The power of simple blogging in todays world
Friday, June 15, 2007
Dan's presentation
Dan’s Presentation was on Mp3’s and iTunes.
Dan talked about the technical advantages and disadvantages of Mp3 format audio. Mp3s advantage is that most computers can use them with out a need for rendering and small size makes them ideal for the internet. In addition to this he played different audio files so that we could hear the difference in quality between them, this helped to understand the impact of the technical specifications of the audio.
The iTunes web site does not have the majority of the music content, this is found in the iTunes store. In addition to this i-tunes also works as a music player, library, and includes an RSS feed. It also allows you to check the top charts and gives a sample before you buy the mp3. One of the advantages of iTunes is in its versatility and its ability to provide a media player that interacts with the internet and online media in a very user friendly way.
Dan also mentioned legal music downloads, sites like bigpond.com and mp3.com.
Dan talked about the technical advantages and disadvantages of Mp3 format audio. Mp3s advantage is that most computers can use them with out a need for rendering and small size makes them ideal for the internet. In addition to this he played different audio files so that we could hear the difference in quality between them, this helped to understand the impact of the technical specifications of the audio.
The iTunes web site does not have the majority of the music content, this is found in the iTunes store. In addition to this i-tunes also works as a music player, library, and includes an RSS feed. It also allows you to check the top charts and gives a sample before you buy the mp3. One of the advantages of iTunes is in its versatility and its ability to provide a media player that interacts with the internet and online media in a very user friendly way.
Dan also mentioned legal music downloads, sites like bigpond.com and mp3.com.
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Rachel’s Presentation
Rachel talked about Windows Live Messenger. This is the most popular messenger program at the moment and the newest version on MSN messenger. It uses chat boxes to talk to contacts on the internet. These contacts are usually friends or acquaintances as they must agree to become one of your contacts. Messenger is popular as it keeps people in touch and is often proffered to contact via phone because it is free and you can reply at your own pace. You can also share files through messenger and draw messages using the draw feature. Features such as games, webcams and large groups in one conversation adds to the appeal of messenger.
There are many types of messenger type programs such as AIM, ICQ, and there is also a Mac version of messenger.
There are many types of messenger type programs such as AIM, ICQ, and there is also a Mac version of messenger.
Mandi’s Presentation
Mandi’s talked about online forums as a recent boom of interactivity on the internet. One of the powerful and interesting features of forums is the archiving ability to backtrack messages in conversations. There are two standard ways to organise threads in forums, the first is flat threads that display all posts in chronological order, the other is a parental system where messages that refer specifically to other messages and grouped. Messages can also be turned ‘sticky’ so that they always appear at the top of the thread, however this is usually an admin privilege.
While many forums can be viewed by everyone, you usually have to be a member to comment in a thread, this usually involves selecting a username and password and sometimes also involves an email address and/or joining fee. There is general forum etiquettes that the admin will enforce on things such as double posting, many forums will offer additional rules to abide by.
Mandi also mentioned, forum addiction, where users become engrossed in conversation for long periods of time. This is a useful technique to keep people returning to a site and valuable for the advertising on the site.
While many forums can be viewed by everyone, you usually have to be a member to comment in a thread, this usually involves selecting a username and password and sometimes also involves an email address and/or joining fee. There is general forum etiquettes that the admin will enforce on things such as double posting, many forums will offer additional rules to abide by.
Mandi also mentioned, forum addiction, where users become engrossed in conversation for long periods of time. This is a useful technique to keep people returning to a site and valuable for the advertising on the site.
Paul's presentation
Paul's presentation was on the Something Awful Forum.
The forum has a very large user base and a very strict administration coupled with user fees helps to keep the incidents of users abusing the forum low. The site has a one off fee for foreign access. Guests can freely view most of the content without being able to contribute, they are also subjected to more advertising. The something Awful forum raises a large revenue from members paying for priveleges and customisations such as Avatars costing $5.
The content, like most forums is divided into threads on a huge range of topics. And while the admin is heavy handed in suspending users that do not abide by the forums code of conduct the site has several threads where it is acceptable to flame other users and other abusive behaviour. The threads have a focus on technology, specifically technology and games, and also general conversation and topical issues from firearms to drugs and religion.
The members of the forums are often referred to as Goons. This stems from the forums power to influence other sites by sending members to comment on them, eg. Blogs, Myspace, other forums etc. eg. Sending goons out after someone.
The members of the forums are often referred to as Goons. This stems from the forums power to influence other sites by sending members to comment on them, eg. Blogs, Myspace, other forums etc. eg. Sending goons out after someone.
The forum has a very large user base and a very strict administration coupled with user fees helps to keep the incidents of users abusing the forum low. The site has a one off fee for foreign access. Guests can freely view most of the content without being able to contribute, they are also subjected to more advertising. The something Awful forum raises a large revenue from members paying for priveleges and customisations such as Avatars costing $5.
The content, like most forums is divided into threads on a huge range of topics. And while the admin is heavy handed in suspending users that do not abide by the forums code of conduct the site has several threads where it is acceptable to flame other users and other abusive behaviour. The threads have a focus on technology, specifically technology and games, and also general conversation and topical issues from firearms to drugs and religion.
The members of the forums are often referred to as Goons. This stems from the forums power to influence other sites by sending members to comment on them, eg. Blogs, Myspace, other forums etc. eg. Sending goons out after someone.
The members of the forums are often referred to as Goons. This stems from the forums power to influence other sites by sending members to comment on them, eg. Blogs, Myspace, other forums etc. eg. Sending goons out after someone.
Friday, June 1, 2007
Flash sites
Throughout this coarse we looked at building flash sites. I enjoyed this and found it very helpful. I have seen some real advantages, for instance, little changes from browser to browser and form pc to mac. It also makes interactivity far easier to build and is easily better for people used to building in what-you-see-is-what-you-get programs. down sides of flash may include difficulty to run with internal search elements and obviously the viewer must download flash before viewing.
Melissa’s Presentation
Melissa’s Presentation
Melissa talked about ebay. ebay gives the average person the ability to buy and sell items from all over the world at auction prices. ebay as a company makes a profit buy taking a small fee from each transaction. Users have to sign up as members and each member has a profile with basic statistics that show how experienced they are and a ranking that is given to them by the people that they transact with.
There are millions of items available to be purchased through the site. These items can be located with a simple search and are also organized into one of about 50 000 categories.
Melissa talked about ebay. ebay gives the average person the ability to buy and sell items from all over the world at auction prices. ebay as a company makes a profit buy taking a small fee from each transaction. Users have to sign up as members and each member has a profile with basic statistics that show how experienced they are and a ranking that is given to them by the people that they transact with.
There are millions of items available to be purchased through the site. These items can be located with a simple search and are also organized into one of about 50 000 categories.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Tim's presentation
Tim’s Presentation was on MySpace and its use for bands, and Triple J online.
Tim talked about the recent phenomena of bands using Myspace accounts for promotion and an interactive site for fans to visit. Most bands today have a Myspace account from some of the worlds biggest to underground band and unfortunately every music ‘wanna-be’. The advantages of myspace for musical premotion is the sites popularity with young adults and its high, networking potential.
Other advantages of having a Myspace account is that it is free and does not require much web building skill and therefore is accessible to even the smallest of bands. In addition to this it can be used as an outlet for audio tracks and samples, music videos and still images.
Triple J has long been associated with finding the best of Australian musicians. Triple J unearthed is just one aspect of this and it has taken an online form. This is huge as it makes the bands more accessible to the general public. One advantage that this has for musicians is that they can get people from a long distance away listening to the music so they do not need such a large fan base in there home area which could be a regional area.
Tim talked about the recent phenomena of bands using Myspace accounts for promotion and an interactive site for fans to visit. Most bands today have a Myspace account from some of the worlds biggest to underground band and unfortunately every music ‘wanna-be’. The advantages of myspace for musical premotion is the sites popularity with young adults and its high, networking potential.
Other advantages of having a Myspace account is that it is free and does not require much web building skill and therefore is accessible to even the smallest of bands. In addition to this it can be used as an outlet for audio tracks and samples, music videos and still images.
Triple J has long been associated with finding the best of Australian musicians. Triple J unearthed is just one aspect of this and it has taken an online form. This is huge as it makes the bands more accessible to the general public. One advantage that this has for musicians is that they can get people from a long distance away listening to the music so they do not need such a large fan base in there home area which could be a regional area.
Robs Presentation
Robs Presentation was on Myspace
Rob described the general features of Myspace, and how in its interactivity provides a service to many different social groups. He talked about how to join and find your friends and make contact with new people through the site. He looked at the Google powered search engine, and how features such as this create a user friendly online space. Myspace includes many ways in which users can communicate with each other, including blogs, mail, comments, forums and bulletins.
There are also dedicated versions of Myspace such as Myspace Australia which change to offer more location specific content to the user, eg. It will offer news and upcoming entertainment for Australia rather than predominantly U.S. content.
Myspace is also powerful in its ability to quickly and easily share audio, video and images with simple tags. This type of customization is important to Myspace’s success, especially the easy to customize profile page.
Rob described the general features of Myspace, and how in its interactivity provides a service to many different social groups. He talked about how to join and find your friends and make contact with new people through the site. He looked at the Google powered search engine, and how features such as this create a user friendly online space. Myspace includes many ways in which users can communicate with each other, including blogs, mail, comments, forums and bulletins.
There are also dedicated versions of Myspace such as Myspace Australia which change to offer more location specific content to the user, eg. It will offer news and upcoming entertainment for Australia rather than predominantly U.S. content.
Myspace is also powerful in its ability to quickly and easily share audio, video and images with simple tags. This type of customization is important to Myspace’s success, especially the easy to customize profile page.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
luke's presentation
Luke’ Presentation was on the development and advantages of communication technology as it is used in online gaming.
Luke talked about online gaming, specifically communication software called team speak, this allows real-time audio communication between players of online games. He also talked about the online communities established through gaming. He talked about the game Fear and the many ‘clans’ of groups of players that played the game and entered serious competitions against each other. The ways in which a clan communicates is quite diverse. From in-game communication like Team-speak to websites, chat rooms and forums.
Luke talked about online gaming, specifically communication software called team speak, this allows real-time audio communication between players of online games. He also talked about the online communities established through gaming. He talked about the game Fear and the many ‘clans’ of groups of players that played the game and entered serious competitions against each other. The ways in which a clan communicates is quite diverse. From in-game communication like Team-speak to websites, chat rooms and forums.
Friday, May 11, 2007
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
podcasting
After looking at podcasting I start to see its power and potential. Up to this point I have known very little about this. I am now quite impressed with how postcasting technology does hold considerable benifits and opportunity for future growth in multimedia entertainment. The power of convenience is something that always prooves popular with people and as this type of technology streamlines along with dowload costs and times, it will prove an interesting aspect of the online world to be a part of!
flash
the flash aimation that we covered in class today was a good refresher coarse, after a year of web design and graphic design its nice to get back to the program that i was learning in yr11. While I am sure that director has many advantages, I do fail to understand how it could be advantagous to favor it in first yr when, as I understand it even the company that makes it is discontinueing it in favour of the industry standard, Flash.
In any case we have covered basic controls, preferences and some animation, in particular motion tweening and animation following paths. It is amazing how fast you forget some of these simple things after a break from the program. One very interesting thing that we did in flash the other day was to put actual video through flash, using it to clip the video into a suitable portion, this could be very useful in flash websites, especially short term collaborations with animation students and tv proddies.
In any case we have covered basic controls, preferences and some animation, in particular motion tweening and animation following paths. It is amazing how fast you forget some of these simple things after a break from the program. One very interesting thing that we did in flash the other day was to put actual video through flash, using it to clip the video into a suitable portion, this could be very useful in flash websites, especially short term collaborations with animation students and tv proddies.
Monday, May 7, 2007
my presentation
My presentation notes:
The concept of the online community
When looking at the success of the internet it is important to look at interactivity. The internet is at a point where ordinary people are making there presence felt, it is no longer just for those who understand the coding and can create there own piece of the web. The ordinary person has been given the ability to have an online presence. With the creation of online forums and what have become known as online communities, such as myspace, bebo and deviant art which thrive on the average Joe creating an online persona and socialize within what is fundamentally just a network of computers.
Firstly the seemingly overnight sensations like bebo and my space have been popularized by the masses, children, adults and companies come together to interact. The online persona gives them an image for other people to see, they can talk to each other in comments and chat, they can send each other information and meet new people. You tube and similar still image sites gives a more visual power to the people to share their own world through the screen.
I will be looking at a site called Deviantart specifically today to show the potential of web creators and developers to create what is really a virtual world. Deviant art, describes its self as “an online art community for artists and art lovers to interact in a variety of ways, ranging from the submission of art to conversations on a number of topics. In its purest form, deviantART is a means for expressing yourself in a variety of ways.” Deviant has been running for nearly seven years and has a number of features for its members of which it has over two million. For free users it allows a slightly customizable profile page similar to a myspace page but with an emphisis on the art that the user has uploaded. This art can be found in each person’s gallery. The idea of this is to have an open forum environment for critiquing each other’s work. Members can browse all art pieces submitted to DA by exploring via genre. Or by using the search tool. Deviantarts user’s known as deviants can befriend each other and watch them, this means that they are notified in there message centre when ever this person submits a piece of art. This is the basis of the community aspect. The people on deviant art have a common passion and the ability to track each other and comment on each other’s profiles and individual works is the perfect recipe for a community to form. The social growth of Deviant art is incredible, the pet project which started by a handful of enthusiasts is now operated by a full time staff of administration and help desk personel, technical coders, paid and unpaid staff for community interaction and help, the sites running count of individual art pieces grows by the second and has now surpassed 35 and a half million.
In addition to this, elaborate traditional forums and chat give users even more opportunities for interaction. Within deviant art there are many groups and clubs for different genre’s of art and just for general socializing. One of these such groups is the Kids with Guns group, this group was founded by a deviant called True-marmalade and addresses the need within deviant art for a graffiti art, particularly stencil art community. This leads me neatly from Deviant Art an established and sophisticated community to the independent Kids with guns forum, kwgcrew.org this is an interesting site because it is in its infancy. The site administration is purely True marmalade who adapts templates and uses collaborative knowledge of the group to code, design and improve the site. The group is made up of graffiti artists with a strong emphasis on design, with many members studying or active graphic designers. Most have been recruited from deviant art but use Kids With Guns for its closeness of community and the specific way in that it targets graffiti art as compared to all art. The costs of running the site are handled by true marmalade and voluntary contributions by the members. It is successful because of the smallness of community and the lack of a forceful administration, this gives the members a sense of ownership. In addition to being able to post on the forum in any topic and create their own threads members can enter in house competitions and design active parts of the site, for example the mastheads were all designed for members as a way of both showcasing their own skills and improving the site. The friendly rivalry and critique is constructive to the members in a fairly anonymous way. This is another interesting aspect not just of kwg but of all online communities, members of these communities are self designed in that the members can choose and spend time on how they represent themselves, the virtual representation, not necessarily having to match their physical persona. In the context of kids with guns in means that people feel a freedom to present their work in a more anonymous way, this can help honesty when critiquing and being critiqued. It also gives a voice to high school kids for example to mix there work with people from all over the world including those already involved in a graphic industry.
Kids with guns is just one example of an emerging online community, but the depth of member involvement and group pride and strength is very important when applied to web developers. A lesson that many are learning is the ability to have a continuing presence and involvement not only attracts people to a site but addicts them, Deviantart has thousands upon thousands of users who keep coming back after years and years, myspace has integrated its self into the lives of people around the globe, you tube allows unprecedented visual and audio sharing
The concept of the online community
When looking at the success of the internet it is important to look at interactivity. The internet is at a point where ordinary people are making there presence felt, it is no longer just for those who understand the coding and can create there own piece of the web. The ordinary person has been given the ability to have an online presence. With the creation of online forums and what have become known as online communities, such as myspace, bebo and deviant art which thrive on the average Joe creating an online persona and socialize within what is fundamentally just a network of computers.
Firstly the seemingly overnight sensations like bebo and my space have been popularized by the masses, children, adults and companies come together to interact. The online persona gives them an image for other people to see, they can talk to each other in comments and chat, they can send each other information and meet new people. You tube and similar still image sites gives a more visual power to the people to share their own world through the screen.
I will be looking at a site called Deviantart specifically today to show the potential of web creators and developers to create what is really a virtual world. Deviant art, describes its self as “an online art community for artists and art lovers to interact in a variety of ways, ranging from the submission of art to conversations on a number of topics. In its purest form, deviantART is a means for expressing yourself in a variety of ways.” Deviant has been running for nearly seven years and has a number of features for its members of which it has over two million. For free users it allows a slightly customizable profile page similar to a myspace page but with an emphisis on the art that the user has uploaded. This art can be found in each person’s gallery. The idea of this is to have an open forum environment for critiquing each other’s work. Members can browse all art pieces submitted to DA by exploring via genre. Or by using the search tool. Deviantarts user’s known as deviants can befriend each other and watch them, this means that they are notified in there message centre when ever this person submits a piece of art. This is the basis of the community aspect. The people on deviant art have a common passion and the ability to track each other and comment on each other’s profiles and individual works is the perfect recipe for a community to form. The social growth of Deviant art is incredible, the pet project which started by a handful of enthusiasts is now operated by a full time staff of administration and help desk personel, technical coders, paid and unpaid staff for community interaction and help, the sites running count of individual art pieces grows by the second and has now surpassed 35 and a half million.
In addition to this, elaborate traditional forums and chat give users even more opportunities for interaction. Within deviant art there are many groups and clubs for different genre’s of art and just for general socializing. One of these such groups is the Kids with Guns group, this group was founded by a deviant called True-marmalade and addresses the need within deviant art for a graffiti art, particularly stencil art community. This leads me neatly from Deviant Art an established and sophisticated community to the independent Kids with guns forum, kwgcrew.org this is an interesting site because it is in its infancy. The site administration is purely True marmalade who adapts templates and uses collaborative knowledge of the group to code, design and improve the site. The group is made up of graffiti artists with a strong emphasis on design, with many members studying or active graphic designers. Most have been recruited from deviant art but use Kids With Guns for its closeness of community and the specific way in that it targets graffiti art as compared to all art. The costs of running the site are handled by true marmalade and voluntary contributions by the members. It is successful because of the smallness of community and the lack of a forceful administration, this gives the members a sense of ownership. In addition to being able to post on the forum in any topic and create their own threads members can enter in house competitions and design active parts of the site, for example the mastheads were all designed for members as a way of both showcasing their own skills and improving the site. The friendly rivalry and critique is constructive to the members in a fairly anonymous way. This is another interesting aspect not just of kwg but of all online communities, members of these communities are self designed in that the members can choose and spend time on how they represent themselves, the virtual representation, not necessarily having to match their physical persona. In the context of kids with guns in means that people feel a freedom to present their work in a more anonymous way, this can help honesty when critiquing and being critiqued. It also gives a voice to high school kids for example to mix there work with people from all over the world including those already involved in a graphic industry.
Kids with guns is just one example of an emerging online community, but the depth of member involvement and group pride and strength is very important when applied to web developers. A lesson that many are learning is the ability to have a continuing presence and involvement not only attracts people to a site but addicts them, Deviantart has thousands upon thousands of users who keep coming back after years and years, myspace has integrated its self into the lives of people around the globe, you tube allows unprecedented visual and audio sharing
Monday, April 9, 2007
garage bands
while I have used garage band on occasion before this is the first time that I have looked at recording sound with it. Previously I haven't really realised the potential of voice it my work. I have used sound and music (usually copywrited) for years and understand the impact that It can have in enhancing the visual aspect, now for the first time I am thinking about the positives of having a microphone of my own, especailly for use with flash animations and web sites.
Sunday, April 1, 2007
pod casting/flash
RSS Feeds
After learning about pod casting and its potential to make information and entertainment more accessible via the web, I have been carefully considering the benefits of being able to share content.
For instance a web site is only beneficial when it is visited. RSS feeds provide an interesting potential for people to view updatable content from your site with out having to actually visit the site.
RSS feeds provide simple opportunities to both business and entertainment sectors. And it provides a simple service that allows smaller websites to become more accessible and more interactive with the rest of the web.
In the future I see RSS feeds and similar tools being useful in creating successful and competitive websites.
Flash
I have never thought of using flash with video in this way. However I see the merit in using it. From the obvious benefits in movie and video advertising to incorporating smaller video pieces into flash websites, even simple show reels and similar are possible.
After learning about pod casting and its potential to make information and entertainment more accessible via the web, I have been carefully considering the benefits of being able to share content.
For instance a web site is only beneficial when it is visited. RSS feeds provide an interesting potential for people to view updatable content from your site with out having to actually visit the site.
RSS feeds provide simple opportunities to both business and entertainment sectors. And it provides a simple service that allows smaller websites to become more accessible and more interactive with the rest of the web.
In the future I see RSS feeds and similar tools being useful in creating successful and competitive websites.
Flash
I have never thought of using flash with video in this way. However I see the merit in using it. From the obvious benefits in movie and video advertising to incorporating smaller video pieces into flash websites, even simple show reels and similar are possible.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
my blog
Hey there,
this is my first blog post for the subject.
My name is Tom. I am very interested in understanding all this stuff, in particular rss feeds, servers and that kind of jazz.
peace
this is my first blog post for the subject.
My name is Tom. I am very interested in understanding all this stuff, in particular rss feeds, servers and that kind of jazz.
peace
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