Hi frens...
Pls check out Agoda.com
Book your hotel through this website and you are entitled for rewards points which later,
you can redeem it and get a free stay at any hotels...
Cool....i have 17,000 points now!
www.agoda.com
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Thursday, June 7, 2007
Introduction: Blogging
The trend of blogging
The trend of blogging increasingly drives majority of the internet users so passion. The word is so familiar that you shout out, 9 out of 10 have their own blogs. A blog monitoring site Technorati reported that about 1.4 blogs created every second. To date, around 70 million blogs existed. According to WordPress (2007), "blog" is an abbreviated version of "weblog," which is a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. It's all started since April 1997 when Dave Winer posted the first blog entry on Scripting News and big growth in American blogs after the September 11 terrorist attacks, where people express their sorrow and commemorate the victims.
Thanks to Blogger.com which popularises the trend of blogging. Blogger.com stated that "A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world." (Blogger.com in http://www.bbc.co.uk/) In other words, blog is usually known as a personal website featuring diary-type commentary or online journals or provides various relevant links to articles or other websites.
Microsoft's MSN and Windows' Live Online had carried out a research last year, result analysed and shown that Asians blog to share their daily routines or experiences with families and friends, also to express their feelings and 56% of the Asian blog space belong to users under 25 years. However, the blogging phenomenon is becoming a complex issue in Malaysia. (will be further discussed on future postings)
The trend of blogging increasingly drives majority of the internet users so passion. The word is so familiar that you shout out, 9 out of 10 have their own blogs. A blog monitoring site Technorati reported that about 1.4 blogs created every second. To date, around 70 million blogs existed. According to WordPress (2007), "blog" is an abbreviated version of "weblog," which is a term used to describe web sites that maintain an ongoing chronicle of information. It's all started since April 1997 when Dave Winer posted the first blog entry on Scripting News and big growth in American blogs after the September 11 terrorist attacks, where people express their sorrow and commemorate the victims.
Thanks to Blogger.com which popularises the trend of blogging. Blogger.com stated that "A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world." (Blogger.com in http://www.bbc.co.uk/) In other words, blog is usually known as a personal website featuring diary-type commentary or online journals or provides various relevant links to articles or other websites.
Microsoft's MSN and Windows' Live Online had carried out a research last year, result analysed and shown that Asians blog to share their daily routines or experiences with families and friends, also to express their feelings and 56% of the Asian blog space belong to users under 25 years. However, the blogging phenomenon is becoming a complex issue in Malaysia. (will be further discussed on future postings)
Classification of Blogs
Blogs can be classified from the personal journals to specific topic such as fashion, sports, technology, political subjects, etc. Some are classified as moblog (a.k.a mobile weblog) where users use mobile devices to post texts, video clips, photos, etc. Some of the examples are Moblog UK (http://moblog.co.uk/), Moblog Singapore (http://www.moblog.com.sg/), Camera Phone Moblog Community (http://www.textamerica.com/), etc. Vlog (Video Weblog) is also considered as a classification of blogs. I would recommend the Vlog Blog (http://www.vlogblog.com/) as you can find out some interesting topics.
Blogging Communities
Bloggers are free to choose which communities they belong to and there are many blog communities available. For personal journals, there are Xanga, Multiply, Blogspot, Wordpress, etc. Or too moody and need some funny blogs? Or even the celebrities' gossips? There are all available on your preferences, such as http://todaypictures.blogspot.com/, http://perezhilton.com/, etc.
"Each weblogger creates a personal version of the weblog format, dictated by purpose, interest, and whim" (Blood, 2002, p. 8). The purpose of your blog eventually determines the format.
Bloggers need to belong to a blogging community as people share similar interests and they exchange opinions on certain topics. This eventually opens up your network by linking each others, don't you think so?
Check this out! The listing of all best blogs http://www.forbes.com/lists/2003/04/14/bestblogslander.html
Purpose of blogging
Generally people blog depends on their interests or particular purposes. For corporations or professional, they own blogs to maintain favorable opinion by getting feedbacks from end-consumers while other interest groups or common bloggers are so 'into' the passionate hobby as it serves as a tool to share ideas or experiences.
A fashion fanatic will share the latest trend by linking to other fashion fanatics or other recommended links. Others may express their feelings, thoughts or comments through blogs, e.g. the newly opened restaurant, etc. Besides that, blog is also an excellent communication tool to keep in touch with family members and friends.
Blogging- a waste of time?
I personally think that personal blogging is a waste of time. Put it in this way, as a person who rarely shares my experience, blogging to me is too 'open'. I afraid the facts that people around me know what happen to me on daily basis.
To keep a diary? Sound too vague for me, I always believe that people tend to remember happiness and forget sadness. I don't want the blog acts as a reminder of my sadness. And do you honestly write 'everything' on personal blog?
To some extent, I think that blog is useful to find out information, such as fashion tips, political issues, etc. We get to know what other people think about the certain issues. Furthermore, bloggers especially students, can earn extra pocket money through blogging-advertising.
Tutorials by Jakob Nielsen 'Be Succinct!'
Writing for the Web sounds easy yet Nielsen has stated three main guidelines (1997)
(a) Be succinct - Keep it short and preferably write 50% less then hardcopy publications.
(b) Write for scannability - Highlighted headlines, colored keywords, etc
(c) Make use of hypertext structure
Jakob Nielsen: The Top Ten Design Mistakes(2005)
- No Author Biographies
- No Author Photo
- Nondescript Posting Titles
- Links Don't Say Where They Go
- Classic Hits are Buried
- The Calendar is the Only Navigation
- Irregular Publishing Frequency
- Mixing Topics
- Forgetting That You Write for Your Future Boss
- Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service
Differences of online and print designs
Dimensionality
Print design is 2-dimensional while web design can be 1-dimensional or N-dimensional. Readers can flip through printed pages while internet users can't.
Navigation
The hypertext is the main navigation for web users while in print, the page-turning acts as navigation.
Response Time
Bandwidth allows users to download a Web page as fast as one can turn the page in a newspaper (Jakob Nielsen, 1999)
Multimedia and Interactivity
Print emphasizes high-impact visualization whereas in web, multimedia elements are included to engage the users and allow interactivity.
Reference
BBC, 'What is Blogging', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce/articles/browse/blogging_1.shtml
Blood, R. (2002). The weblog handbook: Practical advice on creating and maintaining your blog, Cambridge, MA: Perseus Pub.
Johnson, B. 2007, 'Blogs mark the first 10 years', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,,2051882,00.html#article_continue
Morkes, K. & Nielson, J. 1997, 'Concise, Scannable, and Objective: How to Write for the Web', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html
Nielson, J. 1997, 'Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web)', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
Nielson, J. 1999, 'Differences Between Print Design and Web Design', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html
Nielson, J. 2005, 'Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html
Wordpress 2007, 'Blogging', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging#What_is_a_.22blog.22.3F
Purpose
As discussed, every blog has its purpose.
For me, this blog aims to reach all latent publics especially young adults aged between 20 to 25 who do not aware about the current media and publishing issues. To paint a clearer picture for these latent public, the media and publishing issues are such as internet TV, E-books, design, blogging, ethical or legal issues, etc and these issues have become major threats to our society which need to be addressed as soon as possible.
For me, this blog aims to reach all latent publics especially young adults aged between 20 to 25 who do not aware about the current media and publishing issues. To paint a clearer picture for these latent public, the media and publishing issues are such as internet TV, E-books, design, blogging, ethical or legal issues, etc and these issues have become major threats to our society which need to be addressed as soon as possible.
Broadcast TV is out!
Why do I say so?
Broadcast TV is losing its ground as we are introduced to the new genre - Internet TV especially with the increase of connection speeds, technology advancement and huge number of people online.
Internet TV can be defined as TV over the web delivered by a broadband connection. There are many Internet TVs available such as WWITV, TV Bistro , Holersoft , Democracy, etc.
Photo: Democracy Internet TV
According to Professor of Public Understanding of Technology John Naughton (2004), the dominance of the broadcast medium will erode and to be replaced by the Internet. This shift is significant because it means a change from 'push' media to 'pull' media.
Differences
Broadcast TV
- Broadcast TV is considered as push medium as the content providers decide what content is to be offered to the passive audiences.
- The audiences' choices are limited.
- Range of offerings is still narrow compared to the enormous diversity of human appetites and interests.
- Scheduled programmes.
Internet TV
- The Web, in contrast, is a 'pull' medium as audiences are free to choose which programmes they want. All they need to do is pull it down from a server across the net.
- Variety of choices available for active audiences.
- Flexible programmes. Audiences can choose to watch anytime.
It is obvious that the Internet TV wins out with all the significant advantages.
Heard of Joost? Joost - "all the things you love about TV, fused with the interactive power of the Internet." It is the revolutionary Internet service that streams TV shows, movies, music videos, documentaries and much more directly to your computer. It becomes hot since earlier this year, I'm pretty sure that most of the internet entertainment savvy are aware of this new buzz.
Just download the software that allows the transmission of content via the Internet and you can watch more than 150 channels for FREE! Sound really good, isn't it? Content is acquired directly from the copyright owners and different from YouTube, Joost users can only view, but not upload content. This is to prevent anyone from posting copyrighted material.
Let's check out this transcript entitled 'Getting the juice on Joost' and 'Technology: The (Really) New Way Of Watching TV' by SinChew-I to find out more about the latest Internet TV.
Reference
Naughton, J. 2004, 'Testimony to Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport', viewed on 7 June 2007, URL: http://molly.open.ac.uk/papers/evidence.html
YouTube Fate
YouTube is well-known as a peer-to-peer sharing site, however, couple of weeks ago, Viacom – a U.S. Media owner of renowned brands such as MTV, Paramount Pictures and Dreamworks has filed a US$1 billion copyright lawsuit against YouTube, the Football Association Premier League as well filed a lawsuit in New York, accusing YouTube voilating copyright law. Sames goes to NBC Universal. A report also stated that Thailand Government is considering suing YouTube for posting an offensive video of the nation's monarch. To be exact, all saying that majority of the content are violating the copyright laws. Viacom has demanded 100,000 of movie clips to be removed.
Why these companies are accusing YouTube? YouTube has actually signed agreements with many rights owners and videos or musics are to be posted and viewed legally. For me, it's more to a business talk. Google has reported its fourth-quarter revenue growth of 67% to US$3.2 billion. These companies tat filed the lawsuits are seemed to take YouTube for granted. Put it in this way, in terms of profit and higher economics status, which company doesn't want to be on top?
To some extent, I strongly agree that YouTube is actually a good tool to open up more business opportunities or media owners' exposure as YouTube has extremely high number of visitors each day. This can also help to increase the audiences or open up the market. What do you think?
Nevertheless, whether these companies end up regretting or YouTube surviving chance is yet to be seen.
Reference
Johnson, B. 2007, 'YouTube faces $1 bn lawsuit for alleged breach of copyright' in Guardian Limited, viewed on 3 June 2007, URL: http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,2033297,00.html#article_continue
Sandoval, G 2007, 'Legal troubles mount for YouTube' in CNet Asia, viewed on 3 June 2007, URL:http://www.zdnetasia.com/news/internet/0,39044246,62011339,00.htm
Blog as new media to practice press freedom
Ask yourself...Is Press freedom in Malaysia really 'FREE'?
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) that supports the formation of the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs) also urged the Government to accept blogging as new media. NUJ president Norila Mohd Daud speaking at the World Press Freedom Day 2007 forum Bloggers: New Breed of Journalists or Online Journal Keepers further showed their seriousness in carrying out responsible blogging, especially in terms of press freedom and issues pertinent to nation-building. But question marks arise… Why the Government stand strong on the opposition? Should it be a need of transparency? Freedom of press?
The concept of the uncensored 'borderless world' made information more easily accessible to anyone which described by NUJ president (2007) was definitely agreeable. She said, "as such, any abuses by public officials can be immediately exposed on the Internet." This point has made me thinking about the Government who practice gatekeeping throughout the media.
In my opinion, our Government need to ensure accountability and transparency as well as keep the publics informed all the time. We, as responsible citizens of Malaysia should have the rights to know more about the country and blogs have always do the job of 'Informing' especially through Jeff Ooi's blog. It's an eye opener for all the politicians and the publics.
The restrictive laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, and Official Secrets Act (OSA) have restricted the local media to freely deliver news to the publics. I doubt bloggers are bounded with the laws as well? Don't you think it is necessary for the Government to amend the laws and practice freedom of press?
During a forum at a World Press Freedom Day event, themed Press Freedom, Safety of Journalists, and Impunity yesterday, Barisan Nasional's Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee said press freedom was not given priority nor was it at the forefront of the country's political agenda.
"Politicians fear it (raising press freedom issues) will be self-inflicting and bring about political damage," he said yesterday at the event organised by Asian Institute for Development Communication (Aidcom). Is that true?
Reference
'Accept blogging as new media' in The Star Online, viewed on 27 May 2007, URL: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/5/4/technology/20070504155505&sec=technology
'NUJ backs bloggers alliance' in The Star Online, viewed on 27 May 2007, URL: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/5/5/technology/20070505131217&sec=technology
The National Union of Journalists (NUJ) that supports the formation of the National Alliance of Bloggers (All-Blogs) also urged the Government to accept blogging as new media. NUJ president Norila Mohd Daud speaking at the World Press Freedom Day 2007 forum Bloggers: New Breed of Journalists or Online Journal Keepers further showed their seriousness in carrying out responsible blogging, especially in terms of press freedom and issues pertinent to nation-building. But question marks arise… Why the Government stand strong on the opposition? Should it be a need of transparency? Freedom of press?
The concept of the uncensored 'borderless world' made information more easily accessible to anyone which described by NUJ president (2007) was definitely agreeable. She said, "as such, any abuses by public officials can be immediately exposed on the Internet." This point has made me thinking about the Government who practice gatekeeping throughout the media.
In my opinion, our Government need to ensure accountability and transparency as well as keep the publics informed all the time. We, as responsible citizens of Malaysia should have the rights to know more about the country and blogs have always do the job of 'Informing' especially through Jeff Ooi's blog. It's an eye opener for all the politicians and the publics.
The restrictive laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, and Official Secrets Act (OSA) have restricted the local media to freely deliver news to the publics. I doubt bloggers are bounded with the laws as well? Don't you think it is necessary for the Government to amend the laws and practice freedom of press?
During a forum at a World Press Freedom Day event, themed Press Freedom, Safety of Journalists, and Impunity yesterday, Barisan Nasional's Kota Melaka MP Wong Nai Chee said press freedom was not given priority nor was it at the forefront of the country's political agenda.
"Politicians fear it (raising press freedom issues) will be self-inflicting and bring about political damage," he said yesterday at the event organised by Asian Institute for Development Communication (Aidcom). Is that true?
Reference
'Accept blogging as new media' in The Star Online, viewed on 27 May 2007, URL: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/5/4/technology/20070504155505&sec=technology
'NUJ backs bloggers alliance' in The Star Online, viewed on 27 May 2007, URL: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/5/5/technology/20070505131217&sec=technology
Ethical Blogger
Many are being questioned, what is ethical to post and what not? Sometimes, blogging can open up chances of getting yourself in trouble, especially in legal action. In Malaysia, defamation is one of the most common lawsuits that filed against bloggers.
According to the Malaysia Defamation Act 1957, a person who is deemed defamation in any action of libel or slander, which is a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation that eventually, injures a person's reputation.
Bloggers are liable for defamation — just as in other forms of communication. According to the Kuala Lumpur Bar chairman Lim Chee Wee, even bloggers write in a different medium, they’re still subject to the same defamation laws if offending statements are published. (Ibrahim, 2007 in News Straits Times).
Look at examples such as Jeff Ooi (Screenshots) and Rocky (Rocky's Bru) who have been sued for defamation by the New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) and individuals of the company over the postings on their blogs.
I think that the legislation need to address the issue as soon as possible. Bloggers should exercise ethically and be responsible on what they post or else GET INTO TROUBLE!
Reference
Ibrahim, A. 2007, 'Bloggers subject to same rules' in News Strait Times, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://www.niser.org.my/news/2007_01_25_01.html
The Commissioner of Law Revision Malaysia 2006, 'Defamation Act 1957', viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://www.agc.gov.my/agc/oth/Akta/Vol.%206/Act%20286.pdf
Wong, C.W. 2007, 'Bloggers have a duty too' in The Star Online, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/28/focus/16709433&sec=focus
Other related stories
Asohan, A. 2007, 'Defamation suit to test the limits of freedom of speech in cyberspace' in The Star Online, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/1/20/itedit/20070120121945&sec=itedit
Koshy, S. & Cheah 2007, 'NSTP gets injunction to remove blog postings' in The Star Online, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/19/nation/16618939&sec=nation
According to the Malaysia Defamation Act 1957, a person who is deemed defamation in any action of libel or slander, which is a false accusation of an offense or a malicious misrepresentation that eventually, injures a person's reputation.
Bloggers are liable for defamation — just as in other forms of communication. According to the Kuala Lumpur Bar chairman Lim Chee Wee, even bloggers write in a different medium, they’re still subject to the same defamation laws if offending statements are published. (Ibrahim, 2007 in News Straits Times).
Look at examples such as Jeff Ooi (Screenshots) and Rocky (Rocky's Bru) who have been sued for defamation by the New Straits Times Press (Malaysia) and individuals of the company over the postings on their blogs.
I think that the legislation need to address the issue as soon as possible. Bloggers should exercise ethically and be responsible on what they post or else GET INTO TROUBLE!
Reference
Ibrahim, A. 2007, 'Bloggers subject to same rules' in News Strait Times, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://www.niser.org.my/news/2007_01_25_01.html
The Commissioner of Law Revision Malaysia 2006, 'Defamation Act 1957', viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://www.agc.gov.my/agc/oth/Akta/Vol.%206/Act%20286.pdf
Wong, C.W. 2007, 'Bloggers have a duty too' in The Star Online, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://www.thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/28/focus/16709433&sec=focus
Other related stories
Asohan, A. 2007, 'Defamation suit to test the limits of freedom of speech in cyberspace' in The Star Online, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/1/20/itedit/20070120121945&sec=itedit
Koshy, S. & Cheah 2007, 'NSTP gets injunction to remove blog postings' in The Star Online, viewed on 28 May 2007, URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/1/19/nation/16618939&sec=nation
Earning extra bucks from blogs!
Not only people start blogging because of the interest, more and more people see it as a money-making machine. Just blog and get paid? Sound ridiculous but it's the reality...
Some bloggers are making revenues by getting advertisers to advertise on their blogs. More and more blog-advertising aggregators are running the business.
Media services group, ZenithOptimedia had conducted a survey on advertising expenditure and result shown that Internet advertising spending is predicted to grow at 28.2% this year, which equivalent to seven times more than the other markets (Lee in TheStar Online, 2007)
As easy as it is, just give the users the most valuable information or in-sight of your blog, get them visit and read your blog as frequent as possible and you're at the doorstep of making bucks.
This is definitely a win-win situation, where bloggers get extra bucks in their pockets while advertisers get to reach larger audiences to promote their products or services. So, why not?
Reference
Lee S.W. 2007, 'Blogging and big bucks' in The Star Online, viewed on 3 June 2007, URL:
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/5/29/itfeature/17847964&sec=itfeature
Bate, L. 2007, 'Smart Ways To Blog To Make Money At Home Online' in American Chronicle, viewed on 3 June 2007, URL: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=28426
Some bloggers are making revenues by getting advertisers to advertise on their blogs. More and more blog-advertising aggregators are running the business.
Media services group, ZenithOptimedia had conducted a survey on advertising expenditure and result shown that Internet advertising spending is predicted to grow at 28.2% this year, which equivalent to seven times more than the other markets (Lee in TheStar Online, 2007)
As easy as it is, just give the users the most valuable information or in-sight of your blog, get them visit and read your blog as frequent as possible and you're at the doorstep of making bucks.
This is definitely a win-win situation, where bloggers get extra bucks in their pockets while advertisers get to reach larger audiences to promote their products or services. So, why not?
Reference
Lee S.W. 2007, 'Blogging and big bucks' in The Star Online, viewed on 3 June 2007, URL:
http://star-techcentral.com/tech/story.asp?file=/2007/5/29/itfeature/17847964&sec=itfeature
Bate, L. 2007, 'Smart Ways To Blog To Make Money At Home Online' in American Chronicle, viewed on 3 June 2007, URL: http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=28426
Reflections
The process of creating weblog
When I was told in class that the final assignment is 'WEBLOG', I felt that I'm in 'total lost'. Hands sweating, legs shaking...Well, things have to go on, let's get into the topic!
First-time experience has opened up the opportunity for me to learn more about blogging, from design to posting regular posts. As a beginner, I encountered a lot of problems especially when linking some of the texts and activating the hyperlinks. It made me go mad when my links are not working properly. Therefore, I seek advice from my lecturer, Ms Jenny, my course mates and friends. I also refer to 'About.com: How to Create a Blog Using Blogger' .It provides tips and recommendations in order to make my process of creating weblog easier.
Skills
After all, it's a good experience! I can't assure you that I know 100% about blogging but at least I managed to figure out some features and I finally created a blog.
Skills that I acquired throughout the process are such as designing a weblog, writing for web and some technical skills, such as creating hyperlinks, upload photos. I also learn how to maintain an active weblog, by updating the posts on regular basis and ensure there are no abusive acts.
Theoretical positions
Writing
"Be succinct!" as Jakob Nielsen termed (1997).
Designing
By referring to the Jakob Nielsen: The Top Ten Design Mistakes(2005) in order to avoid the Big 'NO' in designing my blog.
Multimodal
- I further understand the multimodal texts by applying it to my blog. My blog consist of more than one 'mode' that allow the users to generate meaning through a synchonisation of modes (Walsh, 2006).
- Various schemata is activated, such as background knowledge, genre knowledge, etc.
- The reader is engaged through the interactive experience.
- User need to understand the social purpose and cultural context in order to "fill in the gaps" (Walsh, 2006)
My Standpoint as a blogger
A blogger must ensure the followings:
- Has a purpose when blogging.
- Ethical practice to avoid legal infringements.
- Write well for higher readability
- Capture more users' attention
- Sensitive to the issues I posted on my blog
- Keep to simple yet presentable designs
Reference
Nielson, J. 1997, 'Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web)', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
Nielson, J. 2005, 'Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html
Walsh, M. 2006, 'The 'textual shift': examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', The Australian journal of language and literacy, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 24- 37.
When I was told in class that the final assignment is 'WEBLOG', I felt that I'm in 'total lost'. Hands sweating, legs shaking...Well, things have to go on, let's get into the topic!
First-time experience has opened up the opportunity for me to learn more about blogging, from design to posting regular posts. As a beginner, I encountered a lot of problems especially when linking some of the texts and activating the hyperlinks. It made me go mad when my links are not working properly. Therefore, I seek advice from my lecturer, Ms Jenny, my course mates and friends. I also refer to 'About.com: How to Create a Blog Using Blogger' .It provides tips and recommendations in order to make my process of creating weblog easier.
Skills
After all, it's a good experience! I can't assure you that I know 100% about blogging but at least I managed to figure out some features and I finally created a blog.
Skills that I acquired throughout the process are such as designing a weblog, writing for web and some technical skills, such as creating hyperlinks, upload photos. I also learn how to maintain an active weblog, by updating the posts on regular basis and ensure there are no abusive acts.
Theoretical positions
Writing
"Be succinct!" as Jakob Nielsen termed (1997).
Designing
By referring to the Jakob Nielsen: The Top Ten Design Mistakes(2005) in order to avoid the Big 'NO' in designing my blog.
Multimodal
- I further understand the multimodal texts by applying it to my blog. My blog consist of more than one 'mode' that allow the users to generate meaning through a synchonisation of modes (Walsh, 2006).
- Various schemata is activated, such as background knowledge, genre knowledge, etc.
- The reader is engaged through the interactive experience.
- User need to understand the social purpose and cultural context in order to "fill in the gaps" (Walsh, 2006)
My Standpoint as a blogger
A blogger must ensure the followings:
- Has a purpose when blogging.
- Ethical practice to avoid legal infringements.
- Write well for higher readability
- Capture more users' attention
- Sensitive to the issues I posted on my blog
- Keep to simple yet presentable designs
Reference
Nielson, J. 1997, 'Be Succinct! (Writing for the Web)', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html
Nielson, J. 2005, 'Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes', viewed on 2 June 2007, URL: http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html
Walsh, M. 2006, 'The 'textual shift': examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', The Australian journal of language and literacy, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 24- 37.
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