Web 2.0: the teeter-totter

why is this post showing as one big block of text without formatting? stupid human error factor I’ve really jumped into the web 2.0 game, despite still being a green thumb. I’m twittering, if only once every few days; I write a blog, if only about random and unoriginal things; and about 75% of my daily communicating is done via electronics. Amidst these new tools, I keep wondering about their effects, both positive and negative. Wondering, but nothing thinking of anything particularly concrete.      Then this came, written by, we shall say, my own web 2.0 mentor: “…this is the secret to being truly webby: immediacy and trusting our instincts.”This line got stuck in my mind all morning. What struck me is the word immediacy. For me, immediacy coupled with personal characteristics like being impulsive, high-strung, emotional, quick-thinking and aggressive can be a dangerous recipe. On several occasions I have felt the wrath of myself. Sending off a quick email without rereading – or, without taking 10 mins or even a day, to think it over – can have its detrimental effects. This is where the trust in your own instincts comes to play. Or in my case, it is best called moderation. As everyone moves into a more web 2.0 world, it will be important to provide checks on our ability to be immediate. Somehow, those “Are you sure?” pop-up dialogue boxes don’t seem so annoying. If only there were an “Are you sure?” pop-up in real life! 

Website Redesign: design or function

What’s wrong with this site?

Brick, A Literary Journal has been around forever. The magazine boasts some of the most talented writer’s and has a following of readers world wide. The site has served its purpose well but as we move into the more interactive realm of publishing, how can this site adapt?

Give me your feedback:

-What is your first impression of the site?
-What is the site about? What is its main purpose/goal?
-Where does your eye travel on the page?
-Which buttons do you click?
-What does the site need?

Twitter Terminal Velocity

I’m catching the Twitter-bug. But I can’t say the attraction was immediate. At first, I thought, why would I want to know when so-and-so is doing their laundry?! Or just got 5 new projects?!Twitter can be annoying if you follow the people who post such things. But otherwise, it’s a great way to have your finger on the pulse of any network. For example, I heard about the Zucherberg and Lacy interview before anything was even posted. Twitter is not an exclusive club. Anyone can sign up and figure it out. But how can one effectively network when high-profile people use pseudonyms? I started by adding absolutely everyone. Everyone that my teacher follows, I now follow. Some guy posts something useful, I now follow as his followers. And so on. BuzzMachine, in a blog post, quotes political blogger Patrick Ruffini saying, “Traditional news operated on a 24-hour cycle. Blogs shortened this to minutes and hours. Twitter shortens it further to seconds. It’s not right for every piece of information. But when it comes to instantly assembling raw data from several sources that then go into fully baked news stories, nothing beats it.” Now I have more people to follow than god. I’ve surpassed my twitter terminal velocity. It’s not time to cut out the “laundry” people. Basically, if you don’t post a useful link or really enlightening comment, you’re gone. This is how I’m making Twitter work for me.

Interactive Writing Assignment: Magazine websites analysis

gURL
gURL has had an online presence since 1995 and as such seems to be quite fluent in participatory multimedia. Immediately users are drawn into the site by an invitation to “connect” and join the community (for free). Users can also shop and enter contests. These features draw the user in to participate in the community rather than just read passively. Since gURL’s content is driven by user posts, it is essential to foster this community. A menu bar on the right-hand side urges users to enter polls, be seen and heard, get advice and play interactive games. There is also a newsletter available to subscribers (again, free). Despite all of this, gURL does not have an RSS feed option or bookmarking tools. The entire website functions as a blog by allowing users to fully interact, however, there is no formal blog- (columnist) type section.
New users are easily drawn into participating in the many areas of gURL while those familiar with the layout can easily manage by singing-in directly. Advertisers and publishers enjoy the benefit of knowing just how popular each section of the site is by how much users interact with it.

Salon
Salon’s homepage is an overload of content that can be very difficult for new users to navigate. There is an RSS feed that is located by performing a Find search. There is also an email newsletter and Salon mobile option. Salon has two online communities: Table Talk and The WELL that allow users to speak in a forum setting. There is a daily blog report that features blogs from the right and blogs from the left. Salon also offers TV podcasts. The content sites are updated daily or more frequently.
The placement of the participatory media that is available is difficult to find, being not in widget or gadget form. New users need to work hard to learn the ins and outs of this site.

Copyblogger
Copyblogger is a very clear and straightforward approach to participatory multimedia and thereby ups the value of these features. An RSS subscription feed is easily recognizable in the upper left-hand corner, directly under the logo. The orange RSS box sits just outside of the margin and is thereby set off graphically. There is also an email subscription option for updates. There is also an option to add Copyblogger to your Technorati favourites – not that I know what that is.
Other than these features, the site seems fairly flat in terms of listing articles by type of resource, archived by flag words or popularity. Each article, or post can be commented upon but the site urges users to take the advice and start their own website/blog, and not to interact necessarily with this one.