Stephania Farine

Evaluation of the course...

2009-03-19T08:47:00.000-07:00

As the course has now come to an end, i can only reflect on how i have contributed to this course and project as well as how i have changed, if at all.

I have found many of the lessons useful such as, learning about picture copyrights, how company's such as Tesco use online websites efficiently with the aid of good layouts, use of relevant pictures and are easy to navigate. However, my most favourite moment of the course was doing my group wiki. At first i was very hesitant as i have not had much luck with previous group work and our first initial idea had been knocked. However, from our first meeting, i could tell that we would work well together.

I think our wiki, is very clear and easy to navigate. Though it is very plain (due to the white background), i think it looks very professional with out using too many colours which can be too busy and distracting! I like the butterflies, though it is very girly for our only boy member Jason =D and does not relate to the course, but it is nice to have an on-going theme. As the main tool bar stays at the top throughout the pages, the user can easily move from page to page without the need for scrolling down. We used lessons, to do the introduction and conclusion as well as getting feedback from other members of the group for our individual pages and to Nigels' HORROR, we actually did some work on paper!!!

I believe my blog, is very colourful, using images that go with the colour scheme. I have managed to do weekly blogs on how i got on in lesson and any other related ideas on Online community. I think the video i found on youtube.com is a good example to showcase that online community means different things to everybody.

I felt that i had tried my best efforts to be accepted in the Hollyoaks forum. Though i believe that a community cannot exist without interaction, which i found very problematic. Although i attempted to join a new forum (channel 4), which i was left disappointed about, i think i would have gained a better sense of a community and involvement.

Although this course has not changed my views on online community, it will definately make me think a lot more when i am on certain sites and forums. I have realised that although we believe to be in an online community, we do not have to face many consequences that we face in the real world. We can easily distance ourselves (and pull away), ignore messages, delete a profile and join another. For instance, the quick change of social spaces from Myspace to Facebook and now Twitter, means users are able to change their 'society'. If i had a chance to re-do the course, the only thing i would change is to have joined a better forum. However, due to there being a vast range of soap forums available, at first glance it is impossible to tell which site has a better sense of community. In conclusion i would definately say that i will NO LONGER continue to be a user of soapforum.com.

Dedicated fans....

2009-03-15T16:08:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help but notice the dedication of some fans. Its bizarre, but they have taken time out to make little clippings that will go at the end of each of their posts. I found this one which i thought was sweet...though a lot of them are didication to Eastenders mother and daughter dilemma between 'Ronnie Mithchell' and 'Danielle'.

Coming to an END...

2009-03-09T06:10:00.000-07:00

Gosh, i cant believe how quick the weeks have gone...deadlines are looming and as u can imagine everyone is stressed!!!! Im really happy with the progress the group has made, our wiki is lookin FAB i must say...just needs to be put together really, and tomorrow start to make the conclusion of our work...

I am halfway through writing my wiki page, its going slow but its coming along nicely. N the layout of my wiki is taking shape. I love my title as it goes with the theme of the groups page!!!! =D

Group work continued...

2009-02-27T09:12:00.000-08:00

During this weeks lesson we each showed the group our forums...how we have progressed, our contribution and feedback. We discussed the positives and negatives of each forum, and discussed what we each could right on our wiki page....

I explained that my forum www.soapforum.co.uk was very boring in the sense of presentation (very plain no imagery) and that it feels as if you didn gain very much. I decided to join Channel 4's official Hollyoaks Forum (http://community.channel4.com/groupee/forums/a/cfrm/f/8420074863) as it was very colourful and you get incentinves such as getting to choose an avatar, and you can gain stars the more you post...which made you feel more accepted into the forum the more you participated (working your way up the heirachy of popularity, acceptance and knowledge)....but it did have opening hours between 8.00am- midnight, therefore being highly monitored, and gives the insight that many of its users are young, who go to school or college etc.

However, when trying to apply i had to wait for an email which would enable me to activate my account, but i did not recive it no matter how many times i requested it. I then tried again to apply using a different email. This time i received the email to avtivate my account and confirm my request, andi thought GREATTTT!!! it worked...but when clicking the link it merely stated Thank you for activating your account, and that they would get back to me to confirm my account and accept me, and that i can look around the forums as a guest, but this restricgted me from posting.

This shows just how secure Channel 4 are with there sites, and how strict they are on not just letting anyone join there site. Though it does make a big inconvenience for the user. So instead i will stay with soapforum.com

...I have started to enjoy soapforum.com more the more i post, eagerly awaiting replies and views, and in a weird way start to feel as if these people i am communicating with are my 'friends' as we have the same things in common such as favourite characters, views on storylines etc, and share ideas and gossip on up coming story plots.

Group Meeting...

2009-02-23T14:15:00.000-08:00

Today we had a group meeting about our wiki project. We discussed about how our individual forums are going, and any group worries and questions..it went well!!! We have all agreed to continue with our forums and to start writing down how we are all experiencing them etc. We will also start to read up on key texts which we will use on our indiviual pages, ready for next Monday, and also using screenshots to back up our theories....Looks liek tommorrow will be very productive =)

Hollyoaks Forum update....

2009-02-17T05:01:00.001-08:00

GREAT NEWS!!! I have just checked my blog on the forum and have already had 2 replies and 27 views, which i am really chuffed about...i think that is great for a begginner =D...i guess my theory of a strappy topic really does work...

Trying to define ONLINE COMMUNITY....

2009-02-17T04:16:00.000-08:00

Trying to define online community can be very difficult...people experience different things online, such as comfort, familiarity, 'loyality', relationahips etc, but because of our own experiences, we will all define this differently. I found this video on youtube that would explain my argument more...

Blade 376, thought of a great idea of finding this out...wish i thought of it first!!! He wanted to get feedback about how the online community defines 'online community', simply by using a single word, phrase, sentence..

By gathereing all the feedback from videos and messages, he put together a great footage. People describe the online community from stupid, to togetherness and giving a freedom of speech. It represents people from all over the world. We do not know exactly why a person would describe the online copmmunity for being stupid or slowww, or my most favourite Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!!!! unless we have actually experiended the things they have...

Are there any words that you would add to describe Online Community....Have a look... =D

TFL get a thumbs down...

2009-02-17T03:47:00.000-08:00

Well, lets say im not very happy today. I have been travellin for about over an hour, having been told that there is a train to Elephant and Castle from my station via London Bridge (on the overhead train) as my usual train was delayed. So...having done this i arrive at London Bridge, and when i asked was told how there are no strat overhead trains to Elephant!!! I was fuming.... So i took a train to Blackfriars then had to wait 20mins to get the train to Elephant.....Finally.... However being 5 mins late meant that i couldnt go to the lesson which was pointless, as it was very important as we are starting our group wikis!!!...So instead i am here in the library blogging...TFL...Please fix up!!!!!

Hollyoaks Forum

2009-02-15T09:56:00.000-08:00

It was very hard to choose a Forum to join, as i am interested in a variety of things. I am the kind of person who loves to learn new things, and therefore wanted to join a group that was very different and which i was unfamiliar with such as lets say butterflies (such beautiful creatures!!!) but i then thought i couldnt contribute much to any discussions, and would feel like an outsider... which therefore supports my groups idea of an online community as these people all have a common interested.

I therefore decided to join http://http://www.soapforum.co.uk/index.php a site which enabled users of all ages to talk about there favourite soaps. I have chosen to join the Hollyoaks forum, though many people have very contraversial views about it, i <3 it!!!

The key is to choose a very inticing topic and a catchy strapline to invite ppl in...i chose "Rhys' new love...", though i dont actually state that the character Rhys will have a new love, but merely his past love interests and any further interests...this brings viewers in but i also asked for comments and involvements by asking some questions.

I just hope that i get some feedback very soon...all i can do now is wait....=D

Week 5...i think?!?!?

2009-02-15T09:12:00.000-08:00

Ok so this weeks lesson was a bit of a knock, but i still managed to learn some things. As we are now starting our group projects, we must understand some of the vital information in order to obey all rules within the online community. As we will be using many images, we learnt about the creative Commons and the watermarks...Nigel couldnt stress more the need to always give the creator of the image recognition, when using there images, but also with the watermark sign could be removed but at a higher price!!!

I also learned about "delicious" - a free service which enables you to share your bookmarks with the world rather than on your pc...what a great idea...and im rather loving the name 2!!! I also know what web 2.0 is now...allowing the user to shift from a consumer web to a participating web....

Group Project

2009-02-10T08:35:00.001-08:00

Well...todays lesson was a bit of a knock. As a group, we had decided to do our group wiki based on online dating, a great idea we thought. But after having discussed this with Nigel, it seemed that we couldnot develop the idea further.

Nigel suggested that we first establish the idea of a community, rather than thinking of a website and try and derieve an idea from this. As a group we believed a community was:

1. Involving interaction (having more than one person)
2. Religion
3. Common interests
4. Location etc...

Having established this we came up with the idea of 'Fandom' and 'Forums'.....and to see how easy it can be to be accepted into a community. We will do this by each joining a forum of our choice and see how easy we interact, comments made..and try to work our way up the chain. A great book for this is "Tune In, log in: Soaps, forum & online communities" which will be one of the core readings for our project.

Making slooow progress...

2009-02-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

Group work has never been easy...and the snow hasn't made it any easier! But with the aid of technology we have been able to stay in contact. Though we haven't seen each other face-2-face, a few txts, phonecalls and emails here and there have enabled us to come up with a couple of ideas for our group work. We will do some research individually and when our next lesson comes across...we can discuss and be ready to write and add images....=D

Re-cap on Week 3

2009-02-03T16:17:00.000-08:00

During this week 3's lesson we have focusd on how companies, particular that of http://www.tesco.com/ have used clever components to create a website. Components such as logo, the use of familiar colours, slogans, clever use of imagery (i.e shopping basket) all of which have been seen on there adverts enables the viewer to easily identify the company. It is very user friendly, using easy link boxes to the relevant food and drink sections i.e Groceries and Entertainment & Digital.

Though Tesco has thousands of stores aross the UK, i believe this website is ideal for busy workers, disabled customers and those who may be unable to visit a store i.e busy mums. Due to the main objective of home delivery, the link to this offer is placed right in the middle of the screen - at eye level, using flashing imagery (in the form of a photo album) and has a much larger link box to the rest of the page which instantly draws the attention of the eye.

Using this contenet analysis, i will now compare two very different websites, one which i would consider a very good website and the other to be very poor....I will be using screenshots to demonstrate particular parts of the page (unfortunately i still havent got my head around how to do this though...=D)

The good vs The bad

2009-02-02T15:41:00.000-08:00

The Good:
http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Home.htm

1-Argos is a very well know organisation. They supply a wide range of products from electrical to kids toys. The logo used is very well known, and consistant to there adverts on TV. The use of the red, blue and white is used throughout the page and the companies campaigns i.e sales. The red and blue definately stand out from the white and are used to catch the eye of the user, and shows the most important bits of the pages..product search & product catagories.

2-Gives the user a choice of ways to receive there items. To either: reserve online & collect instore, call n collect instore or delivery for £5.80. Very efficient, for all kinds of customers from busy workers, to the elderly.

3-A fast and easy way for the user to find the item they want. The user can either enter the catalogue number (i.e 309/0516) or type in the name of the product they want (i.e Nintendo DS) bringing them straight to the page, enabling them to reserve at a local store or order for delivery. I have demonstrated this as seen in the screen shot.

4-As seen on TV, Argos has put imagery of their new catalogue. This awknowledges the user anabling to go out a get the new catalogue or simply view all the new products online. It also flashes up good deals and sale items which draws the users attention. Above this is also a link captioned CLEARANCE, of items that will not feature in the new catalogue.

5-Enables the user a fast and efficient way to go straight to the section they want, rather than search the whole website. It is nicely divided into sections and stands out as it is placed on a vibrant blue background.

6-Shows the most popular searches. Usually showing good deals, sales, clearance and latest trends i.e Wii.

7- Shows other services that Argos provides such as mastercard, buy now pay later scheme & pet, home, car insurance. It is placed lower down the page and much smaller as customers purely want to buy items not take out unnessary items specially during a credit crunch. Users therefore dont feel bombarded or obliged to take this, as many sites do this by using pop-ups.

8- This divides this site with different deals, some which have, been seen on TV, there own internet deals and deals of the week.

9- Assuming we had typed in Nintendo DS in the search box, as seen in note 4, we are given a choice of how we want to view the products i.e high - low price, promotions. FAST & EASY.

10- Enables user to do a selective search by choosing the type of product, price, age of game etc...very time effective.

11- Money Saving Deals to draw customers in. Try and beat competitions, and effective during credit crunch as customers want to save as much money as they can.

Overall i think Argos' website is excellent. Very effeicient, and fast and easy to navigate through. It is layed out very cleverly, although the customer can easily go to the page they want, Argos still manages to put Sale advertisements and links to tempt the user. However it think that it is very technical for the older generation and those whom are not comfortable at using the computer and internet as you have ti click a lot of links to get to the page you want. Definately for younger and more tecnologically aware consumers.

The Bad:
http://www.knitshop.co.uk/

1- Knitshop.co.uk is targeted at a very nich market of the knitting world. It is definately aimed at the older generation, and this can be seen as the layout and style is very plain. However, i must just wonder how many old people actually know how to use the computer aswell aswell as the internet???

2- Still has got a Merry Christmas message and delivery dates during the christmas period. I therefore shows how it is not up-to-date regularly.

3- List of colour of yarn and other knitting appliances. Though you would not instantly know what each one would be unless clicking on them. The list is also very long, and would probably be very tedious for older users.

4- The imagery are very relevant to the site, however at first glance i instantly thought that they were link boxes to each area, and are placed directly at the viewers eye level. However, when putting my cursor over, they are simply imagery. I think having them as link boxes would definately benefit the user, and would be more efficient, enabling them to go to the exact place of interest. I would definately aid people that are visually dispared (seeing pictures better than words).

5- Though the home page link stays in the same place throughout, it is very small. It would be very difficult for users with poor site & the elderly whom i think are there main targets.
6- The picture are very unreliable though when cliscked on the images do appear slightly larger. The site does not state any information such as what the yarn is made from, where it is from, length and the quality - leaving the user in uncertatinty.

7- I am not too sure what (?) stands for, but i am asuming that t=with the idea of shipping products, that these products are available world wide. However, it does not state what currency the products are sold at. As the site is [.co.uk] i am assuming that it is in £'s however the user is left in uncertatinty again.

Overall i think that this website is very poor. It does not contain obvious and vital information such as the price currency and information about the products themselves. It is also obvious that this website does not get checked and up-dated regularly, and would therefore hesistate in buying there products online. Also i believe it is not user friendly for there elderly target audience. Do older genrations really know how to order products online...im gonna let you answer that you question yourself....????

=)

2009-01-27T14:53:00.000-08:00

Well it looks like luck is on my side...I have AMAZING people in my group...Lets make our group wiki wicked guys!!! x

Loves Green!!!

2009-01-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

OMG...im loving this page...im loving the GREEN!!! (Of course it is my fav colour, lol) Im anticipating the group work, i haven't really had much luck in the past with group work, so hopefully this time, i have amazing, fun, reliable people...this is not the time to mess around!!!

Is in love with blogging....

2009-01-26T07:33:00.000-08:00

20th Jan was my officially my first day of blogging...and i can only think of one word to sum it up....FRUSTRATING!!! Coming even one min late to class is not recommended..you'll jus get into confusion and start huffing and puffing like i did!!! lol, wot would i do if it wasnt for the lovely Nigel helping me out =) Anyway, my head was so crammed with blogging, wikis, twitter etc... But i did thoroughly enjoy myself....the World Wide Web is so interesting...I never thought past the idea of a website i.e Facebook...and the thought and effort that goes into making and keeping a site alive!!!

* Note to self: BE EARLY TO NEXT LESSON!!!!!!!

Testing, Testing...1...2...3...

2009-01-20T02:55:00.000-08:00

This is a test...