Big Things

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            Information Architects is a relatively new field of work, where very few people have experience in.  Companies nowadays aren’t looking to hire someone in the field of Information Architecture, because they are unsure of what exactly they do, so often times, IA’s need to “sell themselves” or justify what it is they do, in order to be deemed useful.  But the field is growing, and even though there is a lack of experience for IA, they have found an important role for themselves with companies and their web teams. 

            An information architect has defined the field as “the structural design of shared information environments” as well as “the art and science of organizing and labeling Web sites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and find-ability (Hoffman, 1).”  Basically, they help and assist with the company’s web sites by making them stronger, easier to use and with a better flow of navigation, along with “hard-core coding (Hoffman, 1).”  But working as an IA is not as easy as it sounds, mostly because businesses are not sure exactly what IA’s do, so they have doubts about hiring.  For the most part, IA’s get a job as programmer, and slowly “They get hired to do a job for which IA may or may not be a defined part of their responsibilities, they take an interest in it, and they manage to talk somebody into letting them take responsibility for those things (Hoffman, 1).”  Sooner than later, businesses will see a purpose for IA’s, but for now, the IA’s have to convince the business that they can help them in area’s the IA’s are experts in.              Training and classes on IA is few and far between.  They are limited in courses where they can learn about it, and they don’t have classes in every school.  “As for training, courses in information architecture may be difficult to find, though educational programs in the field, such as a master’s degree in interaction design and information architecture at the

University of
Baltimore, are beginning to emerge (Hoffman, 1).”  As you can see, IA classes are slowly emerging, but are limited to only a few schools.  To be an IA, you need more than just a few training courses, but a deep desire to figure out what people are thinking and why they think that way.  Jesse James Garrett, who is the author of The Elements of User Experience: User-Centered Design for the Web, said “…yet also have a deep interest in people and the way they think. Typically, IA’s collaborate with a variety of people, he notes, from marketing and design pros to business executives and customers (Hoffman, 1).”              IA’s and their responsibilities are growing, as well as well as their educational program.  It won’t be soon before IA’s are an essential part of any business, but for now, very little experience and a go get’em attitude is what you need to get started.  

Works Cited

Hoffman, A. (2006). Information architects: Web builders with a sales bent. Monster.com.

Turn Up The Volume, Make sure you look and listen closley….

            Websites nowadays are classified in a few ways.  Either filled with clutter or filled with relevant information, or it is useful vs. non-useful.  As in Krug’s “Don’t Make Me Think” essay, he points out how websites need to condense the information on their website, along with making it simple and easy to navigate for all users.  One of the most frustrating things about using the internet sometimes is how difficult it can be to find what you are looking for.  Krug is saying that web developers need to make it so you click and navigate without thinking and asking yourself a million questions about the website.

            Often times, when I venture to a new website, I get lost easily and distracted by other things on the page and if often leads to me getting lost on the page.  For the web pages where I ask myself, where do I start, Should I click on that, what is that, what does that mean?  These are questions that Krug’s says should be avoided when navigating a page.  “It means, that as far as is humanly possible, when I look at a Web Page, it should be self-evident.  Obvious.  Self-Explanatory (Krug 11).” 

            Having difficulty navigating a website can not only lead to user frustration, but it can also lead them to go elsewhere or a competitor’s website if they find it too hard to figure out the current one they are on.  “On the internet, the competition is always just one click away, so if you frustrate users, they’ll head somewhere else (Krug 18).”  That is one of the perks of having so many options.  If one website doesn’t do it quick, simple or easy enough for your liking, there are always websites that do it better and faster than them. 

            Correcting that problem isn’t difficult and it actually involves more removing information from your website, rather than adding.  “The more important something is, the more prominent it is.  For instance, the most important headings are either larger, bolder, in a distinctive color, set off by more white space, or nearer the top of the page, or some combination of the above (Krug 31).” 

Krug believes in making things as easy as possible, with a little bit of organization and a lot less clutter.  He feels that you should make it easy on a user to browse or search your website, and not have them as questions.  “As a user, I should never have to devote a millisecond of thought as to whether things are clickable-or not (Krug 14).”  Make things simple, clickable and searchable without any train of thought and this will lead to a happy user, and a successful website. 

Works Cited

Krug, S. (2000). Don’t make me think. Indianapolis: New Riders, pp. 1-39.

                    Digital Memories is going to change the way people save memories, share information and manage their time.  After reading this article I believe that this new wave of technology is either going to make society more lazy, or help them organize their lives and make life easier on everyone.  It is going to help people remember things easier, store memories and pictures longer and in less space, but it also serves a few more purposes than that.  For example it will help people manage their time, provide them with more security and a few other personal features. 

            “Today’s low-cost abundant storage makes it possible to record most life experiencesinvolving audio, video, and other types of data.  Future networking promises to allow us to view and manage personal information from any device, any place, at any time. Incorporating compact, inexpensive, self-activating sensors, these technologies promise to let us capture most of our lives easily and passively, so we no longer have to interrupt our interactions

with one another to shoot movies or take photos (Czerwinski, 46).”  Now, I feel two ways about this; its either going to make our lives easier and less cluttered or it is going to make us lazy and only clutter our lives more.  I can see this digital memory device as something that can help people remember where they put things, save memories and pictures on their digital memory rather than in scrap books, which will save time and space.  But, is it possible that this can also be something that makes us even lazier and too self dependent on our device?  I feel that this device is made only for certain people, such as the motivated and already somewhat organized individual.  Of course to any downside, there is an upside, which is exactly what this device offers.

            There are a few things that people can definitely benefit from having a digital life.  For example, “Memory . Finding things (such as keys and eyeglasses); replaying learning and teaching experiences; reviewing research and travel; remembering names of people and places; and reviewing discussions and meetings…share personal experience, personal reflection and analysis, time management and security (Czerwinski, 47),” are all good quality aspects of a digital life.  But, I feel that I do not need every one of those things in my life, or need to use the digital memories to help me in those areas.   I feel that paying all that money for a device that I find not as useful as the next person wouldn’t be beneficial to me. 

            “Keeping everything may have negative side effects (such as distracted attention, information overload, and less-effective searching and browsing) [6]. However, there is a difference between keeping everything and making everything visible; a technological solution can hide details and deletions, thus eliminating clutter and the oppressive task of managing it while still retaining the records for future use. Although it seems tempting to label many artifacts of everyday life as disposable, in practice it is often impossible to predict exactly which items in our lives we might value or need in the future (Czerwinski, 48).”  These are the negative side effects that I was curious about and wondering if the digital memory device was going to be useful or just baggage.  But, depending on what you use it for, the device seems to be on the line of everything you need to organize your life, or completely useless.

            For myself, this device would most likely be completely useless, because I like doing things on my own, organize everything the way I like to have it, and I like knowing and handling pictures and memories, rather than store it on the computer or in a digital memory device.  I think that it is a great tool and it is going to help turn some people’s lives around, but for this guy right here, it just seems useless. 

Works Cited 

Czerwinski, M., Gage, D.W., Gemmell, J.,
Marshall, C., Pérez-Quiñonesis, M., Skeels, et al (2006). Digital memories in an era of ubiquitous computing and abundant storage. Communications of the ACM, 49(1), 45-50.

               Blogging has come a long way and has been growing at a rapid pace.  It has evolved into a great communication tool, as well a tool used for expressing opinions, ranging from politics to sports and entertainment.  Many bloggers begin their webblogs as a means for expression and to express their ideas to the public’s eye.  But, even for some they start out small and evolve into something much bigger than what they had anticipated.  For some people they begin small and wind up being a major blogging site with a lot of money.

              “…blogging paid off handsomley.  Last fall AOL bought Weblogs, Inc., which includes his blog Engadget for $25 million.  “I didn’t intend to become a millionaire,” says Rojas, “But I wound up there anyway (Thompson, 126).”  In Rojas’ case, he had a blog set up on Weblogs, Inc., then AOL purchased Weblogs from them and instantly he became a millionaire.  This is how quickly blogs have evolved and became a main stream communication tool.  One minute you can find yourself blogging for fun about your favorite celebrity, next minute thousands of people are linking to your blog to see what you have posted. 

               But, as quickly as you hit it big in the blog world, you can easily lose your audience if you don’t stay on top of it.  John Battelle is a perfect example, of an experienced blogger with a lot of hits on his blog who almost lost a few of his viewers.  “And suddenly I was getting all these emails going, “If you dont get your sh*t together, Im out of here” he recalls.  He stayed up late that night frantically adding posts.”  “If you start sucking” he says, “Its through (Thompson, 126).”

               It may be easy to lose and audience, but is also just as easy to gain an audience to your blog.  “If you launch a witty blog in a sexy niche, if youre good at scrounging for news nuggets, and if youre dedicated enough to post around the clock, well there is nothing  seperating you from the big successful blogger…(Thompson,28).”  It is just a matter of finding something you are pationate about and enjoying writing about to gain an audience because there is people out there who are interested in the same things you are, and as long as you stay on top of your blogging, you can gain a large audience. 

               Then once you begin to attract viewers, you need to stay on top of your blogging and incorporate many links outside of your blog.  Links that lead outside your blog and backup what you are saying helps solidify what you are saying.  Then, “A single mention from an A-lister can provoke “” firehoses of traffic”…that can help pluck a neophyte blog out of obscurity (Thompson, 35).”  In essence, this is saying that big blog sites, will lead to thousands of viewers.

               Blogging is growing everyday, and when big corporations like AOL are purchasing blog sites, then you know that blogging has taken off.  Becoming the big time blogger is only an A-lister mention away or a purchase away.  But keeping an audience and attracting viewers is a lot of work and requires a lot of attention. 

Works Cited

Thompson, C. (2006).  Blogs to Riches.  New York Magazine, February 20. (Pgs 26-35).

                Video gaming has evolved at a rapid pace both as a video console and on the computer.  It has children to grown men and women playing fantasy games on either a Television or a computer at an unbelievably high rate.  But, why and how do so many people get hooked into this world of fantasy that is turned on and off by the click of a mouse or a flick of a switch.  There are many reasons for people of all ages to explore the world of video games such as, fantasy or exploration, overcome social restraints, self gratification and many others.

There are many different kinds of video games, from educational to athletic to violent.  But different games appeal to different people, and that’s why they come out with so many different games. “Computer games are much like candy, comic books, and cartoons. All four activities provide intense or exaggerated experiences. Whether they use sugar, exclamation points, or animated explosions, the goal is the same: to provide extreme experiences (Crawford, Preface).”  And that is what video games do, they provide video gamers with experiences such as Halo, which is in first player mode and you go around carrying a gun, shooting at your enemy which are other alien monsters.  But, people play this game to give themselves a sense of the fantasy world.  “A common function of games is to provide a means of overcoming social restrictions, at least in fantasy. Many games place the player in a role that would not be socially acceptable in real life, such as a pirate or a thief (Crawford, Chap 2).”

Video games have developed rapidly and are continuing too very quickly.  The graphics are getting more real, the games are getting more life like, and on the flip side, are getting more into the fantasy world.  But speaking as a video gamer, there are many reasons why I like to play.  First, it’s something competitive, where you have a goal or something to overcome, and it gives you a great feeling when you finally reach your goal.  Secondly, for the fantasy world experiences, where games bring you to a world you either don’t want to go in real life, or a world that just doesn’t exist.  It offers a sense of excitement and freshness to your gaming world. 

Since I first started playing video games when I was younger, the world of gaming has changed dramatically, every single year, new games, better graphics, better consoles, more features.  Now, video games, come in life like games, with a DVD player, or a CD player and many other features such as going online and playing other video gamers from around the globe.  The gaming world has expanded very quickly and is going to continue to do so.

Works Cited 

Optional: Mathes, A. (2004). Folksonomies: Cooperative classification and communication through shared metadata.