Never new a website could look so bad...

The first web site that I feel has pretty good design is Mozilla.com. When you first go to this site it welcomes you with a very happy, energetic feel. The front page is a rather simplistic design. You know pretty much instantly what Mozilla is offering you and where to find it. I think the thing I like the most about it is that everything that you would need to click on is on the visible page. You don’t have to scroll down to find what you are looking for. That’s one of my biggest pet peeves. The colors are friendly to the eyes. They are not harsh or too washed out. The black text comes through great. And probably my favorite thing is the text. I absolutely cannot stand font that has hanging lines (Like times new roman) I feel like it is way too awkward to look at and I don’t like when websites use that.

                The next site I am choosing as a well designed website would have to be corkd.com. I feel that the website is a really nice design, and most of it is based on its color. I like that the background isn’t the same old boring white, it’s a rather enjoyable beige to pinkish color. A white background is actually really harsh to the eyes to look at for a lengthy time. It’s very easy on the eyes, great to look at, and it’s pretty. The header on the website is a color that compliments the background color phenomenally. Again the font is a good choice for the background, the black works well. I believe that this layout works for the type of website it is. Normally I am not a fan of websites where you have to scroll to see all the information, but I think that this website is good because it is kind of a blogging style website. So the newest information and posts are always going to be visible on top. If this website is viewed regularly it’s the perfect set up and design.

                I looked around and saw some pretty darn bad websites. I chose my worst website not only because it was bad, but because it’s a website for Yale University School of Art. Really Yale? Art.Yale.edu is an absolutely horribly designed website. First and foremost, the background is hideous. Using a tiled picture as a background has never ever been a good idea. It’s so sloppy and messy and this one really just messes with your eyes. The blocks of color they are trying to use as borders for font look awful and completely juvenile. The school’s address disappears in the background so you really have to search for the name of the school and the address. I just don’t know what to say knowing whose website it is. I thought they would be better.

                My website that I want to create is an online portfolio and resume website. I want the website to be able to list not only my resume, but a place for me to be able to post some of the video and audio projects I’ve done, somewhere that I can list some scripts that I have written, and even to have a spot that I can go more in depth in the skills that I know and have learned. I think that the website will be something that will benefit me, because I can list the website on my resume that I will send out to employers, and it will give them an opportunity to look deeper into the things I can do and what I can offer them. The color choices that I want to focus on are all going to be very soft colors, so they are comforting. My favorite color is green so it will definitely be represented. I also want to include brown and pink because the three colors work really well together and I like the way they look. My lines would all be very clean and simple. The font would look nice and not be too over the top. Overall I want this website to look very professional to best represent me.

Twitter

Microblogging is something that varies from regular blogging. One of the biggest differences is that microblogging is done in very short blurbs. Each time a journalist post something it is usually under 140 characters. This is much different than posting a 1,000 word article about a subject. Another major difference between regular blogging and microblogging is that when a journalist microbloggs it is almost always an instantaneous posting. A journalist can be much more in demand with their writing. They are able to give their readers updates as they are happening. In my opinion this is the biggest and greatest difference. In generic blogging the journalist has to wait until they are home in from of a computer to put the story on the internet, but the microblogger would have the story already online in short little blurbs as the event was unfolding.

          Even though microblogging is using the internet and is considered in the same family as social networks like Facebook, it is very different. Facebook is more for keeping in contact with friends, planning events, and connecting with some of your favorite businesses. The biggest difference between the two is the purposes of Facebook and a microblogging site like Twitter. Twitter is best used for following a story, a celebrity, or a business, but not in the way Facebook is used. Twitter helps people read the latest gossip, the latest news story, and the latest update without them being bombarded with all this other information they have no interest in viewing. It helps people focus on just the information they are after. It’s a very useful tool when trying to find out certain information.

          When I used Twitter, which was only for a very short time, I didn’t really use it for too much. I thought that I wanted to use it to keep my friends updated with what I was up to, but instead I just found myself heading back to Facebook over and over to let the same people know the same thing. I wasn’t a celebrity, a News company, or even a business, so the majority of people on Twitter were not looking to my Twitter for find out the latest scoop. I found it pretty useless for personal use, but it’s a great use for professional people.

          I don’t think I will use Twitter after this class again unless I find myself in a business where it is beneficial for me to be getting my viewers or friends immediately updated information. I can’t really say if I will be in a position like that or not, so I can’t really say if I will ever actually use Twitter again. Maybe I will find some reason for it even when I am not in a professional setting. I’m sure that Twitter will be changing in the future and it might become friendlier to users like me.

          I will say that looking at Twitter; it is a phenomenal thing for business people, journalists, and even for politicians. It gets the message out to people instantly, and they are not bothered with events, pictures, games, applications, and other things that might hinder the message being delivered effectively. It is something that is progressing everyday and I predict that it will soon be the only way some people try to get their message across to everyone, as long as they have a computer.