Classifications of blogs

There are millions and millions of blogs out there! It has gone from being a diary to a vast field that some can proudly say “I make a few thousand Ringgit from sitting at home blogging”!

Blog about cute stuff (Source:loophobbies.blogspot.com)

Hmm, where can I put blogging categories? Just to name a few, there are blogs talking about politics, hobby, cars, law, news, glamorous life, food, hotels.


Now something for adults looking for an extra source of income, you should take a look at this. Here is something for you as an encouragement to blog more passionately. 

Something to consider if you think $$$ (source: tsutane.net/2008/01/adverlets-having-serious-problem.html)

When I look at a blog, it is the contents and readability that I look out for. Vlogs (video blogs) are also what I look out for because lets face it, it is entertaining yet educational.

(Source: best-audio-converters.com/free-youtube-ripper.html)

A vlog found on Youtube

There are tons of blog variations and I think this is a good trend because people are no longer suppressed by societal leaders, however it is bad too because disunity can happen like the turmoil of Egypt.

(Source: http://politicsandfinance.blogspot.com/2011/01/in-case-you-thought-turmoil-in-egypt.html)

(Source: http://modernsurvivalblog.com/current-events-economics-politics/egypt-coup-from-organized-groups-of-outsiders/)

The Media Report cited that news blogs are being taken seriously now when these news bloggers are being invited for press conferences and media coverages. They are just as important now because most of the population in cities spend their time online and want to read news on-the-go.

Prime Ministers blog (Source: rjuna.net/1malaysia-blog-dato-sri-najib-razak/)

Malaysia's fugitive blogger Raja Petra

(Source: blog.winterwong.com/politic/malaysia-political-news/unbelievable-but-believe-it-raja-petra-arrested-under-isa-but-ahmad-ismail-and-khir-not.html)

There you have it, blogging can be the most enjoyable past time, however it can land serious consequences in some cases. So enjoy blogging, and tell me what you categories of blogging that you think should be enforced.




Referencing:


The Media Report 2008, A taxonomy of blogs, viewed 9 May 2011. <http://www.abc.net.au/rn/mediareport/stories/2008/2372882.htm#transcript>

Blog as current phenomena

What is the size of the current blogosphere?

Currently the size of the blogosphere is large, with the majority bloggers coming from North America and European Union. Malaysia is catching up too and there are certain trends about it.

Our fourth prime minister's blog!

Many people these days blog to express their thoughts. There are many reasons as to why blogging is becoming so popular these days. Here is a finding that may shed light to the trend in blogging these days that has evolved into so many categories.

Chart from Technorati.com

Malaysians are light and easy blog readers. They don't go searching for new blogs to enhance their information, instead they look for some local gossips and government bashing topics to read (Costa).

In the Malaysian context, this is good for political means. Politicians can no longer be sure that the media can make them sound nice because blogs threatens to expose the bad side of politicians. Politicians such as Dr Mahathir Mohamed can use blogs to talk about current issues which are read by many Malaysians.

Blogging and twitter relationship!

The trend now is linking Twitter and blogs together. It is found from Technorati that many bloggers are following the trend to improve traffic flow and improve business marketing.

Trends are enveloping in different societies, are you up to date yet?

Reference:

Costa n.d., How to get Malaysian blog traffic to your blog, last viewed 5/5/2011 

<http://blogigs.com/how-to-get-malaysian-blog-traffic-to-your-blogs/>

Sussman, M 2009, Technorati, last viewed 5/5/2011

<http://technorati.com/blogging/article/day-5-twitter-global-impact-and/>

Powerpoint woes

Well, I and my group have done a PowerPoint presentation. It was good, well done guys! However there are certain things that could be done for further improvement.


I will comment on 2 things which are design layout and writing. 

i) Design Layout

Many empty white space!

Not aligned according to the first slide!

For these 2 slides, I think the layout is not interesting for an audience. Firstly the color is dull. Secondly, under Diana Reep’s design principles, the images should have consistency. The second image is placed whereby the margin isn’t the same as the first image. 

“Do not mistake consistent format for boring format. Consistency helps readers by emphasizing similar types of information and their similar importance,” as quoted by Reep (2006).

Messy layout!

The title should be of importance as a proper slide layout (Wendy Russell) It can be underlined or be put higher in the slide.

There are many white spaces. Layout is not consistent with the top slide.

The 2 images are too big. It is also distracting to the readers eye movement.

Too many blank white space.

The balance of this image is there. Both image have equal weight, and it is not clear in the slide above.

Readers eye move from left to right, but there is no sequence for eye movement above (Diana Reep).

The pictures are distracting and not coherent!

The images are stuck together and it can get tiring to navigate around the slide.

Petelin (2006) mentioned that we need to arrange the slides in a recognizable pattern, however the visuals and texts are not balanced. 


Moving on I will comment on writing and content of the power point.

ii) Writing and Content

There are no clear titles on the slides. There should be clear title as stated by Marquez.

Information is hanging half way with 'but' being used.

With the interpretive community theory, the information that is not presented completely will cause readers to fill in the blanks and we do not want that to happen.

The content should have a specified purpose. According to Rothman (n.d.), the words can be directed to have better interpretations by audiences.

These are just the minor things that could have been done better, however no one way is right and writing styles and design styles change from country to country, and time to time. So what dezign are you?

Reference


Reep, DC 2006, Technical Writing, New York: Pearson/Longman, New York.


Putnis, P & Petelin, R 1996, Professional Communication: Principles and Applications, Prentice Hall, Sydney.


Russell, W n.d., 10 tips for creating successful business presentations. Last viewed 5/5/2011 <http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm>


Marquez, Z L n.d., How to make a good powerpoint presentation. Last viewed 5/5/2011 <http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation&id=4313178>


Rothman, S n.d., What makes good scientific and technical writing. Last viewed 5/5/2011 <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9447/error>

Purpose of my blog

The purpose of my blog is to discover media outreach used by creative marketing communications personnel. Why do we need to discover? Here is why:

• Creative designers constantly surprise people with new things
• Publishing online and offline is crowded with too many similar things
• People make same mistakes over and over again because there are no new mistakes
• The guidelines for designing documents changes with trends

While exploring this vast new forest called the 'internet', I hope new ideas strike me and I can share it with all of you.