Introduction

Welcome!

Hope you enjoy viewing my blog :D

Explanation of the purpose of my weblog

The purpose of my blog is to have a go at making one for an assignment in Issues in Publication and design at the University of South Australia. I am to produce a weblog to introduce myself to the blogging world with my professional commentary on current publishing issues.

Blogs new phenomenon and how they have affected our community

Blogging is a new phenomenon, blogs have become a much better and easier source to find and help people with updates about issues, news, sports and shopping. For example what’s good to buy online. It has changed over the past years and has improved. It’s now used to describe personal websites that offer observations, news, headlines, commentary, recommend links and/ or diary entries generally organised chronologically. Blogs are designed so people can check the short updates faster online; the new phenomenon began in April 1997.

Bloggists conformed lists of other blogs that they found interesting and programmers started to develop tools to computerize the procedure of frequently updating blogs (blood, 2000). At that time, most blogs became websites that presented links to websites and news articles that the author found interesting. Blogs started to take on new shapes as the medium began to gain mass. This procedure increased as the process of blogging became simpler with the advent of web-based tools such as Blogger, Pita, Groksoup, Diary land, Live Journal and others (Larisa, 2001).

Blogs have affected our community as it has made it aware of easier ways to seek information. People can comment, find easy access to information and read to see what other people’s opinions are on topics. There are all sorts of blogs being made all over the Internet. An example is a cooking blog. This is where you can find a recipe you are looking for and you can ask specific information. For example if you can use another ingredient or you can even comment saying perhaps another type of sugar works better. After making it, you can also comment on the finished product.

Things you need to take into account when designing for print versus designing for online

The things that you need to take into account when designing a print for online are some following suggestions:

Successful design

In order for your design to be successful, you must be willing to experiment different colours and schemes of you product and to see if they match and mesh well together. You need to have confidence in your perceptions and ideas you come up with. Stay positive and believe that this idea will fall through and look good. Good design often involves being transparent. You need to understand the fundamentals of design, which are those building blocks that transform a scribbled note into a professional and attractive print of communication. This will give you the tools you need to use your desktop publishing system to full advantage.

Some general principles and introduction steps that will give you solid footing in designing your projects includes:

Planning and experimenting – Have an idea of what you want your work to look like. Think of different ideas and see if they go well together, if not fix them to make sure they match.

Seeking inspiration – Sensitise yourself to examples of good and bad design. Maintain a clip file, when you get stuck just spend a few moments reviewing your favourite designs on file and also look beyond desktop publishing.

Looking beyond desktop publishing - To focus on design without the technological trappings, skim professional design publications that showcase elegant, excellent design examples.

Relevance – Graphic design must be relevant. Each design should be judged on its ability to help the reader quickly and easily understand your message.

Proportion – Their are no absolutes in graphic deign, success is determined by how well each piece of the puzzle relates to the pieces around it.

Direction – Readers should encounter a logical sequence of events as they encounter and read your advertisement or publication. Graphic design should provide a road map that guides your readers from point to point.

Consistency – style reflects the way you handle elements that come up again and again. Part of a document’s style is decided from the beginning. The rest emerges as the document develops visually. Consistency is a matter of detail. It involves using restraint in choosing typefaces and type sizes, and using the same spacing throughout your document.

Contrast – Contrast gives “colour” to your publication by balancing the space devoted to text, artwork and white space. When analysing an attractive publication, compare “dark” and “light” areas.

The total picture – Includes consideration of environment in which your advertisement or publication will be distributed.

Discussion and an example of a new form of publishing

New forms of publishing include newspaper/magazines available online as well as printed format now; advertising on mobile phones. Online there are many examples of new forms of publishing. These new ways of publishing online have changed the way we see technology.

Here are two examples of new ways of publishing:



This here is a new way publishing. Over the years there has been a great transformation of the new form of media that has changed writing and publishing. We have turned to a more digitalised world that has transformed to so called ‘old media’ to traditional media through the application of technologies.

This example above shows a computer based media fit and shows how it has changed the forms or newspapers and magazines. In addition to this the traditional newspapers are now able to be read online via their website along with magazines. This gives the chance for people all around the worlds to be able to have the opportunity to also seek and enjoy magazines over the internet. Now days everyone also have the opportunity to read international newspapers daily without any issues.


Businesses, social groups and communities now form blogs as a form of media and get whatever it is they have out there. In addition this has formed a world network and the ‘Cyber world’ connects people and information via computers. This also produces a chance for advertisers and marketers to increase the attractiveness and advantages of the new media. The new media business attracts many other divisions such as software and video games, television and radio and of course marketing (ABC Radio National, 2007).


Another example is this page from a newspaper. This is informing the public of what is going on around the world. You can find any piece of information as I mentioned above online these days instead of having to go to the shop to buy it. This also includes video clips and movies from television and foxtel.

Classifications of blogs and an example or two of different blogging communities

Blogs can me made by anyone anywhere. When having a blog it is by all mean gives the opportunity for anyone to write their thoughts on certain postings by other people. There are many topics, which come about on blogs; some include celebrity gossip, cars, and sports.
In significance an easy type of Blog Classification at an individual posting level, includes letting people know what you might be interested in and what you have to say for them to be able to understand what you are trying to say not being able to hear you. It is a core belief of user design, and Bloggers need to consider the people who tell and write their thoughts as much as software companies and traditional media.

Here are two examples of different blogging communities:

For example if you Click here you will view one example of a blog that has gained worldwide attention for the latest Hollywood gossip.

The other blog advertises cars. A local man from Malaysia had enough of people writing reviews of some of his favourite cars, so he decided to review them himself. He's site is the number one viewed site in Malaysia. Click here to view his site.

These two examples are nothing compared to the display of blog topics out in cyber space. Nearly every thinkable topic or discussion is out there. It is just a matter of finding them.

Four postings on chosen media/publishing issues: Legal guide for bloggers

This first media issues posted called ‘Legal guide for bloggers,’ is about bloggers publishing stuff on their blogs or on others and don’t really want it on there. But this is one thing you must consider, if you write your viewpoint on a blog or a comment it will be seen by anyone that enters that blog. This issue also discusses the difference between a reporter and you at a local newspaper, and how we may not have the benefits they do. For example the training or resources to help you in seeing if you are doing everything correctly and legally. Although these issues may be operating there is no need to stop making blogs and letting people know your own point of view. This is just an example of a guide and to aware bloggers of the issue that people may not feel that confident with having published what they say. Then again the people writing comments should be aware that anything posted would be on the blog.

Media Hunter Australian blog

The media issue called ‘Media Hunter Australian blog,’ is a blog about Australia number one media news blog. Media Hunter is a reasonably admired and viewed blog. Recently Sticky Branding has been added to this blog. Sticky branding discusses brand issues such as brand personality, taglines, corporate identity and positioning. You will find that most brands try to compete in different ways to up gain their industry and so in doing so they usually try to add better and more interesting stuff to their blogs then others. But if you’re clever enough you can find a category role and position yourself as the ladder of that role. From there you compete and grow. So this is what this blogger did with Media Hunter. If your having trouble with being able to strategically position your business just visit sticky branding and get help on how to improve you blog and become one of the most popular blogs like Media Hunter today.

Media Man Australia

‘Media Man Australia,’ is a media, publicity and portal development business. It is a website which involves media and entertainment. At media man Australia they specialise in media, media management and strategy, public relations, portal development, financial, property, environmental, technology, lifestyle, gaming, imaging, travel and tourism, events, sports and community based news. They like building strong relationships with media companies and entertainment industries around the world. Media Man comprises of three main business arms; media services, public relations / publicity / media strategy and online advertising and exposure.

How journalists/newspapers use blogs

This article ‘How Journalists/Newspaper Use Blogs,’ is about an interview with Howard Kurtz on CNN. Kevin talks about why he decided to leave the network news and to become the first new correspondent for yahoo.com. Kevin also decided on spending a year filing multimedia dispatches from all around the world. This interview is about Kevin changing what he wants to do. He decided to go on and write a blog with videos and photographs of himself including holds of live chats with his readers. Kevin has travelled to Sudan, Somalia and Iraq. He hopes to continue on and travel to Chechnya, Kashmir and the Korean Peninsula. The interview involves why Kevin decided to change jobs and why he decided to work on the Internet and whether or not it was an easy thing to do and to find a job at the time. Kevin responded to these questions by saying he had been offered jobs from three networks and decided to go with yahoo as he had to make a blog and he had already made one.

Reflection on the process of creating the weblog

In designing and making a weblog for this assignment in Issues publication and design I am happy to say this was a good, different and fun assignment to do. I had never made a weblog before and this gave me a chance to do it. I got to have my own account and design the way I wanted my blog to look and to add information on it.

After completing this blog I have learnt many things, which I can use in the future on the Internet. Before even starting this assignment I did not know a thing about web logs and honestly I didn’t even know what one was till now. This weblog assignment has utilised my perspectives on developing documents. I now have knowledge of print document design elements including visual and textual balance, typeface, layout and readability.

This assignment provided me with exposure and experience to develop awareness of how context, purpose, field and audience relate to form and meaning. It involved acquiring and maintaining the body of knowledge, and experimenting with how applications might lead to more effective communication.