Unlimited Knowledge!

With today’s technology, it is so easy to attain information about anything. What i like about blogs and internet is, there is unlimited supply of links. With this links, users like you and me, are able to decide our own path of reading. We don’t have to follow what the author writes about, unlike the conventional print based texts.

Interactivity

Although i have not attached much videos or pictures in thing blog, i know that i can. With videos, audio clips and pictures, readers will get a sense of excitement. Also, the links i have attached will help the readers to find their way and check out the websites on their own.

Networking

Every website, blogs or any form of publication online needs to have their own community. Just like other blogs, i have managed to link other blogs to mine. At least the readers of this blog are able to read about any related topics on another blog.

Conclusion

Last but not least, i love blogging! I feel that blogging is less formal than websites. But it can still be somewhat formal, in comparison to forums or other social media, like Friendster, for example. However, authors should be aware that people all around the world have access to their blogs, and must also come to their senses and should be sensitive when writing for their diversed audience.

With the high demand of “Celeb Gossip”, more and more people are starting to cater to the wants of readers. With a rise in “personally made” celebrity gossip blogs, the number of ridiculously design blogs are also on the rise!

A perfect example for this would be Pink is the New Blog.

This blog’s design has violated all the basic design rules, and therefore should be fixed immediately!

Colour Matters

First of all, the background colour of the blog and the its text colour clashes. Choosing colours to be used on screen is indeed, tricky. If it’s too pale, no one can read it. But if it’s too bright, no one can see it, either… they could be literally, blinded by the colours. So, if no one can read what you’ve written, wouldn’t it have been a waste of time?

Framing

Secondly, the sidebars have absoloutely no frames. So does the stories. It is difficult to differentiate which stories have ended, or are the sidebars stories as well? Kress would have so much to say about this Design Criminal. According to Kress (2006), “the frame lines connects or disconnects ekements of the image, signifying that thye belong together in some sense. “

Salience

Next, i feel that this blog’s layout is so confusing, as it doesn’t have a salient point. Everything is so out of place, and busy. The pictures edited by the author has distracting stars and words on it. Salience, as Kress (2006) calls it, are made to attract the viewers attention to different degrees.

Therefore, i believe the blog’s layout contributes to the “unpopularity” amongt all the other “Celeb Gossip” blogs.

Reference:

• Kress, G., & Leeuwen, T. V. (2006). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design (2nd ed.) London: Routledge Chapter 6: ‘The Meaning of Composition’

The online version, however doesn’t include all the articles that are available in the printed ones. Only the feature articles, and several other columns are consistent with the printed version of the magazine. However, the video cl or audo clips, make up for the articles that may lack in the website.

The advantages of the printed version of the magazine is, that readers are able to expereince the physical contact with it. Some people prefer to turn the pages with their fingers instead of clicking it with a mouse. Also, the semi-glossy paper that is being used gives readers a sense of luxuriousness and quality of the magazine. These pricelss experience can not be experienced by reading the online version of the magazine.

Reading styles between printed materials and online have a great deal of differences. For example, Walsh (2004) says that when one reads print based texts, “There is a strong interpersonal exchange between narrator and reader through use of personal pronouns,” and also, there is “colluqial style, or spoken mode”.

Whereas, when reading web based texts, Walsh (2004) says “In multimodal texts… the reader will use various senses, (sight, hearing, tactile, kinaesthetic) to respond to other modes.

So, have Reader’s Digest considered the differences in their two modes of information? i personally think, they have.

The printed version of their feature articles are long, and only include several pictures, whereas the online version is made into shorter and consised manner. Sometimes the picture bar is made into an interactive slide, and the font size can be adjusted for the reader’s convenience.

Reference:

• Walsh, M. (2006), “‘Textual Shift’: Examining the Reading Process with Print, Visual, and Multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, Vol 29 No 1 pp. 24-37

And, Reader’s Digest website.

The modern saying goes like this: “Who are we kidding, we ALL judge books by its covers”

Cliches are particularly funny. Why so? Because half the time, there’s more to the story to their claims.

___________________________________

As a consumer myself, i appreciate products that have beautiful packaging designs. I get a feeling of satisfaction if i purchase packged items that are prettier (even if the product itself isn’t all that great). I’m sure that others feel the same way, either consciously or not.

Take a look at today’s leading magazines, novels, even product catalogues. I dare say that most of their cover illustrations and designs are beautiful and interesting. Some of my personal favourites include, Ikea’s catalogue, Harpers Bazaar’s cover design, McDonald’s brochure, and a few of my favourite novels. These cover pages act as packaging to the documents.

Phillip Kotler, author of a Principles od Marketing, believes that “packaging is an important marketing tool”. This shows, how powerful book covers can be when persuading customers. Just like people, it helps ( a lot) when physical attractiveness is available.

In other words, packaging is an effective weapon used in a war of brands in the market.

Reference: Kotler, P. & Armstrong, G. (2005) Principles of Marketing: An Asian Perspective. Singapore. Pearson Education South Asia Pte Ltd. Chapter 9, p.p. 228.

One of the services that are available online is the Internet radio.

Local radio stations can be aired over the internet. This defies the traditional “rule” of its frequency and reach. This means, people outside the geographical boundary are able to tune in and listen to the radio programs.

Many online radio stations can be found. For the list of online radio stations around the world, click here!

Making a radio station available across the internet is a brilliant idea. You can be halfway across the world from Malaysia, but still be able to listen to the local radio stations. But with this level of easy accessibility will lead to another issue; how do you communicate in a culture that is so diverse?

Just like what Kress, G. (2006) would have said, people from other culture will perceive things in a different way.

Reference:

• Kress, G., & Leeuwen, T. V. (2006). Reading Images: The Grammar of Visual Design (2nd ed.) London: Routledge Chapter 6: ‘The Meaning of Composition’

If you own a field, you are given a choice. To plant something fruitful, or to waste all the possible potential benefits to the invading weeds.

 ___________________________

This blog exists specifically for an academic purpose. Matters concerning document designs, publishing issues, and the like will be discussed here. Hopefully, there will be enough traffic to join in the discussion of the topics that’s being raised.

In today’s new emergence in technology and methods of communications, there are bound to be problems, issues, and/or brilliant ideas to ponder upon. These issues should be looked into so that we get to improve, ponder and/or learn something new about it.

And like a field, i hope to discuss about something “fruitful” so that we can all gain some useful knowledge.

I’m certain that many of us have asked ourselves this question, at least once in our lifetime: “What is blogging, and why do people blog?” I shan’t argue that many have their own opinions and stand on blogs. Some are for commercial, academic, or even personal purposes. Some can deliver beneficial contents while some can be a bunch of casual ramblings. But below is personal my take on what blogging is.

The Evolution of Blogging

The types of blogs that are available today are so different from what they were, just about less than a decade ago. What used to be a medium where one jots down the websites he or she visits, have now become and outlet for preaching, voicing opinions, academic purposes, or even commercially skewed. This would mean the purpose of blogging would defer in current times. For more detailed
information on the history of blogging, click here.

Purpose of Blogging

In this day and age, it is important for us to stay connected with others. With this, we constantly look for new and improved medium as vehicles for our messages. And so, we turn to blogs to stay connected. Whether a blog is published for commercial, interests, business, academic or personal, it is about a certain level of connectivity and
informing. Its easy accessibility factor helps contribute to the rise of popularity among blogs.

Classification of Blogs

Just like television channels, different blogs would appeal and cater to specific groups of audience. There are a myriad of blog categories on the internet, and some of the popular ones would include:

• Academic Blogs

• Corporate Blogs

• Personal Blogs

• Hobbies and Interest Blogs

• Commercial Blogs

Blogs as Current Phenomenon

I believe that there are several factors that contribute to this phenomenon. Apart from the evolution of blogs, its purpose, and its popularity, blogs are relatively accessible by anyone, who are able to use the internet. Blogs can be set up easily, and is usually free of charge. In comparison to regular websites, blogs are fairly easy to maintain. The programs for blogs are made to be user-friendly; therefore it takes less effort to acquire the skills to maintain blogs. Professionals or non-professionals take advantage of this opportunity to start their own blog. Because of its low cost characteristics, popular bloggers are able to generate high margins of profits out of online advertisers. Advertisers track down websites and blogs that have very high daily traffic so that they can advertise on the most popular blogs. For example, Perezhilton.com has a many advertisers paying for some spaces Perez has to offer. Although it doesn’t quite work like television, radio, or the telephone, blogs offer a certain amount of interactivity. Readers/Audience can respond to posts by authors, click on links, chat on the chat box provided, etc. Blogging is a phenomenon is many parts of the world. What used to be a phenomenon is America and the UK is now a hit in many parts of Asia, Europe an even
Australasia.

Blogging Communities

Blogging Communities are the people who are directly or indirectly involved in the interactivity of a blog. This community is important as it serves the blogging ecosystem. For newspapers, if the number of circulation for newspapers are down, chances for the newspaper becoming bankrupt is high. Blogs on the other hand, do not necessarily depend on its readership. However, it would defeat the purpose of having a blog in the first place; being connected. Having a blogging community also helps the author to generate new iseads based on the readers’ feedbacks.

Designing for Print versus Online

A striking difference between print materials and online materials is its layout. For print materials, like news paper, for example, the physical form and appearance itself helps the reader to appreciate what’s being written. The reader is able to adjust the reading distant from the eyes. Touch the paper and point where he or she is reading. Therefore, designers are able to play around with it’s design to cater to its physical from.