Reflections.

Creating this weblog has been a challenging yet fun experience for me. Although personally I do have my own blog, producing this serious blog has enlightened me about a vast range of issues related to publication and design.

In creating Geek Phenomenon, I learnt about things I already know, but in a more detailed and depth. Designing part of the blog layout was especially enjoyable for me because I love expressing my creativity, besides through writing. Websites, I have learnt, cannot be too condensed and compact with too many features. Therefore, I have used a minimal amount of colour and design in my blog layout.

I came to realization that when it comes to designing, publishing and writing something, there are many aspects to be considered like reference frames of people around me. What is amusing to me may be an insult for somebody else far away.

Multimodality is a concept that is very fun to me, because of the ability to combine a variety of modes to create an attractive weblog or website. Personally, I think multimodality adds to what makes a good website- as long as it is not overtly done.

Finally, I have developed a new point of view as a blogger. From the experience of creating this serious weblog, I will start practising sensitivity, tactfulness, and ethics as a blogger, a writer and as a future journalist.

Provocative.

In What the Muhammad Cartoons Portray (2006) reported by Martin Asser (BBC News, 9 February 2006), the article summarises the variety of perception that people construct from the 12 caricatures of Prophet Muhammad, originally published my Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten in 2005. The newspaper had asked cartoonists to sketch Prophet Muhammad as how they see him, in coherence with freedom of expression and disregarding that it is a sensitive issue to the Muslims. Some claim that the newspaper’s choice of publishing the caricature is a Public Relations stunt, while some are critical, amused, angry and even confused. Cartoons of Prophet Muhammad that were sketched depicted the Muslim prophet as a terrorist and a sexist.

The 12 caricature images published in Danish newspaper, Jyllands-Posten in 2005.

Even though to the Danish, it was meant to send the message of ‘freedom of expression’; to the Muslims, the publication of the caricature is merely an insult, as Asser reported that some cartoonists also think that the newspaper’s act is a deliberate provocation. Whether the publication was an act of deliberation, the editorial team of Jyllands-Posten should have considered the frame of reference of their audiences. The frame of reference, according to Shriver (1997), includes aspects like personal knowledge and belief, attitudes and values as well as cultural knowledge. Shriver also added that if document designers or cartoonists in this case, miscomprehend the Muslims’ frame of reference, the documents created can evoke confusion and anger.

Freedom of expression is not equivalent to speaking or doing whatever we want, but as Muslim writer Ziauddin Sardar said in the news article, freedom of expression encourages an open realm for ideas to be debated by everybody.

References

1. Asser, M 2006, What the Muhammad Cartoons Portray, 9 February 2006, BBC News, viewed 13 November 2008, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4693292.stm.

2. Shriver, KA 1997, Dynamics in document design: creating texts for readers, Wiley Computer Pub., New York.

Watch Your Words

In another radio show by ABC Radio National hosted by Antony Funnell, journalist and author Antony Loewenstein’s The Blogging Revolution was the subject of discussion. The book covers the blogging phenomenon in relation to freedom of speech and accessibility of the Internet in six countries –Iran, Cuba, China, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Egypt- where Loewenstein executed his field research. Loewenstein said that although certain states do suppress the accessibility of the Internet for the people; that do not mean the government does not allow the people to voice out their dissatisfaction through protests and blogging. He also said that the mentality that the Internet is able to Westernize mindsets, example being given in Iran.

Unlike China, Malaysia faces many problems with freedom of speech. Although there are no draconian laws to dictate online activities (Hachigian 2002), the situation of online press freedom is no vast difference from Malaysia’s press freedom in general. A famous and recent case in Malaysia involves political blogger and alternative news site Malaysia Today editor, Raja Petra Kamarudin being detained by the Internal Security Act because his writing allegedly raises racial tension and poses potential threat to national security (The Malaysian Insider, 23 September 2008). It is reported that he published articles which were critical and insulting to the Muslims, mocking the purity of Islam and the personality of Prophet Muhammad (Mageswari, The Star Online, 7 November 2008). Freedom of speech in many countries is quite an oxymoron. According to VanFossen (2007), freedom of speech does not mean you can say anything or everything you want. There is a consequence to bear if somebody or the law does not like what you say. In other words, there is freedom of speech, but no freedom after.

Controversial blogger, writer and editor Raja Petra Kamaruddin and his wife.

References

1. Funnell, A 2008, The Blogging Revolution, The Media Report, ABC Radio National, viewed 13 November 2008, http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2351985.htm.

2. Hachigian, N 2002, ‘The Internet and Power in One-Party East Asian States’, The Washington Quarterly, vol. 25, no. 3, viewed 23 October 2008, http://www.rand.org/international_programs/capp/pubs/washquarterly.pdf.

3. Mageswari, M 2008, Court Frees Raja Petra (Update 5), 7 November 2008, The Star Online, viewed 10 November 2008, http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/11/7/nation/20081107094618&sec=nation.

4. Raja Petra Detained for 2 Years, 23 September 2008, The Malaysian Insider, viewed 12 November 2008, http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/malaysia/9444-raja-petra-detained-for-2-years.

5. VanFossen, L 2007, Blogging Freedom of Speech: Can You Really Say Whatever You Want?, The Blog Herald, viewed 13 November 2008, http://www.blogherald.com/2007/03/27/blogging-freedom-of-speech-can-you-really-say-whatever-you-want/.

Mind Your Manners Online. :-)

In a radio show by the ABC Radio National hosted by Antony Funnell, Emoticons an Email Etiquette, Funnell and his guest speakers discussed about the misinterpretation when reading e-mails, globalization of the smiley and emoticons, the case of vague e-mailing, coward misuse of e-mails, the over-casualness or formality in e-mail language, and bacns- spam from people we know.

Emails are often misinterpreted due to the absence of non-verbal cues- the tone, pitch and volume of a spoken voice, body language and facial expressions to name a few. These prosodic elements, according to Kress and van Leeuwen (1998) create meaning alongside of words. For example, capitalizing the words or phrases usually give the impression to the readers that you’re shouting (Hughes 2007). Instead of capitalizing, the asterisk is encouraged to be used for important points in your email (Yale University Library 2007).

Scott Fahlman’s invention of the first emoticon in 1982 (Muller-Godschalk 2008) –the smiley face- was considered to overcome the problem of misinterpretation. Multimodality is very much incorporated in producing today’s emoticons- combining various modes like sound, animation, text and images (Kress et al. 1998).

Scott Fahlman and his invention, the smiley.

Personally, I do use emoticons but not too much. It is annoying to chat with friends whose nine out of ten words are made up of emoticons. It is even harder to comprehend whatever the other party is talking about. Emoticons are supposed to substitute non-verbal cues online- to further elaborate or substitute meaning words cannot carry (Lo 2008).

too many emoticons can be irritating.

References

1. Best Impressions are Lasting Impressions 2005, Yale University Library, viewed 10 October 2008, http://www.library.yale.edu/training/netiquette/form.html.

2. Hughes, SW 2007, Email Etiquette, The Owl at Purdue, viewed 10 October 2008, http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/636/01.

3. Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, Front Pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout, viewed 1 September 2008, http://blackboard7.taylors.edu.my/courses/1/0807COMM1043TML0017/content/_1340675_1/Kress_gunther.pdf?bsession=211003&bsession_str=session_id=211003,user_id_pk1=225689,user_id_sos_id_pk2=1,one_time_token=.

4. Lo, SK 2008, The Nonverbal Communication Functions of Emoticons in Computer-Mediated Communication, Mary Ann Liebert Inc. Publishers, viewed 10 October 2008, http://www.liebertonline.com/doi/abs/10.1089/cpb.2007.0132.

5. Muller & Godschalk 2008, A Brief History of Emoticons, Emoticons and Smilies, viewed 10 October 2008, http://www.muller-godschalk.com/history.html.

Malaysia Voices Out: How the Cyberspace Rocked the 12th General Election.

CNET Asia blogger Bernice Low (2008) discussed about the function of new media in political campaigns and its impact on Malaysia’s 12th general elections in March 2008. The Internet and Short Messaging Service (SMS) were highlighted to be political tools used for pre-election campaigning and that the opposition parties have invested a lot of finance, time and effort on the Web, specifically through YouTube, blogs, Facebook and websites as compared to the incumbent coalition. Low also argued that inaccessibility of the Web in rural areas did not stop people living there from receiving information.

The Web 2.0 generation -basically the youths and urbanites- is always engaged with the World Wide Web. As for the people aged 50 and above, Low said that the more politically aware young people play a big role in informing the elders about alternative information. A research carried out by Kaid and Postelnicu (2005) on the 2004 U.S elections showed that young voters evaluate political candidates more extensively when they view them online rather than on television and their involvement in political affairs do influence their parents or elders to do the same (Poole et al. 2001). The advantage of interactivity through new media encourages users to be active and provide instant feedback (Jamieson et al. 2006) and this benefited the opposition very much because they receive a lot of direct input from Malaysians themselves, naturally decreasing the gap between the people and the opposition.

References

1. Jamieson, KH & Campbell, KK 2006, The Interplay of Influence, 6th edn, Thomson Wadsworth, Belmont, Canada.

2. Kaid, LL & Postelnicu, M 2004, ‘Political Advertising in the 2004 Election: Comparison of Traditional Television and Internet Messages’, Political Advertising in the General Campaign, vol. 49, no. 2, viewed 9 November 2008, http://abs.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/49/2/265.

3. Low, B 2008, Malaysia's digital revolution--the death knell for The Star, and the rise of the e-news portal?, CNET Asia, viewed 12 November 2008, http://asia.cnet.com/blogs/teteatech/post.htm?id=63002611.

4. Poole, MS & Walther, JB 2001, To Maintain and Enhance a Vigorous, Self-Renewing Democracy, Communication: Ubiquitous, Complex, Consequential, National Communication Association, viewed 23 October 2008, http://www.natcom.org/research/monograph.pdf.

YouTube: The Way to Popularity and Politics?

Social media network YouTube and the advent of video-logging or vlogging are a match made in heaven. According to The Guardian’s Gerard Seenan, vlogging are leading the trend in the Internet instead of traditional blogging (The Guardian, 7 August 2004). Equipped with a video camera, broadband connection and a site to post up your video, you are set to start video-logging. Unlike videos in a website, Dedman et al. (2006) said that videos in blogs are more interactive and possible to be linked and downloaded. The existence of Really Simple Syndication (RSS) enables interested viewers to subscribe to your videos, whereby whatever videos that you upload will be automatically in their viewing list.

This method of blogging has made a film graduate in her 20s famous through her series of video-logs on YouTube. Jessica Rose, or popularly known as LonelyGirl15 in YouTube had been acting as Bree, a home-schooled teenager with strict religious parents who expresses herself through vlogging, Heffernan reported (The New York Times, 13 September 2006).

Jessica Rose, or popularly known as LonelyGirl15 on YouTube.

Politicians have also recognised the potential of YouTube, and the social media network has become an advertising tool to win supporters especially during pre-election periods. Due to the free access to upload and share videos for free, dissemination of an ideology through videos is broad and fast (Gueorguieva 2008). A good example would be Malaysian opposition party Democratic Action Party (DAP)’s YouTube video named The Voice of Democracy, Conscience of Parliament (dapvideo 2008). The video shows that DAP carries the hope and voices of Malaysians.

References

1. Dedman, J, Kinberg, J & Paul, J 2006, Videoblogging, viewed 12 November 2008, http://books.google.com.my/books?id=2kMMrzbkTmMC.

2. Gueorguieva, V 2007, ‘Voters, MySpace, and YouTube: The Impact of Alternative Communication Channels on the 2006 Election Cycle and Beyond’, Social Science Computer Review, vol. 26, no. 3, viewed 23 October 2008, http://ssc.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/26/3/288.

3. Heffernan, V & Zeller, T 2006, The Lonelygirl That Really Wasn’t, 13 September 2006, The New York Times, viewed 12 November 2008, http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/13/technology/13lonely.html.

4. Seenan, G 2004, Forget the bloggers, it's the vloggers showing the way on the internet, 7 August 2004, Guardian, viewed 12 November 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2004/aug/07/travelnews.travel.

5. The Voice of Democracy, Conscience of Parliament- DAP 2008, YouTube video, dapvideo, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8vEBfbEIxtM.

Print vs. Web Design.

Fundamentally, elements that distinguish between print and online design are dimensionality, navigation, interactivity, multimodality, and layout (Miller 2008).

Print publication's dual dimensionality enables it to contain maximum information.

Web design, unlike print design, is not dual-dimensional. This is because of the scrolling versus canvas experience faced by online and print readers respectively (Nielsen 1999). Web design cannot incorporate too much dual-dimensionality because different readers scroll at different speed rate and might not absorb everything presented at certain fragments of the screen.

Nielsen (2006) explains that our reading path on the web follow the F-shape pattern, perhaps due to the scrolling experience. Online readers usually read horizontally longer than the second time and the rest of the reading path will be vertical and just a scan-through.

Nielsen's theory: F-shape pattern of reading on the web.

Due to the different modes, our literacy and attention varies on print and online media. Kress and van Leeuwen said that the combination of movement and sound (multimodality) in online publications have created a new form of literacy (Walsh 2006). Thus our understanding of the content relies more on visual, animation and sound rather than on words, like what we do when we read printed publications. Salience is what captures our attention first and most, and is dependent on visual cues (Kress et al. 1998). Therefore it is not surprising that we tend to look at the multimedia features first and then go on to read the article.

References

1. Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, Front Pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout, viewed 11 November 2008, http://blackboard7.taylors.edu.my/courses/1/0807COMM1043TML0017/content/_1340675_1/Kress_gunther.pdf?bsession=211003&bsession_str=session_id=211003,user_id_pk1=225689,user_id_sos_id_pk2=1,one_time_token=11003,user_id_pk1=225689,user_id_sos_id_pk2=1,one_time_token=.

2. Miller, E 2008, Designing for Print vs. the Web, About Graphic Design, viewed 11 November 2008, http://graphicdesign.about.com/od/printvsweb/a/print_vs_web.htm.

3. Nielsen, J 2006, F-Shaped Pattern for Reading Web Content, Use It, viewed 11 November 2008, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html.

4. Nielsen, J 1999, Differences between Print Design and Web Design, Use It, viewed 11 November 2008, http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html.

5. Walsh, M., 2006, ‘The textual shift: Examining the reading process with print, visual, and multimodal texts’, Australian Journal of Language and Literacy, vol. 29, no. 1, p.24 -37.

Are You LOGged In?

There are several classifications of weblogs, determined by variables such as the genre, device, types of media and status of publishers. Weblogs can be divided and each dedicated to a specific theme be it politics, fashion, entertainment or about pets. Or simply, it could just be a personal blog which by far, is the most popular.

Devices used to blog also determine the type of blog you have. For instance, a moblog, like its name, means mobile blogging. People no longer need to be in front of a computer or laptop to blog, but they can do so on their mobile phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDA) or any other mobile devices. Twitter, is currently a hit among mobloggers, enabling them to post up photos or notes online instantly (Christensen 2008).

Are you Moblogging?

Blogs also vary by how they are communicated- via video (vlog), a compilation of links to a chosen subject (linklog), a series of sketches (sketchlog), brief writing and combination of different media (tumblelog) or even photos (photoblog).

Both small and major businesses are using blogs- the former being enabled to draw commercial and private interest through disseminating product information or technical skills (Search and Go 2007). Meanwhile, corporate big shots like Microsoft and Google have their own blogs as well. The blogs not only enable the companies to promote their products and discuss about technical issues, but it creates a space for them to interact with their clients or the general public.

According to Kress and van Leeuwen (1998), any element that catches your eyes first and attracts you most is called salience, and that depends on visual cues. Therefore if the blog’s background colour is bright yellow, your attention might be diverted there first or you might be interested in that particular blog because it talks about football or the blogger is a funny guy.

Like forums or discussion boards, blogging communities are formed when people come together because of one common interest (Search and Go 2007). Examples of blogging community networks are MyBlogLog and BlogCatalog. One of the most popular blogging community in MyBlogLog is TechCrunch.com. In this weblog which was started in 2005 (TechCrunch 2008) provides everything one needs to know about Internet products fresh in the market and cover reviews of powerful, existing and new companies that are impacting the cyberspace. TechCrunch has made it in a number of publications and television shows like Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and CBS News.

Geek Haven.

It does not take a rocket scientist to form a blogging community. As long as there is a channel for your blog readers to provide you feedback and a number of links to blogs of a similar theme, Ning said that you’re set to go (Good 2007). Of course, accessing these links will be made easier via networks like MyBlogLog.

Get Connected with other Bloggers through MyBlogLog!

References

1. About, TechCrunch, viewed 12 November 2008, http://www.techcrunch.com/about-techcrunch/.

2. Good, R 2007, Community Building: How to Create Your Own Social Media Network with Ning, Robin Good, viewed 12 November 2008, http://www.masternewmedia.org/social_networking/social-media/create-your-social-network-with-Ning-20070306.htm.

3. Types of Blogs (part 3), Search and Go, viewed 12 November 2008, http://www.searchandgo.com/articles/internet/weblog-types-3.php.

Blogging: A Worldwide Trend.

Who would have guessed that the old fashion of writing in diaries has now been taken to a whole new level- in the World Wide Web (WWW)? According to Technorati (n.d.), blogs’ contents include various topics and opinions, some influential while some personal with small readership circles.

By 2007, there are almost 60 million blogs created, half of that amount comprises of active bloggers. The blogosphere continues growing with the number of blogs doubling consistently every half a year (Walsh 2007). In Britain, there are almost 7 million bloggers as recorded in 2006 (Fickling 2006) while in Asia, almost 50 per cent of online users own blogs with blogging making its most prominent mark in Korea (Stern 2006). The blogging trend in Britain and Asia (including Malaysia) is generally similar- a high percentage of online users blog about or prefer reading personal blogs by friends and family and for entertainment and social interests (Stern 2006; Microsoft 2008; Fickling 2006).

Due to Malaysia’s mainstream media that is primarily pro-government (Anuar 2008), political blogs by the opposition and also alternative news websites provide information that is not published on television, newspaper and radio. Malaysians could express and exchange opinions with other bloggers or just sharing ideas with online readers while business blogs make international businesses possible or enable ordinary people to set up shopping blogs easily.

References

1. Anuar, MK, Netto, A, Venkiteswaran, G & Wong, CH 2008, Candidates should be committed to freedom of expression and information, Centre for Independent Journalism, viewed 23 October 2008, http://www.cijmalaysia.org/content/view/296/6/.

2. Blogging Basics n.d., Technorati, viewed 11 November 2008, http://technorati.com/help/blogging101.html.

3. Fickling, D 2006, Britain is Home to Nearly 7 Million Bloggers, Guardian, viewed 11 November 2008, http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2006/jul/20/news.uknews.

4. Stern, A 2006, Blogging Phenomenon Sweeps Asia, CenterNetworks, viewed 11 November 2008, http://www.centernetworks.com/blogging-phenomenon-sweeps-asia.

5. Walsh, B 2007, Clear Blogging, viewed 11 November 2008, http://books.google.com.my/books?id=tHXhp2dyJHcC&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_summary_r&cad=0#PPP20,M1.

6. Women Rule in Malaysian Blogosphere 2006, Microsoft Malaysia, viewed 11 November 2008, http://www.microsoft.com/malaysia/press/archive2006/linkpage4337.mspx.

The Phenomenon Starts Now.

You cannot live without them. The emergence of the computer and the World Wide Web (WWW) had changed the lives of human race significantly. In Geek Phenomenon, you will find in-depth discussions regarding the media in relation to publication and design. Dedicated to communication students, academicians, multimedia people, and the tech-savvy, welcome to Geek Phenomenon!