Week 11 – Notes

First, if you are using a machine in the lab and Audacity doesn’t seem to work right — it could be the machine. Try another!

Audacity tips:

• The “time shift” tool is what allows you to change relative position of tracks (so that they can “stairstep”). See this toolbar description page and this one-minute podcast tutorial.
• To reduce sound or increase sound, select the track (or parts of a track) — Effect -> Amplify
• Audacity support from Gov’t of Oz
• Audacity 1.2 online manual
• Audacity tutorials

Week 10 Notes

Groups that wish to present tonight:

• Media (info)
• Noodles (website)
• Outside-Inside (info)

These blogs needs to have categories enabled in navigation (Presentation). Grades to-date.

• Barrie
• Kevin
• Kristina
• Luke
• Vaun

Individual projects of note: Kristina (mpg), Vaun (mpg) Chloe (videos)

Review deliverables for Monday 4 June at 6 pm; Tuesday schedule.

• COM586 “page” should have links to all three stories
• COM586 “page” should have info about your discussion leader presentation
  • Abstract (tag “discussion leader”)
    • PPT should be in abstract or on COM586 page
    • Any other media used (such as YouTube clips) should be linked as well
  • Followup post (tag “discussion leader”)
• COM586 page should have link to your group project
• Complete peer evaluation by Tuesday 5 June at 6 pm
  • ExtraLocal (website)
  • Media (website)
  • Noodles (website)

Week 9 Notes

Participatory Media

• Guest Speaker, Lee LeFever of CommonCraft
  • “Companies of the future will rely on their community of customers to remain competitive.”
  • Difference between message boards and blogs (2004)
  • Notes on lecture:
    

Week 9 Questions

Your discussion questions

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.

The 50 “Loudest” Websites of 2006

Information Architects of Japan lists its 2006 picks for services, news, social networks, social links, corporations and blogs. Its heuristics: content, design, usability,  behavior and marketing. For reference, it includes a website’s Alexa rating, but that’s not a measurement.

Some sites that might be new to you:

• 37signals – I would have put this in the services camp. Time called the company a “rising star.” Their online (Web 2.0) services: Basecamp (project management); Backpack (information manager), Campfire (real-time group chat), Highrise (a simple CRM tool). Unlike many Web 2.0 technologies, these are free only for a trial (30 day) period — except for Campfire, which is free for four simultaneous connections.
• memeorandum  – My personal favorite for finding out what the political blogosphere is talking about right now. Recently added an achieve feature. Maybe they were thinking about academics, researchers?
• reddit.com – IA’s “clear winner” in link lists trumped digg as well as de.licio.us (but not by much).
• subtraction – A blog written by the (35 yo) creative director at the NYT online.

Note, I found IA because of their Web Trend Map.  I no longer remember how I found out about it, though!

Week 7 Notes

Moving Pictures and Sound
Guest Lecture: Hanson Hosein
Profile while at NBC; HRH Media
Notes from presentation

Notes From Matt’s Lecture

Rhetoric and Storytelling

Week 6 Notes

Guest Lecture on Rhetoric:
Matt McGarrity, Dept of Communication
notes: kathy, stephanie(doc)

Blog posts (reading reflection) of note:

Week 5 Notes – Tu

Visual Design

“Design can be art. Design can be aesthetics. Design is so simple, that’s why it is so complicated.” —Paul Rand, 1997 (tip)

• Discussion Leaders – Group 2
  • Chloe (article, ppt, youtube)
  • Luke (article, ppt)
  • Vaun (article, ppt)
• Lecture/Workshop
• Your Drafts
• Feedback on story drafts
• Group work
• NEXT WEEK: WE START AT 6 PM! (our guest speaker has to catch a 6.50 bus)
• Group 3 leads discussion next week – remember reading assignments&questions

An infographical movie about Google’s “Master Plan.” See website for textual presentation of information; credits. (tip)