Writing Tools for the Web

Professionals are turning to social media to give their work more exposure. Sites such as Blogger, LinkedIn, and Twitter are becoming more popular, as well as Facebook pages, Wikis, and RSS feeds. These tools are popular because almost everyone sees them and they are free or low-cost. Forum technology is gaining more popularity to promote work and extend feelers as well. When researching this topic, I found that there are a lot of networking options other than just having your own website to explain and show your work. People even make careers out of being bloggers.

I found an interesting article about writing for the web at Web Pro News. Its main emphasis is that print writing and internet writing are entirely different things. These 10 Commandments of Internet Writing are really simple things to improve the way people read your site, blog, or other postings. This is a link to a book description that gives a similar overview. Here, they say, "The formula is simple - be honest, put the customer first, and don't waffle." This book (advertised on the site) covers many different kinds of online writing from web marketing to news releases, newsletters, webzines, and Weblogs. An article on Associated Content gives you five ways to keep a web reader's attention. The emphasis here is that web readers are very different from print viewers, mainly because they're in it for the quick access to information and are looking for an easy-to-read style. The main topics here are: be specific with your information, describe exactly what your site or blog will do for your visitors, get personal and write in a way that shows how personable you or your service is, and bring true content to your website by giving your readers real value (in other words, give them the full, detailed content especially if background is needed to understand a topic). While researching, I also found many advertisements for classes specifically on writing for the web, which tells me it's becoming an even bigger trend and now involves things other than just Blogger. HigherEdExperts gives a listing of information covered in a Web Writing Boot Camp. Who knew there was such a science to it? However, I think that's what makes it such a useful tool for professionals. If you can do something right, you should probably do it a lot and / or use it to your advantage.

LinkedIn is a professional resource for not only keeping in touch with your past and present, but it is also a resource for job opportunities and networking. I don't personally have experience with LinkedIn, but I heard the guys I work with talking about it the other day. It seems that LinkedIn has a sort of "group" technology and more specific forums that people can invite each other to and follow and participate in. In this way, LinkedIn seems to be becoming a bit more like Facebook or MySpace. With Facebook and Myspace, you can publish your business online and have people follow your news, updates, and happenings. When one person becomes interested in you or your business, all of their friends become exposed to it. In this way, it is a very powerful word-spreading tool. If you present yourself as a professional with good web writing on these sites, then you are more likely to be taken seriously and you may even get some good leads from it. Wikispaces, while I don't think I understand their full purpose, are also useful for business communication or promotion. You can easily put in text, upload images and files, link pages, and install widgets. You can create discussion forums, get statistics on your visitors, tag pages, and customize your wiki with text formatting, custom domains and custom themes. You can also set your wiki to be public, protected, or private, depending on exactly what you're using it for. Wikis seem like simple solutions for simple things. For example, I don't think a graphic designer would get much use from a wiki because it seems to be a little too generic and more geared towards discussions and such that a class might have. I know wikis are seeing more use in the classroom setting as an alternative to Blackboard or Moodle because they are effective discussion tools. I could see them possibly working for some people with some careers, but not for all. Based off of the article "How To Use Wikis For Business", I think wikis are most helpful in project management within a business.

Other Blogger-like tools are: RSS feeds, LiveJournal, TypePad, WordPress, and Blogger itself. The only reason I count RSS feeds as a "Blogger-like" tool is because it gets a message out very quickly, just as Twitter technology or a mass email does. Everyone who subscribes can get instant updates, so this makes it a good tool for advertising purposes, as well as keeping people up to date on your professional progress. This way, people can stay easily informed by getting the latest information from the sites / topics they're interested in (http://www.whatisrss.com). Twitter accounts and blogging among professional companies as well as individual professionals and regular individuals have been growing. One reason they are becoming so popular in companies is so that the companies can promote themselves to a larger population of people as well as so they can increase communication within the companies themselves. LiveJournal is a site on which you can create a private journal or create a blog, discussion forum or social network. It is a networking site, like so many others. The way I see LiveJournal is kind of like a glorified Facebook because you can connect with people, shop and send gifts, advertise, and use it on your mobile phone. One unique thing is that you can turn your journal into a bookstore-quality book. TypePad gets more away from the profile idea of LiveJournal and more towards a blog. You can design and customize your own blog with TypePad and use search engine optimization and social media optimization tools to promote your blog. You can choose from many preexisting designs or create one yourself and you can update your blog from anywhere. It's very simple and doesn't involve any fancy knowledge, yet you can have complete design control and have access to smart layouts and advanced editing features. There is also a feature with TypePad that if you see something interesting online, you can click "Blog It" and it will put the link on your blog, much like sharing with Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. TypePad even has ways to grow your audience by getting your blog noticed on search engines and creating a community (for those who share similar interests) and you can get stats that tell you how many people are interacting with your blog. TypePad is not free, though, so it is an investment to be made. Wordpress and Blogger are two other popular sources for blogging and site-making. Personally, I haven't dealt with Wordpress much yet, but I have heard about it and I have used Blogger. With both you can use templates or create custom designs for your site / blog. I found an interesting debate between the two here. Both also seem easy enough to use. One person on this discussion said that Blogger would be better than Wordpress if you wanted to keep your blog private. I think that Wordpress has more ways to customize the look and feel of your blog as well. While Wordpress has templates that you can buy, there are also free templates. Another advantage of Wordpress is that it has plug-ins that enable you to optimize your site for search engines and Blogger does not. Thus, I would think that for personal use or small-time traffic, one would use Blogger and for things with the potential to grow and spread, one would use Wordpress.

I can take advantage of most of these tools as a student to let people know what I'm doing while I'm in school so that it can help launch me into the professional world. When I am a professional, I can use the same tools or the higher-end tools to represent myself as being more professional and getting my business out to many different kinds of people in many different places. Blogs, and specifically Wordpress, would make it very easy to create portfolios of my work, in particular. Today, I will be creating a LinkedIn profile for myself. I also have Twitter (@sarahegolf) and YouTube (violet13ske) accounts.

Perception of a Site x 5

http://www.sourceforlearning.org

http://www.sourceforlearning.org is a website for a not-for-profit company that offers teachers, students, and parents many different learning resources. Upon first glance, from a non-designer perspective, it's not horrible. Honestly, it could be a lot worse, but it could be a lot better too. The gray is a turnoff, based on the vibrancy of the logo. The bold white type is abrasive to the eyes. The layout of the links on the side and the resources at the bottom with the main area nestled in the middle just below the header is a good, solid layout. The search, share, and contribute boxes look a little awkward thrust up in the top right corner. Because of the harsh devising line between the lined gray and dark black, the logo going off the main page area looks awkward as well, though it is nicely lined up with the points sitting right on the edge. I don't know why the browser background is black, I would at least make it the same dark blue from the logo. That's another point: not all the blues on the page are the same. I don't know how many people would pick up on that, but I would think it could be distracting. The main section of the page looks very flat with the image slapped on. The resources at the bottom overflow their containers, which gives a very unfinished view of the site. Let's hope these people can provide better material than they can hire a web designer. The links on the left side are okay…until you hover over one with a "drop down" menu. It literally drops everything else on the page down and expands the page so everything fits with the new links. Compare the first screen capture with the second for a better idea of the awkward expansion. With the page expanded, there's empty blue space at the bottom under the white resources bar. I'm not sure it would even help if that bar were anchored and blue space was added in the main page area. I just think the way these links work is distracting and unprofessional. Also, not even every link has a drop down, which doesn't follow the standard parallelism of if A has two sub-points, B and C also need to have two sub-points. I'm not saying each link has to have the same number of sub-links, but they do need to have some parallels. The sign up link for the email is acceptable, but I feel like it could be customized for the organization. A small detail that wasn't paid attention to is in the section at the bottom with the chunks, the titles are blue then red, unlike the logo, which is red then blue. It's nice they tried to tie that in though. I do like the logo for the site.

http://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com

http://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com is a tourist website for visitors to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I really like this website. I open the link and feel like I'm already at the beach because of the color scheme and general atmosphere of the site. As a non-designer, I think this site is fantastic. As a designer, I think this website is pretty darn good. The logo could be better, but at the same time, it suits given the competition. I would venture to call myself an expert at things Myrtle Beach and I've used this site before. The changing picture bar at the top is great, and really paints a great picture of the area. The transitions are subtle waves and adds another dimension to the site. There's a current conditions area at the top of the page next to the search bar and for any tourist, this is a great, must-have feature. The links across the top are fine enough. I don't happen to like the ampersand in that particular typeface, but it fits with the style of the site and the other type that's used. I love the links in the picture bar. They're beautiful and take after web 2.0 icons with the glass shimmer reflection and their shape and size. The links are colorful and color-coded, which is nice. Links within the text are a nice soft blue that is included in the theme colors of the site, so it fits in, but it's recognizable as a text link. The links along the right side are colorful too, though they do not necessarily coordinate with the links up top, which is disappointing. The page might be a little long, but it doesn't have an overwhelming amount of information on it either, so I think it's fine. Because of the importance of applications and being connected to them these days, I would say the twitter, facebook, and youtube icons should not just be slapped at the bottom of the text in the main area of the page. I'd also say that the email updates and plan your trip bars as well as the Myrtle Beach Events section shouldn't be at the very bottom of the big link bar down the right column. It's not often you find links listed along the right side of the website, but I think it's fine in this situation because of the links in the upper left. Overall, I think this is a pretty good website.

http://www.juggle.org

http://www.juggle.org is a site for the International Jugglers' Association, which is a resource for jugglers. From a non-designer point of view, I think the site works, but it's a little messy. From a designer point of view, I think the website could use a lot of help. The site is very white - the boring and plain kind of white, not the effective, minimalistic kind of white. The logo needs a lot of help seeing as there's word art in it. The links along the side are stuck in bars with random underlines within the words and it just looks bad. The site is organized well in terms of the placement of information within links / categories. The photo gallery at the top is weird because of the pictures themselves, but also because they repeat within the bar. The flyer / image on the welcome page is too big because it doesn't all fit above the fold (at least on my laptop). Surprisingly, the site features a donate button, a login, and a translate-the-site option. The structure of the site is rather typical with a header area, a link area on the left and a main page area. The text, links, and color theme could use a lot of improvement and once those areas were taken care of, I think the site would be a lot better.

http://www.subwayart.com

http://www.subwayart.com is a site for Rochelle Weber, a Subway Station painter. Her logo is interesting and it is recreated with her landing page, though the page is a little flat like grid paper instead of being interesting like the logo. The only links are on the main page in the box. There is nothing to demonstrate the link being active. Once you click on a link, it puts a small amount of information on that gridded background and at the bottom, there is a "return to main menu" link. I think even a non-designer would find navigation of this site rather cumbersome. All of the text on the sub-pages is very plain and is contained in a white box. It's so boring and flat instead of having an artist feel to it like it should. This site probably doesn't show the artist's true personality. The virtual gallery isn't as bad as I expected given the rest of the site, but it is still a pain to use. You have to click on so many different things, just to get where you want to end up and there's not even that much content to the site! I think the gallery especially could be a lot better. After all, she's using it to promote her work. The structure of the website isn't like anything I've seen before, probably because it's so oddly constructed.

http://www.butlerfarmshow.com

http://www.butlerfarmshow.com is a website for the Butler Farm Show in Butler, PA. It is atrocious and just as bad as the juggling website. The logo is horrible and there's even a cow in it. The creator tried to make the pictures fun and put them in overlapping bubbles. The home page is labeled "Home Page" and has a list of links. The photo at the bottom advertising the farm show did not display on Safari. There are a ton of links and they are literally organized in a table. Someone with a basic web design class or access to the software must've done this website because the websites I did in high school were on par with this from a graphic standpoint. The page is pretty much just ugly. This is a classic example of a website layout as well, with a header area a the top and links underneath it, followed by a main content area. I found the major arena events page particularly amusing because of a construction logo (see screen capture). The links could be better organized to make it easier to find things. There's not a whole lot to say about this site because this site really is nothing. I think this is a case of a website having no redeeming qualities and needing to be completely redone.

The Good and The Bad: Critiques of 10 Websites

www.eleven2.com

www.eleven2.com is a website that is efficiently built with the foundations of website design in mind. When looking at the site, users are not overwhelmed with information and thus don't have to think much. Even though there is a flash element, loading time is not long and it cycles through the information quickly, but not so fast as that you can't read it, so the viewer shouldn't be frustrated. The viewer's attention should be focused on the black band that contains the flash which features the assets and brief description of the product. The writing that's used is effective and done in phrases rather than sentences to make it more accessible. The layout itself is demonstrative of clean simplicity and everything is contained in its own space with a good amount of white space around it. The flash implementation and colors of the site add a nice visual language of sleek sophistication and technological ease. This website is built with a somewhat conventional framework consisting of a header and navigation bar at the top with a large multimedia / image space under it and three small informational boxes below it. Below the fold, there is a line for twitter and more links. I know I've seen this same layout on other websites, but because it is clean and accessible, it has been proven to work well. All the links work and it looks the same on Safari as it does on Firefox, so I think whenever this website was created, it must've been tested as well.

http://getfinch.com

http://getfinch.com is another website that is efficiently built with the foundations of website design in mind. The first thing that strikes the viewer is the humongous logo. There is a caption beside the logo saying that their logo is bigger than other logos, which is a nice touch of humor. The links are off to the left, so the viewer only sees them, the logo area, an excerpt of an article and a twitter thread when they get to the site so they don't have to think hard about what they need to do or how they need to interact with the site. Everything is fairly easy to figure out and other than the large logo graphic, there's not much content to load, so the viewer's frustration level should be relatively low. The viewer's attention is first captured by the logo so the brand has ensured its success on that level. From there, there is enough white space for the viewer's eye to wander around the unencumbered layout and explore the site. The site is simple in construction and layout, but sends out a trendy kind of vibe because of it. Like eleven2.com's website, this has the same basic layout of an image area at the top (though links are to the left), and three blocks at the bottom that contain more information. All the links work and it looks the same on Safari as it does on Firefox, so I would think that the website had been tested when it was created.

http://www.malcolmreading.co.uk

http://www.malcolmreading.co.uk is another website that is efficiently built with the foundations of website design in mind. The first thing that the viewer should notice is the large picture area that changes. These pictures are from all over the world and change without the use of flash, so the loading time shouldn't really be affected. If the viewer scrolls down, he will see a short description of the company, written effectively so the viewer can get an idea of the company in a short amount of text that tells what the company does and leaves room for white space on the page. There is also a new client advice section right under the pictures. At the bottom, there are again three blocks of information which categorize and divide the information and a gray box at the bottom with more information and links to ground the page. Again, the page is simplistic in layout, like the others, but it is open so that viewers can easily gain access to what they are seeking.

http://tapbots.com

http://tapbots.com is another website that is efficiently built with the foundations of website design in mind. The first thing the viewer will notice is the large picture area and the clean, open space of the site. Similar to the other sites, there is a navigation bar at the top in the header, a large picture area, and three blocks underneath to divide the information successfully. There is very little text on this page and what is there is used efficiently to tell the viewer just enough about the product that they will click to learn more. At the very bottom of the page, there are more links for the site in blocks to keep with the unencumbered and technological natures of the site. Viewers would find this site very easy to use and to browse through. Because this site design is like so many others, it will be more familiar to people when they encounter it, and most will probably appreciate the structure.

http://www.alexbuga.com/v9/#page/about

http://www.alexbuga.com/v9/#page/about is another website that is efficiently built with the foundations of website design in mind. The loading speed of the page is a bit slow, which could frustrate viewers because the text comes up but it is unreadable until the page is done loading. However, that could just be my slow internet speed from stretching the limits of a wireless that isn't running the smoothest today. There is a lot of text and a lot of things to do and see on this page, but it is organized with headings and because it is a journal format, the viewer expects more information in a smaller space. The viewer's attention is focused on the journal itself, and probably on the pictures or the comic at the top. There are a lot of little details for the eyes to catch, but I believe the about me section is rather prominent. The sections are short and effectively written. The navigation bar is somewhat tricky to find, but the whole site is about exploration. While this might frustrate some people, it is sure to win others over. The home page features clickable items to take the viewer places within the site as well, not that it tells where it might lead. The site features nice clean backgrounds on all the pages that serve to enhance the experience rather than subtract from it. While this site is rather unconventional, for example, with the navigation bar, the viewer still finds the navigation bar at the top of the page, even though it does not appear automatically.

Some websites I found that did not use the foundations of web design were: http://hosanna1.com, http://mito.cool.ne.jp/chinari21/2-16.html, http://www.havenworks.com, http://www.mongabay.com, and http://www.elephantjournal.com.

http://hosanna1.com

http://hosanna1.com is a website about Afghan Hounds. It is absolutely horrible and is likely to give someone a seizure. The first principle of website design is don't make someone think. All the text on here is outrageous and competing sizes and scrunched together, which leaves me wondering what I should click on first. With the motion and horrid graphics this site includes, it leaves me confused as to where to start or where to focus my attention. I want to look at the cute, but horrible picture, of the dog in the middle, but the random butterflies and motion graphics make me stray away. The more I look at this page, the more I get frustrated because I don't even know where to start. I can't imagine anyone going to this page and actually using the site. The one thing this site has going for it is that it puts a large picture of the subject matter so you can at lest guess what is the intended feature of this site. The page is way too long and way too busy. There is absolutely no white space and the text and graphics end up on top of each other. The only convention this follows is the convention for horrible website design. I'm guessing that no one ever tested this site to see how it would look. Either that or they didn't care. This site would need a lot of fixing, but I think it could be done The first step would be to focus the viewer's attention on the subject of the page. To do this, most of the content would need to be removed, as with all of the ads and moving graphics. Compelling images of the dogs (instead of clipart) should be used with small, but effective bits of text. Specific links would help direct the viewer to different parts of the site. As long as all of the elements of the site relate, it will be a lot better than it is currently.

http://mito.cool.ne.jp/chinari21/forkEN.html

http://mito.cool.ne.jp/chinari21/2-16.html is a website that describes the battle in the havens and talks about finding the surest proof of UFO existence. The home page for the English version is actually http://mito.cool.ne.jp/chinari21/forkEN.html. The background is some weird texture that doesn't relate and the text is plain with awful color highlighting. Everything on this site is set up in tables with borders. Again, there is moving text and clip art which is distracting. The pages of this site are very long and there are spelling and grammar errors in the text. At the bottom of the page, there is a link that says "To Next Page" which is used instead of dividing the pages into clear sections or links in a navigation bar. The second page is horrid and has a large area for pixelated images to flash at you and provide ample material for seizures. On this page, there is more distractingly colored text as well. The text is even different sizes and fonts too. All in all, this site really is just horrible. If someone really wanted to have a website about UFOs, they could at least try to design it well so it could be convincing. Good quality pictures would be a good start. A space theme (for example) would work, with a dark blue or black background. A defined text area would help instead of the text being all over the pages on every page. An organized approach (or really even AN approach) to navigation would be an insanely good improvement. This site could actually have a lot of potential if those things were considered. More viewers might even be attracted to the site, just because the redesigned version would be more convincing.

http://www.havenworks.com

http://www.havenworks.com is another horribly designed site. There's so much going on that one has to wonder where to start. At least I don't see anything that moves (in the way of cheesy graphics or text effects) on this one! However, the page layout is atrocious and the colors are horrendous. The page is way too long and busy for any viewer to want to try to find something. No part of the page is even empty. The layout is columned to make more information fit on the viewable page area, but it's in no way organized. The first steps to fixing this site would be to take out all the bright colors and come up with a color palette suitable to the subject matter. The next step would be making some organized navigation that is more in depth than "News by date" "NewsStand," etc. that already exists on the page. Perhaps multi-teired links would work for this since the site seems to host so much information. It would be a good idea for the site to have a design theme as well, or at least an idea of a message it wants to portray, for example: current. The page lengths would need to be much shorter to keep the viewer's interest and a few pictures wouldn't hurt either. White space is a must and a blog type layout might be a good template to use.

http://www.mongabay.co

http://www.mongabay.com is a website I've used before, but I do believe it's poorly designed. It is a place to find information about different wildlife topics. It's definitely not as much of an eyesore as some of the others that I've looked at, but it could use improvements. Because the site is about places in the world, I think natural colors and good imagery used effectively (maybe with Flash) would be the key to redesigning this site. The images that are featured now are in a banner across the top and are so small you can't even really tell what they are, which is a shame. There are a number of useful articles on this site, so they just need to be organized a bit better and there should probably be a limit of one article per page on the site. The navigation needs to be improved because it is not always the most clear. As the site is now, the right column is almost as busy as the main column on the left, so the two compete for the viewer's attention as you go down the page. There are a lot of diverse topics on this site, so a good hierarchy needs to be formed from which links should be made. Perhaps there should even be sub-sites based on different geographical locations. With these changes, the website would be a lot less complex and a lot easier to use.

http://www.elephantjournal.com

http://www.elephantjournal.com is a website about yoga, sustainability, politics, and spirituality. As you can tell, this website covers a lot and when you get to the home page, you can tell it covers a lot based on the jumble of information you find and the two entire lines of links at the top. There are three different columns on the page, which is a good separation, but the motion and overwhelming amounts of pictures and links takes away from it. I think for starters, each of the issues the site wants to talk about needs to have its own link. From there, there would be subcategories featuring stories and comments related to each one. The site could use a more realistic design theme that better relates to the issues that are being discussed. It should feel more natural and a little bit against the norm, but instead it is a sleek black and gray with lots of red links. Better breaks in the information would help, as would shorter page lengths. More white space is needed on the site so as to refrain from overwhelming the viewer. There also needs to be a better point of focus for the viewer that makes them really want to commit to viewing this site in full detail. It would take a lot of organization and linking, but I think it could be done.

Template Websites

Template websites are an interesting subject. In today's world, they were created to help Mr. Average Joe create a website for his company or personal use because he doesn't have any design skills or web experience.

There are tons of websites devoted to providing Mr. Average Joe with a template for his website. There are Flash templates, there are HTML templates, CSS templates, and many, many more available for download. Few are free, but most are very affordable. For a small business owner or an entrepreneur, a template website may well be a decent idea. These categories of businesses may not ever reach the world on a grand scale and they surely won't have much money to throw around upon their startup. If the company is not going to reach everyone anyhow, it means that the design of their website is slightly less important because it really won't have a huge effect on the impact of the brand (unless it is atrocious) because it simply won't reach that many people. However, it could be argued that it could change the way the small number of people who view the website look at the brand, which would obviously be a bad thing. Nowadays, a website is a fairly standard accompaniment in the business identity package because the internet is such a growing, must-have technology. These types of businesses hear about the need to be represented on the internet, but they may not have the funds for a professional designer to create their website and get it online, even if that means it will be different and better than their competitors. However, if they can buy a cheap template and hire Cousin Bob for a case of beer and a home-cooked meal...well, that's sounding like a pretty darn good deal.

Larger businesses, especially those who strive to broaden their target audience, need to pay more attention to their representation on the internet. More people will see the website and thus, more people will have an opinion of the brand based on its internet presence. Template websites convey such things as cheap, uniform, unimaginative, uncaring, easy, basic, bland, boring, bottom-line, cut and dry, passé, as well as many other negative adjectives. Probably the most horrendous thing about template websites is that any company could have the same website layout as you! This company could be a competitor, or it could be a scammer, or it could be a company that is completely opposite from yours. The point is, templates are generic. I don't think any company that has the means to hire a designer to create an original website that will be different and most likely better than its competitors sites should ever fall back on the use of template websites just to save a few dollars when the message of their brand is at stake.

Blog Website: The "World" According to Jack

http://land.allears.net/blogs/jackspence/

AllEars.Net is an unofficial site dedicated to all things Disney. AllEars Blog Central is a collection of blogs within the AllEars site, located here. I decided to look at the blog, "The 'World' According to Jack." Jack is a Florida resident and loves Disney so much that he visits Walt Disney World a few times each week. His blog consists of observations from his visits as well as current information and events and other things of interest that are Disney World related.

This blog is very plain and simple in terms of layout. The heading and description are located at the top, under the AllEars.Net information. Recent post listings are on the right hand side and categories are listed below that. Below that is an extensive archive list. While I think it is a great idea to have a category listing because of the cornucopia of information covered, I also think that this section is so long that it competes with the archives. If everything is indeed present in the category listing, it could almost suffice for archives, because of the recent posts section at the top. Two other nice features are the RSS subscription option and the search bar at the bottom. The only bad thing is that the search bar is so far down that the view may not find it right away.

In terms of content and the way the information is provided, I think "The 'World' According to Jack" has done a civilian's job. In other words, it's all right, but it's not great. The sentences aren't always grammatically correct sentences, but it is reasonably well-written. The blog is thorough and informative. The most recent entry is about the restaurant "Bistro de Paris" in Epcot in Disney World. Jack tells about his trip there and his entire experience. There are many original photographs included in the blog and it definitely provides an extensive look at, as well as a review, of the fine dining establishment. The pictures themselves are a mixture of tourist and professional, which is a nice balance for tourists (people wanting to go to Disney World or who are interested in it, which is why they are viewing this blog) to look at because they both identify them and learn from them. The feel of this blog is not one of an official blog, but of a real-life person's look at Disney World and what it has to offer, though I believe Jack tries to be somewhat objective as well.

The only major complaint I have about this blog is that, for a Disney blog, it's very plain and from the design, it is not evident at all that the focus of this blog is Walt Disney World. Additionally, the entries are exceptionally long, but a large part of that is all of the pictures that are included, and I don't think those should be cut out because they are a large part of why the blog exists. I also think the typeface is rather generic. However, the blog is well organized and very informative as well as persuasive (to make the viewer want to experience the things the author writes about).

Web Application or Intranet Website: Amazon.com

http://www.amazon.com

Amazon.com is an example of a web application site. You can access Amazon.com to look for specific types of things (that you need or are interested in), which is why it qualifies as an web application site. Everyone knows they can find good deals on Amazon, which is why so many people use it frequently.

Upon first glance, Amazon's site is fairly cluttered and reminds one of the classifieds section of the newspaper. However, this is kind of the point of the website, so in that way, it works. As with the classifieds section of the newspaper, things are fairly easily categorized on Amazon's site. Along the left are links to different departments with subcategories in drop-down (to the side) menus. Across the top, in the very small and almost squished banner, there is a place to sign in to receive personalized recommendations based on what you view and buy. There is also a place to sign up if you are a new customer. Other links across the top are "Your Amazon.com," "Today's Deals," "Gifts & Wish Lists," and "Gift Cards," as well as "Your Account" and "Help." Below these links is a banner that holds a search bar and a menu for departments as well as a link to your cart and your wish list. At the far left is the Amazon.com logo, which is actually a link to the homepage and when you hover your mouse, the rollover includes a box around the logo to make it appear like a button and the word "homepage" appears (this only occurs when you are on a page other than the homepage). The main section of the page includes a moderately large advertisement. Right now, the advertisement is for Kindle with a link to see more from Kindle. To the right is an ad for another great deal: external drives under $100 (at the moment), and a link to see more of them. Also going down the right side is a paid advertisement, "Free Song of the Day," "Bestsellers" list, "Save with Amazon.com Visa Card," and another paid advertisement. In the main section of the page, under the main advertisement, there is a section for "More Items to Consider," which shows you what you looked at recently and suggests things related to that product that you might find of interest. Beneath that is a section for items "Related to Items You've Viewed," which suggests things of the same topic. For example, yesterday I looked at the book, "Essential ActionScript 3.0," so it suggested more books about ActionScript, whereas in the "More Items to Consider" section, it has it listed that I looked at Kindle and it suggests a different sized Kindle, a leather cover for Kindle, and a clip-on light. The next section down is items "Inspired by Your Browsing History." Earlier yesterday and a few times before, I've looked at a book called "How to Cheat in Adobe Flash CS4: The art of design and animation," so in this section, other Flash CS4 books are listed. The next section is "Customers Who Viewed This Item Also Looked At" and it shows that I looked at a packaging book and it lists some package books and some folding books that other people have looked at when they looked at the packaging book I looked at. The next section down is "Customers with Similar Searches Purchased" which shows the book I looked at and then tells me what people who searched for "ActionScript 3.0 books" (for example, in this case) actually ended up purchasing. The two sections underneath that are "Save up to 35% on Our Bestselling Fitness Equipment" and "Everyday Essential Accessories." Finally, at the bottom of the page, there is a section of "Your Recent History" that contains your recently viewed items, your recent searches and browsing history, and an option to continue shopping which features some things you might be interested in based on customers who bought things that you've viewed and what they also bought. At the very bottom of the page are some more links under the categories of "Get to Know Us," "Make Money with Us," and "Let Us Help You." Beneath those, is the Amazon logo and different stores for different countries and different Amazon affiliates (Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, Amazon Windowshop, AmazonWireless, Askville, Endless, IMDb, ShopBop, Warehouse Deals by Amazon, Conditions of Use, and Privacy Notice). If you navigate to another page, there are more options along the menu bar at the top for your convenience that refer to the specific category you are in. There is also a breadcrumb trail to show exactly where you started your search all the way to where you are now, so that you can easily backtrack and go down a different path.

I think Amazon.com makes it very easy to find exactly what you're looking for fairly quickly and due to the way it breaks up information, I think it really helps the viewer get the most from the site that he or she possibly can. It may not be the most attractive site, but it's simple and user-friendly.

Arts & Entertainment Website: PBS Kids

http://pbskids.org/

PBS Kids is an entertainment website geared towards young children via their parents. The design is organic and bright and the site's navigation is very easy to follow. There's lots to see and do on this site, but the quantity is not overwhelming and it is very organized.

At the top, the navigation is simple and includes "TV Times," "Search," and "Help." If you click on the TV Times link, it brings you to a new page where you can plug in where you live. There is a big arrow pointing back in the header to take you back to the main page. Other than that, there is no main navigation bar, though there are links at the bottom if you prefer to navigate that way. If you continue through the prompts to see the program listings, you will notice that the site leads you through the process very painlessly. I think this is meant so that kids can learn to use the internet with their parents because of the way it is set up.

Back on the main PBS Kids website, there are a few characters in circles. Each of these characters, as well as the ones in the wheel, can be clicked on and that will take you to the character or TV show's sub-site where there are different games and activities. There are a few little fish

that swim around in the blue section of the home page, presumably to keep a child's interest, which is an interesting use of Flash. If you go after a fish with your cursor, it swims away. Sound is also a feature of this site, which means that this site can be aimed at pre-readers. Additionally on the PBS Kids home page, there are four colored links for games, music, and coloring. "Coloring" features printables and online coloring specifically from a featured group of characters from the PBS Kids shows. In other words, when you go to "Coloring," and you might click on one of the four categories, you might be directed to the "Coloring" section of Barney's website. The "Music" link features music videos, karaoke, and other show-specific music offerings. The "Games" link features show-specific games.

The only bad thing is that when you are on a subpage, there are only three links instead of the original four (video is missing). Again, there are four featured games, but the circles underneath contain characters from all the PBS Kids shows and if you click on a character, a list of their specific games will come up. The only bad thing about this, is if you click on Buster, Buster has a lot of games, so they go down the page in a disorganized, unfriendly, and unattractive manner like something went wrong in the layout process. Frankly, I'm surprised that this kind of thing wouldn't have been caught, given the need for simplicity and ease of use throughout this website. At the bottom of the PBS Kids home page, there is a link to "All Shows" a small banner ad for PBS Kids Island, and a changing features list from PBS Kids (games and activities) and other PBS partners, like PBS Parents and PBS Teachers.

Overall, I think the PBS Kids website is quite friendly in both design layout and usability. I think it is a great source of clean, interactive learning and fun for kids that can also help teach them how to use the internet. However, in my personal opinion (call me old-fashioned), kids this young should not be using the internet yet.