This is the first blog I have every written in my entire life. No doubt I have learned alot after creating this blog. The way I write in terms of my language and how it has to be proper without using the SMS language. My layout on my blog too makes a difference, for easy reading rather than a struggle. Using all that I have learned in this semester about designing has now come in handy.
All the readings and articles such as the news online and KvL and Jakob Nielson, that I had to read in process of this blog has been hard but very informative and good for my future comings. Last but not least I would like to also extend a big Thank You to my lecturer for her patience and dedication guiding me throughout this very hectic semester.
New media? what is that? New media is a receiving and sending out news via technology. It can be online, or digital for example, blog, podcast, mobile phones and the Internet. This article discusses the way the new media has made a turn around for the Malaysian ruling coalition. in summary, it talks about how it has effected the elections, and the thoughts and views of the nation towards the government. It is true that the new age media is uncensored, but it that really true?
Looking back, Malaysia has always been controlled and kept blinded by internal issues as mainstream media is controlled by the government. For example, The Star is controlled by MCA. Mainstream media meaning, newspapers and local television channels. I believe that every country has it's own set of issues that result to corruption, but to what extent? It cannot be measured. Everything that happens internally is not allowed out into the open, but with new media today it is revealed but not completely.
Our alternative media can only voice opinions and publish news online as there is no censorship online, or a blogger can always remain anonymous. But then again, with the Internal Security Acts and their laws, Malaysia can never be transparent with their news. The new media has effected our country tremendously, it gives us a different opinion to look at things from a different perspective.
For example :
The recent Karthika case ( look at the difference on the way the mainstream media and the alternative media breaks it to the public)
The way the government took control of the recent pandemic, H1N1.
All these ways of how the media projects itself to the public attracts the many different target audience, contains the different context and has its own purposes. The layouts maybe the same but the content is a breath of fresh air when compared.
Well, based on this article, it talks about the easy access to pornography. the Internet is uncensored to all these websites and information, this has caused the protest of many countries to ban all forms of pornography on the Internet. But some say it is a personal choice to enter and view these sites?
In my opinion, it is indeed difficult to ban pornography anywhere on the planet. it is a way of growing up and discovering our sexuality and self. Having said that, the pornography industry makes just as much revenue as a cigarette and alcohol company. It is entertainment, and yes it has it's influence, but what is life without it. It is only human and natural to view and enjoy all this in life. It does not last a life time, it will only last in the time of growing up as curiosity kills. If nobody were to educate us on these kind of issues, at least the internet (anonymous) does, as no one is that open to talk about these topics.
These are the basic statistics of the movements of pornography in the world.
Pornography Time Statistics
Every second - $3,075.64 is being spent on pornography
Every second - 28,258 Internet users are viewing pornography
Every second - 372 Internet users are typing adult search terms into search engines
Every 39 minutes: a new pornographic video is being created in the United States
This article taken talks about the challenges the web creator of Facebook faces. Apparently the changes of layouts and tabs created on Facebook leaves users angry and unhappy.
Firstly, for those who are not sure of what facebook is about, it is a social network that keeps people connected from all sorts of backgrounds and places. Facebook is a to keep people in contact at no cost.
The changes made on a facebook layout, is in objective to make it easier and more fun for users to utilize. However, we always say, "One man's meat, another man's poison". Many disagree that Facebook changes are necessary but sometimes change is good. Many have also agreed that change is good but bad changes are not called for.
There are many reasons why there are a lot of disagreements with the facebook uplifts yearly. To designers it is a way of progressing. But for users, it is hard to get use to again. We must understand that Facebook caters to the many different generations. Old people tend to complain as most of them do not appreciate the change very much as it can get more complex and confusing especially for those who are not IT literate.
Facebook has transformed into a very fun place to be online. With the ability to play games, publish video links and post notes and update status as often as possible. Liking and disliking, and commenting on other peoples posts is a way of interaction. Not forgetting Facebook has also been designed for our mobile phones such as the Iphone and the blackberry. This makes it more convenient to travel around and still stay connected within the network.
Facebook designers, may think is for a great purpose, but some may disagree. In my opinion we cannot blame designers as this website caters to a large population. it is hard to satisfy the wants and needs of everybody that utilizes the web. At the same time, if there is no upgrading to the face of facebook, boredom takes place. In this case, users have to just bear with the changes as the only objective designers live to is to make things easier and better for users, and this can only be done through trial and error.
This article is about an interview with Antony Loewenstein on his book. Antony Loewenstein the author of 'The Blogging Revolution', shares with us his discovery on this new age in a few other countries such as Iran, Cuba, Chine,Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt. The power and value of web blogging is so great and can really transform a community, or even a country.
In this book, Anthony breaks it down to readers about the ever evolving blogging world and its cause and effects. not forgetting it also brings information and news on a country's query in this new generation of the uncensored media. Many have come to say that web blogging has the ability to bring a country closer to democracy as the Internet has no boundaries and does not practice censorship.
His research on other countries will enable readers to compare and contrast the revolution of blogging in a very uptight and running country like China and even an Islamic country like Saudi Arabia. It is said that corruption in every country is bound to occur but how we deal with it and what we do to prevent it is important.
Blogging can be a way of revolutionizing a country economically at the same time it can be hazardous politically. In countries like China, Egypt and Iran, it is believed to support the power of blogging as it is good for the economical growth for in Cuba, blogging comes off as a threat the the ruling government as freedom of speech is not very much practiced there. In my opinion, web blogging is a very good way to practice freedom of speech, it may seem hard to live with now especially in the eyes of government rulers but eventually I believe that everybody will get use to listening and reading things they like and things they disagree with. For example in Malaysia, it is good as we have alternative media to read and not be kept oblivious to the current issues around us. When we have options to choose from we tend to weigh good and bad easier and what we choose to believe.
News and entertainment is indeed hard to live without. Having said that, could be the reasons why researchers and experiments and new technology are discovered everyday, every hour. Gadgets are getting more advanced and technology is running at a faster pace. This is in fact has made life very much easier for everyone, but at some points it has its downfalls. Without a doubt the media has evolved tremendously over the few decades. From print to online is a huge transition. Back then people relied heavily on reading the mainstream media such as The Star, New Straits Times and many more. From reading it came to viewing television. Even the television had its transition from black and white to colour. Even the magazines were limited, as much news were censored.
Today, despite political corruptions and economic downfalls, nothing stays discrete anymore, as the Internet has no boundaries nor limitations. We have online newspapers which is now divided into two. The mainstream and the alternative media. In additional to that, we now have blogs in different forms such as videos and photos. It is insane how media has evolved so quickly in such a short period of time with the enhancement of technology by its side.
Every type of document, be it online or print, consist of the same components such as the fonts, the colours and images. But designing them with the objective to attract at the same time ease the eyes of the audience is indeed a difficult task.
What are the differences between designing a print document and an online document? There are many challenges designing these two different layouts as it requires a different level of technique and different types of material. A print document is more structured where as designing online documents are harder as they have more fluidity and more dynamic therefore it is sensitive (Bear.JH, 2009) Well on of the main issues,fonts that are easily read on print maybe hard to be read on screen or vice versa. It is important to use general fonts for online documents as it not only makes it easy for reading but it is also safe as not all fonts are found or installed for your viewer. However, the web server too may override the fonts. Often used fonts are like Times New Roman, Arial, Verdana and Tahoma. Another would be the kind of soft wares used to design as it caters to the different needs. For example, colour on print uses CMYK and online designing uses RGB. These are the different kind of challenges and differences we face.
References
Bear.JH, 2009 "Print Design versus Web Design". Viewed on 18th November 2009
Kristen Li Yen De Silva. A mass media communication student in Taylor's College. Part of my task as a second year degree student is to study and discuss the Issues in Publication and Design on a web blog. enjoy :)
