Week 8 Notes

Online Credibility
Guest Lecture, Paige West (del.icio.us links)
Director of Interactive Projects, MSNBC.com
Formerly, SecondStory

• Step by step (step player)
  • MSNBC: a linear animation explaining the concept of extra-solar planets
  • NYT: Virginia Tech shooting
• Galleries that can be filtered:
  • “Celebrity Universe” – MSNBC: Shrek
  • NYT: Va Tech casualties (includes UGC)
• What makes a great interactive?
  • Timelines – Jerry Falwell
• Challenge of one-offs
  • Carbon trading
  • NYT – casualties of war (data-rich application)
  • MSNBC: population (data-rich application)
    
• Video
  • The Fight In Iraq
    • Maybe a story on Darfur using this template
  • The journey of a diamond
• BBC (kathy): Mapping the violence in Baghdad
• Why do people gravitate towards video? (passive)

Blog posts (reading reflection) of note:

• Kevin
• Vaun

Student led-discussion (group 1)

• Barrie
  • relationship between interactivity and credibility?
• Kristina
  • where to put corrections?
• Tony
  • trust != truth
  • online link: http://doi.acm.org/10.1145/365024.365037

Last Week’s Assignment
Review the final “text + pictures” story of your peer group partner/s. Send an e-mail with feedback by end of day Thursday — cc Kathy. Rec’d cc’s from

• Chloe on Luke, Vaun
• Kaichen on Magnus
• Kristina on Tony
• Tony on Kristina
• Vaun on Chloe, Luke

Students who didn’t have anything linked on com586 page that could be peer reviewed:

• Barrie
• Kevin
• Luke
• Stephanie

Status of first story (text/pix) and second story (audio script) draft
The com586 page should contain a LINK to two things — the FINAL version of the first iteration of the story and the DRAFT script.
NOTE: I will no longer search your blog for the links to your work — and please don’t expect your fellow students to do so in order to provide you with peer feedback.

• Barrie (missing both)
• Chloe (1st story, no draft script)
• Kaichen (1st story, no script)
• Kevin (the com586 page should contain LINKS to the first final story and the draft script. the com300 page should not be your draft script. )
• Kristina (1st story, draft script)
• Luke (missing both here – draft script)
• Magnus (the com586 page should contain LINKS to the first final story and the draft script. the com586 page should not be the first page of your multi-page first story. )
• Stephanie (missing both)
• Tony (1st story, draft script)
• Vaun (1st story, draft script)

Discussion Questions:

• What exactly is “dynamism,” and why does it affect perceived credibility?
• What role does search engine optimization play – if any – in creating website credibility?
• Are trust antecedents the primary measuring stick for risk?
• Can ease of use make up for other deficiencies in a website, including its underlying credibility?
• lots here!
• How do we determine credibility of online information if it’s being provided by a sole author?
• What is the advantage of ‘non-traditional’ sources of information (i.e. sources that can’t verify their authenticity)?
• The more online-active we are, do we become less trusting or more trusting of visited sites?
• What site do you trust?
• Are there certain designs or elements that elicit trust?
• Do brand names influence trust regardless of site design?
• Parenthetical: what is the real value of this research? Will my findings help make this a better world, or just help people mess it up some more?

LAB:

• Editing with Audacity
• Convert audio files with Zamzar

NEXT WEEK:

• Bring four-five photos that you want to use in your final project. We’ll “insert” them into a Flash slideshow template in lab.

Reading posted.