Wonderful achievement...

Dear readers,

Everyone, this is time for reflection! I'm really happy that I have finished posting all the issues. It was a great experience and a wonderful achievement. I've actually started blogging since last year with a personal diary. However, I think I've reached another level by doing this blog.

According to Back (2004), blogger should link to online references and original sources directly in order to avoid copyright infringements. In this blog, all of my posts have references because it is ethical to give credit to people who provide the information. Blogger should not be a 'copycat'. Besides that, I think all the blogger should not post anything that oppose one's culture as your readers are everywhere. Shriver's theories (1997) have actually taught that readers' cultural background influence the way they interpret.

According to Walsh (2006), reading is a constant interaction between reader and text. Thus, as a blogger, I will try to express myself and interact with readers. However, the design of a blog is important to attract readers. I hope that all of you have learnt something new about document design and enjoy. Ganbatte kudasai (Work hard in Japanese)!

References

Back, E. 2004, Ethical Blogging: Not Good for Blogs (Online, accessed 13 June 2009).
URL: http://elliottback.com/wp/ethical-blogging-not-good-for-blogs/

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

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, pp. 24-37.

Which one will win the battle: Blog, Facebook or Twitter?

Dear readers,

Summary

It sounds greedy that I actually have a blog, facebook as well as twitter accounts. What about you?

In the article "Web Communication Experiment: Blog vs. Facebook vs. Twitter", Scott Karp shared his opinions on the usage of blogs, Facebook and Twitter. Although the author/blogger owned 3 of these accounts, he personally prefered to use blog as he can communicate with thousands of people which is called 'one to many communication'. On the other hand, he said that Twitter and Facebook are just communicating to a limited amount of friends. However, he highlighted that he would try to maximize the utility of Twitter and Facebook.

I personally think that blogs, Facebook and Twitter have its own speciality. I'm not going to explain about blogs as readers can get the information in my previous post. Let's get to know more about Twitter and Facebook!

Twitter (2009) is a free social networking site that allows you to send and read your friends' update known as 'Tweets'. Tweets are text-based posts with 140 words limit and anyone can use Tweets via online, Short Message Service (SMS) and other applications.

Facebook (2009) is also a free social networking site that connects people from the same or different countries, city, schools and region. You can post comments, chat, post video, play games, quiz and post or tag your friends with photos.


Statistics by Kazeniac (2009)

Above is the statistics by Kazeniac (2009) on the usage of social networking sites and Facebook outshines all the other websites. Why? Simply because it has most of the functions. Facebook entertains people with games, chatroom, video and photos. Facebook is also a site to promote and persuade. This is strongly proved by the President of Unite States of America, Barack Obama. He used Facebook to connect with all his supporters. I personally think that Facebook is growing rapidly but it is not good as many people might get addicted with all the wonderful functions provided by the site. Elizabeth Cohen from CNN (2009) reported that a mother ignored her daughter because of Facebook. I would suggest that everything should be used in moderation including social networking sites.

(http://www.inkygirl.com/)

References

Cohen, E. 2009, Five clues that you addicted to Facebook (Online, accessed 13 June 2009).
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/04/23/ep.facebook.addict/index.html

Facebook 2009, Press Room (Online, accessed 13 June 2009).
URL: http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet#/press/info.php?factsheet

Karp, S. 2007, Web Communication Experiment: Blog vs. Facebook vs. Twitter (Online, accessed 13 June 2009).
URL: http://publishing2.com/2007/07/28/web-communication-experiment-blog-vs-facebook-vs-twitter/

Kazeniac, A. 2009, Social Networks: Facebook Takes Over Top Spot, Twitter Climbs (Online, accessed 13 June 2009).
URL: http://blog.compete.com/2009/02/09/facebook-myspace-twitter-social-network/

Twitter.com 2009, About Twitter (Online, accessed 12 June 2009).
URl: http://twitter.com/about

Webisodes for kids

Dear readers,

Summary

Have you ever heard of webisode? It actually sounds 'alien' to me at first. Then, I've come to realized that webisode is actually short scripted series that airs on Internet instead of the television. In this article, Chris Corbett, the writer and producer of TinyTown, a webisode for kids, shared his story about webisode with ABC radio. TinyTown is basically a short clip about detectives starring kids. According to Chris Corbett, the cost of production for webisodes are much more lower compared to the cost of production for television. In order to produce a good webisode, producer must really understand the audience well. For example, Chris Corbett highlighted that the length of webisode should be between 4-5 minutes so that it will not be too long and draggy. Due to the rise of YouTube and mobiles for entertainment, webisode is a great project to work on.



More about webisode...

The purpose of webisode is not just for entertainment but it also helps to educate, promote and persuade too. Similarly to television, webisode can be divided to different genres such as educational, adventure, action, comedy and many more. The style and format of webisodes are simple, episodic and scripted, short and it is continuous.

Following are the 6 tips for writing webisodes series:

1) Arrange a good story lining
- write in blocks of 10,20 or 30 episodes

2) Cliffhangers
- needs a cliffhanger at the end of the episode to create a suspend

3) SMS
- increase audience involvement by allowing audience to sign up for the SMS updates on the show and allow audience to comments and give feedback

4) Soap it up
-inform the type of story in order to gain interest from advertisers

5) Close up
- have more zoom in shots as the screen is smaller compared to television

6) Be funny
- Consider where your audience will be consuming webisodes

(http://www.smallscreens.org/)

Who are the audience?

Nowadays, children and teenagers are those who hook up on internet 24 hours. Cellular-news (2009) reported that 80 % of teens go online without any limit. The audience will mostly be teenagers and children. Thus, the content of webisodes should be genres related to their life in order to attract their attention. Moreover, children and youth should be included as actors in the show to attract the attention from the same age group.

References

ABC.net.au 2007, Webisodes for kids (Online, accessed 9 June 2009).
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2124198.htm

Cellular-news 2009, US Teens Going Online Wirelessly Without Limits or Controls (Online, accessed 11 June 2009).
URL: http://www.cellular-news.com/story/37496.php

Smallscreens 2007, 6 tips for writing webisodes series (Online, accessed 9 June 2009).
URL: http://www.smallscreens.org/

Controversial topic

Dear readers,

Summary

Tamil-language newspaper in Malaysia, Makkal Osai, was suspended for one month soon after the picture of Jesus Christ holding a cigarette and a can of beer was published at the front cover. There was a caption quoting Christ, "If a person repents his mistakes, heaven awaits him". Makkal Osai apologized by claiming that the picture was accidentally inserted by a graphic artist. However, the picture has seriously offended many Christians. According to Prime Minister's Department Datuk Dr Maximus Ongkili, action must be taken againt those who criticized other religion.


(http://www.indianmalaysian.com/)

Cultural perspective

It is indeed wrong to publish the picture of Jesus holding cigarette and a can of beer at the cover of the newspaper because it is just like violating the image of god in the public. Malaysia is a multi-racial and also multi-religious country. Different races will have different cultural perspective on certain topic especially sensitive issue such as religion. Therefore, the newspaper should consider the audience in Malaysia.

Ethics

Different culture and moral practices raise an important issue in ethics. Even in school, there are rules for students to follow. There are always guidelines for everything which is good. Newspaper can't just publish such controversial topic. Just imagine if The Star newspaper publish a picture of the Hindu God holding a cigarette, the same thing might happen. The Hindus will protest the way how Christians did. It is a good choice to shut down the paper so that other newspaper will be aware (The Star Online 2008). There are always a limit for freedom of press. It won't be good if sensitive issues about religon are published every where. It is unfair for all the races in Malaysia. Malaysian can seldom see religious topics in newspaper such as The Star or Buletin Utama because the journalism code of ethics stated that journalist should avoid publication of news that oppose the moral value of the multi races in Malaysia (Ang 1998).

References

Ang, P. H. 1998, Journalism Code of Ethics in Various Asian Countries (Online, accessed 8 June 2009).
URL: http://www.medialaw.com.sg/ethics/jcode.htm#malaysia

The Star Online 2007, Makkal Osai Suspended (Online, accessed 7 June 2009).
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/25/nation/18696017&sec=nation

The Star Online 2008, Paper shut down for breaching guidelines (Online, accessed 7 June 2009).
URL: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/18/nation/20987996

Emoticon and Email Ettiquette

Dear readers =)

I guess this is the first time of me using '=)' or smiley face in my post. Why am I using this? Let's find out!

Summary

In this article, it explains how online communication through emails can actually cause misunderstandings in a relationship. A person might interpret emails based on one's status which is really unfair. In order to avoid misunderstandings, American Scott Fahlman invented emoticon such as smiley face. Later on, Will Schwalbe (2007), a New York publisher emphasized that email is a symbol of respect between each other. He highlighted that email users should make use of emails and know the right way to write an email. You can either write a casual or a formal email depending on the purpose of the email and the receiver. Schwalbe (2007) also said that there's lot to learn from Generation Y as they know the proper etiquettes of using email.

(www.forrestwalter.com)

I am from the Generation Y and I personally think that emoticons are really important to express ourselves. Sometimes, words could not express everything. According to Shriver (1997, p. 367), the interpretation of message depends on a few factors such as the reader's mood, interest as well as cultural, social, physical and technology setting. For example, I will insert a smiley face when I ask my friend for a favour to show that I'm polite and nice. If my friend is in a bad mood and there's no emoticons, he or she might think that I'm demanding too much. However, if she sees a smiley face, she might even calm down and feel better.

Following are some tips on how to write a good email:

1) Write a readable email
- Beware of your spelling and capitalization. Do not use write everything in full caps as the email will sound offensive.

2) Proofread
- Read again before you send the email. Sometimes, there might be mistakes on the spelling and words.

3) Address yourself and others correctly.
- If it's a formal email, address the receiver in a professional way. If it's an informal email, you can be more friendly.

4) Show respect
- Be tolerant with the receiver or sender. Use BCC when you want to send email to a large group of people.

(Jerz 2000)

References

ABC.net.au 2007, Emoticons and email ettiquette (Online, accessed 7 June 2009).
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2007/2064342.htm#

Jerz, D. G. 2000, Writing Effective E-mail: Top 10 tips (Online, accessed 8 June 2009).
URL: http://jerz.setonhill.edu/writing/e-text/e-mail.htm

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

New forms of media publishing

Dear readers,

So, what are the latest trends that are used in media publishing? As I've mentioned in my previous post, there are moblog, vlog, photologs and many more. Today, I would like to discuss a little more on other upcoming media publishing trend such as YouTube & online newspapers. According to Walsh (2006), written texts are no longer dominant. It is important to know that photographs, video, screen and music are important to instill the interest among the readers in this generation.

Youtube is a video sharing website where users can upload, share and view videos online.





This is an interview by Riz Khan of Al-jazeera with the famous controversial blogger, Raja Petra, who was actually twice arrested. This video is about the real truth behind the censorship of media in Malaysia. It is alright to have this interview and publish online to the people. However, this interview will certainly not be seen in the mainstream media in Malaysia because this is a sensitive and controversial topic. Basically, the people find Youtube a safer and easier tool to express themselves. Just like the picture below.



(Cartoon stock)

However, it is still not as safe as everyone thought. Helft from New York Times (2009) have reported that YouTube is banned by the government in China because Tibetan government uploaded a video of the Chinese police officers violently hitting the Tibetan.

Moreover, online newspaper such as The Star Online is also new forms of media publishing. It's much more easier to navigate via online. According to Walsh (2006), a reader's pathway can be multilinear and multi-directional with links. In my opinion, online newspaper is very useful as it contains not only the latest news but also the old news too.


References

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, pp. 24-37.

Helft, M. 2009, YouTube being blocked in China, Google says (Online, accessed 10 June 2009).
URL: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/25/technology/internet/25youtube.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

YouTube 2009, Rizkhan cencorship in Malaysia (Online, accessed 10 June 2009).
URL: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCrQWLof4NM

Blog communities

Dear readers,

I'm back today with more interesting facts that you wanna know about blogs!

The following are the types of blogs according to Wikipedia (2007) :

a) Personal blogs: online diaries
b) Corporate blog: for business, public relations or marketing purposes
c) By genre: music, fashion, politics, food blogs etc.
d)By types of media: photos (photolog) , videos (vlog) etc.
e) By device: written by mobile device such as PDA (moblog)

However, Margaret Simons pointed out 9 different types of blogs in her interview with the ABC.net.au (2008).

a) Pamphleteering blog : authors giving points of views on issues eg. political.
b) Digest blog : summarise or collecting materials from elsewhere
c) Advocacy blog : similar to pamphleteering blog but usually by a vested interest group
d) Popular Mechanics blog : information on how to do certain things
e) Exhibition blog : vanity publishing where artists, writers and craftspeople post their work
f) Gatewatcher blog : blogs that keep an eye on the media
g) Diary blog : personal online journal
h) Advertisement blog : promotion of products by commercial companies
i) News blog : posts about breaking news

The classification of blogs between Wikipedia and Margaret Simons are different as Wikipedia classified blogs based on the format and also the contents. However, Simons classified the blogs based on the purpose and audience.

Types of blogging communities

There are 3 types of blogging communities:

a) Single blog/blogger centric community -
owned by one one owner/organisation and the central blogger controls the conversational topic.

b) Central connecting topic community -
communities are formed within people with the same interests.

c) Boundaried communities -
communities that gathered blogs and blogs readers in a single site such as Facebook and MySpace.

There are 3 interesting types of communties but I would just focus on Blogger centric community.


(http://www.malaysiabest.net/)

This is an example of a single blog own by one owner. The blogger, Mrs. Lillian, blogs about the recipes of food and share with the communities who are interested in cooking. As you can see from her blog and my blog here, there are few ways to build a blog community. For example, there are chat box and links to other site.

References

ABC.net.au 2008, A taxanomy of blogs (Online, accessed 7 June 2009).
URL: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript

Lillian 2009, Best recipes, food and travel (Online, accessed 7 June 2009).
URL: http://www.malaysiabest.net

Wikipedia 2007, Types of blog (Online, accessed 7 June 2009).
URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blog