ICAWEB424A Evaluate and Select a Web Hosting Service
Last Week
Last week we discussed aspects of social networking and how we relate to it. Let us look at the class discussion in the Forum on MyKangan. (The link requires for you to be signed into MyKangan).
Some of the discussion points and evaluations:
Facebook
How interactive is the site?The site is very interactive as a user can communicate with others through many ways (e.g messaging, chat, comments, statuses, posts, sharing media) 9/10
How intuitive is the navigation? Facebook isnt very inituitive, especially for beginners new users, there isnt really much of a tutorial on how to connect with friends, upload images, posts, etc. And the navigation is a little bit hard to use. 6/10
How responsive is the site (speed)? Facebook loads very fast on a desktop/laptop but i find it tends to be slow and laggy on a smart phone and can take awhile to load/refresh. 7/10
Advertisments: are there frequent ads, pop-ups or spam? The ads are all interesting to the user and related to a user’s “likes” (which could be books, movies, games, etc). 7/10
Visuals, layout and graphics: Facebook has a boring blue and white colour scheme, although the layout may be modern and clean it isnt very appealing, its too simple and boring. The website is very text based (especially if you have a lot of “friends” that post alot of statuses, etc), but it does have some images if someone has uploaded them. 4/10
How interactive is the site? Facebook is very interactive when it comes to interacting with other users. You can engage them in different ways from chatting to posting on their ‘wall’. I find the wall feature a bit corny and there is no wall anyway, so it is just a page in a text editing software. The fact that you can communicate with others, post songs, documents, videos, photos, graphics and links is excellent. Interactivity:9/10
How intuitive is the site? Facebook is not very intuitive. When you are new to Facebook you do not quite know what to do. It is rather boring to look at and you cannot understand the navigation easily. You get better at it through experience. I would rate it: 5/10
How responsive is the site? It is pretty fast. Mostly happy: 9/10
Advertisements? I do not like ads, I hate pop-ups and that goes even more for spam. Facebook is good in regards to ads, their ads are targeted and generally of interest to me.8/10
Visuals? What visuals? It looks like a text editor! Very boring in layout, in use of images and in colours: 2/10
Federico’s verdict: 6.7/10!
Linked In
Linked In is not very interactive because the site is now dated and the only interactions are when you email someone or they contact you. The topics of interest are not very regular and there is not alot of activity on a daily basis. 6/10
The navigation is also dated and like many SNS sites it takes time to navigate around the site to get used to it. 5/10
Linked In site speed is fast and there is not a page load time problem. 8/10
Linked In doesn’t have ads although I have noticed that they are promoting ads like facebook style ads to appear in the near future. All members have the ability to advertise their own business. 3/10
The visuals and graphics of Linked In are also dated and in need of an upgrade. You cannot edit your own images to how you want them to look and the whole page layout is boring. 4/10
On Linked In you cannot search for a person unless you are logged in. This makes it good for privacy reasons although if you want to use the paid version you can see who has been searching for you which seems to contradict the privacy aspects of Linked In. 5/10
Linked In is 80% text based and 20% images. 2/10
Paul’s verdict: 33/70!
Social Web in HTML
We will look at ways to include content in a Social Networking website and how to incorporate content from your website on another site.
You can use HTML to embed sound, video, websites and other objects.
Iframe
Iframe is a command that allows you to embed a website or a video into a frame. Example for code:
ICAWEB424A Evaluate and Select a Web Hosting Service
Evaluate Social Networking Sites
Before you will be able to evaluate Social Networking (Web-)Sites (let us call them SNS to make it easier) you need to define what a SNS is.
SNS – Definition
In our first class we looked at how to define a SNS. We seemed to agree that it needed to allow you to create a profile as much as to share information with others, to upload content and to be able to leave comments. It should allow you to chat to others.
This is a pretty wide approach and I believe applies to Facebook, YouTube and any other SNS.
Let us look at some other definitions:
‘A SNS is a web-based service that allows users to share a public or private profile with common users and explore connections with others within the site.’
(Boyd & Ellison, 2007 – Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication)
This is a fairly wide and inclusive defintion that applies well to SNS.
List of SNS
Popular SNS found at SocialMediaToday.com
How many of the sites above have you come across? They were listed as 40 of the most popular SNS on SocialMediaToday. Here is a list of popular sites (source: Wikipedia)
Facebook
Twitter
Google+
Qzone
Sina Weibo
Formspring
Habbo
Vkontakte
LinkedIn
Bebo
Tagged
Orkut
Netlog
Friendster
hi5
How would you evaluate SNS? What criteria would you apply? Have a brainstorm with your colleagues (or alone) and afterwards discuss what makes a good SNS in your opinion.
The underlined text and insertion point at end of the word indicates that you are still in the type mode.
What Time is it Now? by King_Bobbles
Constructivism Reference – by Lylah Livingston
Michael Pointing in GTA V – Courtesy of Rockstar
Illustration by Gary Neill found on Dzineblog.com – http://garyneill.com/ http://garyneill.tumblr.com/
Study – Lines and Grace Kelly – by Federico Viola photo: courtesy of GettingCheeky.com and curved lines wallpaper: courtesy of FreeFever.com
Text and Shapes – This design lends itself to an interactive use – found at: Smashing Magazine (click image for inspiring article on table of content design)
Screenshot of Endless Alphabet 2, courtesy of AppsPlayground.com
Contemporary design in style of Construcitvism by Teo Brito found at LauraGreen92 – click image for more information and link to her blog
From ‘Henri’s Walk to Paris’ 1962 – children’s book by Saul Bass Found at: Brainpickings.org
Swiss travel poster from 1934 by Herbert Matter – Source: http://swisstype.wordpress.com/work/
Illustration by Gary Neill found on P.A.P.-Blog – http://garyneill.com/ http://garyneill.tumblr.com/
Study – Lines and Grace Kelly – by Federico Viola photo: courtesy of GettingCheeky.com and curved lines wallpaper: courtesy of FreeFever.com
Experimental Photomontage by Robert Heinecken
Based on photo by xandert found on morgueFile
Lines and Gradients- Courtesy of: psdtuts+
Geese in Ameland, Photo by Frans Schouwenburg
Based on image by hotblack on morgueFile.com – F.Viola
Found at Inc.com
Illustration by Jessie Ford, found on DzineBlog.com
Only practice will help you learn! Photo by BreonWarwick on morgueFile
Illustration: Jamie McKelvie – Suburban Glamour Comic Series
Illustration by Jessie Ford, found on DzineBlog.com
The swirls in the image are made up of numerous lines. Courtesy of: www.openprocessing.org
Vertical lines of a dark fence, image courtesy of p.ic – Photo Internet Collection – www.photoic.wordpress.com, photographer: Federico Viola
The grass layer has been turned into a clipping mask with the shape of the rabbit below.
A Beautiful Piece by Aerosol found on his Facebook
Photo by ariadna on morgueFile
Outlined text changed in size and colours dropped into the individual letters with Eyedropper tool using LMB + Alt
Image from morgueFile by lemai13
Illustration: Jamie McKelvie – Art Brut Record
The gentle curve of the river and the light green tones of the grass give this image a calming feel. The montains and the clouds have a less calming effect. Image: courtesy of Icon Photography School – http://www.photographyicon.com/line/
Photo by hotblack on morgueFile.com
Italian movie poster found on Abduzeedo.com
Photo by DTL on morgueFiles
Work by Egon Schiele, found at Mom.org
Text-based Table of Content – Very Graphic and Black and White- found at: Smashing Magazine (click image for inspiring article on table of content design)
Work by Jo W
Photo by clarita on www.morguefile.com
‘For Great Road Trips: Switzerland’ Poster by Herbert Matter in (Swiss) International Style – Source: http://swisstype.wordpress.com/work/
Grassy Rabbits
He loves OHS! – Photo by Karpati Gabor on morgueFile
Table of Content from Textbook – This design lends itself to an interactive use – found at: Smashing Magazine (click image for inspiring article on table of content design)
“Step into my office” Source: The Age, click image for link
Screenshot – 82 Everyone is a Marketer by Seth Godin from What’s Your Story by Joyce Hostyn
Photo Montage by SGlider12 on Webdesign.org – Click image for great Gimp tutorial
Mosaic of Sofia Coppola – by Maurizio Galimberti – www.mauriziogalimberti.it
Photo by frenchbyte on morgueFile
Concept for Gallery Screnshot
Illustration by Kate Miller, found on DzineBlog.com
Example of applied changes
Photo by omdur on morgueFile
Vista Lighting Effect – Courtesy of: Tutorial9
The concept was used on the German side as well with this ‘Auch du sollst beitreten zur Reichswehr’ [You too should join the German Army], design by Julius Engelhard, Image: courtesy of mental_floss
Based on photo by dhester from morgueFile.com
Some of us have there most enjoyable moments in nature at the beach, Photo by rivediamoci on morgueFiles
Steel Curves, Image: courtesy of flickr.com, photographer: Margeois.
Image Source: www.photoshopessentials.com
Screenshot from What’s Your Story by Joyce Hostyn
Courtesy of The Art of Mass Effect Universe’, 2012
Photo by mconnors on morgueFile
Photo by Seemann on morgueFile.com
Layers in Photoshop are like a Collage of images stuck on top of each other…
Illustration: Tavis Coburn – Illustration for for an article predicting trends in Apple’s mobile strategy. Found on: TavisCoburn.com
Typographic with Colours and Photos – The use of large numbers is effective and the low opacity of the boxes works, personally, I find it looks a bit dated- found at: JuxtaPost.com
Using the Reflect tool (o) to reflect the i downwards as if it has collapsed in front.
Finding the Right Candidate for a Job… – Photo AdamRiley from www.projectnoah.org
Couple found at http://frenchbydesign.blogspot.com.au
Based on a photo by delboysafa from morgueFile.com
Photo by mcconnors on morgueFile
Fruity Design – This is great for a menu, very appetizing thumbnails – found at: WeddingPhotography.com
Photo by matthewbridges on morgueFile.com
I Want You – Emily Strange, The lovable Emily Strange came to life in 1991, designed by Nathan Carrico for Santa Cruz Skateboards. She is referred to as a counterculture icon. I would just call her a sceptic. Image found at: Kollectable Kaos
Leonardo’s St. John the Baptist, Louvre, Paris, Image: courtesy of A World History of Art – www.all-art.org
The Face by drfranken found on ChromoArt.de
Photo by dharder on morgueFiles.com
Source: morgueFile, Photo by matei
Milk Poster – Swiss International Style Reference – by Annabel Stephen Salip
The Glossy Reflection is transparent on top and gets whiter towards the bottom.
Multimedia Production Cycle – This image is under the Creative Common Agreement, you can use it but will need to reference this site: www.classoffederico.wordpress.com
From ‘Henri’s Walk to Paris’ 1962 – children’s book by Saul Bass Found at: Brainpickings.org
Work by Justin Anderson
The calming effect of horizontal lines, image: courtesy of flickr.com, Photographer: jaikdean
Text and Shapes – This design lends itself to an interactive use – found at: Klafferty.com
Swiss International Style – Joseph Müller-Brockmann – Beethoven – found at www.designhistory.com
Setting the grid up.
Peace- Swiss International Style Reference – by Maryam Chananeh
Image source: Data Center Knowledge
Free Transform and Ctrl – I am loving it!!!
Courtesy of The Art of Mass Effect Universe’, 2012
Jenga, photo courtesy of: Design-Crit.com
ruthworkx -http://ruthworkx.files.wordpress.com
Based on photo by hotblack from morgueFile.com
Britons, Lord Kitchener Wants You! Propaganda poster design from WWI by Alfred Leere. Image: courtesy of WorldWarEra.com
Photomontage: Amir Ebrahim Photography
Illustrator unknown – found at: Ephemera – World of Rare Books
Custom Shapes and Custom Shape Icon
Examples of Output and Display for web-content. Image: live.surveyshack.com
Your Lipstick Needs You, an entertaining take by Digital Media Artist Samantha Cain. Courtesy of: Samantha Cain, http://www.behance.net/samanthacain
Colourful Table of Content – Ribbons in Primary Colours – found at: LifeBlue.com
Colours, Numbers and Boxes – very happy and alive, personally I do not like the distortion of the word content – found at: Flickr
This is a template for a business website found at TemplateMonster. It is interesting in the sense that it breaks up the main image as part of the navigation. The sound it comes with is annoying.
Good Morning! Photo: wallyir, from: morgueFile.com
Photo by agathabrown on morgueFile
Massive Attack – The Essential Mix
Light Streaks – Courtesy of: PhotoshopEssentials
Poppies – Vector art Federico Viola based on photo by hotblack from morgueFile
Pink Ribbon Day – Swiss International Style Reference – by Hwan Rochanabuddhi
![The concept was used on the German side as well with this 'Auch du sollst beitreten zur Reichswehr' [You too should join the German Army], design by Julius Engelhard, Image: courtesy of mental_floss](https://classoffederico.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/world-war-propaganda_auch-du-sollst-beitreten.jpg?w=246&h=313 "world war propaganda_Auch du sollst beitreten")
