New Forms of Media Publishing

The constant development of technology provides advancements to media publications. Blogs are the latest craze in most parts of the world. Although there have been speculations about the life span of blogs, Silkstone (2007) says “Blogging might not be dying, but it is always morphing into new forms”.

Photojournalism is an increasing profession in which images are made part of the news. It is coming under attack however, due to the various issues connected to it. Evasion of privacy, photo manipulation and stereotyping are but a few of these. An example of photo manipulation is that of Tonya Harding and Nancy Kerrigan which was published in the New York Newsday. The photo was edited to seem scandalous and nearly caused them both the 1994 Winter Olympics Game (Lester, 2005).

YouTube Site

YouTube is a compilation of videos and movies made available to everybody. This site is important as it enable people to comment on videos, upload news videos and view videos and movies for free. Copyright infringement and unethical videos have been connected
to this site however. Jason (2007) explains that although appearing otherwise, YouTube is very useful. It allows politicians a free haven to campaign to the You Tube site mass audience. Audiences are also able to gain insight to these politicians’ agendas.

Google Spam Blocker Logo

Splogs or spam blogs are the “latest ways for spammers to manipulate the blogosphere for profit” (Lee, 2005). The number of splogs is steadily increasing causing problems to bloggers. The reputation of blogs will be tarnished with the evidence of spamming. Another problem is that splogs are making it harder for users to search for information they desire as the search terms become “infested with these splogs” (Lee, 2005).

To survive in this era, new media will become a part of most people’s lives. It is becoming all about reaching out and creating communities and connections (Barone, 2007).

Reference List:

1. Barone, L 2007, The Future of New Media Publishing Tools, BRUCE CLAY INC, viewed 30 April 2008, <http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/archives/2007/11/the_future_of_n.html>.

2. Jason 2007, Two Reasons Why the Viacom-YouTube Debate is Important, viewed 1st May 2008, <http://www.unsoughtinput.com/index.php/2007/03/23/two-reasons-why-the-viacom-youtube-debate-is-important/>.

3. Lee, N 2005, How to Fight Those Surging Splogs, WIRED, viewed 29 April 2008, <http://www.wired.com/culture/lifestyle/news/2005/10/69380>.

4. Lester, M.P 1995, Photojournalism Ethics Timesless Issues, Fullerton, viewed 30 April 2008, <http://commfaculty.fullerton.edu/lester/writings/photoethics.html>.

5. Silkstone, D 2007, The blogs that ate cyberspace, THE AGE, viewed 29 April 2008, <http://www.theage.com.au/news/in-depth/here-to-stay/2007/04/06/1175366469530.html?page=6>.

Print vs. Online

Online NST

VS.

Print NST


Designing a document for print varies in many ways to one that is published online. This is due to the difference in audience and the expectancy of a unique format for each type of these documents. The importance of a proper layout in both online and print documents has to be taken into regard.

Parker (2003) states that single columns are not advisable for online sites and instead framing devices should be used. Framing devices will connect certain elements together and separate others, allowing a clear understanding for the reader (Kress & van Leeuwen 1998).

Print texts are considered to be more personal as compared to those online. This is due to the fact that readers are able to include their own cultural understanding into print, whereas when online, the multimodal features available provide obvious meanings (Walsh, 2006). Web users “do not read on web” instead they scan through the sites in search of a particular word of interest (Morkes & Nielsen 1997).

It is essential to “prune the content to suit reader’s interest” (Schriver, 1997) when it comes to online texts, whereas print texts are usually long and narrative. Unlike print texts, online documents are contributed to by people from all walks of lives. This casts doubt on their credibility which can be avoided by providing hyperlinks at the site (Morkes & Nielsen 1997).

Reference List:

1.Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, ‘Front pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout’, in Approaches to media discourse, eds Bell, A & Garrett, P, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 186-219.

2. Morkes, J & Nielsen, J 1997, Concise, Scannable and Objective: How To Write For The Web, Useit.com, viewed 28 April 2008, <http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/writing.html>.

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

4. Walsh, M 2006, ‘”Textual shift”: examining the reading process with print, visual and multimodal texts’, Australian journal of language and literacy, vol. 29, no 1, pp. 24-37.

Blog Classification

It is becoming increasingly difficult to classify blogs according to its genres, as many blogs have interrelating genres. There are some blogs however which focus on specific subject matters. These are some examples:

Subject Matter:

• Fashion: The Purse Blog

• History: Boston 1775

• Environment: New Scientist Environment Blog
  

• Food: Cooking with Amy

These blogs enable people with interests in a specific topic to access information they require.

Devices & Media Types:

• Moblog (mobile blogging): users are allowed to directly publish blog entries from their mobile phones to the web. Photos and videos can be e-mailed to the site as well. Ex: Jerry Ong Community Blog

• Vlog (video blogging) : is blogging using the medium of videos. The videos are accompanied with texts to explain the video further. Ex: Howard Rheingold’s Vlog

• Linklog : a compilation of different websites that are available in one blog. Ex: del.icio.us

• Sketchblog: blogs wher art pieces, mainly sketches are posted. Ex: Sketch Blog of the Day

• Tumblelogs: short-forms and mixed media such as links, photos, quotes and videos are posted. Used to share author’s thoughts and experiences with little commentary. Ex: Anarchaia

Status of publishers:

• Corporate blogs: used by organizations to achieve their goals. Ex: Ford Motor Company

The placement of elements on a layout carries a different meaning when positioned at a different location. Placing the topic in the centre will capture the audience’s attention and enable them to determine its type immediately. As Kress and Van Leeuwen (1998) state, the centre is the “nucleus” around which other information is placed.

Blogging Communities

Communities are formed by people of similar interests joining together to share their passions.
An example of a well known blogging community is MyBlogLog. Kirkpatrick (2006) says that it is a social networking system which allows people to connect to one another and gain further information on them and their blogs. According to Vinson (2006), blogging communities are created through comments left at blogs, hyperlinks connecting the blogs to other sites and shared language.

MyBlogLog (Techpedia images)


Reference List:

1. Kirkpatrick, M 2006, MyBlogLog: Readers Network Around Their Favorite Blogs, TechCrunch viewed on 30 April 2008, <http://www.techcrunch.com/2006/10/19/mybloglog-readers-network-around-their-favorite-blogs/>.

2. Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, ‘Front pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout’, in Approaches to media discourse, eds Bell, A & Garrett, P, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 186-219.

3. The 8 Different Types of Blogging In 2008, Make You Go Hmm.com, viewed on 1 May 2008, <http://www.instigatorblog.com/8-steps-to-growing-your-blog-community-by-1/2007/01/09/>.

4. Vinson, J 2006, Blogging and communities, Blogspot, viewed 30 April 2008, <http://blog.jackvinson.com/archives/2006/06/26/blogging_and_communities.html>.

Blogging Phenomenon

Blogs are websites on which regular posts are made regarding topics of interest to the author. Though in existence since the mid-90s, it is in recent years that they have begun to gain popularity (Pruitt, 2005). It is no easy task to constantly monitor the number of blogs available to this date, however sites like Technorati make an attempt to do so. The current estimated size of the world of blogs, known as blogosphere, is 50 million blogs as of the year 2006 (Sifry, 2006).

Graph of weblogs study by Technorati

Blogging is increasingly becoming a global phenomenon and is evident not only in Malaysia but also in Asia and Europe. In the United Kingdom, 37 % of internet users between the age of 18- 24 are involved in blogging (United Kingdom Internet Usage Trends 2006). Another European country, France, recorded that 72% of teenagers actively accessed and contributed to blogs (Caverly, 2007).

Blogging Trends

Most blogs in Europe are based on topics such as the environment, music and wildlife rather than personal blogs (Best european blogs 2007). This differs from Asian countries, where topics connected to politics, business and social life takes preference. India recorded the highest number for business blogs and Koreans prefer to blog about their personal life. In Malaysia, an emerging blogging trend is, political blogs, recording 20% of all local blogs (Collette, 2006).

Screenshoot of a political blog

Benefits of blogging to the Malaysian community

Businesses and private companies set up blogs to promote their products and services to the large online audience. Accessibility to information regarding business is beneficial to people interested in joining the field. One such example is BUSINESS MENTORS.

In the recent election in the country, many of the delegates in the opposition parties resorted to blogging in the hopes of reaching the mass audience. Lim Kit Siang is evidence of this.

Social blogs make up a large quantity of blogs. Planet Malaysia is a social networking blog site which allows people to become members and feature their blogs there.

Logo of the blog Planet Malaysia

Blogs have evolved to encompass most aspects that are important in people’s lives and these are but a selected few.

Reference List:

1. Best european blogs 2007, <http://europe.blogranking.eu/>.

2. Caverly, D 2007, France, Sweden Top Europe In Blog, Internet Use, WebProNews, viewed 30 April 2008, <http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/2007/11/28/france-sweden-top-europe-in-blog-internet-use>.

3. Collette, M 2006, Blogging Phenomenon Sweeps Asia, Microsoft, viewed 30 April 2008, <http://advertising.microsoft.com/asia/NewsAndEvents/PressRelease.aspx?Adv_PressReleaseID=296>.

4. Pruitt, C 2005, The Blogging Phenomenon: Who? How? Why?, Digital Divide Network, viewed 1 May 2008, <http://www.digitaldivide.net/articles/view.php?ArticleID=86> .

5. Sifry, D 2006, State of the Blogosphere, April 2006 Part 1: On Blogosphere Growth, Sifry's Alerts, viewed 29 April 2008, <http://www.sifry.com/alerts/archives/000436.html>.

6. United Kingdom Internet Usage Trend 2006, viewed 1 May 2008, <http://www.internetworldstats.com/usage/use012.htm>

Reason of Creation

Dawn of a New Era is a blog aimed at discussing issues concerning publication and document design. Publication and document design continues to evolve with time, owing to the advancements of technology.

The creation of this blog will enable students and hopefully professionals as well as academics to contribute their ideas and thoughts on these issues. The use of a blog to reach out to others is essential as more people are beginning to access the internet these days.

I hope that the emergence of this blog will provide those affected by these issues with a space to discuss and gain insight into various aspects of publication and document design.