Organization Structures from the readings
Web Style Guide:
-content by inventorying what you already have
-hierarchical outline by site structure/navigation elements
-chunks of logical information
-diagramming based on a core link structure
-organization by testing with real users
O'Reilly:
-hierarchy - subdivisions of parent/child relationships
-hypertext - chunks and the links between chunks
-databases - bottom up approach that identifies content and structure
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
#6
Weinberger Summary & Key Terms
Weinberger really liked the idea that everything in our word is miscellaneous. Its all a random mish-mash of things that create one bigger thing - like the internet, for example. The internet is a series of disorganized sites, but through search engines like Google, and tagging systems within those sites (coding keywords and tags) actually do make up an organized web. He believes that there are also three orders which organize our world. Key terms for Weinberger includes metadata, tags, miscellaneous, and web 2.0.
Jenkins Summary & Key Terms
Jenkins talked about our culture in terms of convergence. Convergence is when old media and technology is replaced by something newer and greater. An example could be the ever evolving television, which once were only available in black and white and you had to dial in the channels. Jenkins liked to use popular examples to outline his points - like the "Bert is Evil" website which parodied a famous puppet from Sesame Street in a variety of nefarious predicaments. This could be an example of what he referred to as participatory culture because so many liked his parodies, that they ended up being hosted on a variety of other sites, which in effect allows others to participate in the internet phenomenon. Key terms for Jenkins are convergence culture, participatory culture, and collective intelligence.
Lessig Summary & Key Terms
Lessig was all about the variety of ways in which our culture likes to "remix" media available to us, how copyrights affect said remixes, and how the internet has adapted to our increasing desire to get involved. Similar to Weinberger, he talked about sharing economies which represented how people like to get involved with things, even if they aren't monetarily compensated for it (like Wikipedia Contributors). Similar to this is the idea of open source software which allows anyone to download and make changes, but never be able to market it as their own, only share it with others for further editing. Key terms for Lessig are remix, copyright infringement, sharing economies, and open source.
Connections
Basically all of the books relate to each other since they all relate to the progression of the way in which the internet affects our lives. Lessig and Jenkins mostly discuss the way in which our culture likes to participate in the internet - Jenkins talks about things like cell phone porn and "Bert is Evil" while Lessig references Wikipedia and Girl Talk. Weinberger's orders correspond to Jenkins' idea that media is constantly converging on older media.
Final Project Correlation
I think Weinberger is going to have the greatest influence on our final project. Because we are going to be working with content that is already there, our job is to organize it so that is best is found in the disorganization that is the internet, and so those who are most interested in the Community Action Center will be able to find the information they are looking for on the site. I think it is also going to be important to think about how to allow a participatory culture within the site as well. Employing something like a blog or Twitter within the content of the CAC site could also be important to allow students and community members to get involved on the site.
Weinberger really liked the idea that everything in our word is miscellaneous. Its all a random mish-mash of things that create one bigger thing - like the internet, for example. The internet is a series of disorganized sites, but through search engines like Google, and tagging systems within those sites (coding keywords and tags) actually do make up an organized web. He believes that there are also three orders which organize our world. Key terms for Weinberger includes metadata, tags, miscellaneous, and web 2.0.
Jenkins Summary & Key Terms
Jenkins talked about our culture in terms of convergence. Convergence is when old media and technology is replaced by something newer and greater. An example could be the ever evolving television, which once were only available in black and white and you had to dial in the channels. Jenkins liked to use popular examples to outline his points - like the "Bert is Evil" website which parodied a famous puppet from Sesame Street in a variety of nefarious predicaments. This could be an example of what he referred to as participatory culture because so many liked his parodies, that they ended up being hosted on a variety of other sites, which in effect allows others to participate in the internet phenomenon. Key terms for Jenkins are convergence culture, participatory culture, and collective intelligence.
Lessig Summary & Key Terms
Lessig was all about the variety of ways in which our culture likes to "remix" media available to us, how copyrights affect said remixes, and how the internet has adapted to our increasing desire to get involved. Similar to Weinberger, he talked about sharing economies which represented how people like to get involved with things, even if they aren't monetarily compensated for it (like Wikipedia Contributors). Similar to this is the idea of open source software which allows anyone to download and make changes, but never be able to market it as their own, only share it with others for further editing. Key terms for Lessig are remix, copyright infringement, sharing economies, and open source.
Connections
Basically all of the books relate to each other since they all relate to the progression of the way in which the internet affects our lives. Lessig and Jenkins mostly discuss the way in which our culture likes to participate in the internet - Jenkins talks about things like cell phone porn and "Bert is Evil" while Lessig references Wikipedia and Girl Talk. Weinberger's orders correspond to Jenkins' idea that media is constantly converging on older media.
Final Project Correlation
I think Weinberger is going to have the greatest influence on our final project. Because we are going to be working with content that is already there, our job is to organize it so that is best is found in the disorganization that is the internet, and so those who are most interested in the Community Action Center will be able to find the information they are looking for on the site. I think it is also going to be important to think about how to allow a participatory culture within the site as well. Employing something like a blog or Twitter within the content of the CAC site could also be important to allow students and community members to get involved on the site.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
#5
The introduction of Jenkins introduces us to the concept of "convergence culture" and what this means to us in terms of "the new media system." He says there is a relationship between three concepts - media convergence, participatory culture, and collective intelligence. Jenkins uses a variety of examples throughout the introduction to show us how older technologies like the typewriter have converged to become today's Microsoft Word.
"Convergence is taking place within the same appliances, within the same franchise, within the same company, within the brain of the consumer, and within the same fandom. Convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed." (16)
"Convergence, as we can see, is both a top-down corporate-driven process and a bottom-up consumer-driven process." (18)
"Yet, right now, our best window into convergence culture comes from looking at the experience of these early settlers and first inhabitants. These elite consumers exert a disproportionate influence on media culture in part because advertisers and media producers are so eager to attract and hold their attention." (23)
When Jenkins discussed cell phones being able to stream the first Bollywood movie, it reminded me of the first time I ever got a cell phone at age 15. One of the temporary free features was T-Mobile's video player, where you could stream videos, movie clips, or trailers on your phone. At the time, this technology was so exciting, but nowadays its no big deal to be able to surf the web and watch full length movies.
So far I see a similarity in Weinberger's use of examples (photo archives, Delicious, iTunes, etc) in Jenkins writing (Bollywood movie, Bert is Evil, students making cell phone porn, etc). I think it helps to drive the point of the text home, however I feel like both texts have been outdated in terms of being able to "teach" the generation in which we have grown up. Jenkins says that in the 1990s access to the public in terms of Internet was the main question, but now its more of skill. I think both Weinberger and Jenkins agree on this idea that skill is what differentiates the American public's use of the internet with someone like me, a DTC student at WSU.
"Convergence is taking place within the same appliances, within the same franchise, within the same company, within the brain of the consumer, and within the same fandom. Convergence involves both a change in the way media is produced and a change in the way media is consumed." (16)
"Convergence, as we can see, is both a top-down corporate-driven process and a bottom-up consumer-driven process." (18)
"Yet, right now, our best window into convergence culture comes from looking at the experience of these early settlers and first inhabitants. These elite consumers exert a disproportionate influence on media culture in part because advertisers and media producers are so eager to attract and hold their attention." (23)
When Jenkins discussed cell phones being able to stream the first Bollywood movie, it reminded me of the first time I ever got a cell phone at age 15. One of the temporary free features was T-Mobile's video player, where you could stream videos, movie clips, or trailers on your phone. At the time, this technology was so exciting, but nowadays its no big deal to be able to surf the web and watch full length movies.
So far I see a similarity in Weinberger's use of examples (photo archives, Delicious, iTunes, etc) in Jenkins writing (Bollywood movie, Bert is Evil, students making cell phone porn, etc). I think it helps to drive the point of the text home, however I feel like both texts have been outdated in terms of being able to "teach" the generation in which we have grown up. Jenkins says that in the 1990s access to the public in terms of Internet was the main question, but now its more of skill. I think both Weinberger and Jenkins agree on this idea that skill is what differentiates the American public's use of the internet with someone like me, a DTC student at WSU.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
#4
Weinberger - so what?
I think the biggest point in Weinberger's Everything is Miscellaneous is about how Web 2.0 has increased our awareness to the importance of organization not only on the Internet, but also how it affects our daily lives. I think he also wants us to think about how understanding is much more important in today's world than knowledge.
I feel that Weinberger wants us to think about his three orders as sort of a past, present, and future. Order one represents "old" technologies, like typewriters and encyclopedias, for instance. These technologies got us to where we are today, but with newer and better resources and technology, we use them as a back up.
Order two represents where we are today. We index our photos through cataloging systems, or tags, be it in real life in photo albums, or on the web using services like Flickr. As a society, we are moving towards technologically advanced systems over "old school" ways like tangible photos in boxes that hide under our beds.
Finally, I believe that order three can represent both present and future. We see "web 2.0" slowly moving the Internet as we know it forward. Ten years ago, there were no blogs or tags, just our own "homepage" sites that we built using lame pre-formatted layouts from Geocities or AOL. Now we can create our own "homepages" in the form of blogs, twitter, and social networking sites. But I think by showing us multiple examples of present and past, Weinberger is showing us that eventually what we are using now will also be outdated.
I think the biggest point in Weinberger's Everything is Miscellaneous is about how Web 2.0 has increased our awareness to the importance of organization not only on the Internet, but also how it affects our daily lives. I think he also wants us to think about how understanding is much more important in today's world than knowledge.
I feel that Weinberger wants us to think about his three orders as sort of a past, present, and future. Order one represents "old" technologies, like typewriters and encyclopedias, for instance. These technologies got us to where we are today, but with newer and better resources and technology, we use them as a back up.
Order two represents where we are today. We index our photos through cataloging systems, or tags, be it in real life in photo albums, or on the web using services like Flickr. As a society, we are moving towards technologically advanced systems over "old school" ways like tangible photos in boxes that hide under our beds.
Finally, I believe that order three can represent both present and future. We see "web 2.0" slowly moving the Internet as we know it forward. Ten years ago, there were no blogs or tags, just our own "homepage" sites that we built using lame pre-formatted layouts from Geocities or AOL. Now we can create our own "homepages" in the form of blogs, twitter, and social networking sites. But I think by showing us multiple examples of present and past, Weinberger is showing us that eventually what we are using now will also be outdated.
Monday, February 1, 2010
#3
Chapter 8
The point of this chapter was to look at the way in which metadata works in a business sense. It shows us what products, based on what we are looking at, we may also be interested in. Weinberger discusses the "infrastructure of meaning" to which he means the ultimate in miscellaneous - a database based on tags, links, and metadata.
As a DTC major, we should care about this because we will all be working with these forms of data at some point in the future. The majority of us are interested in design - and since the future is on the Internet and with technology, we will most likely be utilizing things like tags and metadata to assist us in our work.
Chapter 9
This chapter was about how the world has gone digital - from cameras to phones, we are utilizing organization in a new way as time goes on. Weinberger compares the utilizations of days past, when we took pictures with a film camera, went to a store to get our film developed, tossed the bad pictures, and stored the rest in a closet or under a bed for a future time. Now we can store thousands of pictures on one storage card on our camera, if we get photos developed its usually for Christmas cards, and if we don't, we can store them on our computers, on sharing sites like Flickr, or send them digitally to family and friends.
As a DTC major, we are affected because organization is the key for a successful design career. We need to be able to leave our client with a site, or design, or whatever, that is both usable yet also modifiable.
The point of this chapter was to look at the way in which metadata works in a business sense. It shows us what products, based on what we are looking at, we may also be interested in. Weinberger discusses the "infrastructure of meaning" to which he means the ultimate in miscellaneous - a database based on tags, links, and metadata.
As a DTC major, we should care about this because we will all be working with these forms of data at some point in the future. The majority of us are interested in design - and since the future is on the Internet and with technology, we will most likely be utilizing things like tags and metadata to assist us in our work.
Chapter 9
This chapter was about how the world has gone digital - from cameras to phones, we are utilizing organization in a new way as time goes on. Weinberger compares the utilizations of days past, when we took pictures with a film camera, went to a store to get our film developed, tossed the bad pictures, and stored the rest in a closet or under a bed for a future time. Now we can store thousands of pictures on one storage card on our camera, if we get photos developed its usually for Christmas cards, and if we don't, we can store them on our computers, on sharing sites like Flickr, or send them digitally to family and friends.
As a DTC major, we are affected because organization is the key for a successful design career. We need to be able to leave our client with a site, or design, or whatever, that is both usable yet also modifiable.
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
#2
Chapter 5
In "The Laws of the Jungle," Weinberger discusses the reasons why we depend on organization in our daily lives. He discusses "Delicious," a popular bookmarking website that allows us to organize by "tags" which he describes as the Web 2.0 equivalent to the Dewey Decimal System.
"In the digital age, computer s have become demonically good at sorting through gigantic, complex piles of information." (85)
"That was Schachter's first insight: Tags work as a way for individuals to remember and refind pages. His second was understanding the power of making people's lists public." (93)
When Weinberger talks about the Dewey Decimal System, it reminded me of elementary school library time when we learned how to find a book using the card catalog system. My how things changed when you need to find a library resource - you don't even have to go to the library!
Chapter 6
In "Smart Leaves", Weinberger discusses the way in which barcodes, and soon to be utilized RFID tags, came to be used by manufacturers, retail outlets, and consumers. Weinberger also discusses the way in which species are organized and why this is important for human's understanding of differences in organisms.
"The UPC number not only lets checkout lines move faster, it makes the entire inventory-tracking process more efficient, and drives down a merchant's costs because it points to a bloom of information in the merchant's database." (109)
"We don't even have confidence that there is an inarguable way to divide the world into types of things. And that's a problem, because as the world becomes more miscellaneous, if we can't pin something don, we can't coalesce information around it." (117)
This chapter reminded me of when I used to work at a department store, and they way in which we were able to look items up online, through the catalog, and in other stores was just by using the scanner to ring the barcode.
In "The Laws of the Jungle," Weinberger discusses the reasons why we depend on organization in our daily lives. He discusses "Delicious," a popular bookmarking website that allows us to organize by "tags" which he describes as the Web 2.0 equivalent to the Dewey Decimal System.
"In the digital age, computer s have become demonically good at sorting through gigantic, complex piles of information." (85)
"That was Schachter's first insight: Tags work as a way for individuals to remember and refind pages. His second was understanding the power of making people's lists public." (93)
When Weinberger talks about the Dewey Decimal System, it reminded me of elementary school library time when we learned how to find a book using the card catalog system. My how things changed when you need to find a library resource - you don't even have to go to the library!
Chapter 6
In "Smart Leaves", Weinberger discusses the way in which barcodes, and soon to be utilized RFID tags, came to be used by manufacturers, retail outlets, and consumers. Weinberger also discusses the way in which species are organized and why this is important for human's understanding of differences in organisms.
"The UPC number not only lets checkout lines move faster, it makes the entire inventory-tracking process more efficient, and drives down a merchant's costs because it points to a bloom of information in the merchant's database." (109)
"We don't even have confidence that there is an inarguable way to divide the world into types of things. And that's a problem, because as the world becomes more miscellaneous, if we can't pin something don, we can't coalesce information around it." (117)
This chapter reminded me of when I used to work at a department store, and they way in which we were able to look items up online, through the catalog, and in other stores was just by using the scanner to ring the barcode.
Monday, January 18, 2010
#1
Prologue
The main point of the chapter was to discuss the ways in which businesses utilize the way in which the human mind processes data and information that is put in front of them. The author uses the example of a Staples prototype store to describe the way in which customers "wayfind" their way throughout the store to buy a multitude of different products they may, or may not, need.
"We learn by watching our customers' eyeballs," Medill says. Customers enter the store and move nine to twelve feet in, and they "stand and scan." (2)
"In physical space, some things are nearer than others...Physical objects can be in only one spot at any one time...Physical space is shared...Human physical abilities are limited...The organization of the store needs to be orderly and neat." (5)
Reading about the prototype Staples store reminded me of how easy it is to typically find what you need in most office supply stores, and how most items are conveninetly placed next to similar items to go with them - regardless if it is their correct 'home' or not.
Chapter 1
This chapter discusses the way in which "miscellaneous" has actually become "ordered" or is at least on its way to becoming more organized. The author shows this phenomenon by discussing Apple iTunes, our home lives (sorting mail, groceries, etc.) digital camera files, and photographic archives.
"The two processes by which new things are introduced into our homes are typical of how we handle information: We go through new arrivals and put them away." (11)
"The digital revolution in organization sweeps beyond how we find odd photos and beyond how we organize our business' information assets. In fact, the third order practices make a company's existing assets more profitable, increase customer loyalty, and seriously reduce costs..." (22)
Furthering the author's discussion of iTunes, it reminded me of the recent addition of "genius" to the program. It allows us to not only organize what we already own, but now their database suggests us new songs, movies, or other media to purchase or at least sample.
Chapter 2
This chapter discussed the alphabet, the idea of a universal alphabet, as well as how the alphabet and its current organizational structure was actually "controversial." In addition, the author discusses the planets, their organization, and what defines a planet and the controversy surrounding Pluto.
"In fact, a universal alphabet is suc a good idea that we have it about once a generation." (24)
"Alphabetization had trouble taking root not just because its conceptually confusing. SPace, time, and atoms conspire to make it hard to alphabetize information that is not yet complete." (27)
This chapter made me remember we even have hard copies of encyclopedias - which is really sad that I honestly don't think I have seen/used one since I was in middle school. However in regards to their organizational structure, I thought Coleridge's idea was interesting, but also flawed in the sense that by making fewer categories, it would in turn make the books that much larger, which in turn makes the texts more difficult to market/sell for home use.
The main point of the chapter was to discuss the ways in which businesses utilize the way in which the human mind processes data and information that is put in front of them. The author uses the example of a Staples prototype store to describe the way in which customers "wayfind" their way throughout the store to buy a multitude of different products they may, or may not, need.
"We learn by watching our customers' eyeballs," Medill says. Customers enter the store and move nine to twelve feet in, and they "stand and scan." (2)
"In physical space, some things are nearer than others...Physical objects can be in only one spot at any one time...Physical space is shared...Human physical abilities are limited...The organization of the store needs to be orderly and neat." (5)
Reading about the prototype Staples store reminded me of how easy it is to typically find what you need in most office supply stores, and how most items are conveninetly placed next to similar items to go with them - regardless if it is their correct 'home' or not.
Chapter 1
This chapter discusses the way in which "miscellaneous" has actually become "ordered" or is at least on its way to becoming more organized. The author shows this phenomenon by discussing Apple iTunes, our home lives (sorting mail, groceries, etc.) digital camera files, and photographic archives.
"The two processes by which new things are introduced into our homes are typical of how we handle information: We go through new arrivals and put them away." (11)
"The digital revolution in organization sweeps beyond how we find odd photos and beyond how we organize our business' information assets. In fact, the third order practices make a company's existing assets more profitable, increase customer loyalty, and seriously reduce costs..." (22)
Furthering the author's discussion of iTunes, it reminded me of the recent addition of "genius" to the program. It allows us to not only organize what we already own, but now their database suggests us new songs, movies, or other media to purchase or at least sample.
Chapter 2
This chapter discussed the alphabet, the idea of a universal alphabet, as well as how the alphabet and its current organizational structure was actually "controversial." In addition, the author discusses the planets, their organization, and what defines a planet and the controversy surrounding Pluto.
"In fact, a universal alphabet is suc a good idea that we have it about once a generation." (24)
"Alphabetization had trouble taking root not just because its conceptually confusing. SPace, time, and atoms conspire to make it hard to alphabetize information that is not yet complete." (27)
This chapter made me remember we even have hard copies of encyclopedias - which is really sad that I honestly don't think I have seen/used one since I was in middle school. However in regards to their organizational structure, I thought Coleridge's idea was interesting, but also flawed in the sense that by making fewer categories, it would in turn make the books that much larger, which in turn makes the texts more difficult to market/sell for home use.
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