Exegesis

In producing a web presence for Web Communications 101, I have utilised a variety of tools and nodes to create a blog whose theme is one of living, learning and studying in Los Angeles. The following exegesis will discuss the various decisions I have made in reference to the elements and nodes, I have selected to build a web presence; as well as showing the learning engagement between the unit content and myself.


The decision to base the theme of my web presence on Los Angeles and my time living here was influenced by two sentences from the unit. The first is from ‘What is Web 2.0?’ “Essentially, the term describes an approach to the Web that emphasises communication, collaboration, and information sharing” (Leaver, 2013a). The second came from the assignment instructions: “the web presence must combine your identity and a purposeful theme” (Leaver, 2013b). This theme allowed me to fulfil each of these descriptions. It is reflective of my identity and allowed for a wide range of communication, collaboration, and information sharing through various nodes. I chose to name my weblog ‘Oh Look, Los Angeles’ as this is what I said to my son when we first saw Los Angeles from the airplane. I felt that it conveyed the disbelief and excitement that Los Angeles embodies.


In choosing a central node, my decision to use ‘Blogger’ was based upon familiarity, ease of use, diverse content features such as themes and widgets and audience centric features (Lackie & LeMasney, 2008, pp. 142–145) such as RSS and tagging. While Blogger offers multiple templates a user may customise, I chose to use the custom-made template ‘Whitemagic’ (“Bloggerz Bible: White-magic new gallery blogger template,” n.d.). The design is clean, simple and uses a gallery of current and previous posts on the homepage, enticing a reader to see the topic of previous posts. I based my decision to have an analogue colour scheme with a single contrasting colour on the article ‘An Introduction to Color Theory for Web Designers’ (“An Introduction to Color Theory for Web Designers | Webdesigntuts+,” n.d.). Essentially the colour combinations would be modern, vibrant and draw the reader’s eye, while not being straining.


While researching how best to present myself on the ‘About Me’ page I came across an article from Smashing Magazine on effective designs and the best ways to engage an audience. The article talked about the need to stand out amongst the crowd and the frequency in which new readers visit the page (“Best Practices For Effective Design Of ‘About me’-Pages | Smashing Magazine,” n.d.). I found inspiration for my page from designer Mark McGall’s page (McGall, n.d.). The page was engaging, clean and utilised the same colour scheme of my blog.


In selecting the tools I would use as contributing nodes, I explored which would complement my theme, enhance my web presence, and allow for vast interactions. Social networking sites or SNS’s accommodate diverse audiences allowing a user to connect with others based on similar interests, views, and activities (Boyd & Ellison, 2007, p. 210). The three main contributing nodes I chose were Flickr, Twitter, and Facebook, while I also added Pinterest and Yelp as contributing nodes due to their large user bases and unique visitor hits. I also added an RSS feed (Real) so that “content can be aggregated and read without requiring the reader to visit every blog in which they are interested” (Leaver, 2013c).


Flickr is a well-known digital photograph organising and sharing service which provides a way for “you and your friends and family to tell stories about them” (“Flickr: Help: General Flickr Questions,” n.d.). I chose Flickr due to the sites vast user base and 80 million unique visitors worldwide (“Flickr - Yahoo!,” n.d.). Having a Flickr presence allows for me to share photographs I have taken during my stay and utilise the tagging and group features of Flickr (Leaver, 2013d) so that users and visitors are able to search through keywords and potentially generate more traffic to my weblog.


In choosing Twitter, I looked for a tool that was easily accessible and a ‘web-based communication platform that has alternatively been described as a social networking service and a micro-blogging application’ (Leaver, 2013e). In 2012, Twitter had 465 million user accounts and around 175 million ‘tweets’ shared by its users per day (“Twitter 2012 — Infographic Labs,” n.d.), allowing access to a large user base and the ability to share my weblog posts, relevant finds, news and tips through the use of ‘Folksomies’ (Leaver, 2013d). This was an integral part to incorporate into my web presence as the use of metadata has an effect on search engines thereby increasing the chances of gaining a larger audience (Zhang & Dimitroff, 2005, p. 693).


Facebook has over 1.06 billion active monthly users (“Facebook Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Results - Facebook,” n.d.), allowing me access to a multitude of users and ways in which I can build and expand my web presence. In utilising Facebook as a tool, I first created a ‘Facebook Page’ that links to my central node. From my weblog, I am able to share posts to the page thereby directing my Facebook audience to my weblog. By using Facebook as my ‘page’ profile, I am able to like other user’s pages. This then gives them a link back to my page and ultimately my central node.


The decision to choose my other contributing nodes of Pinterest and Yelp was based on each having a large user base and providing alternative ways in which I can communicate and share information. Pinterest allowed me to ‘pin’ images that were relevant to my theme while also allowing me an alternate way to share my own photos. By pinning photographs directly from my weblog, another user has a link to my central node and shares that link with their own followers. Yelp has become yet another way for people to interact and share information. I utilised Yelp as a means of sharing my reviews about restaurants I have eaten at, motels I have stayed at and services I have used. Being able to link to and from my central node is one more tool to expand my web presence.


The aim of this assignment was to build a web presence based around my central nodes theme that was a suitable depiction of my identity and purposeful. To achieve this I have made choices based on the various materials we have studied throughout the unit, which has hopefully lead to not only fulfilling the criteria for the assignment but also an interesting and stimulating read.

References:

An Introduction to Color Theory for Web Designers | Webdesigntuts+. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/design-theory/an-introduction-to-color-theory-for-web-designers/

Best Practices For Effective Design Of “About me”-Pages | Smashing Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved February 17, 2013, from http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/07/01/best-practices-for-effective-design-of-about-us-pages/

Bloggerz Bible: White-magic new gallery blogger template. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2013, from http://www.bloggerzbible.com/2011/02/white-magic-new-freemium-blogger.html

Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2007). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210–230. doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2007.00393.x

Facebook Reports Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Results - Facebook. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15, 2013, from http://investor.fb.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=736911

Flickr - Yahoo! (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://advertising.yahoo.com/article/flickr.html

Flickr: Help: General Flickr Questions. (n.d.). Retrieved February 14, 2013, from http://www.flickr.com/help/general/#1

Lackie, R. J., & LeMasney, J. W. (2008). Blogger, WordPress.com, and Their Pseudoblog Alternatives: A Comparison of Focus, Features, and Feel. Journal of Library Administration, 46(3-4), 139–180. doi:10.1300/J111v46n03_11

Leaver, T. (2013a). Introduction to Module 2: What is Web 2.0. Retrieved from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/

Leaver, T. (2013b). Topic 2.4 - Content Sharing. Retrieved from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/

Leaver, T. (2013c). Topic 2.3 - Social Networking. Retrieved from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/

Leaver, T. (2013d). Topic 2.1 - Blogging. Retrieved from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/

Leaver, T. (2013e). Assignment 3: Web Presence Creation. Retrieved from http://lms.curtin.edu.au/

McGall, M. (n.d.). Me: About Me. Retrieved February 17, 2013, from http://www.markmcgall.com/me.shtml

Twitter 2012 — Infographic Labs. (n.d.). Retrieved February 1, 2013, from http://infographiclabs.com/news/twitter-2012/

Zhang, J., & Dimitroff, A. (2005). The impact of metadata implementation on webpage visibility in search engine results (Part II). Information Processing & Management, 41(3), 691–715. doi:10.1016/j.ipm.2003.12.002