a general view of the blogging classification:

• personal blogs

It is the type that acts as an online journal which record events in ones daily lives. Since 2004, this type has become popular among teens (Thinkquest, 2006) and certain population of young adults. An example of it would be a blog by a writer, KinkyBlueFairy.

• corporate blogs

This type are used by companies to engage in their business or acts as an extension to the company’s communication such as the Cuppacakes blog that provides information on their product, order and contact details.

• topical blogs (special interest blogs)

This blog type discuss on issue of a specific interest. For example:

• The Poliblog discuss on political issues

• Fly Fishing Journal discusses on topics relating to the art of fly fishing

• Blogs such as Perez Hilton, cover gossip stories related to celebrities

Since Technorati said that there are about 70 million blogs as of April 2007 (The Guardian, 2007), it is only logical that these blogs are classified into different classifications to somewhat categorise and organise them in the internet space for easier accessibility. Websites like Malaysia Central breaks down blogs into categories such as socio-politics, entertainment, shopping and more; to make it easier for audiences to search of a blog of their interest. I believe it is necessary for blogs to be classified to create a form of organisation in the large space of the internet; and also to help form a community on the net according to interests.

BLOG AS A CURRENT PHENOMENON

Since blogs first started, blogging has grown in proportion as it gained popularity around 2000 (Ng, 2007). It has become quite a mainstream phenomenon with approximately one blog being open per second (The Guardian, 2007). A large group of people, now own a blog and it has become somewhat normal to have one. Among youths, it is a way to keep in touch with the each other whereas; some businesses use it to communicate with their customers such as the Cuppacakes blog. With over 18 blog updates per second (Technorati, 2007), it is not exaggerated to say that it is part of a daily routine for internet users to visit a blog, as my friends and I certainly do.

BLOGGING COMMUNITIES

As said before, with blogs being categorised through topics and interests, communities are formed. Community is a social group (Dictionary.com, 2007). People who read or have similar blog interest will come together (or link each other) to create a community which support or contribute comments to one another’s blog; thus, generating new ideas and staying connected.

DESIGN FOR PRINT VS. ONLINE

The design for online and print materials differs in layout and the amount of content. This is due to the different reading patterns between the two: online and print. According to Nielsen (2007), people read 25% slower online and therefore need the contents online to be half as short. Therefore, when blogging, I feel that it is necessary to keep it short and where necessary, sub-headings are more effective to help readers to scan through.

References:

Dictionary.com, 2007, ‘Community’, viewed on 7 June 2007; [internet], http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/community.

Journal, 2004, ‘What are blogs, and why should your business use one?’, viewed on 4 June 2007; [internet], http://www.searchenginejournal.com/what-are-blogs-and-why-your-business-should-use-one/1080/.

NetAlert, 2004, ‘What are blogs?’, viewed 4 June 2007; [internet], http://www.netalert.net.au/01671-What-are-blogs.asp.

Ng, D 2007, ‘What are blogs?’, viewed on 4 June 2007; [internet], http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-blogs.htm.

Nielsen, J 2007, ‘Writing for web’, viewed 4 June 2007; [internet], http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/.

Technorati, 2007, ‘Welcome to technorati’, viewed on 4 June 2007; [internet], http://technorati.com/about/.

The Guardian, 2007, ‘Blogs mark the first 10 years’, viewed on 4 June 2007; [internet], http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2051882,00.html.

Thinkquest, 2006, ‘blogging’, viewed 4 June 2007; [internet], http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01130/typesofblogs_textbased.html.

Winer, D 2003, ‘Weblogs at Harvard Law’, viewed on 4 June 2007; [internet], http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/whatMakesAWeblogAWeblog.