Screen vs Printed Document Design

What is Document Design?

Reep (2006) defines document design as 'physical appearance of the document'. Written text works together with its presentation in order to provide the readers with the appropriate information needed.

Print Media

Source: Google

Print media presents information in a form of news, editorials, stories, biographies and etc. (Kanagu, 2010)

Online media

Source: Google

Differences?

1. Reading Pattern

According to Nielsen (2006), readers use F-shaped pattern to read web content. It reflects the way readers use to read web content. Readers first read in horizontal movement then the second horizontal and finally the vertical movement.

In printed text, reading is linear and strictly coded. Readers read from left to right and from top to bottom, line by line (Kress & van Leeuwen, 2006).

As for web content, readers usually do not read the whole content but instead scanning through the text (Nielsen, 1997).

2. Writing Structure

Nielsen stated that reading from computer monitor is 25% slower than reading print document because it strains the eyes (Redshaw, 2003).
Therefore Nielsen suggested that to attract readers' attention, while writing for the web, web organisers should know a few guidelines which are:

• Be succint (short texts)


• Scannability
  


• Hypertext Structure

Printed media usually uses verbal imagery and emphasises on linguistic discourse, vocabulary and grammar. However, electronic media emphasises on visual imagery and sound effects. Online media tackles the senses of visual, tactile, hearing and kinaesthetic (Walsh, 2006).

3. Layout

Print Design is 2-dimensional. It enables the readers to flip the page while Web design is 1-dimensional or N-dimensional so that the readers would have a scrolling experience (Nielsen, 1999).

Screen media documents their content more precisely whereas print media is more liner and sequential. Thus, it is up to the readers to choose to either read from printed media or online media.

Reference:

• Kanagu 2010, Kill or co-exist?: print media vs electronic media, viewed 22 August 2011, <http://kanaguonline.wordpress.com/2010/06/28/print-media-vs-electronic-media/>.
  
  


• Kress G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, 'Front pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout', Approaches to media discourse, eds Bell, A & Garrett, P. Blackwell, Oxford, ch. 7, pp 186-219.
  
  


• Morkes, J & Nielsen, J 1997, Concise, scannable, and objective: how to write for the web, viewed 22 August 2011, <http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html>.
  
  


• Nielsen, J 1997, Writing for the web, viewed 22 August 2011, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9703b.html>.
  
  


• Nielsen, J 1999, Differences between print design and web design, viewed 22 August 2011, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html>.
  
  


• Nielsen, J 2006, F-shaped pattern for reading web content, viewed 22 August 2011, <http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html>.
  
  


• Reep, DC 2006, 'Document design', Technical writing:, ch. 6, pp. 133-172.
  
  


• Redshaw, K 2003, Web writing vs. print writing, viewed 22 August 2011, <http://www.kerryr.net/webwriting/guide_web-vs-print.htm>.
  
  


• Walsh, M 2006, 'The 'textual shift': examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
  
  

New Form of Media Publishing

Source : Google

What comes to your mind when you see 'new media'?

Youtube? Facebook? MySpace? Twitter? Yes, you are actually correct!

Today, instead of reading newspaper, people turn to social networking sites and online newspapers to gain latest news. In this digital age, to find a person who actually sits down and read the newspaper is quite difficult.

Social networking sites has become a norm that even media practitioners engage with social media to gain readership. A report done by Yahoo Labs showed that there are 45 news top sites engage with social media (Harlow, 2010).

According to Walsh (2006), 'affordance' means 'what is made possible by the modes used'.

'Multimodal text' incorporates visual images including layout, size, shape, colour, line. Multimodal text also emphasises on visual imagery and sound effects.

Twitter - It is a multimodal text and with 140 character, we are able to convey a message. We can upload pictures and videos right on the spot for our readers to know our latest happenings which obviously has incorporated the 'affordance' element.

However, many oppose the idea of considering Twitter as a new form of journalism as it is hard to convey message in 140 characters and may twists the original meaning of the story (A new form of journalism?, 2011).

Social media includes images, videos, sound effects to catch the eye of the audiences. With the knowledge the readers have previously, they would have trigger the 'inside the head' process' and start visualising (Walsh, 2006). Twitter as an example again, in 140 characters, the audience would share the story and is up to the readers to visualise.

No wonder why public now turns to online media in order to gain latest news!

Reference:

• 'A new form of journalism?' 2011, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://richpetrie89.wordpress.com/2011/04/14/a-new-form-of-journalism/>.
  
  


• Harlow, S 2010, Facebook vs. Twitter: are people actually reading the articles, or just sharing them via social media?, Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/facebook-vs-twitter-are-people-actually-reading-articles-or-just-sharing-them-social-media>.
  
  


• Harlow, S 2010, Finding a place for Twitter in journalism, Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://knightcenter.utexas.edu/blog/finding-place-twitter-journalism>.
  
  


• Walsh, M 2006, The 'textual shift': examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no.1, pp. 24-37.

Blogging Communities, Building Blogging Communities & Types of Blogging Communities

What is a Blogging Community?

Blog is effectively online diaries (Clapperton, 2010) while community is defined as a group of people who hold or share something in common like sharing the same values or interests (Williams, 1993). Hence, blogging community means a group of people who shares the same interests in online diaries.

Jane (2011) uses a very unique way to explain on how to build a niche blogging community:

1. The Seed
   Blog posts should serve a purpose and OUTSTANDING!!
   
   
2. Seed Sown on Right Soil
   Select the right platform and accepts comments from readers and make the readers feel prioritised.
   
   
3. A Clean Platform/Consistency
   Presentation of content is indeed important and must be updated in a regular basis in order to catch hold of your readers.
   
   
4. Accommodate Visitors
   When readers increase, create new platforms and add new functionality in order for more interactions with readers.
   
   

With these simple steps, you will be able to have a SUCCESSFUL and NICHE blogging community!!

Nancy White (2006) pointed out that as blogging has gained wider recognition, blogging community shows up in three main patterns which are the Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community, the Central Connecting Topic and the Boundaried Community.

Blog based Community

Source : Nancy White 2006

Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community

This is the first form of blog based community and it centers around one owner or organisation. There may be more than one blogger writing in a blog, but it is definitely not an aggregation of blogs. Communities respond to the blog by being the commentor but they are not in control of the blog except for the blogger him or herself.

Single Blog/Blogger Centric Community

Central Connecting Topic Community

Unlike Blogger Centric Community, Central Connecting Topic Community focuses more on the topic rather than the blogger. This blogging community does not emphasise on the profile of the blogger,however, the blogger's personal details can be shared via instant messages or email. Community is formed within the network who are interested in the topic discussed in the blog.

Topic Centric Community

Boundaried Community

Boundaried Community Blog usually requires the members to register and join the community in order to create a blog. This type of community blog does not merely have blogs but also other tools such as discussion board, forums, social networking sites where it allows the members to not just have their own personal spaces but also enable them to share their interest in a common area or for daily 'conversations. The power in this kind of community lies in the platform owner. Bloggers hold power in three ways which are (1) frequency of posting, (2) popularity gained through comments and (3) visualising relationships through social networking sites.

Boundaried Community

Global Voices is a community blog of more than 300 bloggers and translators around the world that come together to us reports from blogs and media everywhere with emphasis on voices that are not usually heard in mainstream media. It is a Topic Centric Community as the bloggers blog based on the topic, not based on own interest. Their personal details are not revealed in the community but their emails are available for the public to email or to instant message them for queries. The bloggers play the role of 'telling' the voices which cannot be heard which appropriately defined the 'affordance' theory. Affordance is applied to Global Voices as the bloggers will use words to narrate the topic and by 'showing' photos and videos to maximise the interactions with the community (Walsh, 2006).

Reference:

• Clapperton, G 2010, What is blogging, and how do I get a blog?, BBC, viewed 21 August 2011, <http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/guides/how-to-get-a-blog>.
  
  
• Jane 2011, Tips on building a niche blogging community, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://www.seommotips.com/blogging-tips/tips-on-building-a-niche-blogging-community/>.
  
  
• Walsh, M 2006, 'The 'textual shift': examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts', Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, pp. 24-37.
  
  
• White, N 2006, Blogs and community - launching a new paradigm for online community, The Knowledge Tree, viewed 21 August 2011, <http://kt.flexiblelearning.net.au/tkt2006/edition-11-editorial/blogs-and-community-%E2%80%93-launching-a-new-paradigm-for-online-community>.
  
  
• Williams, R 1993, The virtual community, viewed 21 August 2011, <http://people.ucalgary.ca/~bakardji/community/definition.html>.

Classifications of Blogs

Our access to information through Internet has drastically changed compared to olden days. Public can now access to information not just through registered or supported websites but now there are various webs available and other means of accessing information such as blogs and social networking sites. There are of various types of blogs. Blogs are usually created to suit the interest of their target audiences. Some examples of the blogs classifications are as below:

Subject Matter:

• Law - Above The Law

• History - The History Blog

• Fashion - Fashion Style Me

• Political - Lim Guan Eng

• Personal Blog - Xiaxue

Device:

Moblog

Source : Jonathan 2011

Moblog is a blog that uses mobile phones as a device to publish blogs.

Media Type:

• Vlog - RyanHiga

Vlog or video blogging is a blog that consists of videos.

• Linklog - iamcal

A linklog is a blog that consists of many links to other sites or pages.

• Sketchlog- L4D2 Sketchlog

Sketchlog is a blog that includes images, pictures, sketches.

Status of Publisher:

Business Blog

Source: Final Sense 2007

According to Margaret Simons (2008), blogs are categorised into 9 classifications. The classifications includes:

1. Pamphleteering Blog
2. The Digest Blog
3. The Advocacy Blog
4. The Popular Mechanics Blog
5. The Exhibition
6. The Gatewatcher
7. The Diary
8. The Advertisement
9. The News Blog

Another taxonomy of blog classifications I found which is interesting is by a freelance blogger, Tom Haskins. In his blog, Haskins (2007) categorised blogs into 4 classifications which are :

Source : Tom Haskins, 2007

Margaret Simons taxonomy of blog may be detailed but I would prefer Haskins' way of classifying blogs. It is because it is not as complicated the classification of blogs suggested by Simons. It is easier to understand with such precise and understandable taxonomy. Even though different bloggers blog with different motives, but their main purpose of blogging is to share their experiences and interest with other people. Therefore, to my preference, Haskins' taxonomy of blog would be much easier for the public to understand.

Reference:

• Haskins, T 2007, Different motivations for blogging, viewed 23 August 2011, <http://growchangelearn.blogspot.com/2007/03/different-motivations-for-blogging.html>.

• Simons, M 2008, Towards a taxonomy of blogs, Australian Policy Online, viewed 21st August 2011, <http://www.apo.org.au/commentary/towards-taxonomy-blogs-0>.

Blogging phenomenon & its benefits towards community

Jorn Barger described ‘weblog’ as personal websites that present ‘frequently updated news, headlines, recommended links, diary entries’ and so on. ‘Weblog’ is called ‘weblog’ is because it is organized chronologically and designed for short, frequent updates. In other words, weblogs represent online intersection of people and time (Branum, 2001).

The blogging phenomenon is now becoming a major issue amongst the society that the size of blogosphere is seemingly increasing. As you can see from the pie chart below, according to Technorati (2010), the state of blogosphere in 2010 is seemingly huge that blogging has become a worldwide phenomenon and almost everyone blogs. According to the chart, United States of America has the largest size of bloggers.

Based on the results of a survey done by Press Microsoft Malaysia on the blogosphere in Malaysia, 81% of Malaysians blog for their friends and family (Press Microsoft Malaysia 2006) and primarily of the bloggers are women.

There are lots preferable blogs that are normally visited by the people in Europe, Asia and Malaysia such as personal blogs, political blogs, corporate blogs and so on.

With the existence of blogs today, public switched from mainstream media to online blogs for updated news. As an example, political blogs in Malaysia provide insights of the politics in Malaysia and give alternative news to the citizens about recent happenings in the country and encourages the people to actively participate in political discussions. On the other hand, in Iran, blogging about politics is quite prevalent but at the same time it has huge risk. In April 2003, Iran has the first government to imprison a blogger – Sina Motallebi who owned a popular weblog RoozNegar.com as it is said to have gone against the regime of Iran (Alper & Barcella, 2006).

In conclusion, undeniably blogging has become a huge part in humans’ life especially teenagers and young adults as a medium to voice out their own concerns and it is growing rapidly as it is seen to be the new form of media to express their feelings.

(Example of Political Blog)

Source : Lim Guan Eng 2011

(Example of Personal Blog)

Source : Xiaxue 2011

Reference :

• Alper, A & Barcella, L 2006, Iran, blogging against regime, AlterNet, viewed 21st August 2011, <http://www.alternet.org/story/30702/>.
  
  


• Branum, J.M 2001, The blogging phenomenon: an overview and theoretical consideration, JMBZINE.com, viewed 21st August 2011, <http://www.ajy.net/jmb/blogphenomenon.htm>.
  
  


• State of the blogosphere 2010 introduction 2010, Technorati, viewed 21st August 2011, <http://technorati.com/blogging/article/state-of-the-blogosphere-2010-introduction/>.
  
  


• Women rule in Malaysian blogosphere 2006, Press Microsoft Malaysia, viewed 21st August 2011, <http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/press/archive2006/linkpage4337.mspx>.

Purpose of Blog

The main purpose of me creating this blog is to discuss the issues that the public who are concerned about the media field would face. Besides, creating this blog does not just discuss the issues faced in media field but to educate the people about the principles of publication and designs.

However, who are those that are interested in reading this blog?

No doubt it will be those who are involved in communication field such as students, media and communication lecturers and other media and communication practitioners, yet students and media practitioners are the two major target audiences.