The Lesson Learnt

Throughout the completion of this, I have been exposed to various issues in areas relating to publication and design. I have come to realise that there are more to blogs than just being an outlet for countless entries of personal ramblings. According to Naughton (2006), hundreds and thousands of blogs are updated everyday or so, and many of them consist of writing and thinking of a very high order. Writing this blog has cast away my narrowed way of viewing blogs and I will maintain it as it is now.

Other than that, I have also learnt a great deal about how technology now play a very significant role in revolutionizing the way we communicate with each other. New media publishing have impacted societal communication with such magnitude that at times we find ourselves drowning in too much information (Naughton, 2006) that in the end may be useless to us.Therefore, it is vital that as a blogger I have to be aware of my purpose, readers and context and to write in a reader-sensitive, reader-based way (Putnis & Petelin, 1996).

References:

Naughton, J 2006, Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem, viewed 15 November 2009, <http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/discussion/blogging.pdf>

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

Video Blogs Going Mobile (Section B - Issue 11)

The advent of broadband technologies has allowed people all over the globe easier access to the Internet and its contents. John Naughton (2006) opined that broadband access has led to the rapid growth of streaming audio and video materials across the Internet. Webcams became very popular then as people could record themselves and instantly post it on the Internet for public viewing. This became a form of blogging for them or later known as video blogging.

Video blogging has made it possible for normal people to become celebrities on the Internet. Some examples include:

Ryan Higa (nigahiga on YouTube)

(Image source: Screenshot of nigahiga YouTube channel.)

Christine Gambito (HappySlip on YouTube)

(Image source: Screenshot of HappySlip YouTube channel.)

And the controversial Lonelygirl15

(Image source: Screenshot of lonelygirl15 YouTube channel.)

However, according to this article in BBC Click,video blogging can now be done on mobile phones. Now most mobile phones come equipped with a digital camera ready for video-shooting and some even with the added bonus of on-board video editing softwares. The LG Viewty, Nokia N95 and Motorola Z10 are some of the phones that provide such customisation tools.

The article suggests that video blogging doesn't have to only be about personal entries or fun topics, it could also be used for recording news stories and scenes. This is also known as citizen journalism where ordinary people can also be providers of news.

But one of the pitfalls of this new technology, according to the article, is that some mobile operators only allow users to upload their video contents to certain websites. Web 2.0 consultant Kathy Johnson said that this is not how the Internet is supposed to work. She added on that people would prefer to have their content uploaded to whichever place they want it to be.

Conversely, I beg to differ. I do agree that being able to record and upload videos on the same mobile device is an added advantage especially for bloggers. However, I do not agree with the prospect that mobile operators should allow its users to upload their video content to whichever location that they desire. The reason for this is that it will encourage a lot of inappropriate and unmoderated content to circulate on the Internet.

One such example would be underage pornography. Almost every teenager now has a mobile phone, even pre-teens have them. Reasons for these are to keep in contact with friends and family. However, there are a handful who used it for other purposes - sending out nude pictures and videos of themselves and recently, a newer case where a 15-year-old girl was caught using the iPhone Beautymeter application to upload nude pictures of herself.

All this goes to reinforce my opinion why I believe that mobile phone operators should not allow its users to upload their video content to whichever site they want to as this may encourage underage pornography.

References:

Naughton, J 2006, Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem, viewed 18 November 2009, <http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/discussion/blogging.pdf>

Publishing Ethics (Section B - Issue 10)

Copyright infringement is a very big issue in the publishing industry. According to the US Copyright Office, copyright infringement occurs when copyrighted work such as a book, song, poem or photograph is distributed without the permission of the owner (Pascale, 2009). This is what happened to J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series, in 2008 when a fan violated her copyright by intending to publish a Potter encyclopedia.

(Image source: http://www.hp-lexicon.org/hpl-logo-black2-790.JPG)

Vander Ark is the owner of the popular Harry Potter Lexicon web site and was contacted by a publishing company, RDR Books, after the release of the final Harry Potter book to publish his lexicon. According to Ark, it was decided that lexicon would include descriptions and commentaries on individual names, places, spells and creatures from the Harry Potter series. Rowling replied by saying that it is "atrocious, sloppy and consists of very little research." In addition to that, Rowling said that to publish the lexicon would equal to the wholesale theft of her 17 years of hard work.

In the defense of RDR Books, lawyer Anthony Falzone said that the lexicon was only meant to serve as a reference guide to the complicated and elaborated world of Harry Potter. But in the end, the court was in favour with Rowling and RDR Books lost the claim.

Putnis & Petelin (1996) wrote that a good writer is original, sincere and have an authentic voice. So to be fair, I would say that J.K. Rowling is not wrong to fight for the rights over her intellectual property. What Ark had in mind was to merely rearrange Rowling's work and call it as a reference book to the Harry Potter stories. In my opinion, reference books are supposed to be non-fiction books featuring actual facts that no one has copyright over. The Harry Potter series is completely fictional and Ark's plan to publish a Potter encyclopedia would mean that he is openly taking Rowling's ideas and at the same time violating her copyright.

References:

Pascale, C 2009, Copyright Infringement, viewed 17 November 2009, <http://intellectualpropertylaw.suite101.com/article.cfm/copyright_infringement>

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

*Additional information: However, in January 2009 a modified and shorter version of the lexicon was published as The Lexicon: An Unauthorized Guide to Harry Potter Fiction. Source: Wikipedia and Amazon Books.

Facebook's "New Face" (Section A - Issue 6)

According to Penman (1998), a document's functionality varies depending on the readers' habits, expectations and context of use. Penman was proven right when some Facebook users were left fuming with the new-look Facebook.

In September 2008, Facebook revamped their appearance which apparently did not go down too well with many of its users. Based on the news article, forums devoted to bashing Facebook's new appearance emerged and there have thousands of members registered. The new design allows users to use tabs to include new pictures, messages, feeds and mini-applications on their main profile page.

To illustrate, here's a comparison between the older Facebook design in 2007 and the new design in 2008:

Facebook in 2007

(Image source: http://torontoist.com/attachments/toronto_karen/2007_05_2HarperFacebook_cro.jpg)

Facebook in 2008 after the makeover

(Image source: http://josh.st/blog/wp-content/2008/06/facebook-new.png)

Although many users have complained about the new-look switch, Facebook maintains that this new design makes pages look livelier, better organised and give users the control over application they want to install. Facebook adds that once the users start to adapt and become familiar with the new layout, they will find that the changes are useful.

Another similar case would be new layout of Microsoft Office Word 2007 which according to the author of the article is "user-unfriendly and an ill-conceived design." Familiar menu buttons like "File," "Edit" and "Insert" were replaced with tabs like "Home," "Insert," "Page Layout" and "Review." Many loyal users of Microsoft Office Word were left enraged and confused with the new layout and began posting on the Internet their opinions.

Schriver (2007) said that readers of a document should not have to go through list after list in order to get a sense of options. However, Facebook and Microsoft have done the complete opposite. The users were left having to guess where previous information and options have gone to. In short, the new design did not communicate well with the users and according to Evans & Thomas (2004), communication is essential to the objective of any client-based projects.

So as a conclusion, changing a particular design or layout can be very risky as users may find it unfamiliar and difficult. In my opinion, the designers of Facebook and Microsoft should allow users to "test-run" the programs extensively before releasing them to avoid having future disgruntled users. However, that being said I also do feel that despite the unfamiliarity and confusion felt in the initial stages, sooner or later we will find ourselves adapting to it.

References

Evans, P & Thomas, M 2004, Exploring the elements of design, Thomas/Delmar Learning, Clifton Park, New York.

Penman, R 1998, 'Document structures and readers' habits', Communication news, vol. 11,

no. 2, pp.10-11.

Schriver, KA 2007, Dynamics in document design, Wiley Computer Pub., New York, United States of America.

Ethical Concerns in Photojournalism (Section A - Issue 4)

The Kenyan Famine (2009)

(Image source: http://www.zoriah.net/.a/6a00e55188bf7a88340115701a1945970c-800wi. Photographer: Nancy Farese.)

Photojournalism is a form of journalism that relays a story by the means of images (Wikipedia, 2009). A photojournalist is like a news reporter but differs in a way where decisions are often made on the spot and a camera is used to capture significant moments which are considered of having news value.

The power of the photograph (2007) is a transcript of a discussion amongst photojournalists about the impact of an art exhibition showcasing photographs of war. Wade Goddard, the curator of the gallery, said that the idea of exhibition was to produce a more global perspective of war and to touch the lives of those who have been affected by war. Goddard was working as a photojournalists for almost ten years before quitting the industry. According to Goddard, in the media industry there are editors and publishers who will have their own political or ideological views in telling a story. Hence, because of that photojournalism would not be able to live up to its true characteristics; being honest and unbiased.

Kress (1988) said that meaning making is dependent on an individual's attitudes, social relations, feelings and culture. So to relate this to the article, when editors and publishers of the media choose to tell a story based on their own views, they are not considering the possibility that readers may not see it in the same perspective.

Another example which can be related to this issue is the banning of photos depicting detainees being abused abroad by the United States. When questioned, President Obama refuted by saying that the publishing of the photos will not benefit the citizens' understanding of what really happened. He further added that the photos will only generate outrage within the region.

Randy Cohen (2009), writer of The Ethicist section of The New York Times Magazine, objected to Obama's decision by saying that photographs can communicate movingly as they are vivid symbols of the events they depict. Additionally, vivid symbols can help people understand events better.

In my opinion, I feel that it is not up to editors, publishers or authoritative parties to decide if a certain piece of information should be granted public accessibility or not. Regardless of its form; image or text, a reader's understanding will be tied to his or her previous experience or knowledge (Walsh, 2006). Hence, editors, publishers and authoritative parties should not assume that their own understanding is to be better than those of the readers.

References:

Cohen, R 2009, Neda, Obama and the Power of Pictures, viewed 15 November 2009, <http://ethicist.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/06/29/the-power-of-pictures/>.

Kress, G 1988, Communication and culture: An introduction, New South Wales University Press, Australia.

The power of the photograph, ABC Radio National, viewed 15 November 2009, <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2051819.htm>

Walsh, M 2006, 'The '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.

Wikipedia 2009, Photojournalism, viewed 15 November 2009, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photojournalism>.

New Media Publishing Tools

Communication and media is an ever-changing environment. According to John Naughton (2006), the digital convergence, personal computing and global networking have increased the pace of development and has set off radical changes in the environment.

The advent of new forms of media on the Internet has not only changed the conventions of communication but has also revolutionized the concept of Web 2.0. The term Web 2.0 describes a concept where users and readers are also able to publish materials unlike traditional times when only professional media houses are entitled to publish information.

Some examples of new media would be:

(Image source: http://www.tcd.ie/disability/projects/DS3/images/facebook.jpg)

(Image source: http://www.christmastree.org/youtube.jpg)

(Image source: http://i.bnet.com/blogs/twitter-logo.jpg)

These new media platforms are not only embraced by the general public but also media organisations and even politicians.

There are many alternative online newspapers that have sprung up due to the dissatisfaction with the mainstream news providers. Their formation is aided by the availability of new publishing mediums on the Internet such as blogs, Youtube, Twitter and Facebook.

One such example would be the non-mainstream news provider Malaysiakini.com. It started off as a blog where readers could access to it if they were looking for news written in a different perspective. Readers could also participate by commenting and providing opinions. As Malaysiakini.com began building a good rapport with its readers, its owners began branching out to other forms of new media publishing such as by establishing a Facebook page, Twitter page, YouTube channel and even a mobile edition.

Malaysiakini.com's expansion to other forms of new media received good response from its readers because its owners took into consideration the habits, expectations and context of use of its readers (Penman, 1998) when designing and publishing their materials.

References:

Naughton, J 2006, Blogging and the emerging media ecosystem, viewed 15 November 2009, <http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/discussion/blogging.pdf>

Penman, R 1998, 'Document structures and readers' habits', Communication news, vol. 11,

no. 2, pp.10-11.

Designing Print Media vs. Online Media

(Image source: http://www.mequoda.com/wp-content/uploads/ui/membership-magazine.png)

Karen Schriver (2007) stated that document designers must understand the situational context for reading. This refers to what form the document is presented in for the readers. Designing for online media, such as blogs, are different from designing for print media. According to Schriver, this is because readers of print media are used to reading in an orderly manner; not jumping for one page to another page in random order. For example, a reader of a new book would not want to spoil the surprise of a good ending by jumping straight to the last few pages. Whereas for online media, readers are expected to click on hyper links that would lead them to whole new different page.

This can also be related to Kress & van Leeuwen's (2006) theory on linear and non-linear text. Print media like books are linear texts while blogs are non-linear texts.

To illustrate:

Print media

(Image source: Screenshot of http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/dcom/olia/confu/confurep.pdf)

This is the content page of a conference report. All the information in the report are arranged and presented in an orderly manner. Readers of the report cannot jump from Background to Conclusion lest they cannot make head or tail of the report.

Online media (blog)

(Image source: Screenshot of http://fokhuilyn.blogspot.com/)

In online media, the information are arranged in a non-linear form where readers can willingly click on hyper links surrounding the main document.

Therefore, we can observe that the designing of print media differs from that of online media in a way where information are arranged; linear or non-linear.

References:

Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 2006, Reading images, Routledge, United States of America.

Schriver, KA 2007, Dynamics in document design, Wiley Computer Pub., New York, United States of America.