When deciding what would be appropriate for CANVAS we must take into consideration the new improvements of the web, and the capabilities web 2.0 has given us.
While many facets of this new meduim are helpful for general online use some would be redundant on a site of our size. To make CANVAS successful we must only take what we an use productivly from Web 2.0.
Flash: After discussion we have decided to use flash to create a community atmosphere within the 'Your Union' page with a flash slide show showing party pictures taken by our users. It creates user generated content, a chance for users to comment and become interactive within the site and is also a nice addition to masses of copy.
Comment: When craeting a site that covers sensitive issues to a small community it is important to give the user a chance to have thier say. Comment boxes at the end of features and news stories enhances the community atmosphere and helps users communicate thier ideas in a convient place with other like-minded people.
RSS feeds: With a site as subject specific as ours a feed needs to be carfully selected. This could be easily done on Google news and we could choose topics such as students news, student finance and student news from around the world.
Search engines: As our site grows with time it will become harder to navigate and find specific topics that many be archived, here the search engine would be useful but while our site is small and easily navigated it would be rather pointless.
Social bookmarking: As much as we would like to think our content is worthy enough to be bookmarked I think it would be useless to try we are a small site catering to a equally small audience, bookmarking would be time consuming and useless.
Multi media: This is one part of 2.0 that we can use to our advantage adding links to video or embedding it within the page gives another dimension to a story and stops the raeder from getting bored. We must on the other hand be careful to use it wisely and not get carried away with adding to much that will distract readers from the copy.
Blogs: Thsi could either enhance the site or distract readers away from the main site. Blogs could be a great added extra which create a bigger sense of community by adding other students degree specific blogs or they are taking traffic away from CANVAS and giving it to less important sites.
May 16, 2008
April 14, 2008
Flash
After trawling through lots of flash media on various websites I have come to the conclusion that it is not where the flash player is, whether it be on a site designed for children or silver surfers, it depends on how appropriate it is.
I think that Flash should only be used when really needed, this is why it works so well on the National Geographic site because it is such a visual site Flash is needed to compliment the story. I think the idea of 'Flashtbation' can be seen on sites such as CNN and BBC where they have either used video from the TV programme or added pointless video that doesn't add anything to the bigger story. Sorry you have to follow links but I couldn't get video up!
I think that Flash should only be used when really needed, this is why it works so well on the National Geographic site because it is such a visual site Flash is needed to compliment the story. I think the idea of 'Flashtbation' can be seen on sites such as CNN and BBC where they have either used video from the TV programme or added pointless video that doesn't add anything to the bigger story. Sorry you have to follow links but I couldn't get video up!
March 12, 2008
competitor analysis
I chose to analyse The Sun website, I believe it to be one of the best examples of Web 2.0 being used at full potential.
The site uses all the new tools to its potential but still chooses to re purpose stories from the paper. It doesn’t include links within the text and hasn’t been cropped to fit the web page. This would be a problem for many news websites as lengthy stories would tire the eye and prevent further reading. Luckily this works for The Sun as stories are short and punchy with lots of humour, they also have a large type size making stories very easily readable. I can understand why this strategy works for The Sun, why would you add links that take traffic away from your site when you don’t need to?
The Sun has placed itself well within the news media market, it is not just a news site but an interactive activity comprised of many interactive elements, these include:
Flash, the website homepage is filled with flash players showing the extent of this weeks high winds. Most stories are accompanied with a flash player enhancing the main point of the story. Flash works to add an element of newsworthiness to the story and also manages to tell a story without reading a word. The site works on the premise that any person should be able to access news however intellectual you are.
Links, every word or picture on the homepage has a link to an internal story; it is a very accessible site. From the front page you are able to access all parts of the site just through links but there are no external links to outside pages. This is probably a technique to keep people on their site, the only external links are to advertisers which makes complete business sense.
Comment, after every story there is a comment box; the site seems to crave comment and feedback on every story. This invites the sense of community that is born out of Web 2.0. There is also discussion boards after every piece, it give users a chance to discuss current issues together with The Sun that is the mediator between the users.
Audio and visuals, the homepage has an audio flash player, they use this medium to look at side issues in a current news story. I think this is a great strategy as users get bored easily, this way they stay on the site longer and consume more information. Most main stories are paired up with a flash player that includes audiovisuals. The site has a whole section dedicated to this medium where new music videos can be viewed and video specials watched.
RSS feeds, The Sun has its own feed personalised so users can join it and constantly read up-to-date Sun specific news. This means that users are constantly connected to the news agenda and are constantly informed of news.
Text and email alerts, these again have the function of keeping the user informed and on top of news. It is usually used for sport than general news but the function is the same, it keeps users connected to the site so they are more likely to get the alert then check the site for further information.
Instillation features, the most interesting feature of this news site are the ability to customise it. After Murdoch bought MySpace he used it on his news site as well, due to Web2.0 you can now control how you see your page and have the ability to ‘jazz’ it up. You can also set the site as your homepage making it ever more accessible to the user.
The site uses all the new tools to its potential but still chooses to re purpose stories from the paper. It doesn’t include links within the text and hasn’t been cropped to fit the web page. This would be a problem for many news websites as lengthy stories would tire the eye and prevent further reading. Luckily this works for The Sun as stories are short and punchy with lots of humour, they also have a large type size making stories very easily readable. I can understand why this strategy works for The Sun, why would you add links that take traffic away from your site when you don’t need to?
The Sun has placed itself well within the news media market, it is not just a news site but an interactive activity comprised of many interactive elements, these include:
Flash, the website homepage is filled with flash players showing the extent of this weeks high winds. Most stories are accompanied with a flash player enhancing the main point of the story. Flash works to add an element of newsworthiness to the story and also manages to tell a story without reading a word. The site works on the premise that any person should be able to access news however intellectual you are.
Links, every word or picture on the homepage has a link to an internal story; it is a very accessible site. From the front page you are able to access all parts of the site just through links but there are no external links to outside pages. This is probably a technique to keep people on their site, the only external links are to advertisers which makes complete business sense.
Comment, after every story there is a comment box; the site seems to crave comment and feedback on every story. This invites the sense of community that is born out of Web 2.0. There is also discussion boards after every piece, it give users a chance to discuss current issues together with The Sun that is the mediator between the users.
Audio and visuals, the homepage has an audio flash player, they use this medium to look at side issues in a current news story. I think this is a great strategy as users get bored easily, this way they stay on the site longer and consume more information. Most main stories are paired up with a flash player that includes audiovisuals. The site has a whole section dedicated to this medium where new music videos can be viewed and video specials watched.
RSS feeds, The Sun has its own feed personalised so users can join it and constantly read up-to-date Sun specific news. This means that users are constantly connected to the news agenda and are constantly informed of news.
Text and email alerts, these again have the function of keeping the user informed and on top of news. It is usually used for sport than general news but the function is the same, it keeps users connected to the site so they are more likely to get the alert then check the site for further information.
Instillation features, the most interesting feature of this news site are the ability to customise it. After Murdoch bought MySpace he used it on his news site as well, due to Web2.0 you can now control how you see your page and have the ability to ‘jazz’ it up. You can also set the site as your homepage making it ever more accessible to the user.
February 5, 2008
Were back.....
New Semester.
To create a student online website connected to Canvas and the union we must look at other universities that have done the same.
When looking at the University of Bristol's union website it occurred to me that updating the site on a regular basis would be a necessity, they have chosen to do it weekly, I think this would be an achievable goal for us as a team. The website consists of general news, polls and mailing lists, quick links, pod casts and updates on 'what’s on' at the union. This is a successful formula for Bristol and I believe that we would be able to maintain and generate the same level of news and information. To keep the site fresh with news we could re purpose Canvas stories and headline them on our site, add stories that didn't make into the paper and include other lighter stories i.e. fashion, entertainment, union announcements.
I also found that certain sections were important to include, on the Sheffield website and the Loughborough site they included news highlights, exhibitions of latest work, forums and an event calendar. They also had links to sister publications and podcasts As we discussed in class a forum may not be achievable, it is not used by all university websites so maybe it is not a necessity for us.
I definitely believe to create this balance between the union and the paper we must have sections that include
News highlights
Online exhibitions
Events calendar
Union news
Entertainment and lifestyle.
The main problem is creating a balance between connections with the paper and the union, we do not want the site to become more focused on one or the other, to strike this balance I believe we must become the bridge between the two. This website will be the link between the pod cast, paper, TV students and the union. Therefore we must include all these facets in our site.
I believe our website should include the lighter side of university life that the paper does not, by including relevant and up to date union news we can become a user friendly portal for students to keep informed of university news and entertainment.
To create a student online website connected to Canvas and the union we must look at other universities that have done the same.
When looking at the University of Bristol's union website it occurred to me that updating the site on a regular basis would be a necessity, they have chosen to do it weekly, I think this would be an achievable goal for us as a team. The website consists of general news, polls and mailing lists, quick links, pod casts and updates on 'what’s on' at the union. This is a successful formula for Bristol and I believe that we would be able to maintain and generate the same level of news and information. To keep the site fresh with news we could re purpose Canvas stories and headline them on our site, add stories that didn't make into the paper and include other lighter stories i.e. fashion, entertainment, union announcements.
I also found that certain sections were important to include, on the Sheffield website and the Loughborough site they included news highlights, exhibitions of latest work, forums and an event calendar. They also had links to sister publications and podcasts As we discussed in class a forum may not be achievable, it is not used by all university websites so maybe it is not a necessity for us.
I definitely believe to create this balance between the union and the paper we must have sections that include
News highlights
Online exhibitions
Events calendar
Union news
Entertainment and lifestyle.
The main problem is creating a balance between connections with the paper and the union, we do not want the site to become more focused on one or the other, to strike this balance I believe we must become the bridge between the two. This website will be the link between the pod cast, paper, TV students and the union. Therefore we must include all these facets in our site.
I believe our website should include the lighter side of university life that the paper does not, by including relevant and up to date union news we can become a user friendly portal for students to keep informed of university news and entertainment.
October 2, 2007
NYLON
Website analysisI have chose to look at the website ‘NYLON’, although it’s main consumer focus is the publication which is USA based, the website itself has all the appropriate characteristics of a well formed online publication.
To look at it face value it would seem to be just another modern online representation of its print counter part, but unlike the ‘Observer’ and ‘I:D’ magazine it uses the website to its full potential, not just to advertise the magazine or edit printed copy to fit the website, but to draw a new online consumer in.
They manage to do this by using an interesting feature, ‘NYLON’ uses its online platform for social networking, and they have many ‘MYspace’ sites designed for the fans and to make contacts. This feature is also used to break down their target reader; this can be seen in the culture tab where by they use different countries to give relevant news to their audience. This also gives consumers a chance for feedback and to interact with the journalists, this is becoming a more popular attribute in news sites such as ‘The Sun’ where comment pages are left open for reader discussion.
The site itself is easy to navigate with all the relevant options displayed at the top of the page, it uses useful roll overs which indicate which features of the site can be accessed i.e. fashion, beauty, culture.
The site is left aligned showing all new articles and current news while advertising sits to the right hand side.
Like ‘Dazed and Confused’ website they take full advantage of the multi media element of the web, they use filmed features and profiles to enhance the site and to use the full potential of the site as we will only read so much.
Like most sites that are print dominated you can access the publication in a digital format. I feel that ‘NYLON’ has made full potential of its brand, branching from print to social forums and multi media elements.
September 26, 2007
Review of Observer feature.
Hanging my head in shame for the lazy souls of the Observer online.
Unfortunately for me, this article is exactly what’s wrong with online journalism, and in my opinion showed the lack of true online journalism.
The story itself was a brilliantly written for the Observer, it looked at the widely popular Grazia magazine and how the BBC has decided to make a fly on the wall documentary about the magazine. The style was up beat, making little jibes at its lack of professionalism and schoolgirl attitudes, but overall praised its success in finding the gap in the market.
This did nothing to impart faith in the growth of online journalism; this was a simple edit job from print to online.
For one it was far too long and completely un-readable for a long space of time, the text was too small and there wasn't sufficient spacing between the texts that made it feel very cramped.
There were also no visuals to rest the eye from text; it was block text from start to finish, which made it rather boring to read. Some pictures of the interviewees would have enhanced the story.
It also made no use of a roll over or hyper linking to any sites, this made it a rather dull story which could easily have been 'jazzed up' with links to other sites, possibly the BBC site and Grazia itself; a multi media element could have been used by showing a clip of the new documentary (if available).
I found this a very disappointing example of an online feature, there was no use of the many facets of the Internet, and had not been changed to fit the short snappy style of good Internet journalism.
Unfortunately for me, this article is exactly what’s wrong with online journalism, and in my opinion showed the lack of true online journalism.
The story itself was a brilliantly written for the Observer, it looked at the widely popular Grazia magazine and how the BBC has decided to make a fly on the wall documentary about the magazine. The style was up beat, making little jibes at its lack of professionalism and schoolgirl attitudes, but overall praised its success in finding the gap in the market.
This did nothing to impart faith in the growth of online journalism; this was a simple edit job from print to online.
For one it was far too long and completely un-readable for a long space of time, the text was too small and there wasn't sufficient spacing between the texts that made it feel very cramped.
There were also no visuals to rest the eye from text; it was block text from start to finish, which made it rather boring to read. Some pictures of the interviewees would have enhanced the story.
It also made no use of a roll over or hyper linking to any sites, this made it a rather dull story which could easily have been 'jazzed up' with links to other sites, possibly the BBC site and Grazia itself; a multi media element could have been used by showing a clip of the new documentary (if available).
I found this a very disappointing example of an online feature, there was no use of the many facets of the Internet, and had not been changed to fit the short snappy style of good Internet journalism.
Good to be back. Web retrospective
Review of Nora Paul's look at the promises of the Internet a decade after.
While some of the promises made by Internet trailblazers still exist today, Nora Paul gives insight into the false promises made 10 years ago.
The internet is still a limitless news hole with much space for in-depth new reporting, unfortunately it is not used for this capacity; as now we understand the limitations for reading text on screen, and how we process news has changed to a more brief overview of news. .
Hyper linking is still a valuable asset of the online function; it opens a story to many more interpretations and more in-depth reading on other sites. This is not as common on typical news websites such as The Times online, as it moves readers away from the page and therefore removes focus away from the news page.
While I would agree that there is a varied style of news reporting, this generally comes from un-quantified sources making it less trustworthy and more unlikely to be read.
A great example of the better follow up on news stories would be to look at the Madeline McCann story online, such websites as The Sun and The Mirror give a constant flow of news on this continuing story.
I think the greatest aid to the online news-reporting element is multi media; stories such as the Virginia Tech shootings and Saddam Hussein’s hanging were enhanced by video footage. By reading a story like the examples I gave, and then having the opportunity to hear or see footage gives a greater dimension to a story and there fore makes it more interesting.
Nora Paul makes good points about the limitations of the Internet, but she fails to comment on the consumers change in acquiring news. She touches on the 'time starved but news hungry consumer' but fails to mention that the internet has given us options on where to read our news; we are now our own gatekeepers of news, we can pick and choose which and where news to read, unlike generations before us we can choose which news to read.
Paul's piece is also limited in its idea of 'news', I believe that news is no longer just current affairs but it falls into many categories from celebrities to finance. We use blogs, forums and other modes of the Internet to get niche and specific news that would never be offered in a conventional newspaper.
While some of the promises made by Internet trailblazers still exist today, Nora Paul gives insight into the false promises made 10 years ago.
The internet is still a limitless news hole with much space for in-depth new reporting, unfortunately it is not used for this capacity; as now we understand the limitations for reading text on screen, and how we process news has changed to a more brief overview of news. .
Hyper linking is still a valuable asset of the online function; it opens a story to many more interpretations and more in-depth reading on other sites. This is not as common on typical news websites such as The Times online, as it moves readers away from the page and therefore removes focus away from the news page.
While I would agree that there is a varied style of news reporting, this generally comes from un-quantified sources making it less trustworthy and more unlikely to be read.
A great example of the better follow up on news stories would be to look at the Madeline McCann story online, such websites as The Sun and The Mirror give a constant flow of news on this continuing story.
I think the greatest aid to the online news-reporting element is multi media; stories such as the Virginia Tech shootings and Saddam Hussein’s hanging were enhanced by video footage. By reading a story like the examples I gave, and then having the opportunity to hear or see footage gives a greater dimension to a story and there fore makes it more interesting.
Nora Paul makes good points about the limitations of the Internet, but she fails to comment on the consumers change in acquiring news. She touches on the 'time starved but news hungry consumer' but fails to mention that the internet has given us options on where to read our news; we are now our own gatekeepers of news, we can pick and choose which and where news to read, unlike generations before us we can choose which news to read.
Paul's piece is also limited in its idea of 'news', I believe that news is no longer just current affairs but it falls into many categories from celebrities to finance. We use blogs, forums and other modes of the Internet to get niche and specific news that would never be offered in a conventional newspaper.
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