Organization Structures
1. The hierarchy: A top down approach
This type of organization is logical, simple and familiar. It consists of mutually exclusives subdivisions and parent-child relationships. This is not that dissimilar to the way books are organized into chapters or paragraph in a paper. This organization helps people to feel comfortable due to the familiarity of the format.
Hypertext:
This system is a relatively new and highly nonlinear in terms of organizing and structuring information. Items are often linked and connect text, data, images, video, and audio “chunks.” The complexity of this user design can lead to confusion on the part of the consumer, but with good design this confusion often can be avoided. This style allows for creative connections between items and areas, but can walk the lines of ambiguity unless carful design is implemented.
The relational database model: A bottom-up approach
This organizational strategy is often seen in databases such as record collections and addresses (Name, street address, city, state, zip code). This feature can save time and help to organize information from a bottom-up approach. This system allows you to call upon information in multiple forms, such as returning to main pages by “back-clicking.”
Designing Databases:
Often designed in a bottom-up manner, often gives the feeling of consistency and familiarity. The use of controlled vocabulary contributes to this especially in the task of searching and browsing. However, this can be an issue when a vocab. word is chosen that divides categories into to broad of categories but is selected well the vocab. words can help a viewer navigate through a site or record of information. A standard format for all links or HTML tags is also important in this element.
5. Organize the site content into taxonomies and hierarchies of information: it is always to have the most broad topic to start the search for more specific information, Ex: “Information” tab --> “contact” tab --> email and phone numbers
6. Communicate conceptual overviews and the overall site organization to the design team and clients: It is important for a site to be navigational and useful to the user. The eye is looking for some general format, usually it is a good idea to take this into account and design accordingly.
7. Research and design the core site navigation concepts: Make sure it is clear what the site is so that people don’t become confused and steer away from it. The beginning content is very important to grabbing a users attention.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
Blog #6 Summary and Connections
Weinberger mainly focused on the three orders-of-order and how they have progressed and changes the ways we store and organize data. The first two orders deal specifically with physical objects such as books, photographs, documents etc. However, a shift occurred beginning on the third order, web 2.0. The third order allows people to sift through and organize miscellaneous content by means of tagging. This tagging allows for people to order and re-order metadata allowing for viewers and participators to implicitly acquire knowledge.
Jenkins's discusses how shows and movies like Survivor, American Idol and Harry Potter have swept through popular culture and by means of utilizing multiple media platforms have become what he calls “convergence culture.” In convergence culture (and web 2.0) it is key for ‘collective intelligence’ to thrive and for people to pool information together to create useful content. An example of this “participatory Culture” can be seen on sites such as Wikipedia. The participation on the web seems to be one of the main veins for the up in coming developments on the internet. Sites such as Fliker, World of Warcraft, and Second Life are examples of this.
Lessig (Remix-my favorite in DTC356!) discusses the issues surrounding copy write and the internet. He breaks culture into two groups, read-write culture and read-only culture. Read-write culture is driven by people, amateurs and artists that support the idea of freedom within the public domain to produce new material. Read-only supporters act to commoditize knowledge and discourage the use of material in the public domain, usually for economic reasons.
A read-write culture will require a “hybrid economy,” which will allow viewers to interact, re-interoperate and rework content, not just consume it. This economy shift will occur when commercial and sharing economies merge. This is already being seen on sites such as Hulu and Pandora.
Connections:
The three books seem to all incorporate the new ways of the changing Web 2.0 in terms of how content is stored, shared, organized, searched and owned. One main theme I saw, that really made me rethink how I view business and the web is that, people drive eBusiness just like every other business. It all comes down to needs and that of supply and demand. Why would and how would we ever go back to paying for music and videos when we can get them for free? And even if the current means of ‘stealing’ are taken away, that won’t stop people finding a new route to free. It is the time for people to throw out the old way of doing business and start thinking in the terms of the Web. This will require a little more knowledge and creativity on the side of suppliers, or at least enough to match consumers.
The Final:
Hmmm...
I will incorporate a blog, I will find cool stuff in the public domain, put it on the website and allow others to steal it. lol
Jenkins's discusses how shows and movies like Survivor, American Idol and Harry Potter have swept through popular culture and by means of utilizing multiple media platforms have become what he calls “convergence culture.” In convergence culture (and web 2.0) it is key for ‘collective intelligence’ to thrive and for people to pool information together to create useful content. An example of this “participatory Culture” can be seen on sites such as Wikipedia. The participation on the web seems to be one of the main veins for the up in coming developments on the internet. Sites such as Fliker, World of Warcraft, and Second Life are examples of this.
Lessig (Remix-my favorite in DTC356!) discusses the issues surrounding copy write and the internet. He breaks culture into two groups, read-write culture and read-only culture. Read-write culture is driven by people, amateurs and artists that support the idea of freedom within the public domain to produce new material. Read-only supporters act to commoditize knowledge and discourage the use of material in the public domain, usually for economic reasons.
A read-write culture will require a “hybrid economy,” which will allow viewers to interact, re-interoperate and rework content, not just consume it. This economy shift will occur when commercial and sharing economies merge. This is already being seen on sites such as Hulu and Pandora.
Connections:
The three books seem to all incorporate the new ways of the changing Web 2.0 in terms of how content is stored, shared, organized, searched and owned. One main theme I saw, that really made me rethink how I view business and the web is that, people drive eBusiness just like every other business. It all comes down to needs and that of supply and demand. Why would and how would we ever go back to paying for music and videos when we can get them for free? And even if the current means of ‘stealing’ are taken away, that won’t stop people finding a new route to free. It is the time for people to throw out the old way of doing business and start thinking in the terms of the Web. This will require a little more knowledge and creativity on the side of suppliers, or at least enough to match consumers.
The Final:
Hmmm...
I will incorporate a blog, I will find cool stuff in the public domain, put it on the website and allow others to steal it. lol
Monday, February 8, 2010
Blog Post 5
The introduction to Jenkins describes what convergence culture is and how it is effecting our lives. From the individual to the corporate level, circulation of media "depends heavily on consumers' active participants." Convergence culture is where old and new media collide and the power of the consumer and producer converge and create viral or general content.
"Convergence represents a cultural shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content." (p.3)
"When people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved" (p.17)
So what?
Convergence is a large part of DTC. It demonstrates the potential for an individual to make a large impact on the internet community, versus a large production company or corporation. This is demonstrated in the story told at the beginning of the introduction about Dino Ignacio's photoshoped image.
This introduction connects to Weinburger in the sense that the organization of the internet (the third order of order) made it possible for this image to be found.
"Convergence represents a cultural shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make connections among dispersed media content." (p.3)
"When people take media into their own hands, the results can be wonderfully creative; they can also be bad news for all involved" (p.17)
So what?
Convergence is a large part of DTC. It demonstrates the potential for an individual to make a large impact on the internet community, versus a large production company or corporation. This is demonstrated in the story told at the beginning of the introduction about Dino Ignacio's photoshoped image.
This introduction connects to Weinburger in the sense that the organization of the internet (the third order of order) made it possible for this image to be found.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Blog Post #4
In summary, Everything is Miscellaneous is about the new way of organization in the digital age. Like in the physical world, everything has its place. As metadata is created, organized and re-organized the organization of the Internet becomes more and more advanced. However, the Internet is ever expanding and will never be a fully organized place, it will always be somewhat miscellaneous. There is no such thing as to much information. As the third order of order effects the organization of more and more content, the Internet will become significantly more navigatable.
This is important to me as a DTC major in the sense that it is important to stay ahead of the curve. To know where the web has been and where it is going is crucial to understanding the desired content and design it requires. It is important have the ability to anticipate what the next demand online could and will be.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Chapters 8 and 9
Chapter 8: Chapter 8, "What Nothing Says," is all about the absence of words and how that affects metadata and the third order-of order. However, data can be organized in an implicit and explicit manner. Implicit can imply what something may contain, non-specifically and ambiguously. Explicit refers to the generalization of the subject or subject matter which can lead to inaccurate or out dated information.
So What? This is important and relevant to me as a DTC major because it is important to know how to place your content and metadata in the web in a way that it doesn't necessarily take words to understand what the subject matter is. The content and relevance needs to speak for itself and be clear without the use of words.
I think it is also important to take into consideration something that the book mentions, it is more important to tag things that are relevant to you then what you think others will find relevant. I think that this is important when it comes to marketing a company through blogging and Twitter because tagging things creates a network or landmarks for a company, landmarks that represent values, interests, company culture and beliefs. It is important to understand how this metadata will be received and the effects it will have on the viewer, but tagging should not only occur for the audience reaction.
Chapter 9: Chapter nine, "Messiness as a Virtue," discusses the value of the internet being some what of a disorganized place, constantly undergoing organization. However, if no organization exists, it is likely that information will be hidden or lost in the vast amount of information available on the Internet. As information become more relevant or important to people, it becomes more organized.
So What? As a DTC major, this is relevant to me because of the need for me to organize and sort through large amounts of information and metadata in my day-to-day life and analyze that data accordingly.
So What? This is important and relevant to me as a DTC major because it is important to know how to place your content and metadata in the web in a way that it doesn't necessarily take words to understand what the subject matter is. The content and relevance needs to speak for itself and be clear without the use of words.
I think it is also important to take into consideration something that the book mentions, it is more important to tag things that are relevant to you then what you think others will find relevant. I think that this is important when it comes to marketing a company through blogging and Twitter because tagging things creates a network or landmarks for a company, landmarks that represent values, interests, company culture and beliefs. It is important to understand how this metadata will be received and the effects it will have on the viewer, but tagging should not only occur for the audience reaction.
Chapter 9: Chapter nine, "Messiness as a Virtue," discusses the value of the internet being some what of a disorganized place, constantly undergoing organization. However, if no organization exists, it is likely that information will be hidden or lost in the vast amount of information available on the Internet. As information become more relevant or important to people, it becomes more organized.
So What? As a DTC major, this is relevant to me because of the need for me to organize and sort through large amounts of information and metadata in my day-to-day life and analyze that data accordingly.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Welcome to the Jungle, Baby!
Chapter 5:
Chapter 5 is about the break down of organization. There are so many things, down to out silverware drawers that we keep organized in a traditional. However, with the availability to sites that allow miscellaneous-ness such as iTunes, the old systems of organization are beginning to break down and become irrelevant.
"Every time you organize matters in one way, you are disordering them in others. Sorting my dessert recipes into cakes, cookies, and pies obscures their carbohydrate order." p.88
"Tagging is one way the miscellaneous is coming into its own, but it's not the only way. Objects that used to be organized by individuals or institutions are rapidly becoming available to us free of their old structures." p.95
I though the explanation at the beginning of the chapter of how we arrange silverware was really funny, because the method he describes is exactly what I do. I throw all my silverware in a pile in the drawer, and it doesn't bother. Actually, I prefer it.
Chapter 6:
Chapter 6 talks a lot about the significance of the implantation on bar code technology in the 1960's. This technology helps stores run more efficiently by speeding up the check out process, but also by helping in the tracking of items. Bar codes are one way to make up for the miscellaneous-ness of our old classification system that is becoming obsolete.
"In 1974, at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, the first working system successfully identified a ten-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum that is now housed in the Smithsonian... Today there are about five billion items scanned every day, in more then 140 countries." p.107-108
"The digits of the Universal Product Code created a global system of information that has helped create a global system of commerce." p.109
"Businesses suffer from the effects of essentialism, as well, when they assume they know what their products are for-are you sure your company's "energy bar" is being eaten to help with a workout and not as candy? - and when they stick to closely and too long to their mission statements." p.116
I thought the Microsoft technology discussed in this chapter about taking a photo of a bar code on your phone, how you can get all the information about that product at your fingertips. To take this one step further, it would be really cool to create an iPhone application that employed this technology into a weigh watcher's type program. I know that I have a calorie tracker app on my phone, but it is so inefficient because I have to search for each item and the calories are never really accurate because they might not have the exact same product programmed into the app. If you could just sent the bar code and enter in the amount you had, the process would be much simpler.
Chapter 5 is about the break down of organization. There are so many things, down to out silverware drawers that we keep organized in a traditional. However, with the availability to sites that allow miscellaneous-ness such as iTunes, the old systems of organization are beginning to break down and become irrelevant.
"Every time you organize matters in one way, you are disordering them in others. Sorting my dessert recipes into cakes, cookies, and pies obscures their carbohydrate order." p.88
"Tagging is one way the miscellaneous is coming into its own, but it's not the only way. Objects that used to be organized by individuals or institutions are rapidly becoming available to us free of their old structures." p.95
I though the explanation at the beginning of the chapter of how we arrange silverware was really funny, because the method he describes is exactly what I do. I throw all my silverware in a pile in the drawer, and it doesn't bother. Actually, I prefer it.
Chapter 6:
Chapter 6 talks a lot about the significance of the implantation on bar code technology in the 1960's. This technology helps stores run more efficiently by speeding up the check out process, but also by helping in the tracking of items. Bar codes are one way to make up for the miscellaneous-ness of our old classification system that is becoming obsolete.
"In 1974, at a Marsh Supermarket in Troy, Ohio, the first working system successfully identified a ten-pack of Wrigley's Juicy Fruit chewing gum that is now housed in the Smithsonian... Today there are about five billion items scanned every day, in more then 140 countries." p.107-108
"The digits of the Universal Product Code created a global system of information that has helped create a global system of commerce." p.109
"Businesses suffer from the effects of essentialism, as well, when they assume they know what their products are for-are you sure your company's "energy bar" is being eaten to help with a workout and not as candy? - and when they stick to closely and too long to their mission statements." p.116
I thought the Microsoft technology discussed in this chapter about taking a photo of a bar code on your phone, how you can get all the information about that product at your fingertips. To take this one step further, it would be really cool to create an iPhone application that employed this technology into a weigh watcher's type program. I know that I have a calorie tracker app on my phone, but it is so inefficient because I have to search for each item and the calories are never really accurate because they might not have the exact same product programmed into the app. If you could just sent the bar code and enter in the amount you had, the process would be much simpler.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Blog Post 1: Everything is Micellaneous
Blog Post #1
I. Prologue
The prologue to Everything is Miscellaneous mainly discusses the way in which everything down to the way stores are laid out have to do with the way in which people expect to be able to find what they are looking for. It is interesting how much the internet and ability to shop online has effected the way products are directed towards us. They use iTunes as an example.
“Physical stores are laid out for a species that rarely has eyeballs more then six feet off the ground.” pg. 3 - How the hight layout of stores effects what we see when we are shopping aka walking down the aisles.
“Instead of having to be the same way for all people, it can instantly rearrange itself for each person and each person’s current task.” Pg. 6
I was in the Sprint store in Spokane this weekend when this chapter really sunk in. I was looking at the way the store was laid out and the fact that nothing in the store was really directed at children, so there weren’t any items at a lower level like the candy aisle would be arranged at a grocery store. The only things that were down low were the things that could potentially be knocked down. This could be a tactic to make parents stay in the store longer, or just layout.
II. Chapter 1
The New Order of Order (chapter 1) comments on the way things are laid out and archived now as apposed to the way they have been in the past. They include examples such as libraries, archives and the like.
“As soon as music went digital, we learned that the natural unit of music is the track... Apple captured more then 70 percent of the market.” pg. 9
“The problem with the first two orders of order go back to the fact that they arrange atoms...Now they have bits.” pg. 19
I am an avid user of iTunes, and have been for years. I often go online and buy one song versus an album which is what I would have done in the CD era. I also am able to look through millions of sources in the WSU library in a matter of seconds. In the past, such as in elementary school it would have taken me much longer using the card system that used to be in-place.
III. Chapter 2
This chapter discusses the three levels of order and how the first two arrange orders arrange things in “atoms” and the third in “bits”. This is a very interesting insight because atoms are unsustainable over time but bits are things that have a much lower chance of being lost or destroyed.
“...alphabetical order remains the very model of an arbitrary order. It tells us exactly nothing about the real relationships about things.” pg. 26
“Each and everything has its place, depending on how much spirit it contains, as opposed to mere matter.” pg.35
This chapter has a connection to my life in the sense that I remember when libraries were run by cards and the like. I have altered my way of thinking due to the new way of filing and looking up information. For example, when I need to find a short key for my macbook I can type in a full sentence and/or many other options to find what I am looking. The system of filing has turned in to millions if not millions of sub-categories that people have determined based on popular searches.
I. Prologue
The prologue to Everything is Miscellaneous mainly discusses the way in which everything down to the way stores are laid out have to do with the way in which people expect to be able to find what they are looking for. It is interesting how much the internet and ability to shop online has effected the way products are directed towards us. They use iTunes as an example.
“Physical stores are laid out for a species that rarely has eyeballs more then six feet off the ground.” pg. 3 - How the hight layout of stores effects what we see when we are shopping aka walking down the aisles.
“Instead of having to be the same way for all people, it can instantly rearrange itself for each person and each person’s current task.” Pg. 6
I was in the Sprint store in Spokane this weekend when this chapter really sunk in. I was looking at the way the store was laid out and the fact that nothing in the store was really directed at children, so there weren’t any items at a lower level like the candy aisle would be arranged at a grocery store. The only things that were down low were the things that could potentially be knocked down. This could be a tactic to make parents stay in the store longer, or just layout.
II. Chapter 1
The New Order of Order (chapter 1) comments on the way things are laid out and archived now as apposed to the way they have been in the past. They include examples such as libraries, archives and the like.
“As soon as music went digital, we learned that the natural unit of music is the track... Apple captured more then 70 percent of the market.” pg. 9
“The problem with the first two orders of order go back to the fact that they arrange atoms...Now they have bits.” pg. 19
I am an avid user of iTunes, and have been for years. I often go online and buy one song versus an album which is what I would have done in the CD era. I also am able to look through millions of sources in the WSU library in a matter of seconds. In the past, such as in elementary school it would have taken me much longer using the card system that used to be in-place.
III. Chapter 2
This chapter discusses the three levels of order and how the first two arrange orders arrange things in “atoms” and the third in “bits”. This is a very interesting insight because atoms are unsustainable over time but bits are things that have a much lower chance of being lost or destroyed.
“...alphabetical order remains the very model of an arbitrary order. It tells us exactly nothing about the real relationships about things.” pg. 26
“Each and everything has its place, depending on how much spirit it contains, as opposed to mere matter.” pg.35
This chapter has a connection to my life in the sense that I remember when libraries were run by cards and the like. I have altered my way of thinking due to the new way of filing and looking up information. For example, when I need to find a short key for my macbook I can type in a full sentence and/or many other options to find what I am looking. The system of filing has turned in to millions if not millions of sub-categories that people have determined based on popular searches.
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