Reflections

Writing this blog has brought me sweet memories. I even learn lot of new things that are useful for my future life. I feel so grateful to have learnt this subject and appreciate all the knowledge that has been taught by the lecturer. There are several skills that I have learnt in blogging or as a blogger. Firstly, as a blogger we must write ethnically and carefully to avoid defamation and copyright infringements. Secondly, we must be sensitive to cultures as we cannot insult or hurt others religion in our blog. Finally, a blogger must design the layout properly and nicely to produce a good document. This has been emphasised by Putnis and Petelin (1996) that a good document design must help the readers to read efficiently, focus on the most important contents and encourage readers to feel good about communication. These are what a document designer should develop in themselves.

Reference List

1. Putnis, P & Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.

Web TV is Everywhere

It is obvious that television has gone through some major revolutions over the years such as the colour, cable, digital and even TiVo. At the moment, the industry is undergoing another transformation that all of us are more than ready and get excited. In older days, we need to watch television from our devices at the living room. However, in this modern era consumers opt to access television-style video content from electronic devices such as computer, mobile phones and portable gaming devices. It is also more comfortable for the consumers as they can access it from anywhere they want. They also were willing to pay at any cost although it might be more expensive even if they need to add their monthly bills or fees. They even do not mind to rent premium content from the studio itself. The survey shows that nearly 25% of them willing to pay at any cost for the services as long as they can view the content on a computer or mobile device. Web TV is a new form of media. It is more up to date and undoubtedly the easier way to watch television in this modern world. We can also watch our favourite programs that we missed online using streaming media. Here is a list of websites on the net that allows us to view TV-programs, movies and music video (Marcofolio.net 2009):

• YouTube
  
• Your Daily Media
  
• All of TV
  
• Bedroom media
  
• Cinema Tube.net
  
• Crafty TV
  
• DivX Live
  
• Movie Flicks
  
• My Theater
  
• Watch TV Sitcoms
  

As we can observe, most of the audiences prefer to watch their favourite shows online using computer or laptop, mobile phones, portable video players and portable gaming players rather than the normal television. Hence, I have no doubt that the concept of web TV will definitely work compared to the traditional media.

Examples of web TV:

Source: Yahoo image search 2009

Source: Marcofolio.net 2009

Source: Marcofolio.net 2009

Reference List

1. Throw out your TV and watch your favourite programs and movies online 2009, Marcofolio.net, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://www.marcofolio.net/video/throw_out_your_tv_and_watch_your_favorite_programs_and_movies_online.html>

Harry Potter Author Wins Copyright Claim

J.K Rowling is the author of Harry Potter book that has just won her claim that a fan violated her copyright with the plans to publish it in a Potter encyclopedia. The judge said that it had been proven that Steven Vander Ark’s “Harry Potter Lexicon” would have caused her irreparable harm as a writer. Furthermore, the British author had also taken a legal action against Michigan-based RDR Books last year. This is to prevent publication of the book from claiming copyright violation. Rowling also stressed out that this book is from her own material and idea. Hence, it cannot be consider as a plagiarism. The publisher defended their lexicon as just a reference guide and did not invade into Rowling’s copyright as they used it fairly. Vander Ark also contacted an RDR books employee to inform that the publication of lexicon would not go against the copyright law. He also insisted that RDR books have already incorporate a clause that the publisher would defend and pay any damages in the agreement. An overview of copyright was provided in Wikipedia (2009), copyright is a form of intellectual property that gives the author of an original work exclusive right for a certain time period in relation to that work including publication, distribution and adaptation. Therefore, a copyright act can prevent other people from copying a work of authorship illegally. In this case, the Harry Potter’s author, Rowling was protecting his own work as she feels that other people are planning to copy her work. She decided to use the copyright law to protect herself. According to Tysver (2008) the exclusive rights granted by the copyright act are limited by several statutory and constitutional limitations on copyright law. The limitation is known as the ‘fair use’. The fair use is used to balance the rights of copyright owners and letting certain copying to happen in restricted conditions. For instance, the publisher is claiming that they did not copy any work or writing but it is a fair use acceptable by the law.

Copyright symbol

Source: Counterfeit Chic

Reference List

1. Copyright 2009, Wikipedia, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright>
2. Tysver, D A 2008, Fair Use in Copyright, BitLaw, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://www.bitlaw.com/copyright/fair_use.html>

Facebook makeover leaves some devotees fuming

This article is taken from Australian news website that talks about social networking site which is the Facebook that has came out with a new look and layout. However, not all users support the changes because they feel the old design is better and they are more familiar with it. Nevertheless, from the survey done more than thousands of people have registered as Facebook members. In addition, nearly 30 million of Facebook’s users have switched to the new format. Changes is made due to the feedback from users as well as the new trend in uploading videos, pictures and musings that they want to share with their friends. Facebook uphold that the changes will surely make the pages look livelier and better organised. People can also have more control over software applications they choose to install which they never had before. Nonetheless, not all gadgets were changed. Most of the mini-applications such as ‘walls’ and ‘graffiti’ were preserved. According to Boyd and Ellison (2008) one feature that differentiates Facebook from others is the ability for outside developers to build ‘applications’ that allow users to personalize their profiles and perform other tasks.

New Facebook Profile Layout

Source: Bandwidth Blog

One of the problems in changing design or layout is the defamation. Gatewood (2008) demonstrates that defamation is a false statement of fact that creates a damaging, negative image of a person or a group. In addition, audience’s acceptance is also a key step in changing the web design. The audience is the people that will visit our website. Hence, they should be our main target. We need to understand their purposes and know exactly what are they looking for when visiting our website. An overview of web design in Wikipedia (2009) emphasises that a clear goal of the website as well as an understanding of what visitor want to do or feel when they come to our website will help to identify the target audience. Although we are changing the layout, we must maintain the basic aspects of design such as the content, the usability, the appearance and the visibility. In my opinion, only a good design can attract the audience’s attention to visit our website.

Reference List

1. Boyd, D M & Ellison, N B 2008, Social Network Sites: Definition, History and Scholarship, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://www.danah.org/papers/JCMCIntro.pdf>
2. Web Design 2009, Wikipedia, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquid_layout#Audience>

Indonesian weekly apologises over Last Supper Suharto cover

A copy of Indonesian news weekly, Tempo, depicting Suharto and his children in a composition based on Leonardo da Vinci's Last Supper in Jakarta.

Source: Google 2008

This article is taken from AEDT that talks about Indonesia’s top news magazine, Koran Tempo apologised over their cover of its latest issue. The cover depicts the former president Suharto and his children in a mimicking Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper. The cover also features a sketch of Suharto who had already passed away, taking Jesus Christ’s central place at a table surrounded by his children instead of apostles. This issue has triggered complaints and angered from the Christians as well as inter-religious organisations. An overview of Indonesian press, media, TV, radio, newspaper was provided in press reference (2009) the duty of press is to ‘strengthening national unity and cohesion’. However, laws relating to the media started to revolutionize due to quick progression. As suggested in press, media, TV, radio, newspaper et al. (2009) they started to eliminate press licensing, remove the ability of the government to ban publications and guaranteed freedom of the press in 1999. Hence, due to this law any news agencies are free to publish anything they want. This is because nobody can take any action as it is embedded inside the law. This is why the cover is published by Koran Tempo magazine as the law did not restrict the freedom and regulations in the press. Furthermore, the censorship control in Indonesia is not rigid enough and most of them did not take this issue into considerations as well as seriously. The Kopkamtib which was the agent that supposes to monitor the press and censorship in Indonesia. As shown in press, media, TV, radio, newspaper et al. (2009) rather than control censorship, the agency was more likely to hold a briefing telling what kinds of news should be printing. This is why the cover is release to the media and public without any block from the government. Koran Tempo magazine should also think twice before decided to use a composition that can hurt and insult the Christians although they had no intention of doing that. They must study the background of other religion, race and culture before publishing the cover. This is to respect other religion as we dislike people criticise our own religion. Schirato and Yell (1996) argues that culture make meanings from an enormous variety of signs systems, elements as apparently basic to human survival are transformed into complex sets of resources for meaning making. In my opinion, they should consider all these aspects before publishing a cover or article so that it will not hurt other’s people.

Reference List

1. Indonesian Press, Media, TV, Radio, Newspaper 2009, pressreference.com, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://www.pressreference.com/Gu-Ku/Indonesia.html>
2. Schirato, T & Yell, S 1996, Communication and cultural literacy, Allen & Unwin, NSW

New Form of Media Publishing

After a few years, newest trends or media has been introduced. It is after the life of broadcasting. According to Wikipedia (2009) new media is the emergence of digital, computerized or networked information and communication technologies in the later part of the 20th century such as the internet, websites and computer multimedia. Hence, we can notice that the popularity of blogs, social networking sites and YouTube has increased a lot and it is a sign of the net’s encroaching centrality. However, new media especially blogs has its negative issues. Firstly, people can easily invade our privacy and accessed our confidential information without we notice it. People can also write anything they want until insult and hurt other’s feeling. This is clarified by McGovern (2004) who identifies that most people do not have very much to say that is interesting and are unable to write down their ideas in a compelling and clear manner. Blogs could also threaten an organisation because it is hard to maintain. Writing comprehensibly is one of the most difficult tasks for a human being to do. As suggested by McGovern et al. (2004) many blogs are not updated, thus damaging rather than enhancing the reputation of the organisation due to this problem. In conclusion, blogs has change communication in a new media ecosystem. Without a doubt, new media has a lot of disadvantages compared to traditional media.

Reference List

1. New Media 2009, Wikipedia, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Media#National_security>
2. McGovern, G 2004, Blogs and Blogging: advantages and disadvantages, Gerry McGovern, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://www.gerrymcgovern.com/nt/2004/nt_2004_08_23_blogging.htm>

Print Design vs. Online Design

Designing for webpage such as the blog is not the same as designing for print media. Therefore, the main dilemma is that most of the designers got disorganized and end up designing an unpleasant document.

According to Nielsen (1999) newspaper designers have a huge canvas to play with. Their design can be a remarkable one and contain much more information than a webpage. Normally, we can notice that more facts and figures are imagined in smaller graphics around the page. There is a plenty of room to place a large amount of typography that is nicely integrated with the headlines, graphics and sub-headings in the layout to allow our eye to move freely to view the details. The best example is the Spanish newspaper below that is printed in a large and high-resolution.

Gold medal: Expansion (Spanish newspaper)

Source: Jakob Nielson's Alertbox 1999

An overview of Jakob Nielsen vs. the designers was provided in Webmaster (2008) web design is all about a balance between aesthetics and usability. A webpage has to be in balance in order for it to be regard as a well-designed site. A webpage is a scrolling experience as contrasting to a canvas experience. Online media has different design layouts compared to the print media because it need to suit their purposes. As suggested by Walsh (2006, p. 34) the purpose of these texts either in online or print media is to engage the reader to a literary narrative and affordances of the modes, verbal and visual.

Reference List

1. Nielsen, J 1999, Differences between Print Design and Web Design, useit.com, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html>
2. Jakob Nielsen vs. the Designers 2008, Webmaster, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://www.webmaster-source.com/2008/12/19/jakob-nielsen-vs-the-designers/>
3. Walsh, M 2006, "The Textual shift': examining the reading process with print, visual and mulmodal texts", Australian journal of language and literacy, Vol. 29, No. 1, pp. 24-37

Blogging Communities

According to Wikipedia (2009) a community is a group of interacting organisms sharing the same environment and interests. We can use certain tools such as tags, hyperlinks and comments to create a blogging community. The community can just click on the hyperlinks to open the link or website and they are free to leave any comment. An overview on the state of the live web in Sifry’s Alerts (2007) stated that most of us often clicking and using the tags until it has become a trend across the live web. According to White (2006) blog based community are made up in three main patterns such as the single blogger, the central connecting topic community and the boundaried community.

Single Blog Community

Source: The Knowledge Tree 2006

We can approach single blogger by recognize the community members. This blog usually owned by an organisation. However, it is possible that there is more than one person or multiple authors that feature in a blog. The main identities for this community are the blog owners and they are very popular. They can share their private particulars through emails, instant messaging and other types of ‘backchannel’. The community members can also respond by leave a comment or they might decide to go away.

Reference List

1. Community 2009, Wikipedia, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Community>
2. The State of the Live Web 2007, Sifry's Alerts, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000493.html>
3. White, N 2006, Blogs and Community-launching a new paradigm for online community?, the Knowledge Tree, viewed 17 November 2009, <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

Most blogs are primarily in textual form. Blogs also consists of several types which are listed below (Wikipedia, 2009):

• Linklog
• Vlog
• Photoblog
• Sketchblog
• Tumblelogs

Blogs are also focusing on a particular subject as listed below (Wikipedia, 2009):

• Travel blogs
• Political blogs
• Fashion blogs
• Education blogs
• Project blogs
• Niche blogs
• Classical music blogs
• Dreamlogs

The most difficult aspect in combinations of styles is to identify the types. Hence, different people are likely to look at the topic, style, format and audience differently. According to Simons (2008) there are several types of blog such as:

• Pamphleteering blogs
• The digest blog
• The advocacy blog
• The popular mechanics blog
• The exhibition blog
• The gatewatcher blog
• The diary
• The advertisement
• The news blog

In my opinion, the most popular blog’s types are the exhibition blog, the diary, the advertisement and the news blog. However, Wikipedia had a different classification system as they divided it into subject matter, device, media type and status of publishers.

Reference List

1. Blog 2009, Wikipedia, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog#Community_and_cataloging>
2. Simons, M 2008, Towards a taxonomy of blogs, Australian Policy Online, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://www.apo.org.au/commentary/towards-taxonomy-blogs-0>

Blogs as Current Phenomenon & its Benefits

Welcome to blogging world! Blogs has progress into a current trend and has growing strong in conveying an effective message to the community in this modern era. Hence, the size of blogosphere has increased a lot in these few years. An overview on the state of the live web in Sifry's Alerts (2007) there are about 70 million weblogs and 120,000 new weblogs being created worldwide each day. Furthermore, blogging in Malaysia has risen compared to Europe and among the top in the world’s rank. An overview of blogging in Malaysia ranks among highest in the world was provided in the Star online (2008), Malaysia has about 500,000 active bloggers, ranking the country among the highest in the world after Indonesia and the European union. However, it is quite surprising that blogging in Europe is less popular than in Asia or Malaysia. As suggested by Brook (2006) nearly 30% of them in Britain had never heard of blogs while less than 10% would visit and leave comments. The most common blogs in all parts of the world are:

• Blogger
• Blogpulse
• Xanga

Blogs offer several benefits to the community. For instance, it can be an easy way out to the high cost of advertising. It can also help anyone who has business in raising their profit. Blogs has been a powerful tool in persuading the thinking of people in Malaysia, especially about politics. Moreover, blogs allow people to express their opinions and views.

Reference List

1. The State of the Live Web 2007, Sifry's Alerts, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000493.html>
2. Blogging in Malaysia ranks among highest in the world 2008, the Star Online, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/3/nation/20827588&sec=nation>
3. Brook, S 2006, Blogs Struggle to Impress in UK, guardian.co.uk, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2006/jun/20/pressandpublishing.newmedia>

Document Design

Purpose:

To discuss what is a good document. For instance, how we can improve on the writing and layout of a presentation slide. We can use visual to make the reader understand our points clearly and efficiently. The target audience are mostly students and anyone who are interested to read my blog.

Document design:

A good document requires the written text and its presentation to be functioning well and together. Hence, the readers will be provided with the information they needed. Document design refers to the physical manifestation of a document. It is important to think about the design during the preparation stage as it will enhance the worthiness and usefulness of a document. According to Reep (2006) design features usually guide readers through the text, increase reader interest in the document and reflect the image that the readers wish to have.

Source: Husna 2009

There are several changes that can be considered in order to improve the writing and layout of the presentation slide above so that it can develops into a good document. Firstly, we can make full use of visual or images so that the readers can understand or appreciate the document. Furthermore, readers usually keen on a visual presentation rather than text. Reep (2006) argues that readers do not read only the printed words on a page; they also read the visual presentation of the text. As suggested by Kress and van Leeuwen (2006) that there are two kinds of visual literacy which is visual communication and language.

The slide should also use format elements that can assist the readers to go through the document smoothly, discover and retain vital information. We should apply written cues such as headings, headers and footers, icons and logos. Reep (2006) suggested that written cues help readers find specific information quicker. In addition, the document must have credibility and meet reader’s requirements as they rarely read word by word. This is clarified by Jakob Nielsen (1997) who identifies that readers always search for highlighted keywords, meaningful sub-headings, bulleted lists and one idea per paragraph.

According to Putnis and Petelin (1996) the specific strategies for a good document design are to make sure that there is a recognisable pattern of information, balance the visuals and text within the page in an orderly fashion as well as do not use more than two typefaces. It is important to have these features in order to produce a good document design. However, the slide does not contain any of these features.

Source: Husna 2009

The slide will not leave any impact on the reader’s mind because it has no reliability and is regard as a poor writing. Hence, the writer must come out with a better wording or phrases to help the readers to remember and understand those explanations easily. This has been emphasised by Putnis and Petelin (1996) that those writers who do deliberately break or manipulate conventions to achieve a particular impact are writers who thoroughly understand how documents create and maintain credibility. However, there is no such thing as right or wrong writing because it is depending on the writer.

Excellent document designs consist of good scientific and technical writing. A good scientific and technical writing usually depends on particular information either directly or literally. Thus, there should be no figurative interpretations in it. This is because the direction and précised purpose must remain unchanged and the information was conveyed without any loss regardless of its viewers. Rothman (2005) demonstrates that the purpose of a technical document is to describe the physical state of an object or set of objects and events that affect them in their real world context. Technical writing should be exact and comprise of all significant details. Good scientific writing is an impressive analysis of argument by exploiting its rational reason to provide a better understanding.

Reference List:

1. Reep, Diana C 2006, Technical writing: Document design, Pearson/Longman, New York.
2. Putnis, P & Petelin, R 1996, Professional communication: principles and applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.
3. Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Reading images Chapter 1: The semiotic landscape: language and visual communication.
4. Jakob N 1997, How users read on the web, viewed 3 September 2009, <www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.htm>.
5. Rothman S 2005, What makes good scientific and technical writing, viewed 3 September 2009, <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9447/error>.