References

ABC News 2005, 'What Is Blogging?,' viewed 8 October 2007, <http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=889289&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312>

Facebook 2004, viewed 2 October 2007, <http://www.facebook.com/>

Haines, Stuart 2007, 'Blogging: ethics, community and censorship,' viewed on 8 October 2007, <http://www.unisanet.unisa.edu.au/Resources/11904/Offshore%20study%20guide%202007/Weblogs/Blogging_ethics.ppt>

MOCCA 2007, viewed 6 October 2007, <http://www.mocca.com/>

Myspace 2003, viewed 8 October 2007, <http://www.myspace.com/>

White, N. 2006, ‘Blogs and community: launching a new paradigm for online community?’ viewed 8 October 2007 <http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2006/12/white.pdf>

Nielsen, Jakob 1994, ‘About Jakob Nielsen,’ viewed 13 October 2007, <http://www.useit.com/jakob/>

Nielsen, Jakob 1997, ‘How users read on the web’, viewed 13 October 2007, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9710a.html>

Nielsen, Jakob 1994, ‘The Difference Between Paper and Online Presentation’, viewed 13 October 2007, <http://www.sun.com/980713/webwriting/wftw1.html>

Paparazzi 2007, Flickr, viewed 6 October 2007, <http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotofacade/354808986/>

Reep, DC 2006, ‘Document design’, Technical writing: principles, stratergies and readings, 6th edn, Pearson/Longman, New York, Chapter 6, pp.133-172

Schriver, KA 1997, ‘The interplay of words and pictures’, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub., New York. Chapter 6 pp.361-441

Tan, Sumiko 2007, ‘Take a break, log on to YouTube’, Sunday Times 7 October, p.14

YouSendIt 2004, viewed 30 September 2007, <http://www.yousendit.com/>

YouTube 2006, viewed 7 October 2007, <http://www.youtube.com/>

Reflection

Being an idiot to blogs, it is definitely a challenge for me to get use to writing online. I needed to learn how to design for documents on screen and develop my own unique personality in writing online. It is certainly different from writing my usual essay assignments.

My aim is to design my blog in a way that it’s not boring, and at the same time interesting and easy to the readers’ eyes. I experimented with the fonts and sizes, making sure that my blog is scannable and readable. On top of that, i learnt how to write html codes in my posts to allow another window to pop out when links are clicked.

I added as much information in the word limit as I possibly can to online idiots out there. The information gathered are from websites, newspapers and books written from experts.

Now, I feel that I am loving it! After this assignment, I will definitely start a new blog on my personal online diary.

How did I design my blog for YOU as a reader?

Nielsen, Jakob
How users read on the web
The difference between paper and online presentation

Print and Online
Web allows splitting of multiple hyperlinked pages, while print documents forms a whole entire set of information. Multiple pages allow readers to click easily on the direct information that he/she needs.

Print allows more word count than web, as readers find it difficult to read too much text on screens. That’s where scannability comes into place.

Designed for scanning
According to Nielsen Jakob (1997), people rarely read web pages word by word, but rather, scan through. Following the principles mentioned in his article, I highlighted useful links in my blog, used sub-headings for easy scanning, bolded important points and structured my text into short sentences.

Links placed at the beginning of each post
I have chosen to place my web links at the beginning of my article instead of placing them at the end. This is to make them more prominent for readers to click. In additional, I have also hyperlinked images to the source, to provide a convenient method for readers to access the source.

Know what to expect in each links
According to Schriver (1997, p396), showing just links without much information would take a long time for readers to go through all. Readers would like to see more information on what to expect. Hence, I added images and explanation to my links to provide a glimpse of what to expect, and to make my blog as rich as possible. For example, I wrote a short description on what to expect in the blogs that I’ve recommended.

Consistent visual rhythm
Schriver (1997, p404) also mentioned that web designers should maintain consistency in setting up a visual rhythm for the reader’s eye. Following that, I’ve consistently placed all images in the centre column, to avoid readers having to look on the left and right and everywhere else on the screen for images. Moreover, consistent colors and fonts are used throughout my postings.

White Space
According to Reep (2006), white space is the term for areas on a page that have no text or graphics, which may not always be white, but it can be solid black, textured pattern and etc. It helps readers process the texts efficiently, and rests readers’ eyes and directs them to important information. I designed my blog in a way where it is not overloaded with moving texts, boxes and etc. My white space creates a path that will guide the readers from the header to text and images.