Web 2.0 May 19, 2008

Task:  What applications or ’services’  do you think are web 2.0 indicative? Take a look at the Internet Communications Blinklist. Think about the format and usability of a website/html written list with this same information.

Log entry:  Web 2.0 applications are ones that give ‘everyday’ Internet users simple tools to make their own web spaces. Social networking sites, blogs and video-sharing sites are good examples.

This video from Michael Wesch gives a great overview of how Web 2.0 is changing the way we use the Internet.

Web 2.0 applications offer users the chance to:

• personalise – for example, by posting their images, videos or comments
• organise their information how they want – for example, by using widgets and tags
• choose what they want to see
• move their information more easily between applications 

The key difference between the Internet Communications Blinklist and one in a html format is that it allows input from users – for example, they can rate the items listed. A standard html page tends to be static and only allows one-way communication (from the website to the user). 

While Web 2.0 applications give users more capacity to control and organise their information, they may also greatly increase the amount of information that people have to deal with. This means that users need more discernment and ability to manage that information effectively (ironically, perhaps using Web 2.0 tools).

Blogs May 19, 2008

Task:  Reflect upon what you have read about blogs. Consider various uses for blogs such as citizen journalism and personal blogging. Have you seen in your net travels any interesting uses for blogs?

Log entry:  This unit gave me my first hands-on experience of blogging, and it’s illustrated both good and potentially concerning features about blogs.

The Good:

• Blogs can be very empowering. They give people the freedom to communicate their views, images, artwork, music etc. to a massive audience in an unprecedented way.
• Because blogs can be anonymous, they provide an opportunity for people to exchange their views with others in a relatively ’safe’ environment.
• Blogs are a tool that’s available for just about anyone with Internet access.
  • From the readers’ perspective, this broadens people’s access to information, particularly on issues that wouldn’t necessarily be covered by ‘professional’ websites.
  • Blogs by ‘everyday users’ also provide a different, often more personal, perspective to standard websites.

 The Bad:

• Used unwisely or mischeviously, blogs can be a tool that causes personal or professional damage.
  • Because of the persistent nature of blogs, a damaging post could remain indefinitely unless someone takes action to have it altered or removed. Even then, traces of the post can be difficult to completely remove, as demonstrated by the Baillieu blog story.
  • Because blogs can also be anonymous and made by people with a casual rather than a professional interest, the opportunities for recourse may be more limited.
• Related to this, blogs can raise privacy concerns. Before posting information to a blog, authors should be aware that they’re making that information widely accessible. (And that a post or image that seems innocuous now might not be in the future…)
• Many blogs are just plain boring. This doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be made, but it can make it harder for people to find the ‘good stuff’.

Uses for blogs – Blogs are used for a range of purposes, from the original notion of keeping a web log or journal, to staying in touch with friends, or promoting a person’s professional concerns.

‘Blogs’ are also increasingly being used by companies such as media organisations (perhaps to counter the effect that blogs and the Internet generally have had on the role of printed media).  Blogs help organisations to engage their customers / readers / users – for example, by posting an article and then allowing users to directly interact by providing a comment. However, this also raises the question of the distinction between a blog and a ‘normal’ website. One possible criteria is that the author of a blog should be unique and identifiable (even if anonymous), and not someone writing on behalf of a company or organisation.

FTP May 19, 2008

Task:  Try uploading your web page to your student web space in Oasis or your web space provided by your ISP using ftp.

Log entry:  I downloaded and used SmartFTP for this exercise.  Using the FTP software was fairly straightforward, but I couldn’t get my page to display properly. After checking Bulletin Board posts, I found that this was because I hadn’t set up a Curtin VPN. this took a bit of chasing around (highlighting the need for good communication between the providers of technology and the users) but once done, it all worked.

Here is the URL - http://student.curtin.edu.au/~14092965/ (only accessible at Curtin or via the Curtin VPN).

WWW Standards May 19, 2008

Task:  Make a summary of what you believe are the 5 most important ‘rules’ for writing online. Think about any differences between the articles – is the advice in the older article still current?

Log entry:  5 top rules for writing online:

1. Be aware that most people tend to scan web pages online rather than read them. Nielsen’s Alertbox suggests that web pages can be made more usable for people who scan by:
   • highlighting key text (e.g. using bold, changing the font or using explanatory text for linking URLs)
   • using bullet points or short paragraphs
   • using meaningful sub-headings
   • using an ‘inverted paragraph’ style (starting with the conclusion)
   • writing more concisely.
2. Be aware that people tend to focus more on some parts of the web page than others. For example, eye-tracking studies report that users tend to view pages in a F-shaped pattern, with more time spent viewing on the first horizontal lines and the left vertical margin. Again, this implies that writers for the web should aim to:
   • present the key points for the page upfront as a tagline or summary, or in the first few lines (the ‘inverted paragraph’ style referred to above) and
   • use meaningful headings. 
3. Consider whether your audience prefers reading pages online or printing them out and reading offline.
   • As suggested in Sarah Horton’s Web Teaching Guide, if your users like to read both online and offline you could consider providing an online version and a more comprehensive pdf version of a web page.
   • When using links, explain what the link covers so that it makes sense in a printed version link. (This also benefits visually impaired people who use screen readers.)  
4. Be aware that users tend to dislike scrolling down for information. This can be addressed by breaking up larger pages into smaller pages, each with the key messages presented at the top and links to the next page or other relevant content.
   • If you use this approach, each page should make sense on its own – it shouldn’t overly depend on information from a preceding page. This may mean that some points will need to be repeated.
5. Use links sparingly and to reinforce your key points. As links are generally highlighted, the readers’ eyes will naturally be drawn to them – so make sure that the linking text is clear, and that you briefly explain how the link complements your wedsite content.   

I think that the points made in the older article are still generally valid. As Nielsen suggests, usability guidelines change very slowly because they’re based on human nature (which also changes slowly). However, he overlooks the key point that ‘writing’ for the web is not just about words – other media, such as photos, videos and podcasts are an increasingly key part of websites. Web writers need to be aware of making sure that this content complements the written content, for example by using meaningful captions that link back to key messages for the page.

 

Task:  Visit the Copyright Website, which provides a good overview of copyright issues related to the net. Next, go the Curtin home page and find the policy documents that relate to copyright and IP in IT use. Consider these question:

• Have you used images or words on your web page or website that contravene copyright laws?
• Would you be in breach of copyright if you put the Curtin logo at the top of your web page for an assignment?

Log entry: 

Copyright protection covers original creative work, such as:

• written material (e.g. books, articles, newspapers, poetry
• images (e.g. photos, movies and artwork) 
• music (e.g. recorded works and sheet music)
• artisitic works (e.g. sculptues and paintings)

The Copyright at Curtin website provides a good overview of copyright issues for staff and students. Students are allowed a limited ‘fair use’ exemption for some kinds of copyrighted material, provided that it is for a non-commercial, educational purpose. 

In practice, it can be easy to forget that so much of the material available on the Internet is automatically subject to copyright, even where it is not accompanied by a formal copyright notice. Good practice to follow when using material that may be subject to copyright are:

• to give attribution for others’ work and
• to respect the ‘integrity of the work’ – e.g. don’t use it out of context.

These points also relate to good practice for linking – while linking to a website does not breach copyright, you should not link in a way that gives the impression that the externally linked page is part of your website.

Following some research, I conclude that it would not breach copyright to put the Curtin logo at the top of my web page for an assignment. A Quick Guide to Copyright for Curtin students states that Curtin students can ‘copy and communicate any material in which Curtin owns the copyright (except Confidential papers etc.)’. However, as the logo is a registered trademark, we would need to be mindful of the style guide for using the logo, as set out in Curtin University’s logo use procedures.   

 

HTML tags May 19, 2008

Task:  Open Notepad and work through the tutorial at http://www.pagetutor.com/html_tutor/index.html.  Once your have completed the lessons, save it as ‘index.html’ and upload to your space in the presentations page of webct.

Log entry:  This exercise was a good refresher for me, as I hadn’t used html for a while.  And now I remember why I haven’t …  I wasted a lot of time getting an image to work – in the end because I’d spelt the file name wrong.  But overall it was fun to play around with, and it felt good to complete the exercise.

My preference is still to use a html editor, especially because you can browse and find the files you need on your computer, and there’s less risk of making silly errors. On the other hand, doing this exercise reminds you of the need for good practice in things like file naming, keeping a logical directory structure and using a ‘clean’ nested tag structure.  It’s also good to be aware of the basic tags, and to be able to use them directly if you want to have a bit more control over the appearance of a web page.

The advantage of the easy-to-use interface I use for my blog (and other web page design tools) is that you can use html if you want, and can use html or directly edit the CSS if you prefer.

I also used validator.w3.org to validate my web page, using the direct input method.  It failed at first because I hadn’t specified the ’doctype’. It also picked up a couple of errors because I hadn’t applied ’strict’ html 4.01. Overall, however, I found this to be a handy tool, and I’ll probably use it again if I’m having trouble getting my web pages to work.