Throughout this assignment, a whole lot have been discussed in the issues of Publication and Design. I have learnt that there are numerous ways to materialise a proper and attractive document with the different methods and formats available. However, in designing or writing a document, etiquette and ethical considerations must always be kept in mind from touching on offensive issues such as culture.
I have also learnt that no matter how pretty or attractive your layout and design is, if the content of the document heads the reader to nowhere and has no essential value at all then the document will just be a waste. The general context of a document should give something to the readers while keeping in mind of sensitive and ethical issues.
Other than that, in the creation of documents, I have learnt that if we borrow other peoples hard work and pieces, we should always remember to cite and do referencing. This is because information borrowed without citing could be seen as stealing. From this, in the issues of Publication and Design it is not only about a pretty layout. Content and context is essential to make document worth a look.
Monday, November 15, 2010
The Misuse of Blogs on the Rise
According to Jassmine Shadige's article, she wrote regarding a 28-year old blogger who posted an allegedly insulting comment on his blog following the demise of the late Sultan of Johor. This has created an uproar of dissatisfaction from the public as well as the government where his post received more than 1000 comments of anger. Reports to the police were lodged and he was soon arrested.
This form of freedom of speech has been growing in Malaysia as well as internationally. However, this sort of blogging is foul and insulting which leads to defamation. Law, E. (2008), said that "In civil cases of defamation, when a private person sues another private person for defamation, the Defamation Act 1957 is applicable." However, "In criminal cases of defamation, when the state prosecutes a private person for defamation, Section 499 to Section 502 of the Penal Code is applicable." From this, we can clearly see the seriousness in the offense of misusing blogs as a form of freedom of speech.
With the introduction of blogs as a new media of expressing yourself online, the public is able to write and share stories with readers globally. From this, we start to have bloggers who use blogs as alternative media to touch on political issues which are kept confidential from the public. Regardless of the truth contained in the blogs, it is still considered a crime when their blogs are connected to defamation. For example, in Malaysia the cases of Jeff Ooi and Raja Petra Kamaruddin have been spread widely in the news.
This is why with the advancement of technology and access to blogs, writers and bloggers should keep a clean etiquette and restrain from touching on issues which could cause an upset or issue arising. Regardless of what is said, it is understandable that the public deserves to know the truth. This is why in my opinion the government should not cover up stories and allow different articles and blogs coming out stating the opposite.
Reference
Law, E. 2008, "Defamation Law in Malaysia", [Online], LawEddie.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.laweddie.com/wordpress/defamation-law-in-malaysia/)
This form of freedom of speech has been growing in Malaysia as well as internationally. However, this sort of blogging is foul and insulting which leads to defamation. Law, E. (2008), said that "In civil cases of defamation, when a private person sues another private person for defamation, the Defamation Act 1957 is applicable." However, "In criminal cases of defamation, when the state prosecutes a private person for defamation, Section 499 to Section 502 of the Penal Code is applicable." From this, we can clearly see the seriousness in the offense of misusing blogs as a form of freedom of speech.
With the introduction of blogs as a new media of expressing yourself online, the public is able to write and share stories with readers globally. From this, we start to have bloggers who use blogs as alternative media to touch on political issues which are kept confidential from the public. Regardless of the truth contained in the blogs, it is still considered a crime when their blogs are connected to defamation. For example, in Malaysia the cases of Jeff Ooi and Raja Petra Kamaruddin have been spread widely in the news.
This is why with the advancement of technology and access to blogs, writers and bloggers should keep a clean etiquette and restrain from touching on issues which could cause an upset or issue arising. Regardless of what is said, it is understandable that the public deserves to know the truth. This is why in my opinion the government should not cover up stories and allow different articles and blogs coming out stating the opposite.
Reference
Law, E. 2008, "Defamation Law in Malaysia", [Online], LawEddie.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.laweddie.com/wordpress/defamation-law-in-malaysia/)
The Power of Twitter
Twitter a new global phenomenon is rapidly growing in fame and has been implemented by the public worldwide. Regardless of your status or prominence, everyone seems to be using twitter. Introduced as a new micro-blogging application, this software is so mobile that not only is it accessible on a desktop and laptop, but it can also be installed onto our mobile phones for easy access.
Because of this, the public has used twitter to post or update regarding their actions in their daily lives. With access and connections to friends so easily, one wonders how many people actually use this application. According to Murphy D. (2010) in his article for PC Mag he stated that "Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained popularity worldwide and currently has more than 175 million users." This brings us to the conclusion that we can see that twitter is now the new norm for blogging.
Presently, it is reported that in Malaysia politicians have now turned their backs and blogging and have followed the crowd into using Twitter. This scenario was said to have begun during Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy trial. Observers saw that the 62-year old de facto leader has been using twitter as an alternative media to counter the ruling coalition's alleged attempt to bring him down through the government's main media. From this, other politicians have started to use twitter to not only promote but also discuss issues regarding the political landscape of Malaysia. This is supported by Syed Jaymal Zahiid from The Malaysian Insider who said that "a microblogging site like Twitter allows political leaders like Anwar, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang and Umno maverick Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to send short instant updates, ideas and thoughts on current affairs instead of long personal journals."
Therefore, we can clearly observe and see that twitter has been used for various reasons other than the main objective of blogging short updates of your daily lives. Justin Pot wrote in his article for MakeUseOf.com that the other famous uses of twitter rather than just posting up updates are also as a "real-time search engine", "updates on upcoming events", "RSS Feeds" and other useful exploits. Hence, we can conclude by saying that twitter has affected the public and caught their attention by its simplicity but also its versatility. Presently, public figures have also used this application to reach out to their fans and supporters as well as a form of promotion.
Reference
Murphy, D. 2010, "Twitter: On-Track for 200 Million Users by Year End", PCmag.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371826,00.asp).
Zahid, S. J. 2010, "Blogging is so yesterday, politicians turn to Twitter", TheMalaysianInsider.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/Blogging-is-so-yesterday-politicians-turn-to-Twitter/).
Pot, J. 2010, "4 Creative Uses for Twitter for People who think Twitter is Useless", Make UseOf.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-creative-uses-for-twitter-people-twitter-useless/)
Because of this, the public has used twitter to post or update regarding their actions in their daily lives. With access and connections to friends so easily, one wonders how many people actually use this application. According to Murphy D. (2010) in his article for PC Mag he stated that "Since its creation in 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Twitter has gained popularity worldwide and currently has more than 175 million users." This brings us to the conclusion that we can see that twitter is now the new norm for blogging.
Presently, it is reported that in Malaysia politicians have now turned their backs and blogging and have followed the crowd into using Twitter. This scenario was said to have begun during Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's Sodomy trial. Observers saw that the 62-year old de facto leader has been using twitter as an alternative media to counter the ruling coalition's alleged attempt to bring him down through the government's main media. From this, other politicians have started to use twitter to not only promote but also discuss issues regarding the political landscape of Malaysia. This is supported by Syed Jaymal Zahiid from The Malaysian Insider who said that "a microblogging site like Twitter allows political leaders like Anwar, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang and Umno maverick Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah to send short instant updates, ideas and thoughts on current affairs instead of long personal journals."
Therefore, we can clearly observe and see that twitter has been used for various reasons other than the main objective of blogging short updates of your daily lives. Justin Pot wrote in his article for MakeUseOf.com that the other famous uses of twitter rather than just posting up updates are also as a "real-time search engine", "updates on upcoming events", "RSS Feeds" and other useful exploits. Hence, we can conclude by saying that twitter has affected the public and caught their attention by its simplicity but also its versatility. Presently, public figures have also used this application to reach out to their fans and supporters as well as a form of promotion.
Reference
Murphy, D. 2010, "Twitter: On-Track for 200 Million Users by Year End", PCmag.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2371826,00.asp).
Zahid, S. J. 2010, "Blogging is so yesterday, politicians turn to Twitter", TheMalaysianInsider.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/malaysia/article/Blogging-is-so-yesterday-politicians-turn-to-Twitter/).
Pot, J. 2010, "4 Creative Uses for Twitter for People who think Twitter is Useless", Make UseOf.com, viewed 14 November 2010, (http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-creative-uses-for-twitter-people-twitter-useless/)
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Sex Sells: Portrayal of Women in Advertising
Advertising has been used to market and attract audiences in regards to brand new ideas or products. Various approaches have been utilised in the many different commercials that have been broadcasted or printed. This is exemplified by O'barr, W. M. (2005) who stated that "long before America was colonized, commerce flourished in the Old World where various methods were used to promote trade. Notice boards placed outside houses indicated what could be had within. Wine sellers gave free samples in the streets. And actors paraded in the streets attempting to entice onlookers into theatres."
In this case, through the article "Time to Kick Sexism Out of Advertising", we could see that the advertising industry has now moved on to using sexism as a form of attraction instead of the product or service itself. From this, it was stated that the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) acts as the independent regulator of the industry in the United Kingdom where they have written and enforced rules and regulations on particular ads regarding this issue. The two committees working under the agency are known as the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP). Also, the ASA council is a jury of some 15 members comprising of six women who regulates whether ads have breached the advertising codes. Presently, the existing laws remain in force and there were new advertising codes launched in March and will take immediate effect from the 1st of September 2010. In context to this, these new codes are based on the principles that all ads should be "legal, decent, honest and thruthful". Because of this, this issue is being observed and for it to be overcome, it was advised that women should complain to the ASA in cases of ads being inappropriate in their eyes.
The debate regarding sexism in advertising will always go on as it effects the public's female genre negatively. As stated by Sadiq, S. (1997), "Watching a football game, you can usually find an attractive young lady being swept off her feet by a less than attractive man after he opens the beer of his choice.
Or, if you are lucky, you can witness several young women materialize on a desert island with the male drinker after, of course, he opens his can of beer. These advertisements present women as a goal, a trophy if you will, that can only be attained with the proper beverage. These women seldom have anything to say besides "Yes," making them seem like unintelligent sex objects. Unfortunately, the exploitation does not stop with women." This is also supported by Cortese (2008) who stated that advertising has a great deal to say about gender identity and they have used visual images of men and women to grab the audiences attention and persuade.
Hence, the use of the models to sell products have been implemented heavily now as it attracts the audience regardless of the issue in context to sexism.
Reference
O'barr, W. M. 2005, "A Brief History of Advertising in America", [Online], viewed 13 November 2010, (http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v006/6.3unit02.html).
Sadiq, S. 1997, "Delta Winds : A Magazine of Students Essay - Racism and Sexism in Advertising", [Online] Delta College.edu,viewed 12 November 2010, (http://www.deltacollege.edu/org/deltawinds/DWOnline97/racismandsexisminads.html).
Cortese, A.J 2008, "Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising : Chapter 3 - Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads : Sexism in Advertising", UniSA Library, [Online] viewed 12 November 2010, (http://www.netlibrary.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/Reader/).
In this case, through the article "Time to Kick Sexism Out of Advertising", we could see that the advertising industry has now moved on to using sexism as a form of attraction instead of the product or service itself. From this, it was stated that the Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) acts as the independent regulator of the industry in the United Kingdom where they have written and enforced rules and regulations on particular ads regarding this issue. The two committees working under the agency are known as the Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP) and the Broadcast Committee of Advertising Practice (BCAP). Also, the ASA council is a jury of some 15 members comprising of six women who regulates whether ads have breached the advertising codes. Presently, the existing laws remain in force and there were new advertising codes launched in March and will take immediate effect from the 1st of September 2010. In context to this, these new codes are based on the principles that all ads should be "legal, decent, honest and thruthful". Because of this, this issue is being observed and for it to be overcome, it was advised that women should complain to the ASA in cases of ads being inappropriate in their eyes.
The debate regarding sexism in advertising will always go on as it effects the public's female genre negatively. As stated by Sadiq, S. (1997), "Watching a football game, you can usually find an attractive young lady being swept off her feet by a less than attractive man after he opens the beer of his choice.
Or, if you are lucky, you can witness several young women materialize on a desert island with the male drinker after, of course, he opens his can of beer. These advertisements present women as a goal, a trophy if you will, that can only be attained with the proper beverage. These women seldom have anything to say besides "Yes," making them seem like unintelligent sex objects. Unfortunately, the exploitation does not stop with women." This is also supported by Cortese (2008) who stated that advertising has a great deal to say about gender identity and they have used visual images of men and women to grab the audiences attention and persuade.
Hence, the use of the models to sell products have been implemented heavily now as it attracts the audience regardless of the issue in context to sexism.
Reference
O'barr, W. M. 2005, "A Brief History of Advertising in America", [Online], viewed 13 November 2010, (http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/asr/v006/6.3unit02.html).
Sadiq, S. 1997, "Delta Winds : A Magazine of Students Essay - Racism and Sexism in Advertising", [Online] Delta College.edu,viewed 12 November 2010, (http://www.deltacollege.edu/org/deltawinds/DWOnline97/racismandsexisminads.html).
Cortese, A.J 2008, "Images of Women and Minorities in Advertising : Chapter 3 - Constructed Bodies, Deconstructing Ads : Sexism in Advertising", UniSA Library, [Online] viewed 12 November 2010, (http://www.netlibrary.com.ezlibproxy.unisa.edu.au/Reader/).
Saturday, November 13, 2010
The Upcoming Fame and Glory of E-Books
Books used to be written down before printers and publishing companies were invented back in 1436 when Johannes Gutenberg created the concept of movable type. (Bellis, M. 2010) From scrolls to codex's, the revolution of books in general has advanced into a new form of technology; E-books. In the transcript for Australian Broadcasting Corporation's "E-books popularity on the rise", it mainly talks about the advancement of technology and how the internet has influenced all the industries available today in one way or another. Steve Jobs and Mark Pesce both agree that the progress of E-books have been overwhelming and used in every corner of the world with Mark mentioning that he suspects in 10 years time, 50 percent of all book sales in major markets will comprise of E-books. This is supported by Steve who stated that with E-books and the launch of Apple's new iPad, you just have to tap on it and buy this book, and the book downloads right onto my bookshelf. Therefore, it is apparent that with the advancement of technology through E-books as well as the new gadgets introduced, the public will turn they're attention towards this form of new media and opt to go with technology.
Gardiner, Eileen, and Musto R. G. (2010), defined the E-book as "an electronic book (also e-book, ebook, digital book) is a text- and image-based publication in digital form produced on, published by, and readable on computers or other digital devices." E-books have created a big impression towards the public as to how easy and beneficial purchasing E-books can be. This is supported by Christopher H. (2009) as he stated that "Depending on the device, an e-book may be readable in low light or even total darkness. Many newer readers have the ability to display motion, enlarge or change fonts." Other than that, the E-book does not only benefit the user but also seen as eco-friendly as Siegel, L. (2009) agrees that "the production of e-books does not consume paper, ink, etc. Printed books use 3 times more raw materials and 78 times more water to produce albeit they do not require a machine for use. From this, we can see why E-books are rising in the market and paperback is no longer a monopoly in the market.
However, every good thing also has its disadvantages. In our case here for the E-book, the advancement in technology could also be a drawback for consumers as referred by freewritingadvice.com to as "E-book formats and file types continue to develop and change through time through advances and developments in technology or the introduction of new proprietary formats. While printed books remain readable for many years, E-books may need to be copied or converted to a new carrier or file type over time. PDF and epub are growing standards, but are not universal. The lack of a single universal standard could significantly affect the longevity of some works and their availability or readability in the future as a result of the format(s) used at the time of production."
Hence, we can clearly see that the advancement in technology has influenced the public's options in a great manner. Nevertheless it's still up to preference and likeness of the product which could be a factor. No matter what, technology will progress and newer gadgets and softwares will be introduced. However, we should remember that every new product will have a positive and negative side to it.
Reference
Bellis, M. 2010, "Johannes Guttenberg and the Printing Press", [Online] .About.com, viewed 13 November 2010, (http://inventors.about.com/od/gstartinventors/a/Gutenberg.htm).
Gardiner, Eileen, and Musto R. G. 2010, "The Electronic Book", in Suarez, M. F. & Woudhuysen, H. R.'s "The Oxford Companion to the Book", Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2010, p. 164.
Christopher H. (2009), "The Truth About Ebooks." School Library Journal 55, no. 6 (2009): 18. Wilson Select Plus. [Online Database]
Siegel, L. (2009), "Should we switch to reading books online?", The Observer Magazine, 30th August 2009.
FreeWritingAdvice 2010, "Advantages and Disadvantages of E-book Publishing", [Online] FreeWritingAdvice.com, viewed 13 November 2010, (http://www.freewritingadvice.com/index_files/ebookprocon.htm)
Friday, October 1, 2010
Current Blogging Trends and it's Future
The media available to us today has seen an enormous growth in its services as we now not only can search about anything with just a simple click. With the access available to us through the internet, almost anything is possible. This is why with the invention of weblogs, we have the freedom of writing our thoughts and sharing it with the world.
With time passing by, even blogs has emerged with with newer trends and issues. Not only can we blog by text, we now have the access to blog by video feeds as well as pictures and audio. This way connection with our peers regardless the distance is achievable in a matter of minutes.
Today, the roles of journalism is under scrutiny and risk being not favoured by readers as we have a blockage in the form of freedom of speech. Therefore, the public nowadays prefer to observe in an alternative route using online servics such as Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and other alternative online media.
In favour of these alternative media is primarily caused of the publics' curiosity in the accuracy and authenticity of the news published by our 'controlled' journalists. In other words the public just wishes to have a look at things from a different angle.
In Malaysia, this new trend of alternative media has taken its toll and renewed the publics view on a lot of things, mainly the politic landscape. With various questions being asked towards the government and answers which the public are sceptical of, a number of professional bloggers have used the advantage of the internet to put up their thoughts.
For example, we had Raja Petra Kamarudin who is under great scrutiny and chased by the government because of his seditious remarks and accusations towards the government under the basis that they are hiding the truth from the public.
Other than that, we can also see country leaders such as Obama and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak both having Twitter accounts as they use this form of media to connect with the public as to discuss certain issues which are being discussed. This way, they are also showing to their respective countries and the world that they are up to date and also a good way to promote public imagery. However, whether or not these men that are tweeting are actually them we will never know.
With time passing by, even blogs has emerged with with newer trends and issues. Not only can we blog by text, we now have the access to blog by video feeds as well as pictures and audio. This way connection with our peers regardless the distance is achievable in a matter of minutes.
Today, the roles of journalism is under scrutiny and risk being not favoured by readers as we have a blockage in the form of freedom of speech. Therefore, the public nowadays prefer to observe in an alternative route using online servics such as Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and other alternative online media.
In favour of these alternative media is primarily caused of the publics' curiosity in the accuracy and authenticity of the news published by our 'controlled' journalists. In other words the public just wishes to have a look at things from a different angle.
In Malaysia, this new trend of alternative media has taken its toll and renewed the publics view on a lot of things, mainly the politic landscape. With various questions being asked towards the government and answers which the public are sceptical of, a number of professional bloggers have used the advantage of the internet to put up their thoughts.
For example, we had Raja Petra Kamarudin who is under great scrutiny and chased by the government because of his seditious remarks and accusations towards the government under the basis that they are hiding the truth from the public.
Other than that, we can also see country leaders such as Obama and Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak both having Twitter accounts as they use this form of media to connect with the public as to discuss certain issues which are being discussed. This way, they are also showing to their respective countries and the world that they are up to date and also a good way to promote public imagery. However, whether or not these men that are tweeting are actually them we will never know.
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| http://dominiquehind.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/obama_twitter.png?w=377&h=303 |
Reference
Naughton, J. 2006, Blogging and the Media Ecosystem, ReutersInstitute, viewed on 30 September 2010, (http://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/fileadmin/documents/discussion/blogging.pdf)
Thursday, September 30, 2010
The Blogging Community
Blogging communities in short sounds like a group or neighborhood of bloggers. Which is actually indeed what it defines. A more elaborate definition would be a hub or centre that connect people to blogs and bloggers to other bloggers.
A blogging community is essential towards becoming a successful blogger. Therefore there are a few steps that could be taken towards building your own community of bloggers despite wherever each blogger comes from.
The steps that could be useful would be:
1. Read other blogs to discover other bloggers who share the same interests as you. This also serves as a starting point for you to have newer topics you could discuss with your homogenous readers.
2. Leave comments on other blogs as it serves as a calling card for other bloggers to find you. Leaving your URL somewhere in your comment would make it a click away from other people to see your blog.
3. Reply to your comments as to show courtesy towards their willingness to read your blog. Also return the favour of replying to their comments as to answer or discuss questions and comments towards your posted blog. In the end, a simple "Thank you for visiting my blog" would be a nice way of engaging an online friendship.
4. List your blogs in directories to not only put your blog out in the world wide web but also for other bloggers or readers to easily search for you online.
5. Blog and write often as to ensure readers anticipation of new discussions and information is fulfilled. This way they would stick to your blog and read and comment on it all the time.
6. Posts that you blog have to be fresh and entertaining. Readers would be bored if you blog about short and uninteresting posts which has no value towards them readers at all. This would create negative feedback and lost of followers.
7. Market your blog. You can achieve this by having a signature link to your blog on message boards and forums. An alternative route is to place a signature link in your email signature as well.
According to an article posted by White, N. 2006, the different types of blogging communities contrive of the Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community, the Central Connecting Topic Community, and the Boundaried Community.
A blogging community is essential towards becoming a successful blogger. Therefore there are a few steps that could be taken towards building your own community of bloggers despite wherever each blogger comes from.
The steps that could be useful would be:
1. Read other blogs to discover other bloggers who share the same interests as you. This also serves as a starting point for you to have newer topics you could discuss with your homogenous readers.
2. Leave comments on other blogs as it serves as a calling card for other bloggers to find you. Leaving your URL somewhere in your comment would make it a click away from other people to see your blog.
3. Reply to your comments as to show courtesy towards their willingness to read your blog. Also return the favour of replying to their comments as to answer or discuss questions and comments towards your posted blog. In the end, a simple "Thank you for visiting my blog" would be a nice way of engaging an online friendship.
4. List your blogs in directories to not only put your blog out in the world wide web but also for other bloggers or readers to easily search for you online.
5. Blog and write often as to ensure readers anticipation of new discussions and information is fulfilled. This way they would stick to your blog and read and comment on it all the time.
6. Posts that you blog have to be fresh and entertaining. Readers would be bored if you blog about short and uninteresting posts which has no value towards them readers at all. This would create negative feedback and lost of followers.
7. Market your blog. You can achieve this by having a signature link to your blog on message boards and forums. An alternative route is to place a signature link in your email signature as well.
According to an article posted by White, N. 2006, the different types of blogging communities contrive of the Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community, the Central Connecting Topic Community, and the Boundaried Community.
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| One example of a well-known blogging community is the Global Voices community, which aggregates blogs from developing countries in an effort to get the mainstream media to pay attention to issues in those countries. The structure of a blogging community can be observed by the chart below:  Reference Nicky, S. 2008, How to Build a Blogging Community, Ehow.com, viewed 30 September 2010, (http://www.ehow.com/how_2152382_build-blogging-community.html) White, N. 2006, Blogs and Communities, Flexiblelearning.net, viewed 30 September 2010, (http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-–-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community) Gee Boy, Types of Blogs, viewed 30 September 2010, (http://www.geeboy.co.uk/different-types-of-blog.html) |
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Blog Classification
Blogging has come around with opportunities for anyone to share with the world regardless the subject, place, and intention. As for the types of blogging done nowadays, we can categorise it to 5 simple divisions which are; Personal, Collaborative, Corporate, Topical, and Spam.
From this, we can clearly see the difference in the direction of the various types of blogs around. Intentions of writing the blogs could be from a personal hobby to a base for corporate identification and information. Other than that, people of all ages are open to the world of blogs and this gives us the many various subjects discussed.
There are also various ways someone could blog as technology is advancing by the minute. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (Photo blog), videos (Video blog), music (MP3 blog), and audio (Podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
Some examples of the different blogs are shown below:
From this, we can clearly see the difference in the direction of the various types of blogs around. Intentions of writing the blogs could be from a personal hobby to a base for corporate identification and information. Other than that, people of all ages are open to the world of blogs and this gives us the many various subjects discussed.
There are also various ways someone could blog as technology is advancing by the minute. Most blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (Art blog), photographs (Photo blog), videos (Video blog), music (MP3 blog), and audio (Podcasting). Microblogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts.
Some examples of the different blogs are shown below:
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| http://chasnote.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/bbtv-vlogs.png |
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| http://v1.wolfslittlestore.be/wp-content/uploads/2007/12/tumblr.png |
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Reference Blood, R. 2000, Weblogs: a Histroy and Perspective, Rebeccablood.net, viewed 29 September 2010, (http://www.rebeccablood.net/essays/weblog_history.html) Blogging the Phenomenon 2005, Types of Blogs, Oracle, viewed 29 September 2010, (http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/01130/typesofblogs.html)Wisegeek 2007, What is Vlogging?, viewed 29 September, (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-vlogging.htm). |
Friday, September 24, 2010
Blogging Phenomenon - Benefits to Community
Blogging came into the scene of 'free internet services' in August 1999 by Pyra Labs, which is now owned by Google. After that we can see that almost everyone who uses the world wide web either having a blog or simply just reading other peoples blogs for information as well as entertainment.
The blogosphere has seen rapid growth over the years as more people and organizations have started to utilise the blogs as their informative compound. For example, according to technorati.com, 2009's state of blogosphere see's diverse types of blogs being produced by professionals as well as amateur bloggers for various reasons.
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| http://eagereyes.org/media/2010/blogosphere1.jpg |
'Blogosphere' can be simply defined as the world of blogging and bloggers. As we can see in the charts above, seen clearly is the mass state of blog usage around the world as well as the criteria of the different individuals who blogs.
The blogosphere has seen rapid growth over the years as more people and organizations have started to utilise the blogs as their informative compound. For example, according to technorati.com, 2009's state of blogosphere see's diverse types of blogs being produced by professionals as well as amateur bloggers for various reasons.
From the west side of the world to the east, blogging has caused quite a stir and been used widely. As shown in the chart above, every continent sees a big chunk percentage of weblog usage. Trends of blogging has seen various changes in the direction of the blogs from entertainment, to source of information, personal blogs, as well as a place to look for freedom of speech and write down just about anything.
In Malaysia we have seen blogs being used as a hub for political issues and also in the same time to promote or pull voters. However, the blogosphere is very wide and you can blog just about anything that you're interested in.
In Malaysia we have seen blogs being used as a hub for political issues and also in the same time to promote or pull voters. However, the blogosphere is very wide and you can blog just about anything that you're interested in.
In certain countries we can surely find prevalent issues being blogged about and this is surely seen in Malaysia as political issues have surrounded the public with talks of corruption and extortion. Therefore, blogs are now used to discuss this matter and also show personal persona or perception.
Benefits of these blogs for the community as well as foreign observers are that we can see the issue from a different angle and contemplate ourselves on what is right and what is wrong. This is why blogging has now seen a rise of users as it gives us space and in a way our lost right's of 'freedom of speech'.
Benefits of these blogs for the community as well as foreign observers are that we can see the issue from a different angle and contemplate ourselves on what is right and what is wrong. This is why blogging has now seen a rise of users as it gives us space and in a way our lost right's of 'freedom of speech'.
Reference
Olsen, D. et al 2010, 2009's State of Blogosphere, Technorati.com, viewed 24 September 2010,
Podcast FAQ 2009, What is Blogosphere?, viewed 24 September 2010, (http://www.podcastfaq.com/glossary/blogging-and-podcasting-terms/)
Korte, A. 2005, A Short History of Blogging, viewed 24 September 2010, (http://www.blogherald.com/2005/03/06/a-short-history-of-blogging/)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
What is a Good PowerPoint Presentation?
Attraction and concentration of the audience on presentations are rarely accomplished easily. This is not necessarily because of the presenter but simply because of the unattractive slides shown. However, cases of a too avant-garde and unconventional approach does not suit the billing and cause more questions then answers.
According to Krieger, S. (2010), she has laid out 12 tips for creating better presentations which starts off with the most important step; selecting or creating your own theme to give an edge towards your layout. A theme contrives of a coordinated set of fonts, colours, and graphic effects that could be used to enhance the intended information much more clearer and attractive towards the audience.
In relation to this, Russell, W. (2010) tips the usage of contrasting colours for text and background such as dark text on a light background and vice-versa. She also discourages the usage of white backgrounds and recommends us to use colours like beige or another light color that will be easy on the eyes.
As for the context of the slides, (AssociatedContent.com 2008) declared that slides should not have too much text. It is better to keep the text to a title and several bullet points. This is to keep it light on the eyes of the audience and not make your presentation draggy.
Moreover, Marquez, Z.L. (2010) stated also that to make a good PowerPoint presentation, make sure that the slides are easy to read and as supported by Putnis and Petelin (1996), they stated that we should make sure in the document design there are recognisable pattern or flow of information.
As you can see above, this is what my groups presentation slide looked like and by the layout, context, and colour, it is apparent that this is a not a good slide. The most obvious mistake is the amount of text used in the context. This could have been fixed with a substitute in the form of an image or picture. All in all, this slide is a good example of how not to do your presentation as it is not simple and unattractive.
According to Krieger, S. (2010), she has laid out 12 tips for creating better presentations which starts off with the most important step; selecting or creating your own theme to give an edge towards your layout. A theme contrives of a coordinated set of fonts, colours, and graphic effects that could be used to enhance the intended information much more clearer and attractive towards the audience.
In relation to this, Russell, W. (2010) tips the usage of contrasting colours for text and background such as dark text on a light background and vice-versa. She also discourages the usage of white backgrounds and recommends us to use colours like beige or another light color that will be easy on the eyes.
As for the context of the slides, (AssociatedContent.com 2008) declared that slides should not have too much text. It is better to keep the text to a title and several bullet points. This is to keep it light on the eyes of the audience and not make your presentation draggy.
Moreover, Marquez, Z.L. (2010) stated also that to make a good PowerPoint presentation, make sure that the slides are easy to read and as supported by Putnis and Petelin (1996), they stated that we should make sure in the document design there are recognisable pattern or flow of information.
As you can see above, this is what my groups presentation slide looked like and by the layout, context, and colour, it is apparent that this is a not a good slide. The most obvious mistake is the amount of text used in the context. This could have been fixed with a substitute in the form of an image or picture. All in all, this slide is a good example of how not to do your presentation as it is not simple and unattractive.
Reference
Putnis, P. & Petelin, R. 1996, 'Chapter 7 : Writing to communicate,' in Professional communication : principles and applications, p.254. (UNISA electronic library).
Marquez, Z.L. 2010, How to Make a Good PowerPoint Presentation, Enzine Articles, viewed 28 August 2010, (http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation&id=4313178).
AssociatedContent.com 2008, How to Make a Great PowerPoint Presentation, Associated Content, viewed 28 August 2010, (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/645261/how_to_make_a_great_powerpoint_presentation.html?cat=59).
Krieger, S. 2010, 12 Tips for Creating Better Presentations, Microsoft.com, viewed 28 August 2010, (http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/skills/presentations.aspx)
Russell, W. 2010, 10 Tips for Creating Successful Business Presentations, About.com, viewed 28 August 2010, (http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm)
Friday, August 27, 2010
Freedom of Speech?
Leadership in forms of governance has seen lots of action taken being questioned. Issues of conflict and corruption has seen numerous law abiding citizens come out to speak their mind using the services of technology; primarily blogs. Nowadays, individuals from youth, especially tertiary level students to senior citizens are using blogs to give their perception and thought while utilising the significance of freedom of speech.
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