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So here we are in week 14 close to the end of the course. This is my last blog and I must say I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I am somewhat relieved as my head is so filled with technical jargon, theories, and differing perspectives on this topic that it feels about to explode. On the other hand, I feel fortunate to have gained an enhanced comprehension of information architecture and the part it has to play in our world. This week we finished part 3 of Holding on to Reality which is comprised of chapters 11 through 15. Chapter 11 deals with elementary measures and how to separate information into smaller pieces. This can be difficult to comprehend as it becomes harder to identify the finished product when the cultural and social signs are deconstructed into their core elements. According to According to Borgmann (1999), “The force of reality does not naturally present itself in bits. But if we can theoretically grasp the structure of information, it is technologically possible to capture the surface and anatomy of reality by assigning bits of information to the facets and ligaments of things, and in this way information about, for, and as reality can be structured in bits with powerful results” (p. 140). What is clear is that people must be willing to put in the work to recognize the signs around us and be able to decipher them in the information that is online. In chapter 12 Borgmann discusses the basic structure of information or content. He mostly focused on technological advancements using such examples as vacuum cleaner tubes, calculators and computers. Even though I don’t necessarily like certain technological stuff that others may enjoy, I do agree with Borgmann assessment that in order to maintain the life that we as a society have become used to, these innovations are essential. I admit that I am a person who does not deal well with change. An example is when Blackboard updated its site this year. On the site, there is a message that states that users need to have Internet Explorer 7 or else the site will not properly load. I personally felt that the site worked fine before the upgrade and I resent being told I have to make changes to my computer (which does not need the changes for anything else) in order to use the site. I have not gotten Internet Explorer 7 and instead use a computer at my library to do my class work. While I value the philosophy of “if it ain’t, broke don’t fix it,” I do understand that people and businesses will be left behind if they don’t acknowledge and embrace these changes when they are required. Chapter 13 deals with transparency and control. In this chapter, Borgmann (1999) states that, “technological information promises to render reality, not just perspicuous or surveyable, but altogether transparent. Transparency seems to be the perfection of information about reality” (p. 168). Borgmann uses mapmaking as an example of how technological information has come a long way from when Lewis and Clark first trekked across the US and created a hand drawn map to computer programs that can not only scan the topography of the earth, but beneath it as well which has helped us to monitor what is happening with our planet such as geographical changes. In chapter 14, the author discusses virtuality and ambiguity and how it relates to reality and virtual reality. According to the textbook (1999), “Real ambiguity is resolved through engagement with an existing reality. With virtual reality, resolution is high and engagement intense. But it is characteristic of virtual reality that as resolution and engagement grows, so does ambiguity” (p. 185). Borgmann indicates that virtual reality, while it has grown significantly in popular culture and allows people to engage in fanciful activities that they might not be otherwise able to do, it provides us with no real information about the world and prevents us from living the life that we have. I am inclined to agree as I feel that while virtual reality can, at times, be a pleasant distraction from life, it should not be a replacement for it. Lastly, in chapter 15, we are introduced to the concepts of fragility and noise. Borgmann (1999) states that, “Through the passage of time, technological information becomes physically fragile because so do the traces and media they are inscribed on. Technological information is socially fragile because of our heedless rush toward more powerful technologies that condemn older ones to obsolescence and illegibility” (p. 196). This fragility also relates to structural and cultural areas that must be preserved or else valuable information can be lost. In regards to noise, the author does not refer to the noise of technology, but to the growing fragility of voices that have roots in reality such as art, nature and religion. I agree with this because it does seem like these are being pushed to the back and as an art and nature lover and a religious person, this fragility is saddening to see and should not be allowed to happen. All in all, I must say that this book was really enjoyable to read. Borgmann explained himself so well and I loved reading about the history of the topics and how it all relates to culture and society. Granted, at times there were some areas where the technological subjects were a little overwhelming for me and made my head hurt, but the details that he discusses are necessary to know due to the effects that technology has on our daily lives. I have learned a lot about information architecture, both its origins and what possibilities exist for the field in the future. It also really opened my eyes to the Web and how it works which was something I had never given much thought to before. In closing I just want to say that it was great to read all this information, take part in all the discussions, and say thank you to Dr. Simon for an illuminating semester. References: Borgmann, Albert. (1999). “Holding on to Reality: The Nature of Information at the Turn of the Millennium.” Chicago, IL. The University of Chicago Press. This week had us reading part 2 of our textbook Holding on to Reality which is comprised of chapters 6 through 10. Chapter 6 addresses the writing and structure of information in language. According to Borgmann (1999), “Structure, of course, is crucial to information, and the search for structure is the quest for the secret of the nature of reference—the tie between signs and things” (p. 59). Here we are introduced to the concept of the alphabet and its letters are elements of a structure that can be analyzed. The author also suggests that the creation of the alphabet helped to synthesize language into grammar and that by writing things down, language is given stability and structure. This part of the chapter was really illuminating to read, more so then the part about the Pythagorean Theorem and using geometry. That part was a bit more confusing as math is not my strong suit, but on the whole I can understand its relevance to showing the importance of structure and how the letters that we use every day help us to express ourselves with clarity and uniqueness. Chapter 7 introduces us to measures and grids. According to Borgmann (1999), “The first trace of an actual and mundane grid was the reference line that the philosopher Dicaearcus, a follower of Aristotle and contemporary of Euclid, drew across a map of the ancient world, beginning in the East at the straits of Gibraltar, the “Pillars of Hercules” through the Mediterranean basin and across Asia Minor to the Indian or “Eastern” Ocean. Eratosthenes added a meridian, anchored in Alexandria, and additional lines to produce a rough grid. In the second century C.E., Ptolemy produced a regular grid that reflected the earth’s spherical surface. It amounted to the imposition of Euclidean lines and arcs on what Ptolemy took to be a habitable world” (p. 75). The development of grids is important because they provided information that made reality survey able. This is interesting to me because I know that grids play a large part in helping us to get around and explore our world. They can provide information to sites like MapQuest and Yahoo Maps that create maps for users as well as GPS devices (which I utilize heavily). The text also discussed how grids are used to measure time and contributed to our present method of writing in horizontal lines and later expanded to mathematical and astronomical tables. While I had never given any real thought to grids being used in these areas, I can see how they do fit, particularly in math in areas like statistics (an area I am all too familiar with). In chapter 8, the author discusses the importance of reading and how a person’s life can be shaped by their aptitude for it. According to the textbook (1999), “Reading of whatever sort is a many-storied skill, both in the sense that you must read many stories to acquire it and in the sense that it is composed of many layers” (p. 86). Reading not only provides information and gives us the ability to comprehend and group words together in a way that makes sense, but it also helps with learning, provides entertainment, and can also facilitate public interaction and discussion with events like poetry readings and book clubs. I very much agreed with the author and his view that while reading can appear to be a private activity, it instead connects us and influences our world view. The topic of chapter 9 is “playing” with much of the focus being on music. According to Borgmann (1999), “Traditional music involves a different way of realizing information. Music highlights the structure of signs rather than the context of things and chiefly converts time into events rather than confinement into possibility” (p. 93). I had never before thought of music having a structure, but after reading this chapter, this concept makes complete sense. Music is comprised of a score, notes, chords and at times lyrics. Music can be great sources of information. For example, operas have information in the sense that they are telling a story. Or in the sixties with the rise of the “message song” which, at that time, talked about equality, the anti-Vietnam war movement and other controversial topics. Music to me is very important because it connects people, shows off different cultures, and can inspire emotion and discussion. Chapter 10 discusses building with emphasis on construction and contingency. According to Borgmann (1999), “Contingency is inherently meaningful and so makes significant information possible. Contingency comes to us as misfortune or good luck, as disaster or relief, as misery or grace. Only when contingency is artificially confined or refined is there something like strict randomness. Building, more so than playing or reading, runs into the perils and favors of contingency. Any attempt to show this generally however, would be self-defeating” (p. 105-106). Much of this chapter was devoted to the Freiburg Minster in the Upper Rhine Valley which the author used as his primary example. This was an interesting example and illustrated the concepts very well, as the building and the town around it has been subjected to hardship and yet it still stands and continues to inspire the populace. This week we were also required to read a review of Holding on to Reality. This review is by Charles Ess and is titled “Borgman and the Borg: Consumerism vs. Holding onto Reality.” I found the review to be largely positive and supportive of the textbook and it really provides readers with comprehensible outline of Borgmann’s thoughts and goals in writing the text. I was really intrigued by Ess’s views on virtual reality and agree with his concerns about the public’s growing immersion in virtual reality. It seems like there are numerous games available that allow people to create characters, lives and environments that are different from what they now have and to me that is just ridiculous. It seems that so many people view these games as ways to lose themselves in another life and it also gives them the freedom to behave in ways that may not be appropriate in the real world. I believe his concerns have been validated. Recently, I read a news report about a woman who shook her baby to death because its crying was distracting her from playing a virtual game called Farmville on the Facebook.com website. This kind of immersion is not good for people as we are social creatures and are meant to live in the real world and experience all that it has to offer. While these games can be a fun diversion, they should not replace the life we have. Borgmann, Albert. (1999). “Holding on to Reality: The Nature of Information at the Turn of the Millennium.” Chicago, IL. The University of Chicago Press. This week brought about the end of our examination of the Web Theory text and introduced us to our next textbook titled Holding on to Reality: The Nature of Information at the Turn of the Millennium by Albert Borgmann. For Web Theory, we had to read chapters 8 and 9, as well as the conclusion. I have to say that I was sorry to see the end of this book as I quite enjoyed reading about the more theoretical aspects of the Web. It certainly gave me an opportunity to think outside the box. Chapter 8 dealt with informational news on the Web. According to Burnett and Marshall (2003), “We can define news traditionally as information about recent events of general interest, especially as reported by newspapers, magazines, radio or television. Digital news is the integration of such news into a multimedia presentation delivered over the Internet. Digital information is different in three fundamental ways: its relative short lifespan, its immediacy, and the capacity to link to other sources” (p. 153). Through the creation of news databases, Web browsers and online news groups, news is now available to be processed at a rapid rate of speed. Due to the swift change and growth, the news industry has had to evolve and change as well. They have had to develop new business models and reassess how to get information to the public. Additionally, they must be aware of the information needs of the public. While newspapers, television and radio are still solid sources of news, they are somewhat restricting in that are limeted in what can be reaveled in only one page or in timed segments. Now the Web has given readers a multitute of options, control over what they want to read, the ability to be able to instantly verify data,discuss news in online forums and blogs, and read news from other cultures and countries. The subject of Chapter 9 was the connection between the Web and the entertainment industry with the focus being primarily on music. I am familier with this topic it has gotten a lot of attention in the news and in entertainment media and has been a point of contention between artists, the industry and the public . According to the textbook (2003), “The problem is that currently there are not proper business models in place, where the value of the intellectual property being produced is maintained” (p. 175). Those in the business have been trying to adapt, but due to the rapid growth and changing technology, it has been a difficult adjustment and many on both sides are not totally satisfied. This is also true in case of television on the Web. Many TV shows are now available to watch and download from the Web, but this has had some issues as well. One major issue came up during the writer’s strike in Hollywood two years ago. The writer’s guild had a problem with the fact that they were not receiving royalties for shows that were being viewed online and it was very difficult for both sides to come to an agreement about compensation. The strike ultimatly lasted for 100 days as It started on November 5th, 2007 and finally concluded on February 12th, 2008, but it just goes to show how Web entertainment still has some issues to iron out. While I understand that many people love to turn to the Internet for entertainment as it is simple and inexpensive, I still prefer watching my shows and the news on the actual TV. The Internet does not really work for me to watch TV as the screen is small and the sound is not as good. With the TV, I can streach out and have a big screen. Plus, I associate the TV with spending time with family as my parents and I would always watch TV together when I was younger. It’s not as easy to do that with a computer. I just prefer to use the Internet strictly for reseach, browsing and maybe shopping. In conclusion, the Web Theory text has allowed us to see just how much the Web has grown and rooted itself into our daily lives. We were also able to learn about the history and development of the Web and catch a glimpse of the future and what we can expect from it. This week we also began to read Holding on to Reality: The Nature of Information at the Turn of the Millennium by Albert Borgmann. Our reading consisted of the introduction and part 1 which included chapters 1 through 5. I found this book to be very interesting and informative. Chapter 1 was mostly about the origins of information as we now know it and how structural and cognitive information come into play. Chapter 2 deals with the nature of information with particular attention being given to the information relation. We are introduced to the central structure of information and the relationship between a sign or signal, the thing or message, and the person or recipiant and how each of these depends on the context in which they are presented. Chapter 3 discusses ancestral information and our natural ability to process signs that we see around us in our environment. Here we learned how early humans took information from the things they observed in nature and how this process has evolved. In chapter 4, the authors chart the shift from us taking information from natural signs to the development of counting with such tools as bones, wood and clay tokens and how counting and the recording of numbers led to writing. When it comes to the rise of writing, the authors state that writing was born from lithographs or symbols of the numerical value of items. Lastly, chapter 5 focuses on the rise of literacy. It writing, it is the letters that communicate meaning. The authors explain that Plato was an eyewitness to the spread and growth of social literacy and how writing was initially viewed as being of godly origin, but as it spread about the people and cultures, writing was viewed as a more simple way to aquire and accumulate information. With literacy and writing came such tools as tablets and papyrus as well as expanded communication through letter writing. Based on these early chapters, I am really excited to continue. It has certainly been interesting to read about the history and origins of how information and the way we handle it has developed. I’m sure the rest of the book will be just as thought provoking as these first chapters were. References Burnett, Robert and Marshall, P. (2003). “Web Theory: An Introduction.” New York, NY. Routledge. For lesson 11, we read chapters 5, 6, and 7 of the Web Theory textbook. The subject of chapter 5 deals with the look of the Web. This chapter was fascinating as it breaks down and analyzes the content structure and design of the web. The chapter also reveals some history in regards to tools that have been created. According to Burnett and Marshall (2003), “it was the Apple Corporation that provided some of the key developments that made the computer user-friendly and for over a decade incompatible with other operating systems” (p. 82). Apple is credited with creating such tools and aids as the graphic user interface, icons, and hypertextual language. For the longest time, the early forms of the web and its tools were limited to areas of science and engineering like CERN in Switzerland or schools such as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champagne which created of MOSAIC. However, that is no longer the case and people can now enjoy the web in the comfort of their homes. The chapter also looks at the development of the Web image through the use of Flash and Javascript as well as its growing link to television such as the creation of WebTV. The authors close the chapter by providing a case study of Yahoo.com, a site that they say serves as a sophisticated commercial portal to the Internet. They highlight Yahoo’s tools such as its color and textual dimensions, its personalization, its interactivity and the interaction of media forms. I really liked how they called attention to Yahoo as I have used the site and have always enjoyed it and found it to be well developed site and very easy to use. Chapter 6 discusses the Web economy and how it has evolved. The authors call attention to the time of Christmas in 1999. They state that one of the reasons for this occurring at this specific time was because Web retailers really started to into their own. Sites like Amazon and Ebay were taking off and additionally, chain department stores began to make a concentrated effort to establish themselves on the web in order to compete with the online retailers. One thing that was interesting was that the authors remarked how the Web has features that are similar to a library. According to Burnett and Marshall (2003), “Once information is placed on the web it also becomes (like a library) available and accessible as it enters into the quasi-public domain of cyberspace. The digital quality of any web-based material makes it available for borrowing; the difference between the web and the library system is that the material from the web can be copied exactly as it was originally produced whereas library photocopying can only produce a close facsimile” (p. 108). This comparison really made sense to me and I could see the similarities. The web has freed people from such limits as distance and has helped them to form connections, not only to areas of business like the stock market, but to different cultures around the world, areas of education, government and public service. In Chapter 7, we examine the web of policy, regulation and copyright. The authors examine the progression of the policies and regulation that exist when it comes to the Internet. According to Burnett and Marshall (2003), “The new digital technologies represent both a promise and a threat to many of our traditional institutions. The rapid growth of the Internet has seen many stakeholders in these institutions attempting to protect the advantages they enjoyed under traditional mass media conditions. These attempts are often met with resistance from those who view the Internet as a new form of media with radical implications for communication, business and public life” (p. 136). I can understand how hard it is some people and businesses to accept change as I have felt that hesitation to embrace new technology myself. I am of the opinion of that if something is not broken, don’t fix it, however, technology is always growing and changing and we have to grow and change with it in order to function. Businesses in particular have to accept and embrace new ways and methods or else they won’t survive, particularly in this economy. References Burnett, Robert and Marshall, P. (2003). “Web Theory: An Introduction.” New York, NY. Routledge. This week, we really got into the textbook “Web Theory: An Introduction” by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall. We were asked to review chapters 2, 3, and 4. Chapter 2 deals with information and networks. According to the authors (2003), “This chapter unravels the way that theories of information and theories of the network and network society can help elucidate the social and cultural changes that are part of web culture” (p. 23). The first part of the chapter is highly technical and deals with information as binary codes and cybernetics. The cybernetics aspect is so intriguing when you see how it came about in the one example of the ballistic missile and with smart machines and smart technology. The second part of the chapter discusses the concept of the network and how it relates to the perceptions of time and space, interpersonal communication, broadcast networks, and the network society. The authors call attention to the fact that the web has allowed for the creation of a culture that signifies a new awareness towards information and its directional flow as well as how it contributes to globalization. What is clear is that the Web has given many people and organizations the opportunity to distribute knowledge without being hampered by their geographical position. Even though radio and television are still prevalent, it is the Web and how information is advancing into digitization that has come to the forefront. Chapter 3 looks at the Web and its effect on communication. According to the authors (2003), “One of the central realities of the Web is that it converges different media forms into networks and simultaneously different modes of communication” (p. 45). The authors take us through the creation of the first computer network called the ARPAnet in the 1960’s to how it is now. We are also introduced to four levels of communication; interpersonal, group, organizational, and mass communication. Interpersonal is either face-to-face or private, group usually involves interaction with a small amount of people in order to make plans and choices, organizational communication often occurs in sizeable networks that have obvious structure, and lastly mass communication, which is more intricate and involves distributing a message from a single source to a multitude of individuals and/or businesses. What I got from this chapter is how much the web has introduced us to many facets of communication. They even touched on the use of emoticons and acronyms which were really funny to read. There are now so many ways and technologies that allow us to communicate and reach out to people, not just in a personal sense, but also in the business would and this really highlights a main purpose of the web which is to bridge the gap between people and promote connections. Chapter 4 is titled Webs of Identity and illustrates how our culture has been actively utilizing the Web to alter our identity or to present a different view of ourselves. According to Burnett and Marshall (2003), “Information and communication technology shapes our perceptions, distributes our pictures of the world to one another, and constructs different forms of control over the cultural stories that shape our sense of who we are and our world” (p. 61). There have been both negative and positive arguments on this topic. The negative side argues that by limiting ourselves to online interactions and an online persona, we are preventing ourselves from engaging in face-to-face interactions, building outside relationships as well as increasing our loneliness and isolation. On the positive side, the arguments there say that socialization is increased, it allows for better communication with friends, family and business contacts who are far away, and that it encourages involvement in clubs and organizations. Now there are sites such as Facebook or MySpace that allow you to build a profile that encourages you to express the personality that you have or the personality you wish to project. There are also virtual games that allow you to create a new persona for yourself and even build a city to live in. My thoughts on this topic are that while I can understand the desire to express oneself and show who you are, I don’t think that it is a good idea to reveal too much online for safety reasons nor do I think it is good to spend so much time online showing who you are when you can get outside and show it while living your life. I have a Facebook page and only check it maybe twice a week. I prefer to communicate by e-mail or phone. As for the virtual games, I did try one briefly and thought it was a huge time-waster as it become more intricate and I feel it is not healthy to immerse oneself in a fake identity. References Burnett, Robert and Marshall, P. (2003). “Web Theory: An Introduction.” New York, NY. Routledge. For this week, we only had one website to review. This was the site for information architect Liz Danzico and is called Bobulate (http://bobulate.com/). This site was quite good and I liked perusing through the case studies as I feel they provide a real life example of how IA is being applied and what one can somewhat expect to encounter when working with it in the real world. I was also impressed with the work she has done with sites such as Boxes and Arrows that we discussed in a previous lesson and Barnes & Noble.com as I have always liked that site. We had several web sites to view this week. The first I looked at was InfoCamp located at http://infocamp.info/. InfoCamp is an open conference that allows people who are enthusiastic about information to congregate so that they can join forces compare ideas and form a community. InfoCamp welcomes people from a wide range of fields such as library and information science, information architecture, taxonomy, user experience, user-centered design, information management, human-centered design and engineering, human-computer interaction, and more. InfoCamp was founded in Seattle in 2007 and had its most recent meeting on October 2nd through the 3rd in 2010. There have also been camps in Berkeley, California and Berlin, Germany. The site was great to look at and very easy to navigate. It also provided many ways of communicating such as Twitter, Facebook and a blog. The second site I looked at was Digital Web Magazine at http://www.digital-web.com/. While this site has ceased operating and providing up to date information, it is still a great example of web design and information architecture. I really liked how the articles were arranged and enjoyed reading some of them such as “Getting the most out of your library” and “Information Architecture as an Extension of Web Design”. I was actually surprised that it was not being updated anymore as it seemed like an excellent site that had a lot of info to provide and I’m sure it was a great source in its day. The third site I viewed was the Intranet Roadmap web site at http://www.intranetroadmap.com/. The site is essentially an intranet guide, portal and tutorial all in one for those who are designing a corporate intranet or for those who wish to perfect or upgrade an already established intranet. The site offers such content as intranet articles, intranet links and new intranet features. The forth site I looked at was Information Architech located at http://www.informationarchitech.com/. It is a Louisiana based web design company that focuses on the area of “findability.” The site concentrates on a type of marketing called “Search Engine Optimization” (SEO). Their goal is to help clients make certain that their company’s website shows up high in the rankings and is easily located when a searcher uses any words that are related to the business in such search engines as Google or MSN. I found that this site really illustrates what kind of work designers are up to and how they are displaying their abilities. Additionally, the site is straightforward and the navigation was not at all difficult. The fifth and last site I reviewed was Adaptive Path located at http://www.adaptivepath.com/. The purpose of this site is to help clients design their sites. They offer such aids as strategy and design consulting, public events and workshops, and in-house training. This group has designed consumer experiences for clients who produce mobile products, software applications, hardware devices, websites, and interactive media. One of the things I liked best about this organization was that they make a real effort to learn about their clients through such methods as field research, remote user testing, ethnographic studies, usability testing and global user research. This kind of attention towards clients is very appealing, as businesses want that kind of dedication when it comes to how they are presenting their services. For this week, one of the things we were required to review was a PowerPoint presentation on IA selling strategies and conundrums by Karin McGrane &Louis Rosenfeld called “Selling IA.” When architects are selling IA, it is important to view it as a display of how vital IA can be for a business model. IA helps to bring the business into a higher level of functionality and gain more customers and funds. The goal of these presentations is to clarify how IA can contribute to business strategy, educate decision makers, answer their questions, and remove any reservations they may have. The thing companies must remember is that if they want to develop their website and gain business, they must be willing to put in the effort and take on the essential labor that is required of IA. This was an excellent presentation and I could not agree with the authors more. Our textbook readings this week included chapters 20 and 21 of the Morville & Rosenfeld text and the introduction and chapter 1 from the Web Theory text by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall. In chapter 20, Morville & Rosenfeld (2007) state that, “It’s nearly impossible to develop successful information architecture against a backdrop of explosive content growth, content ROT, and the political twists and turns common in any organization. One of the best approaches we’ve seen so far is the one taken by Microsoft’s intranet portal (MSWeb) team” (p. 429). The entire chapter is devoted to explaining the MSWeb project from Microsoft. One of the reasons this project was developed was due to a problem with employees spending about half of their work time looking for information. This can be caused by several things such as deciding where to begin searching, conflicting systems of navigation and problems with labels. During the project, three types of taxonomies (an indexing vocabulary, metadata schema, and category labels) were developed to illustrate high-value content. The developers used a modular approach that stressed the importance of service when they overhauled the MSWeb intranet. The main goal of this was to help users and there have been benefits in the forms of easier searching and browsing and there have been improvements in the form of better success rates for tasks and less time expenditure on tasks. All in all, this chapter, while it is highly technical in nature, is an excellent real life example of what embarking on a project of this magnitude would entail. In chapter 21, the authors introduce an online community called evolt.org. According to the textbook (2007), “evolt.org is a world community for web developers, promoting the mutual free exchange of ideas, skills and experiences” (p. 461). The authors stress the importance of participation from users and how an online-community economy must be created. IA’s role in the formation of the economy provides laws and strategies that make up the economy’s infrastructure as well as being used to fine-tune the amount of transactions (such as discussion board postings, articles or a personal blog) that take place in the economy. One of the things I liked was how the authors mention that web sites should be designed to accommodate a variety of users with varying levels of participation on the site. Evolt.org meets these requirements in that it does provide many levels of access ranging from non-members to site administrators. One of IA’s key aims here is to assist the community in designing and distributing content. Morville & Rosenfeld (2007) state that, “evolt.org’s information architecture has a lot to do with many of the characteristics of a successful online community. It shows how and why one might participate, provides valuable original content, helps promote a sense of ownership among its members, makes sure that contributors are recognized, and taps and repays members’ philanthropy and sense of altruism” (p. 472). This last chapter was quite informative and interesting to read. On the whole, I have really liked this textbook and learned a lot from it. It was quite helpful and the fact that it also provided so many real life examples was an excellent aid in explaining some of the processes in IA. Also, this week, we delved into another of this course’s textbooks, Web Theory: An Introduction by Robert Burnett and P. David Marshall. According to the authors (2003), “Web Theory introduces a range of debates and issues pertinent to our move into the network or Web society. We identify key sources, in order to illustrate critical debates about the Internet and to place such debates in relation to broader theoretical discussions” (p. 3). Given the title, I was not surprised at how theoretical the book is, but it is intriguing to get an alternate viewpoint of the web and how it fits into our lifestyle. The introduction and the first chapter were very interesting to read and I loved the variety of opinions. I am really looking forward to exploring this book further. References Morville, Peter & Rosenfeld, Louis. (2007). “Information Architecture for the World Wide Web.” Sebastopol, CA. O’Reilly Media, Inc. There were four web sites that were listed for our lesson this week. The first was Google Pack that is located at http://pack.google.com/intl/en/pack_installer.html?hl=en&gl=us&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-google&utm_medium=ha&utm_term=free%20software. This site looked really interesting although I was not able to view all of it as Google Pack requires Windows XP or Vista and I don’t have either of those on my Mac. However, I was able to view a little of the site and was impressed by how many options there were to use. I really liked the Google Earth. The Picasa for pictures was amazing as I love to fiddle with my pictures. The Spyware Doctor was interesting and the RealPlayer looked like fun as I love to watch videos online. If I was not required to get Windows XP or Vista in order to use it, I would absolutely consider utilizing it. The next site was the Free Software Foundation located at http://www.fsf.org/. The Free Software Foundation (FSF) is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to promote computer user freedom and to defend the rights of all free software users. This company argues that Free software is about allowing user to be able to have control over the technology that we use in our everyday life at home and at work. The goal is to help prevent software companies and governments from limiting and observing user. This site had easy navigation, excellent visuals and a lot of affordable options and I would consider using it if I was looking for new software. Another site was Freeware Files located at http://www.freewarefiles.com/. This site was pretty good although the links were a little overwhelming. I liked the top 100 downloads and how they listed the software categories. The Desktop categories and games were fun. I particularly liked the Software security/privacy page as it was really helpful and I thought it was a great idea to show the most popular software security/privacy sites. The last site was Free-Soft.org located at http://www.free-soft.org/. On this site, Free Software refers to software that is circulated in source form that can be freely customized and reallocated. I did not like this site as much as the others. The graphics were non-existent and the site was bland. I did like how it had links to articles relating to the topic, but otherwise, I would not recommend it. For our readings this week, we were required to read chapters 17 and 18 of the Morville & Rosenfeld text. These chapters were great to read because I do have some understanding of the topics that were discussed. Chapter 17 dealt with the importance of marketing Information Architecture to the world. I know how important marketing is as I once did a paper on marketing and its significance to public libraries. Through my research, I discovered just how imperative it is for librarians to market themselves and their programs or else they will not be able to survive. The patrons and the public must be made aware of why a certain library should be patronized and how the services that they offer will impact those who use the library. It was most illuminating. In the case of Information Architecture, the architect must be equipped to sell themselves and what they do. They must be prepared to encounter negative thinking and have ways to convince their colleges and clients on why IA is important and why they should use it. The authors call attention to two groups of business people. One is the “by the numbers” group and the other is the “gut reactionary” group. According to Morville & Rosenfeld (2007), “The by the numbers people require data to help them make their decisions. They need to see figures. They rationally consider return on investment (ROI) as the basis for business decisions. Gut reactionaries do what feels right. They trust their instincts and often have plenty of good experience to draw on. They consider the intangibles when they make decisions. And they are often suspicious of numbers and how well they predict the real world” (p. 366). When one is making a case for IA to clients, there are several methods to consider. The ones the authors mention are: User sensitivity “boot camp” sessions which involve getting decision makers who are not exactly proficient on the web introduced to the use of a web browser, Expert site evaluations which involves using an IA expert to help evaluate major problems within web sites and rectify them quickly, Strategy sessions which allow opinion leaders and decision leaders to meet and discuss IA and their goals and strategies, Competitive analyses which is a strong mode of psychological manipulation that allows architects and clients to compare a site’s IA issues against its opponents, Comparative analysis which involves judging your site against similar sites, Ride the application salesman’s wake which can involve partnering with vendors in IA-related software application and latching on to them in a project, and lastly, Be aggressive and be early which is important as the authors point out it is a good idea to advance the use of IA in a project as near to the beginning as possible to allow for the development of the services it provides and the marketing. Morville & Rosenfeld (2007), close the chapter by stated that, “Whichever points and approaches you use to make your case for Information Architecture, keep in mind how difficult this challenge is. After all, you’re promoting something that’s abstract, intangible and new and each situation demands a unique solution” (p. 377). Of course this is absolutely understandable because different businesses will have variable goals that they want to achieve with IA and as such, architects must be on their toes. Additionally, because the field is growing and changing, they must also adapt and keep up if they are going to knowledgably and effectively market IA. Chapter 18 was about Business Strategy which I believe everyone has some knowledge and understanding of as it is used in some way in everyday life. According to Morville & Rosenfeld (2007), “In practice, information architecture and business strategy should have a symbiotic relationship. It’s obvious that the structure of a web site should align with the goals and strategy of the business. So business strategy (often called business rules) drives information architecture” (p. 378). It is important that IA activities are in alignment with the strategies that a business is engaging in. One way of doing this is to conduct stakeholder interviews to discuss things with managers so that that you can get a better idea of the larger goals and stratagies of the establishment. One of the jobs of an IA architect is to expose gaps in the business strategy and to find and solve problems. Often the issues that are encountered are able to be fixed, but there are other times when they are indication of other problems. Often, the managers may not be aware of any problems so the architect must call attention to it and work with the clients to fix the issues. Another method of forming a strategy is to do a SWOT analysis. According to Morville & Rosenfeld (2007), “SWOT stands for the analysis of internal Strengths and Weaknesses of the organization informed by the Opportunities and Threats posed by the external environment” (p. 385). SWOT is an excellent tool and is used often by a veriety of businesses and organizations because it can be adapted to nearly any business situation. The authors close the chapter by stressing the importance of understanding how deep IA can be and a lack of understanding can result in the failure of the project. These chapters were really great to read and I most enjoyed revisiting the importance of the SWOT analysis. I once had to do my own for a project last semester in my Introduction to Library Administration class and while it was challenging, it was also very illuminating and I can understand how they help to form ideas and lay out a plan. References |
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