Reflections

In the process of creating and updating this blog, I have learned and experienced for myself on how to run a fully functioning blog which tries to inform and educate the public.

One of the most important theory I have learned is that one must always be aware of the audience of who you are writing for. Experts such as Schriver (1997) could not agree more that whatever designed or publish must cater to the audiences' needs, wants and beliefs.

As a blogger, one has to be extremely careful of anything posted online. Unlike newpapers, blogs do not go through various gatekeepers to make sure the content published is suitable for all readers.

In short, blogging with factual information requires a lot of responsibility. We have to go to great lengths to ensure that we can be accounted for everything we post on our blog.

In the words of Uncle Ben of the famous comic book Spiderman, "With great power [the freedom of speech] comes great responsibility [the ability to say anything without offending anyone]."

Reference:

Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Publication, New York.

Is Facebook threatening the existence of e-mail?

E-mail or electronic mail is facing possible extinction as more and more web users prefer to communicate via popular social networking sites such as Facebook.

The new generation of users namely teenagers follow the Facebook trend as Facebook let their users do more than send greetings in text; it allows them to upload and comment pictures, excessively poke friends, give virtual gifts and a whole lot more with various applications to choose from.

Facebook, the popular social networking site recently hit more than 100 million users in August 2008 (Source: Facebook.com 2008).

Lorenz (2007) believes that "all of these methods of instant communication [Facebook] mimic the interactions that kids would otherwise have in basements and dorm rooms." That being said, he compared writing an e-mail to letter writing: time-consuming, stiled and plodding.

E-mail emerged onto the internet about a decade ago (Source: IBM Omnifind 2007).

That would explain why Yahoo and Google came up with several plans to challenge Facebook. As reported by Hansell (2007) in the New York Times' Bits blog, Yahoo and Google hope to turn their e-mail systems and personalized home page services (iGoogle and MyYahoo) into social networks.

Multimodal texts [Facebook] (Walsh 2006) employs visual imagery and sound effects, which enable users to stimulate visual, tactile, hearing and kinaesthetic senses thus giving them more choice and opportunity to interact.

Genre such as e-mail or Facebook are never entirely single or pure as genres provide frames for social interaction (Schirato & Yell 1996). Therefore, web users have the choice to use either Facebook or e-mail to communicate with other, depending on who they are talking to. If you are talking to a friend, you are most likely to use Facebook. If you are negotiating a business deal with a potential client, you would most probably use e-mail.

All and all, Facebook should not be seen as a threat towards e-mails. Due to their diverse difference in offering, both services cater towards different sets of users. Ultimately, e-mails and social networking websites share the same goal: assisting us with our daily communication and connecting us to the world.

Reference:

Facebook's Videos: Inside Edition: Facebook hits 100M Users 2008, Facebook.com, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=550766672024>.

Hansell, S 2007, Inbox 2.0: Yahoo and Google to turn e-mail into a social network, Bits Blog, The New York Times, viewed 9 November 2008, <http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/11/13/inbox-20-yahoo-and-google-to-turn-e-mail-into-a-social-network/>.

Lorenz, C 2007, The death of e-mail, Slate.com, viewed 8 November 2008, <http://www.slate.com/id/2177969/pagenum/all/#p2>.

Schirato, T, & Yell, S 1996, Communication and cultural literacy: an introduction, St. Leonards, New South Wales.

Walsh, M 2006, ‘The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal text’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.

Offensive or Creative? The Dolce & Gabbana advertisement scandal.

Advertisements, regardless of how creative such works of art could be, sometimes does not necessarily goes well with the audience they are made for. The use of imagery and controversial issues might attract the attention of the audience, but it could offend the public the advertisements are made for.

Dolce & Gabbana, an Italian fashion house received much criticism once again for their scandalous advertisements in 2007. Reuters reported that Dolce & Gabbana decided to pull advertisements from Spain after Spanish authorities called for a ban of the advertisements which "incited violence against women."

The advertisement for Dolce & Gabbana's Spring Summer 2007 collection drew flak from media watchdogs and Spanish authorities as the advertisement featured "a bare-chested man holding down a woman by her wrists while other men look casually on." (Source: Frillr.com 2007).

Walsh (2006) noted that a picture could evoke possible scenarios and readers could respond to it imaginatively or effectively. A simple glance could prompt readers that the advertisement is about violence against women, instead of one by a fashion house. To make things worst, the men standing in the background could suggest to the readers that it is okay for men to act in a violent manner towards women.

The advertisement would not have created such havoc if the action in the advertisement were so vividly obvious. The words "DOLCE & GABBANA" printed right across the women who is being pinned down by a man is the strongest visual clues of the advertisement where the greater the weight of the element in a composition, the greater the salience (Kress & van Leeuwen 1996). Should the action happened in the background of the advertisement and not the foreground, the advertisement might not have been so offensive.

In a nutshell, the visually creative advertisement failed to capture the hearts of the audience. Schriver (1997) stressed that "document designers who misunderstands their audience and their frame of reference can create documents that evoke confusion, and in some cases even anger." Having said that, document designers should be more aware of who their audience are and understand that not everybody is comfortable with various controversial issues.

Reference:

Dolce and Gabbana pulls 'humiliating' ads after Spanish objections 2007 , ABC News, viewed 7 November 2008, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/03/14/1871208.htm>.

Kress, G, van Leeuwen, T, 1996, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design, Routledge, London.

Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Publication, New York.

Walsh, M 2006, ‘The ‘textual shift’: Examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal text’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.

Blu-ray gets the baby blues.

While being technologically advance, the adoption rate of the latest media storage format, Blu-ray, might not be as quick and fast as anticipated by industry players.

Developed by Blu-ray Disc Association, Blu-ray discs are capable of storing up to 25 gigabytes of data which enables the recording of high definition (HD) movies (Blu-ray.com 2008). Blu-ray discs can only be read by Blu-ray players like how DVDs can only be read by DVD players.

A Blu-ray disc developed by Mitshubishi (Source: PCWorld.com 2008).

Being technologically advanced usually also means being outrageously expensive. According to Sony Malaysia's website, a simple Blu-ray player costs about RM 2,499 while a Blu-ray movie discs is about RM150. Reisinger (2008) believes that consumers are not willing to spend the extra money as they could not properly differentiate the difference between Blu-ray and DVDs (Digital Versatile Disc).

However, one must bear in mind that Blu-ray is a relatively new product in the market. Industry players liken the growth of Blu-ray to the growth of DVDs during their inception. "DVD was exactly the same thing. Players were expensive and there were not many titles. Lo and behold, the awareness went up and demand went up,'' said Andy Parsons, chair of the Blu-ray Association's U.S. promotion committee. "It'll happen in good time.''

Arguably, the abundance and easy accessibility of digital downloads could possibly hamper the growth of Blu-ray. Web services such as Netflix, Youtube, iTunes enable users to download a range of blockbuster titles and enjoy movies on their computer without the need of purchasing new hardware (Croal 2008).

All and all, technology should evolve according to the needs and wants of the people, in this case, Blu-ray should be priced lower or marketed as a complementary product towards media consumption. People- centered innovations could prove a major step in helping ensure that they [technology companies] develop the right products and services for the right markets, first time and all the time (People-centered innovation: Moving beyond technology-led innovation 2005).

Reference:

Blu-ray disc player 2008, Sony Malaysia, viewed 6 November 2008,<http://www.sony.com.my/productcategory/hv-bluray-disc-player>.

Blu-ray DVD format may not dominate for years 2008, The Star Online, viewed 6 November 2008, <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/6/3/apworld/20080603083007&sec=apworld>.
Blu-ray FAQ, Blu-ray.com, viewed 6 November 2008, <http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/>.

Croal, N 2008, Will Blu-ray replace DVDs?, Newsweek.com, viewed 6 November 2008, <http://www.newsweek.com/id/123510>.

'People-centered innovation: Moving beyond technology-led innovation' 2005, Strategic Direction, vol. 21, no. 4, pp. 30-32.

Reisinger, D 2008, Blu-ray is doomed, The Digital Home, viewed 6 November 2008, <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13506_3-9888515-17.html>.

To be or not to be?

Shakespearean classics are now given a new life as they are turned into manga art. Published by Self Made Hero, Manga Shakespeare is a series of graphic novels adaption of William Shakespeare's beloved plays.

Manga Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet (Source: Selfmadehero.com 2008).

The series, ranging from Romeo and Juliet to Othello, is brought to life by drawings, images and text as compared to original screen play. However, would the essence of literature be lost during such genre change?

Manga Shakespeare's Hamlet (Source: Selfmadehero.com 2008).

Kim (2003) argues that "it is frequently possible to keep most of the essential features of the genre in other media, but there are also going to be differences." Such difference could mean the lost of certain text or words from the original classics which gives Shakespeare's work its refined literature nature.

The publisher of the manga series argued that publishing the manga could generate an interest of Shakespeare's work in young children. "We are trying to make it accessible and through a medium that's increasingly popular with kids," said Emma Harley of Self Made Hero books. True enough, her point is indeed supported by scholarly arguments such as the ones by Schriver (1997) who argues that "when words and pictures are working well together, there is little doubt that they afford the reader better information than either alone."

Kress and ven Leeuwen (1996) noted that visual communication [manga] could reach a wider set of readers while being able to produce an emotive immediacy, leading to a cultural revolution. However, they were divided when debating whether the move from verbal to visual was a loss or a gain. Therefore, it is difficult to decide whether transducing Shakespeare's classics into modern manga art is a good move or otherwise.

All and all, would such genre change mean that one form is replacing the other? It is important for young children who enjoy the manga to have a look also of the original work to give them a fair and balance view of Shakespeare's work. In a way, while Shakespeare might be gone forever, his work lives on as it is adapted to suit the needs and wants of the current generation.

Reference:

Eason, G 2007, Shakespeare gets comic treatment, BBC News, viewed 6 November 2008, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/6647927.stm>.

Kim, J H 2003, Reifying Genre Conventions, viewed 6 November 2008, <http://www.darkshire.net/jhkim/rpg/theory/genre/reification.html>.

Kress, G, van Leeuwen, T, 1996, Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design, Routledge, London.

Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Publication, New York.

Tai, E 2008, The Bard goes manga, The Star Online, viewed 6 November 2008, <http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/1/20/lifebookshelf/20046305&sec=lifebookshelf>.

Vlogging: The Spawn of Blogging.

Vlogs or video blogs are moving into the spotlight faster as ownership of camera devices are getting more affordable. Vlogs work the same way blogs do, however instead of text, videos are posted online. Rogers (2005) views vlogging as a simple task of adding video to personal blog publishing.

Like blogs, there is a wide array of vlogs; from children's birthday parties to covering the war in Iraq from a bystanders' point of view.

Vlogs are easy to setup. Seenan (2004) states that in its simplest form, vlogging does not require costly equipment: a digital video camera, a high-speed connection and a host are all that is needed. The hit ABC drama, Ugly Betty spawned their own webisodes. In this particular webisodes, Amanda and Marc from the drama literally shows the audience how easy it is to record a vlog (Source: ABC.com, 2008).

Due to different genres, Rogers (2005) summarised that text blogs allow organised, scanability of ideas for quick information retrieval. Vlogs on the other requires the video to be watched completely before getting the information, in which Rogers believes as a waste of time.

If wasting time is your main concern, the intent of the vlog is also an issue.

"It's a form of self-publicity, of course, anything put out from home pages is self promotion in some form," says Mark Griffiths, a psychologist at Nottingham Trent University. This is exceptionally true in the case of Chris Crocker who posted a video of himself crying and screaming while trying to defend pop sensation Britney Spear's erratic behaviour in 2007. While the video gained more than a million views, many believes that he is merely using the vlog as a means of self-publicity.

Chris Crocker, a vlogger who shot to fame in 2007 as an America internet celebrity (Source: youtube.com, 2008).

Regardless of which, vlogs are paving the way for a more enriched multimedia experience when accessing blogs as it combines both audio and visual stimulus.

Reference:
Mode After Hours: Friend-iversary VLOG 2008, ABC.com, viewed 5 November 2008, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3CHFF-7O7q8>.

Crocker, C 2007, Leave Britney Alone!, youtube.com, viewed 5 November 2008, <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHmvkRoEowc>.

Rogers, M 2005, Ready for your close-up? Here come the vlogs, MSNBC.com, viewed 5 November 2008,<http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7226225>.

Seenan, G 2004, Forget the bloggers, it's the vloggers showing the way in the internet, The Guardian UK, viewed 5 November 2008, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/aug/07/travelnews.travel>.

Online Vs Print. Is there a difference in terms of designing?

There is a difference when designing for print of web. While both about the same, each carries their own style, principles and elements of design.

When designing for print, the first thing one should note that anything designed will eventually be printed on a piece of paper, thus, the CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and kohl) colour model would be used.

Print documents usually feature pictures to complement with words as it works together to help the reader understand the main idea (Schriver 1997).

Images are used to help reinforce the idea of wearing rear seat belts to the readers of the magazine (Source: Beh 2008).

When designing for online, the RGB (red, green and blue) color model will be used as online documents usually appear on screen. The text found online are usually shorter. Parker (2003) argued that a shorter line length enable readers to reduce left-to-right eye movements as they scan each line of text, thus making online documents more reader friendly. Nielsen (2007) suggests linking short overviews away to long discussions as a way to enhance web reading.

Notice that the text length online is usually short as readers often read webpages in an F-shape pattern (Nielsen 2006). (Source: Beh 2008).

Ultimately, when designing for either print or online, Reep (2006) noted that unbroken blocks of text have a numbing effect on most readers, but eye-catching graphic aids and attention-getting format devices keep readers focused on the information they need. This will help attract the readers to continue to read on.

Reference:

Nielsen, J 2006, F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content, Jakob Nielsen Alertbox, viewed 3 November, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html>.

Nielsen, J 2007, Long vs Short Articles as Content Strategy, Jakob Nielsen Alertbox, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/content-strategy.html>.

Parker, RC 2003, Looking good in print, 5^th edn, Paraglyph Press, Arizona.

Reep, DC 2006, Technical Writing,6^th edn, Pearson/Longman, New York.

Schriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Publication, New York.

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Blogging: Classifications and Communities.

With so many blogs around discussing diverse topic, people generally classify blogs according to different various genres; each with its own range of topic of discussion.

Techonorati (2008) classifies blogs under 6 main topics: entertainment, lifestyle, sports, business, politics and technology. However, there are many more blogs out there which do not follow the classification above.

For example, under lifestyle blogging exist sub topics such as the gay blogging community in Malaysia. One blog to highlight this would be the tiltedworld.org.

Tiltedworld.org is a Malaysian LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual) blog which serves as a community project tackling issues on LGBT rights, issues and expressions. One of the ways the build and bridge the Malaysian LGBT blogger community is that the blog allows readers to contribute postings on to their blog. Skellie (2007) said that by elevating commenters to bloggers, it helps get the readers to make a greater effort to comment regularly and intelligently.

Another way tiltedworld.org builds their community is by posting various outbound links to other LGBT bloggers who share the same views. Enge (2008) believes that linking helps establish credibility, thus making you part of the club of people who are in the know.

Blogging communities do more share interest; they form a support system which helps each other in times of need. Like a social group where people with similar characteristics interact among each other while sharing a sense of unity (CliffsNotes 2008), blogging communities performs in the same manner, however, most of the interacting is done with the help of the blog.

References:

About Us, TiltedWorld.org, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://tiltedworld.org/about>.

Blog Directory, Technorati Media, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://technorati.com/blogs/directory/>.

CliffsNotes.com, 2008, Social Groups, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/CliffsReviewTopic/Social-Groups.topicArticleId-26957,articleId-26868.html>.

Enge, E 2008, The Role of Outbound Links, viewed 4 November 2008, <http://www.seomoz.org/blog/the-role-of-outbound-links>.

Skellie, 2007, Building a community around your blog, viewed 4 November 2008 <http://www.dailyblogtips.com/building-a-community-around-your-blog/>.

Blogs: A phenomenon that benefits the community?

Blogs or weblogs are fast emerging as one of the new forms of communication. Technorati, a blog search engine estimated that there are 111.2 million blogs on the internet as of June 2008. But why are blogs growing so rapidly?

One of the main reason why blogs are widely accepted by the people is that blogs are more user friendly as compared to websites. Polomka (2008) believes that "having a blog was much more popular than a normal website as they are easier to create, easy to maintain and lots of fun." She suggested that bloggers invite friends and family to visit their blog, and share their progress, through the good and bad times.

Blogging connects people around the world, especially to those who share similar interest and opinions. (Source: Royal Town Planning Institute, 2007)

Another reason why blogs are reaching cult status is because blogs links people to people; it builds communities. A research done by Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne found that blogging helps you feel less isolated, more connected to a community and more satisfied with your friendships, both online and face-to-face (Ryan 2008). The research further found that bloggers felt more confident as they could find solace in others whom they share a greater sense of belonging to a group of like-minded people.

Regardless of coming together as a community or for simple daily musing, blogs play an important role in shaping our society. Blogs gives us a voice to be heard; it is our chance to speak our mind and receive an instant respond from someone who feels the same way too. Now, that's the power of communication!


References:
Community Planning Project, Royal Town Planning Institute, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://www.rtpi.org.uk/download/118/world-connect-people-community-international.jpg>.

Polomka, S 2008, How blogging can benefit you financially, Articlesbase, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://www.articlesbase.com/online-business-articles/how-blogging-can-benefit-you-financially-355674.html>.

Ryan, C 2008, Blogging boosts your social life: research, ABC News, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/03/03/2178512.htm>.

Welcome to Technorati, Technorati Media, viewed 3 November 2008, <http://technoratimedia.com/about/>.

A new blog with attitude and purpose.

This new blog tries to uncover some underlying themes and trends swirling around the media and publishing industry today. While targeting media students, this blog also tries to share some knowledge with the general public who are interested with publishing and media literacy. Stay tuned for updates and interesting posts coming your way!