Reflections

In the past two weeks of posting blog entries for this assignment, I have learnt many new issues pertaining to publication and design. It has open my eyes and mind into the never-ending world of the Internet, online media, media publishing and as well as blogging. Truth be told, this is the first time I owned a blog. I have always found blogging to be a very boring activity, but this assignment proved me wrong! I have indeed learn the joys and advantages of blogging through this well-planned assignment, including the tools and other interactive links to help me set up my blog. I have also included audio and visual (pictures and videos) as supporting materials for my blog entries. In all, time was well spent doing this blog.

Meaning of Composition - Information Value

Information value is one of the few categories of presentation and representational status that unify in textual space.

Information value is divided into two - given and new, ideal and real. Given is presented as something the viewer already knows and as a familiar & agreed-upon point. It is more often than not commonsensical and self evident. Elements of a picture are usually placed on the left. New however, is presented as something which is not yet known or not yet agreed upon by the viewer. It can be 'problematic’ as well as ‘contestable’. Instead of the left, elements are placed on the right.

Example of Given and New

Ideal on the other hand is the idealized or generalized essence of the information, also known as the most salient part. The upper section of the sheet tend make some kind of emotive appeal, showing us ‘what might be’. It shows us the world ‘as it is’, and our perception of it. Moreover it is unmediated by communnication. Real however presents a more specific and ‘down-to-earth’ information. The lower section, in contrast to the upper section, tend to be more informative and practical, showing us ‘what is’. It is based on our interpretations of our perception (from ideal) and it is mediated by communication. It tells us that reality does exist, but our perception can only be subjective and selective. (McQuail and Windahl, 1993: 25)

Example of Ideal and Real

References:


Kress, G. & van Leeuwen, T. 2006. Reading images. Chapter 6: The meaning of composition.

Oakley, Todd 2005, ‘Implied narratives in medical practice,’ in Language & Literature, vol. 14, no. 3, p.295-310. (UNISA electronic library)

Schriver, K.A. 1997, Chapter 6 in Dynamics in document design

Online Media and Its Impact

Society is dependant on it since the birth of the Internet. With the existence of the Internet comes the emergence of online media. Online media has affected the nation in every way possible. Why people are not able to rely on mainstream media is to why more people choose to read and go for online media. Based on this year recent general elections, the impacts and effects of online media in the Malaysian political scene can be seen unmistakably. One of the effects is the rise in circulation and readership of online media. Secondly, online media creates the potential to public articulation especially in terms of politics. The public is now able to voice out opinions and views. They can choose who they want to be in the government. Thirdly, the low cost of publishing a piece online will make it easier for people to participate in the political world. The usage of online media will bring about an impact to society especially the younger generations, for it is them who are outspoken and can be brutally honest when it comes to the truth about the politics in Malaysia.

"The role of alternative media in providing critical and dissenting coverage remains vital if Malaysians are to have access to a wide range of viewpoints. Despite such hardships, inflicted by the government, online media must continue to exploit the potential of the internet in disseminating information and facilitating debate" (Ling, 2003 pg299).

The internet indisputably is the most powerful tool in this era. Its influence on humans is extensive and ever-changing.

Example of an online media - blog

References:

Corante, The Political Effects of Blogging: Call for Indicators, viewed on 11 November 2008,
<http://many.corante.com/archives/2004/02/09/the_political_effects_of_blogging_call_for_indicators.php>

Ling, S, 2003, Contesting Media Power: Alternative Media in Malaysia, ed. Nick Couldry & James Curran, Rowman & Littlefield, p. 290, viewed on 6 October 2008,http://books.google.com.my/books?hl=en&lr=&id=tiFY59xGHBkC&oi=fnd&pg=PP13&dq=alternative+media+in+malaysia&ots=N9-d1VIcXH&sig=fjjQwV8CaetCu2EOVZHQAU3z5Tw#PPA298,M1

Oprah praises much-anticipated 'Australia'

Influential US television host Oprah Winfrey, has never been more excited anticipating the long-awaited release of period epic-drama, Australia. She praised the work of director Baz Luhrmann for his imagination, vision and creativity while directing the film. Not to forget, the cast of the movie - A-list actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman who played the two main characters in the movie as an English aristocrat who inherits the cattle station Faraway Downs in Australia and an Australian drover respectively. Winfrey dedicated her entire show to Australia in which it featured a specially constructed replica of a 1930s outback cattle station where the film is set. Winfrey's enthusiast over the film has delighted Tourism Australia and the movie has without a doubt received positive remarks.

"It's the best movie I've seen in a long, long, long, long time," Winfrey said. "It is epic, it is magic, it is a spectacle and the scenery is so gorgeous you can barely stand it. Australia is going to make you jump on a plane and go Down Under."

Here is a trailer for all to watch. Don't forget to catch it in cinemas as soon as its release!

References:

The Australian, Oprah Winfrey's rave review of 'epic' film boosts Baz Luhrmann, viewed on 12 November 2008,
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,,24639104-7582,00.html

Youtube, New Australia Trailer, viewed 12 November 2008,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05zTnDTpbHI

Mobile Phone Works Wonders!

The New York Tropfest Short Film Festival has yet again announced its annual winner. Only this time the winner of the 3 and a half minute short film is Australian director, Jason Van Genderen! The short film, Mankind Is No Island was based on sound signage with absolutely no dialogue, and the whole thing was completely recorded with only a mobile phone. The main focus and highlight of this short film is on homelessness and that it is undoubtedly a tragedy. The construction of the film brings tears to your eyes, especially the score of the film.

What made director Jason Van Genderen use only a mobile phone to shoot was that he thought that it would be different creating a film without actually utilising high-end production gear. In a sense, it also highlights that mobile video is not just a gimmick but instead can be artistic, clever and moving. The quality of the video taken by the mobile phone on the other hand can be gritty but it compliments the theme of the film which is the homeless communities, so it did not really pose much problem production-wise.

All in all, it was a marvellously moving short film and it deserves credits. From here do we not only learn about the magic of movies, but as well as the wonders a mobile phone can do! For those of you who have not seen the film, I have posted it up for you all to watch!

References:

ABC Radio National, The Media Report: Mankind Is No Island, viewed on 11 November 2008,

http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2384099.htm

Youtube: Tropfest NY 2008 winner, "Mankind Is No Island", viewed on 11 November 2008,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrDxe9gK8Gk

Moblogs, Vlogs, Photologs.. All kinds of Blogs!

The title of the post has clearly describe on what is going to be discussed in this entry - New forms of media publishing! Yes, we will be looking at some of the issues pertaining to the latest trends of media publishing.

First of all, a brief explaination on the many different blogs. Moblog in other words is mobile blogging, in which the user publishes blog entries directly to the web from a mobile phone or other mobile device. It is particularly usefuland popular among tourists and travellers when Internet connection is difficult to get. Vlog or video blogging on the other hand is a form of blogging in which video is the medium. Entries are made frequently and often combine embedded video or a video link with supporting text, images. Photoblog (the name speaks clearly for itself) is photo blogging. It is a form of photo sharing and it is published in the format of a blog. The only difference is that uses photographs primarily than words.

Now that we have a background on the variety of blogs, lets look at some issues relevant to it.

Freedom of speech is an issue to begin with. With the rise of these diverse blogs, more can be said and told. In terms of politics, many opt for freedom of speech through alternative media. Thanks to the rise of blogs, things that can never be said on mainstream media has the chance to be heard. Many users are using blogs as a platform to voice their opinion, publish their work and discuss worldwide issues. However this leads to our second issue - Dangers of blogging. Danger exists to all users not only personally but as well as politically (especially if one is involved in politics). Bloggers regardless of the type of blogs you own, has the possibililty of attacks and threats by other bloggers alike, cybercriminals and the government. The threats and attacks add on if a blogger decides to politically defame the government and its politics.

Thus, as widespread is the use of these multi-functional blogs, there are issues to it. Some positive, some negative.


References:

Wikipedia: Moblog, viewed on 11 November 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moblog

Wikipedia: Vblog, viewed on 11 November 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vlog

Wikipedia: Photoblog, viewed on 11 November 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photolog

Wikipedia: Political Dangers & Personal Safety, viewed on 11 November 2008,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog#Political_Dangers

Design: Print versus Web

According to Jakob Nielson, there are a number of differences that clearly divides print and web design. They are dimensionality, navigation, response time, resolution, canvas size, multimedia and interactivity.

Print design is 2-dimensional, focusing solely on the layout whereas web design is simultaneously 1-dimensional and N-dimensional as it does not so much so focus on the layout of the web page. Plus, it uses a scrolling experience to render all elements as users will scroll in different direction as they please.

In print, the only navigation for users are by simply turning the pages of the print material. Web design on the other hand has navigation such as links. It directs users to the next page or to other related sites.

Newspaper layout with spreadsheet and high resolution image

In terms of response time, resolution and canvas size; print definite outrank the web anytime. Browsing and flipping through a newspaper or a magazine is without a doubt faster than online publications. Readers will not have to hassle with having to wait for a page to load. Apart from that, image quality of print publication is getting better these day. Moreover, the size of visible spaces in print is probably double the size of a computer screen. There's only so wide a personal computer screen can be. As if that's not all, readers also find that its easier to read text on print rather than having to read it on the screen.

Two column layout with navigation menu and other internal option links

Despite all that there is to print design, web design has their own advantages. This is where multimedia comes in. The Web allows audio and visual effects. Users are free to watch videos and listen to voice clips, thus engaging more to web design. Furthermore, the web is highly interact-able where users can click on links for games downloading videos. A great amount of engagement from the users are mostly attracted to the interactive visualization only provided by the Internet and web design.

References:

Nielsen, J 1999, Print vs. web design, 24 January, viewed 11 November 2008,
<http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html>

Parker, Roger C 2003, ‘Chapter 14’ in Looking Good in Print, 5th edition, Scootsdale, Arizona.

Blogging Cataloging

Classification of Blogs

According to Australian author and freelance journalist Margaret Simons, blogs can be classified into various types. Nine to be specific. They include

• Pamphleteering blogs - where an individual or a group of individuals put out a brief essay arguing a point
• Digest blog - usually summarise or to collect material from elsewhere, generally from mainstream media
• Advocacy blog - somewhat similar to pamphleteering except it is usually by a vested interest group or an advocacy group
• Popular Mechanics blog - a collection of information on how to do stuff on any kinds of speciality
• Exhibition blog - also known as vanity publishing, common to craftspeople, artists and writers where they display their work
• Gatewatcher blog - experts actually critique the reporting of their respective fields by the media
• Diary - serve as an online journal, usually personal blogging
• Advertisement - created by commercial companies promoting their product
• News blog - where breaking news are published and bloggers themselves are beginning to attend media conferences

Wikipedia on the hand has its own list of blogs and its classification. Some of which are the same compared to Margaret Simons', only different in name. They are

• Personal blogs - ongoing diary and journal of personal lives
• Corporate blogs - business purposes, used internally to enhance the communication in a corporation
• Question blogging - a type of blog that answers questions
• By Media type - blogs compromising videos, photos and links
• By Device - blogs depending what device it uses to compose it
• By Genre - blogs focusing on a particular subject such as political blogs, travel blogs and fashion blogs
  

Comparison between the two different classification:
I personally feel that the style, format and audience makes identifying different blogs much easier. I notice that there were a number of similar classifications of blogs from both sources. The only thing different is their names. Blogs such as Personal blogging and diary are parallel. Similarly to Question blogging and Popular Mechanics blog. They both provide answers online.


References:

ABC Radio Channel The Media Report: A Taxonomy of Blogs
http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript

Wikipedia: Types of Blog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog

The Blogging Age

In 1993, the 'information superhighway' or the Internet, came into existence. Similarly so did the blogging phenomenon. The first political blog was published by Dr Glen Barry on a campaign for forest protection. Personal blogging on the other hand did not take off until the next year. One of the earliest blogger to began personal blogging was Justin Hall, who was then a student at Swarthmore College. From then on there was a slow but gradual rise on blog usage and in 1999 there was a rapid spread on its popularity. It became popular to not only among working adults but as well as teenagers.


"Blogs are a global phenomenon that has hit the mainstream". Indeed that is true. With data retrieved from technorati.com, the numbers are staggeringly surprising.

And this figures represents the blogging community worldwide! If you think that is fascinating, nearly three quarters of that figure are male bloggers from Asian and European countries.

What good is a blog one might ask?

Of course blogging bring about benefits to the community. First of all, people blog for profit! Advertisers will usually want to advertise brands and products on blogging spaces as it has higher potential of loyal audiences. Bloggers on the other hand make a lot of profit from advertisers.

Secondly, people blog to be heard. With the many restrains of mainstream media (especially in Malaysia), audiences have turned to alternative media. Alternative media in this case are online news portals and blogs. Prominent bloggers such as Raja Petra Kamaruddin voice his opinions on the politics of Malaysia through his blog as mainstream media do not permit him to do so.

References:

Technorati: State of blogosphere 2007, 2008
www.technorati.com/blogging/state-of-the-blogosphere

Wikipedia: Origins of a Blog
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blogging#Origins

Prologue

To begin with, this blog is set up with the aim to discuss and review the issues pertaining to publication and design. Noticeably, there are numerous matter regarding this subject. Therefore I shall be narrowing my focus down to blogging issues, media publishing and web-based media. Students and professionals in the field of communication would find this discussion rather constructive and informative for their study and future references. So read on as we go through some of these issues.