WWW Standards

In preparation for this task we were required to read through the following links.

http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/

http://www.dartmouth.edu/~webteach/articles/text.html

My first perception of Jakob Nielsen's site was 'Oh here goes, more information overload', but each link offered really interesting information. I was particularly interested in the eye tracking study. Now every time I open a website I make a mental note on what my eyes are doing:)

EYE TRACKING STUDY



"The eye tracking study reveals that a viewer will scan a webpage in the shape of an F pattern". Nielsen, J (2006)

The above screenshot taken from usit.com, shows a heat map of eye tracking studies from 3 websites. http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

• Red areas being hot spots (where viewers looked the most)


• Yellow areas holding less viewing


• Blue areas indicating very little interest


• Gray areas not attracting any fixations

I can see from the above study that the first website held a relative amount of interest in the first half of the page but little or nothing in the end. Considering there is quite a bit of written information, important aspects of what the website is offering the viewer is only half affective.

The middle website really highlights the F pattern. Very impressive stats. If you look at the hot spots the viewer has scanned just about all of the website. Not much information lost here.

The last website is a search page. Once again you can see the distinctive F but not many hot spots here. My thought on this would revert back to keywords with search engines. I myself I only look into the top few sites from a search, page 20 of 10,000 will never attract my attention. So thinking about keywords, make them count and aim for the amazing F.

Zoe's 5 Important rules for 'writing' online

• Think about your content. Viewers generally enter and leave a site quickly. If you want to hold their attention you need to make sure that what you are putting across isn't swallowed up in a monotonous page of unbroken text. Make use short paragraphs and highlight any keywords that link to what you are saying. Remember your page will be scanned rather than read.

• Utilise lists. A list of one liners is a great way to feed a viewer a package of information without them feeling they are reading the information. I am using a list here but not effectively. Because the content of this list is in long paragraphs, I doubt whether it is being fully read. I would hope that my highlighted points are hot spots. (I feel that I need to give more explanation of my views purely for my learning log).

• Images. I would regard images in the same context as written information. Keep them relevant and interesting to the viewer. Make sure the images load quickly, the last thing you want is a visitor leaving your page through impatience before it has even loaded.

• Links. Make sure they work and make them count. The viewer is leaving your site, have they absorbed what you wanted them to before they leave. Chances are they may not come back once they click out.

• Animation and sound. I don't mind a good slide show of what is relevant to what I am reading, but annoying little animations zipping around cause instant distraction. Sound affects me in the same way. 90% of the time my volume is muted.

I would feel that the advice in Nielsen's paper is still current/relevant even though it was written in 1997. To me, if a reader only scans over a page then you do need to be aware of your writing skills. I wouldn't think this advice need change, in fact as society/technology picks up pace, more so the awareness of information to maintain effectiveness with change.

'Validator' page

I was a little confused about the validation process and in my attempt to validate my page only incurred errors with the process. I hope this last step hasn't inhibited my upload. I am not sure now that I have already uploaded to the presentation area whether I can pursue this step.

Copyright

http://www.benedict.com/info/info.aspx

http://www.copyright.curtin.edu.au/

I don't think I have used words or images on my webpage that would contravene any copyright laws. I acquired a 'Taurus' image from a free clipart site. I used a screenshot of my blog title as a link to my blog. The Chef image was part of the Tutorial.

I did link to my workplace website, but as my husband and I are the managers then I would assume permission would be granted.

Wording used was from the tutorial (I hope we were to use it) and also my own.

In regards to using the Curtin logo, I would seek written permission from Curtin before doing this.

URL of my Webpage

http://webct.curtin.edu.au/305033_b/student_pres/Group75/index.html

Blogs

Before starting with my studies I didn't take any notice of blogs. I knew they existed but didn't take the time to see how they worked. I now think they are an effective information tool. I like the way blogs progress with updated content.

Following my fellow net11 buddies blogs has been quiet fulfilling. I can honestly say that I check our blogs more than I check my personal email now.

As a newbie blogger I also look for comments, in our situation I find the feedback a way of keeping on track.

I really like blogging !!

Web 2.0

This task required a visit to the following sites:

http://www.blinklist.com/InternetCommunications/

http://wievia.bay.livefilestore.com/y1p8GOFx-eIftrxl3h80up_xuZsctBHCKWcH_uCngHae_M_zdfG5A8mxh0wlgpFfx3g_ji273o8NyVIosEsl_PVp-Mvnffqji3I/net11.html

Now I can see definite differences in presentation between the two but felt that I needed to do a Google search on 'Blinklist' before I went any further. Being yet another thing I had not heard of before, I found the following explanation -

"BlinkList: The vision and goal of BlinkList is to be the leading “Personal Discovery Engine” where people come to discover, share, and organize the most recent and relevant information available online. Before BlinkList, saving and finding saved bookmarks was a frustrating user experience. In addition, sharing links and finding the top links that your friends or peers have been discovering was close to impossible. BlinkList is attempting to solve both problems." Chang, E (2005)

My perception of web2.0 is not so much a whole new www, but a new look of page presentation. A bit like itunes downloads I suppose. Each has a new look and maybe some extra features.

I liked the look of the Blinklist page, and even though I don't fully understand how it works, navigation seemed quite easy.

My first impression of the html written list was confusion, but when I took time to have a closer look, I found it quite user friendly. I actually found some interesting links that I didn't find first in the blinklist page. I probably spent more time with the html page because it seemed more familiar.

In retrospect of which format would be better, I vote for the blinklist page. The simplicity of the layout would enable quicker use as far a time was concerned and probably a better format thinking about vision implications, page spread out and having clear headings.

References:

Nielsen, J (2006) Usit.com, Jacob Nielsens Alert Box; Summary, F Shaped Pattern for reading Web Content, Retrieved 11 July 2008 from http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html

Chang, E (2005) ./emilychang eHub; eHub Interviews Blinklist, Retrieved 11 July 2008 from http://www.emilychang.com/go/ehub/interview/blinklist/

One last step before the concepts assignment.... next weeks goal is to complete fully mondule 4 :)