Linked in

One of the social networking sites that I have begun to use recently is Linked in.  This site allows me to add people that I know and have worked with, sends me potential connections based on who I have already added, and allows me to search the connections of my friends.  It also offers an option to search for people based on their careers or the companies in which they work for.  In Boyds article it is discussed that this is one of the sns that came around during the big boom in the early 2000s.  It took the opportunity to become a tool for the business world, almost fulfilling a business 'niche' really. 

Unlike other sns sites, the primary appeal of this is to network with the people your friends or co-workers might know.  There is a function to request and introduction from a mutual friend.  This is useful if while searching a friends profile you see that their cousin happens to work for a company in your field, or some similar situation.  I think that this works very differently than sites like facebook which to me are primarily social sites.

I think that right now, while the job market is worse than ever, sites like this can be a huge help.  It is tough to find an opening in any field unless you know someone, or if you know someone who knows someone.  But that information isn't always easy to find out.  Your friends might not realize that their friend from highschool is now a lawyer working at your dream firm.  This site, as Boyd points out, makes this apparent by making social networks something tangible and visible.

diagrams

The flow of the site is very basis, though effective in its way.  Each page on the site is linked to every other page.  this means that all the sites are accessible from anywhere and easy to find.  I don't see any particular problems with having all of the sites linked to each other, but might have a smoother flow if the pages were linked only too related pages, and having access to all the pages from the main menue, and to have all the pages link back to that main page.

All of the links in the site also seem to go where a reader would expect.  The links are appropriately labeled and make sense were they are placed. The only thing that I would change about those links is to have them open into seperate windows because they take people away from the actual page.

Here is my diagram of the sites links / pages .

On design however

So part two of my analysis... Design.  This is where our site needs ALOT of help.  They follow almost none of the principals that we discussed in class.

The alignment is off on the left hand side text as well, in some sporadic ways.  This mixing of alignment continues throughout all of the pages represented.  On the about me section the alignment is a little better than other pages, with all left alignment, rotating which side it shows up on however.  The schedule day uses this category very effectively, but overall the alignment on the whole site needs to be reworked.   Proximity is used slightly better.  Most related texts are close to each other, though headings have a bit more space then necessary between them and the related paragraphs.  On the About me page there should be a little more space seperating each of the individual profile / photo combos from the others.  On the Merchants page the photos could be put closer to the description of the artists. 

Repition at first seems to be used effectivly on this site, but the inconsistancies come out the more pages that you look at. The navigation at least is the same on all of the pages.   At first the color scheme and templates seem to be fairly consistent with minor changes.  Their seem to be two different sets of headlines.  The food, sponsors, event schedule, community events, and photo pages have a completely different heading. The links and titles change colors and fonts inconsistantly. 

The contrast on the main page is alright for the most part, with dark blue and green on the tan.  the links however are a little too pale and don't stand out as much as they should. The links have this same critique throughout most of the page.  Most of the time the headings differ enough in size and color to be ok. 
This size needs a major revamping on all of the categories.  The information comes across clearly and is easy to find, but it needs to be presented in more professional manner.


http://www.ripaganpride.com/RIPPD/Welcome.html

Rhetorically...

Well I've just been looking at the RI Pagan Pride site again, and it is the one I would like to work on.  It is from an organization that I am a part of and had never realized how much help the site needed until taking this class.  The content on the page is great, in my opinion, however.  It is the layout that needs more work.  Using the rhetorical analysis here what I see as some of the strengths.
I believe that the focus of the page is very clear.  It is obvious what the page is about, and who it is directed towards.  The page focuses on informing pagans of the upcoming festival, hoping to get them excited about it.  It is educational in some specified areas for those who are interested but don't know too much about it.  The educational pages are also helpful to help dispel the stereotypes that often persist.  The page takes a great tone of voice for the audience it is addressing.  People going to a festival, and the average pagan would appreciate the casual occasionally comic tone that is present on some of the pages.  The differences in page recognize that multiple people will be reading this site. The genre is mostly informative, adapting to slightly different formats (lists and profiles) when appropriate.  There is also a great balance of pictures helping to show the type of things that happen and give a feel for the event that words alone could not.

Overall I think the information is handled well, and takes an acceptable approach that can inform and draw people in, without pushing away.

http://www.ripaganpride.com/RIPPD/Welcome.html

wikitravel post write

The concept that I stands out to me most from the Nardi O’day piece in relation to Wikitravel is the concept of co-evolution.  This site is one that thrives on the knowledge of people all over the world.  It takes what at least some people already know, and makes it available to an audience that might never have seen the information.  The introduction of this information will help the global community grow and evolve in a couple of ways.  First it increases our knowledge in general about various places and options that we have.  Second it connects us on a deeper level.  By reading entries posted by people who have actually lived in an area, we see a side to the place that might not end up in a standard travel brochure.  We see what is important to the people.  Third, it increases our opportunities to make information about our own areas known.  

The point of co-evolution, however, is that as one aspect grows, it will in turn trigger growth in the other.  As people add to this site, contributing to all that I listed above, the site will have opportunities to grow.  The more people use it, the more useful a tool it will become.  The more useful a tool it is, the more people will add to it, helping the site to grow and evolve.  Also as our understanding about other cultures increases, I could see the site evolving from not only placing places and prices, but cultural facts and information for a traveler.  This will continue to increase understanding in people, evolving us into a more global community, and the more global we are, the more we will contribute.  We will evolve together, each making the other stronger as time goes on.  

I do believe that this site is one that will increase our awareness of others.  It has the potential to do so in many ways, some of which I stated above.  I don’t believe that this is a definite direction the site will go in, I just see the potential for it to do so.  It could also go in the direction of sites like facebook, which have the potential for so much good, connecting people all over the world, but which also has the possibility to alienate.  Hurtful information is often posted on sites like that, or on Campus ABC and such.  If the moderation of wikitravel is not carefully observed it could turn into a site that carries stereotypes, and unfounded information if it were to go into the direction of cultural information in addition to the travel info, because it is people from all over the world posting and that will include all of the current ignorance and bias that may exist at the current moment. 

words, pictures, and music oh my!

As I look at my own blog, I realize that I am sorely lacking with the option of using various forms of communication to share my messages.  Honestly, this isn't something that I had even considered before reading these articles.  I feel like to me, I didn't consider it, because my topic hadn't called for it.  I am an English major with a focus in Creative Writing.  Verbal communication is the form that I am most comfortable with. 

I believe this is a flaw of the blog that I have up until this point been constructing.  Now that I actually think about it, I know that for everyone, this is not the form of communication that everyone is the most comfortable with.  I would like to take more advantage of the options available to me in future posts, including pictures, links and diagrams where appropriate.  I know that I have things available to me, I would just like to tyring to find a way to incorporate them into my topic naturally. 

I believe that the ability to combine words with other types of communications is a huge strength of the Internet and other arenas.  Words cannot always accurately convey an idea, an emotion or a message.  Neither, on the other hand, can images.  I believe that is through the joining of these two things that we can come the closest to ideal communication.  I believe that like much of the technology that we have discussed in class, it should however be approached with caution.  If we begin to rely to heavily on words and symbols to represent our ideas we could potentially lose the ability to express ourselves as effectively with words. 

On reflection

After reading some of the other about me and descriptions I have found a few things that I would like to change.  In my about me, I still like that it is focused on my connection to the topic and builds my credibility but it could be a little less resume like.  I would still like to include the information that shows I know what I'm talking about, but maybe do it in a less formal way.  I do joke a bit in the draft, but there are parts where it still sounds like an answer to a job interview question.  I would also like to add a picture, I feel that its easier to connect with someone that you have an image of. 

As for the blog description draft, I like the basic formula for mine, but I just think that I should shorten it a bit.  Some of the others in this class had very short to the point blog descriptions and I think that felt effective to me.  Someone doesn't want to read a whole paragraph to decide if they want to stay.  So I would like to keep the direct, and informal approach in my draft, but shorten it at least a little bit.