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We are a hungry world and we EAT information. Our hunger is insatiable but as individual tastes develop, demands for accuracy and commitment to the truth will be added to the menu. The standards of web news reporting are experiencing dynamic changes. This blog will explore our hunger for news, judgment analysis of information and the balancing of sources. 

Throughout the 1990’s, many television news stations carried the slogan, “We have it first”.  I remember watching Saturday Night Live when a news cast broke in and reported that Princess Diana was involved in a serious car accident while trying to get away from the paparazzi. A few years later, I remember watching the television as the U.S. armed forces started its bombing of Iraq. On November 8, 2006, while sitting at my computer at work, I was a sent an email feed about U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigning. When I clicked on the email link, I was provided video footage of President Bush discussing the matter. On Friday November 10, 2006, YouTube had a movie clip that shows a man being beaten by a Los Angeles police officer. I, as many people around the world, am guilty of wanting to know what is happening in the world first. Whether the form is a newspaper, television news, email or a website, people are interested in current timely news.  

There is a lot of information being collected. Supermarkets, drug stores, books stores, shoes stores, and more have coupon cards that track all of your purchases, when and what type. To obtain these cards one must sign a consent form and most people do not know how their information will be used. In a New York Times article, “Researchers Yearn to Use AOL Logs, but they Hesitate”, by Katie Hafner, I was very pleased to read that there are some researchers who are hesitating over using AOL query logs that were released.  

“Now it’s sitting there, in cold storage,” said Professor Kleinberg, who works on algorithms for understanding the structure of the Web and searching it.“ The number of things it reveals about individual people seems much too much. In general, you don’t want to do research on tainted data.”  

Although curiosity and research analysis has led to dynamic innovative advancements in all fields, at what cost will it affect public’s perception of the end results? Tainted meat is tainted meat. No matter how long you cook this meat, if someone knows that it is bad from the start, many people will not eat this meat. 

In an article published on Online Journalism Review, Kelly McBride of the Poynter Institute discusses the type of content on the internet.

“There’s so much crap out now that most of it is worthless. Information has two forms of value. First, information that is new is valuable, but in a limited sort of a way. More valuable is information that has been vetted and organized in a way that gives the user meaning. That kind of information starts out in the first category, then it is verified and categorized by a credible organization, which elevates the information to the second category. Anyone can achieve the first level of value. It takes a bit of skill and intelligence and knowledge and hard work to get to the next level.”

Kelly McBride’s statement is insightful as to the changing appetites for news information. Information has to be accurate and truthful. Many individuals desire not only to read or hear information, but to critically think and analyze the story from various points of view. Simon Waldman, of Guardian Unlimited, sums up this point best:

“Get the story right. Get it out there as quickly as possible. Do it in that order and you will have no problems. Do it the other way round, and after a while you won’t be taken seriously. It doesn’t matter if you’re a blogger with a dozen readers a day, or a major news organization with a million or more.”

The proliferation of information in journalism is great. Information that is vetted for accuracy and ethical approval will provide a perception of respect. People crave information and use various tools to fill this hunger. As experience with different websites and news tools become available, people will start to become selective or “picky” to their preferred sources of information. Sources that provide deeper meaning, accuracy and balance will become a favorite.  

References:

AP Los Angeles (2006, November 10) LA beating found on YouTube. CBS13.com. Retrieved November 12, 2006 from http://cbs13.com/watercooler/local_story_314201140.html.

Glaser, M. (2004). On the wild, woolly internet, old ethics rules do apply. Online journalism review.

August 8. Hafner, K. (2006, August 23). Researchers yearn to use AOL logs, but they hesitate. New York Times.

Top internet issues.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/08/AR2006110802094.html?referrer=email&referrer=email&referrer=email

The other day I watched a DVD of Family Guy in which “Snap”, “Crackle” and “Pop” of the Rice Krispies were animated. I was very excited. My beloved mascots of Rice Krispies cereal had personalities. That got me thinking about the marketing of Family Guy. In the United States, if you ask people between the ages of 15 and 40 about Family Guy, the name probably would create a visual of Peter Griffin or Stewie in the majority of minds. Why is that? How can a cartoon create name recognition? Are they breaking new ground with stimulating writing and graphics? This blog will explore the convergence of media and remixing of concepts. 

H. Jenkins from the book, Workshop at the Alter of Convergence, defines that convergence happens when old and new media collide, where grassroots and corporate media intersect, where the power of the media producer and the power of the media consumer interact in unpredictable ways. Family Guy has developed a following by airing the cartoon on Sunday nights on Fox television. From this viewing, a diverse array of products has emerged. A visit to http://www.familyguy.com/ provides the user with ring tones, a message board, blogs, video clips, E-cards, a store that sells T-Shirts, DVDs and more. Ring tones, E-cards and video E-cards not only promote the show but also perpetuates the cultural convergence. Family Guy has crossed traditional media in which a television show is aired and has developed mass marketing of numerous products that reaches a variety of audiences.  The control of what one says in the E-card and where it goes has moved away from the cartoonist, and has created an unpredictable atmosphere that capitalizes and promotes Family Guy. 

In the Family Guy episode, Blind Ambition, “Crackle” and “Pop” are in a bar after an attack by the Keebler Elves killed “Snap”. The segment ended with them raising their mugs to “Snap”.When the characters were illustrated in 1933 by illustrator Vernon Grant, the characters’ primary purpose was to sell Rice Krispies cereal. This remixing or twisting of these cultural products mascots is a spin off its original context.  

The content of the show is about an average middle-class family in New England that struggles with common issues in outlandish fashions. The common issues are not original and many of the situations that they find themselves are absurd, but this mixing and mashing of popular norms in extreme situations make this unique. Content that is newsworthy or in the media can be topics for the show. For instance, in the episode “Don’t Make Me Over”, Meg, the daughter, undergoes a makeover to make herself more attractive. In another episode titled “PTV”, Osama bin Laden is having trouble keeping a straight face while videotaping a threatening message to the United States. Further into the episode Congress is debating censorship. Each topic is serious, but outrageous situations bring a bit of humorous discourse to these topics. 

In conclusion, Family Guy is an example of convergence with mainstream media blended into a variety of alternative media avenues. Popular culture, characters and newsworthy topics can be topics of discussion and story lines for this show. This show demonstrates a successful example of blending and mixing of popular culture into a media modality. As Stewie says, “What the deuce are you staring at?” 

References

Family Guy. Retrieved November 5, 2006 from http.wwwfamilyguy.com.

Felton, E. (2004). Rip, mix, burn, sue: Technology, politics, and the fight to control digital media. Princeton University President’s Lecture Series, no. 1.

Jenkins, H. (2006). Introduction: “Worship at the alter of convergence” (pp. 1-24). Convergence Culture. New York: NYU Press.

Snap, Crackle and Pop. Retrieved November 5, 2006 from http://www.answers.com/topic/snap-crackle-and-pop.

An interesting article that ran in The Washington Post on October 29, 2006.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/28/AR2006102800803.html

When you walk into a dark strange room, what is one of the first things you do? Many skim their hand along the wall in search of a light switch. As the lights are turned on, the room is filled with light. Light allows you to navigate and visualize the colors, textures and design of the room. As you walk around the room, you scan for information as to what this room can provide. Many websites are in essence a room filled with light in which the user will discover its contents. Navigation, userability, design and message construction are part of the information architecture blueprint. This blog will discuss how information architecture contains similar principles to the physical architecture found in a room.

Imagine walking into a dark room where couch after couch is put in the doorway and entrance of a room. How painful and frustrating this experience would be. Many would turn around after the second bump and leave the room. A website’s navigation provides the user with the blueprint to browse through the site. It should be immediately recognizable, not necessarily the prime focus, but it must be visible. It is a tool for the user to navigate and must be prominent. If your site contains the navigation on the left hand side of the page, it should be in the same spot for other pages in the site. Word selection should be carefully chosen to lead viewers toward important information. A link that doesn’t work or goes to a page not found is frustrating and the viewer will leave the site.  

Navigation, search and collaboration are the invisible threads that make up the userability of a website; it is the underground wiring behind the light switch. It is the digital structures in which information is shared with spaces. Compatibility to the person’s computer or mobile device is an important aspect with userability. The ability to key word search either for the site URL or within the site has become commonplace. It helps prioritize information within the mind of the user to find quick results. The ability to collaborate images, hyperlinks, sound and video to other website allows for further userability within sites. 

Besides navigation and userability, design is a first impression a person has when entering the website and provides individual uniqueness and identity. Design can encompass color, visual texture, sound, video and font style. A site with bright yellow/green, which can be found at http://www.dontclick.it, is screaming that its message is important. Pale tones or earth tones, such as the ones found at http://www.spamagazine.com/, may denote calm and well-being. A serif or script font, Times New Roman for instance, may imply elegance or sophistication. A sans serif or straight font such as Helvetica, may imply a modern, fashionable, uncomplicated message. Many subscribers have cable modem or DSL but not everyone. Graphics should not take more than a second or two to download. If it takes longer, people likely will leave your site. The overall design is the architectural features of a website. 

Text, images, sound and video are the messages of a website; it is the picture that is inside the picture frame. Each item on the site represents the overall theme or purpose. Messages should be chosen to create an impact for understanding, the “WoW” factor, sharing, etc. For instance, www.macys.com provides various merchandise for shopping, http://www.dontclick.it promotes reasons not to have a button that clicks and http://loc8ed.com/501/ promotes the latest blog posts for ICM 501. Messages are bundles of data in which viewers may have a variety of expectations. The news site www.cnn.com provides messages about important stories around the world, while www.techblog.org provides messages on technology and a place for someone to comment. Messages provide the overall tone and emotion felt when walking into a room or a website.  

There are numerous websites on the web. A schematic that allows for clear navigation, userability, design and message construction will allow for interaction and connection to places within or to other websites. It is the proverbial light that illuminates the pages and invites people to explore. 

References

Catani, M., Chadwick-Dias, A., Connor, E., LeDoux, L., True, M., Tullis, T., A Study of Website navigation methods. Fidelity Investments. Retrieved October 28, 2006, from http://www.eastonmass.net/tullis/WebsiteNavigation/WebsiteNavigationPaper.htm.

How to find articles. Retrieved October 22, 2006 from http://www.library.yale.edu/instruction/journals/pages/stepfourcard.html.

Kiley, J., The immutable laws of effective navigation, Part 2 Let it stand out. Logo designworks. Retrieved October 28, 2006, from http://www.logodesignworks.com/articles/ar23_navigationlaw2.htm.

Krug, S. (2000). Don’t make me think. Indianapolis: New Riders, pp. 1-39.

 Wodke, C. (2001). Defining information architecture deliverables. Boxes and Arrows.

There are a lot of interesting points in this article about culture, personality and breeding of new ideas. Google seems like an incredible place to work!

Building a ‘Googley’ Workforce: Corporate Culture Breeds Innovation

By Sara Kehaulani Goo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, October 21, 2006; Page D01

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/20/AR2006102001461.html?referrer=emailarticle

How I Utilized
Quinnipiac University’s Library

Back in elementary school, we were given lessons on the library card catalog. We were taught how to utilize this wooden piece of furniture and how by using this we would be able to locate books and periodicals.   Since then, I have been “Googling” for information for years; pouring over books at Barnes & Noble, buying some books online at Amazon.com and have been checking out books at a local library – but, all for pleasure. Now, with an impending project due I needed to expand my resources and use the library databases.  

So, last Monday, I made my way over to the Arnold Bernhard Library at Quinnipiac University and sat down at one of the fourteen rotunda area computers. The computer screen in front of me featured over nine databases containing information from liberal arts to health and science. That is when my experience with current library technology began. This blog will discuss how periodicals were searched, periodical articles were acquired, how printing was done and how all of these relate to the reading, “Don’t make me think!” by S. Krug. 

When I began my search for periodical articles, I clicked all periodical holdings. From this location there was a search bar at the top of my screen. However, you must type in the name of the journal. Keywords to open periodicals are not available. Not knowing what journal my article was in, I found this confusing. The article, “Don’t make me think!” states that you should find your search in two clicks; in most cases each library search totaled over four. Titles that were self-evident did not produce user friendly results without querying down further with specifics.  From a usability standpoint, the results of a search can be staggering. However, to have the right “key” to get the right search was tricky and confusing. 

Through various logins, I made my way to ProQuest and finally I was overloaded with lots of articles containing the information which I needed.  No longer did I have to go up to the reference desk, have them search for the hard copies of periodicals and only come back with three because the rest of the journals were being used. The search process time was drastically cut in half.  

The articles that were pulled in ProQuest had an abstract short summary at the top with the full text below. The top part of the page contained the name of the article, author(s), publication title and date, word count and more. Everything I needed was on one organized page! The abstract allowed me to read a quick summary of the article which helped me determine if it was worthy of saving. Each article had an option allowing users to email articles to themselves or send them to print. From S. Krug’s point of view, this format allowed clear, direct instruction as to next steps. Its usability was evident. 

Since I was in the library and not offsite, I took advantage of the print feature with the various articles. When I hit print, I came across a login screen. Since I did not know my log in, I went up to the front desk and I was told further instructions. Back at the computer I hit print for each of my twenty-four articles. When I made my way to the printer, I thought, please don’t let someone take my articles. When I got there nothing was printed. I went back to the information desk and was told that you need to swipe your ID which contains some money allocated to print. I went back and a few minutes later articles were printed at once. This is a great system but there was not a sign in the print area letting me know what to do. I did have to think about how to make this system work, but after initial instructions this printing process proved more paper efficient and time saving. 

In conclusion, the usability of a library setting has opened up a wealth of opportunities to utilize more resources than ever before.  The organization of the databases at the Quinnipiac
University library portal is a bit confusing because of the search criteria. This is an area where it could improve with a cleaner, clearer visual hierarchy. Questions about logins should be posted right next to the computer on a short 3 x 5 card or directly under the login information on the screen. When there is a line of people at the information desk, common questions can be very frustrating and confusing. However, the end results of searching have produced a more inclusive search with efficient retrieval.

References

Arnold Bernhard Library Resources. Retrieved October 22, 2006 from http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x6353.xml.

Battleson, B., Booth, A., & Weintrop, J. (2001). Usability testing of an academic library web site: a case study. Journal of Academic Librarianship, 27(3), 188-198.

Center for Chinese Studies Library. Retrieved October 22, 2006 from http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/CCSL/catalogs.html.

How to find articles. Retrieved October 22, 2006 from http://www.library.yale.edu/instruction/journals/pages/stepfourcard.html.

Krug, S. (2000). Don’t make me think. Indianapolis: New Riders, pp. 1-39.

October 15, 2006
Your treasured photos are brought to you by …

As she came down the stairs, took out a glass for orange juice and reached for a bowl for her cereal, a proud Grandma watched as pictures from yesterday’s pumpkin picking of her grandson float over a dazzling silver 8.2 inch LCD screen next to her phone.  

One of the wonderful things about digital photography is that you can take and share photos with people all over the world. But with limited storage space on computers and memory cards, privacy and security concerns of websites and technology challenges for many individuals, CEIVA™ has found a simple, fast, easy way to share digital photos through a CEIVA Digital Photo Receiver™ using their CEIVAMobile™ technology. This program allows anyone to send photos from a cell phone anywhere in the world directly to a CEIVA Digital Photo Receiver™ anywhere in America.  

Grandma’s viewing of digital photos is an end results of packaged, retrievable shared information. In the selected articles that I read this week, a common thread discussed the synthesis of personal information into a format that that can be retrieved for enjoyment at a later time. Various methods such as labeling, Genimap navigation, key word searching and icons were listed to help make this retrieval process possible. But most people are getting accustomed to retrieving information quickly or “Googling in a packaged format that will contain all possible answers to our information. This paper will discuss some websites where not only information is retrieved, but the environment in which information is organized and shared.  

Photos are one of the most common items shared on the internet or mobile phone. It is a form of self expression and used to document loved ones and places. CEIVA™ is one form of technology used to share photos. Another is snapfish.com. This site allows you to post, edit, develop prints, develop personalized stationary, send photos to a mobile device and e-mail photos for sharing with families and friends. It is organized by album title and is saved by month. This site features a centralized location for selected users to share photos, messages and notifications. This tool demonstrates a package format desired by users to organize digital photos quickly. 

Another site which demonstrates the need for organization of bits of data is del.icio.us. This site is a collection of bookmarks and favorite articles, blogs, music, reviews, recipes and more that can be accessed from any computer on the web. Del.icio.us uses tags to organize and remember bookmarks. Del.icio.us is a site that can be shared with friends and family. No longer is a mass spam e-mail necessary to announce a particular article or link; this site allows for real time access of important information with a twist of an organizational element. 

Online banking has helped organize the checkbooks of thousands, if not millions. Most banks offer free online access to accounts, bill payment and notification, transfer of money between accounts, stop payment requests, check order requests and check receipts. Online banking can keep a running total of how much in a given time a payee, has been paid, e.g., electric company.  Encryption used with banks helps assure the customer of trust and security when using online banking. The process of balancing a checkbook has been packaged to offer convenient, current information that can be modified to the end user. 

Sharing of photos, thoughts, sites and bits of information are part of human nature. We love to display what is important and meaningful in our lives. Most people live very busy lives with constant demands. Various websites and technologies that can tap upon our emotions, organize a mundane necessary task or organize massive amounts of information quickly will be embraced as a critical need and desire with technology. In addition, pre-created sites and services that allow for safe, secure, user created and user defined audience participation will define some of the popular organizational packages of the future.  

Citations

Bank of America. Retrieved October 15, 2006 from http://www.bankofamerica.com/index.cfm.

CEIVA.com. Retrieved October 15, 2006 from http://www.ceiva.com.

Czerwinski, M., Gage, D.W., Gemmell, J., Marshall, C., Pérez-Quiñonesis, M., Skeels, et al (2006). Digital memories in an era of ubiquitous computing and abundant storage. Communications of the ACM, 49(1), 45-50.

Gemmell, J., Bell, G., & Lueder, R. (2006). MyLifeBits: a personal database for everything. Communications of the ACM, 49(1), 89-95.

Kangas, E. & Kinnunen, T. (2005). Applying user-centered design to mobile application development. Communications of the ACM, 48(7), 55-59.

Snapfish.com. Retrieved October 15, 2006 from http://www1.snapfish.com/home/t_=47879398.

Although I did not find a mistake on Wikipedia, I have learned how to make changes and view the latest edits. As I search for various topics in which I am knowledgeable, I will look for errors and mistakes in text. Please visit to view such changes. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Recentchanges