Screen vs Print Design

     As technology develops even further, so does the method of receiving and reading news, nowadays, instead of reading regular print publications like newspaper, magazines and such, people can now read news on their phones, computers, tablets and other smart electronic devices. Although the development of this is here, people still rely on regular print press; this is caused by many factors. In accordance to (Nielsen, 2006) people do not really read web pages, they scan through them, picking out words and if the website is not easy to use, they leave. This is why people need to design print and screen documents in a way that attracts readers. The main three considerations in designing print and screen documents are content, appearance and audience. In terms of content, it is the text of the document, its layout and its length to ensure the reader does not get bored. In terms appearance, the graphics must not overpower the text but attractive enough to peak the reader’s interest. Audience are the readers, designers need to take into consideration about who this document is for.

     As you can see, for print documents like the magazine page above, the consideration for content, appearance and audience is that they highlight the interesting words and make them bigger to peak reader’s interest. They show pictures for an attractive appearance and they follow the F-design for the smaller text to make it easy for the reader to follow. When all the elements are combined, they deepen reader interest, applies to Gestalt’s theory that perception of form depends not only on seeing individual parts but on the organization of the whole.

     For websites, they follow the same elements of content, appearance and audience in which they keep the text simple and short. They use the best images of their product they have to offer and they also use the F-design.

     In my opinion, they are still many differences print and screen documents have to offer and that both has advantages and disadvantages, though it may seem websites have the upper hand, until screen documents become as reliable as print documents, there will still be two types of documents.

References:

·         Schriver, K.A. 1997, “Dynamics in document design”, John Wiley & Sons, New York, USA,

• Hilligoss, S & Howard, T 2002, “Visual Communication: A Writer’s Guide”, Longman, viewed 15^th April 2012, http://www.ablongman.com/mycomplab_content/pdf/long_hilligoss.pdf
• Nielsen, J & Morkes, J 1997, “Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective:
  How to Write for the Web”, viewed 15^th April 2012, http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html
• Nielsen, J 1999, “Differences Between Print Design and Web Design”, viewed 15^th April 2012, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html

New Forms of Media Publishing

     Media publishing has come a long way from its predecessors, due to advancements in technology, it has changed in many ways to adapt and suit today’s modern generation of readers and viewers. According to (Naughton, 2006) the old forms of media publishing have not been pushed aside rather adapted to or evolved into digital publishing by incorporating technological methods. The old forms of media publishing which are newspapers, print publication and other may not have been completely obsolete but is beginning to diminish from society very slowly whereas new forms such as online news, Twitter, Facebook, Youtube and others have altered the methods of journalism to accommodate this new generation’s needs. 

For example, it can be said that following Twitter is as reliable as the information in news articles that will come out the next day

While Youtube allows bloggers to provide videos to further elaborate to their readers.

Even online newspaper can help locals keep up with global trends.

     According to (Kress & van Leeuwen, 1998) the effectiveness of the message is dependent on the desirability of the form of the medium by readers. In other words, the form of media publication that the old ones possess is simply not enough for today’s generation standards. Although sometimes the information found online is unreliable as people actively participate in altering information online as according to (Lazaroiu, 2011) the emerging new media ecology gives users increasing control over the flow of media. However, progress cannot be stopped as people evolved so does the media.

Reference:

• Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, ‘Front pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout’, Blackwell, Oxford, Ch. 7, pp. 186-219.
• Lazaroiu, G 2011, ‘The Creation of New Global Communication Infrastructures and Forms of Online Interaction”, Annals of Spiru Haret University, Vol. 12, Issue 1, p92-95.
• Naughton, John 2006, ‘Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem’, viewed 12^th April 2012, http://reuteursinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/about/discussion/blogging.html

Blogging Community & How a Community is Built

     A blogging community is basically an online community that consists of and was created by a group of individuals with a shared purpose or meaning in which they express using web tools through a shared blogging platform. Blog communities bring together the individual blogger with other independent blogs of a number of people with a shared interest like an opinion, a view, a cause or something else (Kinkeldei, 2007). Bloggers establish communities when bloggers who share a common perspective create a blogging platform in which each individual blog is connected to each other, their ideas are shared and readers who share their views join their community in which expands their community.

     Nancy White, 2006 has established three types of blogging community models. They are the Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community, the Central Connecting Topic Community and the Boundaried Community.

The Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community:

This blog community revolves around one blog which is owned by one owner or an organization; it is form as readers comment and gets to know not only the blogger but the community, supporters and their views. This community is based on a single blogging platform and on a single blog. The main idea for this model is that its success is dependent on the relationship between the content of the blog, the blogger and mainly, the readers. It relies on the central blogger’s control. This community grows as the number of supporters and readers increase with response through comments.

The Central Connecting Topic Community:

This blog community is a network formation; it is created between blogs connected by a shared interest or topic. The boundary is classified as the subject matter (domain) and membership (community). This community is formed by groups addressing a particular topic of interest. This community does not rely on a single blog alone, it has the potential to spread to other areas and create sub communities. In a sense, this model allows for free blogging in terms of topic and establishment of blog. There is no single platform but they are linked by hyperlink (blogrolls) by tagging, comments and others. These topic centric communities are built through blogs sharing a common topic.

The Boundaried Communities:

This blog community is a collection of blogs and readers on a single platform or site. People are allowed to register and become members of this community. Examples of these communities are social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and MySpace and so on. The control here is held by the owner of the platform who can impose any rule on the community. However individual members have control over their postings, social status and relationships, and tools that help the individual maintain social status and relationships.

     One such example for a community blog is Technorati link: http://technorati.com/, the model which can be applied to this blog is the Boundaried Communities as this community blog is a collection of blogs in a single platform. The community was built by individuals sharing information and expression. Individuals have to register become members of this community.

Reference:

• Kinkeldei, B 2007, ‘Whitepaper Blog Communities: Forging Connections and Promoting Growth Through Blog Communities’, 21 Publish, viewed 10 April 2012, http://www.21publish.com/pub/21publish/blogging-whitepaper.pdf
• Technorati 2009, ‘Technorati’, viewed 10 April 2012, http://technorati.com/
• White, N 2006, ‘Blogs and Community-launching a new paradigm for online community’, Australian Flexible Learning Framework, viewed 10 April 2012, http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community

Classification of Blogs

     There are many ways to communicate online including blogging. There are a multitude of reasons why people blog, they blog for business, to express feelings and thoughts, to share opinions and more. Blogging is dynamic and flexible, and it is a communication tool that encompasses all communication models; one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-one, and many-to-many (Banks, 2008). There is no accurate way of classifying or distinguishing types of blogs. However, according to (Simmons, 2008), she classifies blogs as:

• Pamphleteering blog: an individual or a group argues a case or cause.
• Digest blog: summarize material from mostly mainstream media.
• Advocacy blog: arguing a case (similar to pamphleteering but in a group).
• Popular Mechanics blog: an instructive blog (use for products, systems and so on).
• Exhibition blog: for artist, crafts people and artisans showing their work, design and more.
• Gatewatcher blog: gatekeepers of mainstream media.
• Diary blog: personal content of blogger.
• Advertisement blog: design by companies to promote product.
• News blog: provide mainstream news.

     However, (Sauers, 2010) simplifies his classification of blogs into three types, they are:

• Individual blogs: created and maintained by individuals for their own reasons like a journal.
• Subject blogs: produced by one or more people to focus on a specific topic like hobbies, politics, news or any other topic of interest.
• Organizational blogs: represent views, opinions and events of an organization.

     Sauer’s classification of blogs is basically a simplified version of combinations of Simmons classification of blogs. For example, the pamphleteering blog, diary blog and exhibition blog can be classified under Sauer’s individual blog classification.

     In my opinion, both Sauer’s and Simmons’s classification of blogs do not accurately identify the types of blogs. Although Simmons’s classification of blogs does describe a variety of blog types with explicit detail, it is uncertain whether more will emerge whereas Sauer’s classification is simple and easy to understand, I do not feel it accurately describes the types of blogs available on the internet. For further explanation on Simmons classification, please refer to this link: http://apo.org.au/commentary/towards-taxonomy-blogs-0

Reference:

• Banks, M 2008, ‘Blogging Heroes : Interviews with 30 of the World's Top Bloggers’, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, USA.
• Sauers, M 2010, ‘Blogging and RSS : A Librarians' Guide (2^nd Edition)’, Information Today, Inc, Medford, NJ, USA.
• Simmons, M 2008, ‘Towards a Taxonomy of Blogs’, Australian Policy Online, viewed 9 April 2012, http://apo.org.au/commentary/towards-taxonomy-blogs-0