Well Designed, Yahoo!

Yahoo! is a popular search engine, web portal and other related services such as Yahoo Directory, Yahoo Mail, Yahoo News, Yahoo Finance, Yahoo Groups, Yahoo Answers, advertising, online mapping and many more. The Yahoo! interface smartly uses spatial arrangement of written text together with visual graphics, to make reading and browsing a more pleasurable experience. Linguistic alone is no longer the structure of written text. A captivating visual connection must be established with readers via layout, spatial arrangement of blocks of text, pictures and other graphic elements printed on the page (Kress and Leeuwen 1998).

An interplay of words, pictures as well as videos can be found on their homepage. These are some of the fundamentals of multimodality that help create more effective messages. Schriver (2003) mentioned that integration of texts and pictures are both equally essential to deliver meaning. There is also an excellent usage of framing on the Yahoo! homepage ensuring that the written text and page layout are not cluttered. The more important and latest news updates have bigger pictures and more prominent wordings to capture the audience’s attention. This will aid the reading process as it provides a sense of direction and connection for the reader. Makes the written text & layout look more presentable and comprehendible as well as highlights different sections of the page layout. It also determines what is meant to be read separately or together as a whole. Framing devices determine whether the elements of a layout may either be disconnected, marked off from each other, or connected, joined together (Kress and Leeuwen 1998).

References

Kress, G & van Leeuwen, T 1998, 'Front pages: The critical analysis of newspaper layout'.

Schriver, A 2003, 'Dynamics in document design : creating texts for readers', The Interplay of Words and Pictures'.

The Future of Blogs

Despite social networks like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter having gained popularity in social media, blogging, which has been around for a longer time, has several advantages from an online marketing standpoint. There are plenty of reasons to use blogs as a marketing tool for your business. Blogs help with search engine optimization, building trust among consumers by providing a personal touch, brand awareness, gaining media attention, and penetrating marketable niches (Chaney 2012).

In the foreseeable future, blogging may have to adapt to the tastes and trends of the internet users. Most of them would rather watch an online video compared to reading long text. Bloggers would need to transform their blogs posts to video blogs (vlogging) to convey their message, which obviously takes more effort and skills than merely typing words. Blogging may be integrated with Facebook and other Social Medias by having their own blogging platform on their site. Whilst this may be convenient to some including not having to pay hosting fees, others may be reluctant simply due to the fact that they would not have much control on the content (Sbabzy 2011)

Refrences

Chaney, P 2012, 5 Ways Blogging Is Better than Social Networking, Practical Ecommerce, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Sbabzy 2011, The Future of Blogging: Will Blogging be Dead in 2020?, Sbabzy, viewed 3 October 2013, < http://sbabzy.com/the-future-of-blogging-will-blogging-be-dead-in-2020/>.

New Media Publishing

Amazon Kindle, the first e-book reader to allow users to shop, download, browse and read new and old books directly to the machine itself is definitely changing the way book are published and marketed (Strickland and Johnson 2012). Subscribing to electronic versions of reading materials is also possible. You can bookmark a page, highlight a selection of text or even type notes as you read. The Kindle's memory can store up to 1,400 titles thus making it undeniably convenient for people who are always on the go (Strickland and Johnson 2012). In Kindle, it is not just all about words, as sometimes graphics accompany texts to provide readers with a visual impact, increasing their interest and providing them a better understanding (Strickland and Johnson 2012). Schriver (1997) mentions that it is vital to combine well-designed image with text because readers gain better understanding than text or image alone.

The Daily Mirror and the Daily Express sold more than 4 million copies, however now the bestselling Sun only sells up to about 2 million copies (Sabbagh 2011). In the last year alone, printed sales declined by 10% for daily broadsheets and by 5% for daily tabloids (Sabbagh 2011). 31 titles of local newspapers have closed in the last year (Sabbagh 2011). Furthermore, due to the convenience of owning a Kindle, readers will no longer want to purchase hardcopies of reading materials. With such amazing features, the Kindle will most probably take the place of hardcopy books in the near future. The Kindle will hasten a decline in the already faltering sales of printed newspapers, adding pressure on traditional print media (Sabbagh 2011)

Refrences

Sabbagh, D 2011, iPads and Kindles force newspapers further away from print, The Guardian, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Strickland, J & Johnson, B 2012, How the Amazing Kindle Works, howstuffworks, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Blog Credibility

Many people today rely on blogs to obtain all sorts of information, especially to read review of products and services as well as to make online purchases. Thus, it is of utmost importance for a blog to have credibility so that it will attract readers to come back for more.

Building credibility in the very first step in order to maintain the continual of any blog. Developing a consistent publishing schedule will attract readers to follow your blog (Azzollini 2012). A sense of familiarity and belonging will be established. Active participation by engaging in conversations with your followers in regards to your contents is vital to build credibility as there is two-way communication (Azzollini 2012). It is also important to respond to any comment or feedback provided by your readers, this will ensure them that their voices are being heard by you (Azzollini 2012). By frequently upgrading your blog and its features, it shows that you care for your readers.

When judging whether a blog is credible, readers then to keep an eye out on who the author is and whether does the blog has affiliations n if yes what sort and with who (Finding Dulcinia 2012). In addition to that, readers also pay attention to how often is the blog updated and comments or feedback increases their appeal and trust for a blog (Finding Dulcinia 2012).

Refrences

Azzollini, S 2012, Building Credibility With Online Communities: Tips From Professional News Rooms, PR Newswire, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Finding Dulcinea 2012, Blogs: Find a Blog to Read or Create Your Own, Finding Dulcinea, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Benefits of Blog to Society

Blogging is no longer something new to us, it has revolutionized the way we carry out our daily activities. Blogging is now viewed as a mainstream media, however it has not replaced traditional media means. As at 2012, NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company, tracked over 181 million blogs around the world, up from 36 million only five years earlier in 2006 (Nielsen 2012). 329 million people view 25 billion pages a month (Jeffbullas 2012). Bloggers can be categorized into five different groups, which are part-time and full-time professionals (18%) that blog either to supplement their income or as their full-time job, hobbyists (60%) who blog for fun and personal musings, corporate (8%) that blog for organizations and entrepreneurs (13%) who blog for their own company (Technorati 2011).

Currently there are 17.5 Million Internet Users in Malaysia (2012) and in 2016, there will be 21 Million users (Malaysia Today 2013). The blogging scene in Malaysia is mainly popular for personal musings, technology and political scenes. 28% of the Malaysian Top 50 Bloggers write about personal stuff. 16% write about politics. 16% write about technology (Loone 2007). According to Gaman, some of the top Malaysian blogs include Kenny Sia's personal blog, Jeff Ooi's political blog, Lim Kit Siang's political blog and SapiensBryan.com blog on technology (Loone 2007). Blogging serves as an alternative option for people to rely on besides the traditional media especially on matters relating to politics and social issues and other matters that generally do not go well with the public. In such circumstances, blogs are used to discuss these matters on a more personal note. Blogs also serve as a medium to spread information effectively and efficiently especially for large gatherings and movements for change. On a lighter note, blogs also serve as entertainment needs and as a medium to advertise.


References

Bullas, J 2012, Blogging Statistics, Facts and Figures in 2012 – Infographic, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Loone, S 2007, ’50 most influential blogs in Malaysia’, Sloone.wordpress, weblog post, 6 February, viewed 3 October 2013,

Malaysia Today 2013, Malaysia Social Media Statistics, Malaysia Today, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Nielesen 2012, Buzz in the Blogsphere, Millions More Bloggers and Blog Readers, Nielsen, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Technorati 2011, Technorati's State of the Blogosphere, Technorati, viewed 3 October 2013, .

Purpose of Blog

In this blog, it is of my interest to share, discuss and encourage readers to develop new perspectives on issues relating to publication and design. It is hoped that readers will gain a clearer picture and develop a thorough understanding on current media issues. This blog's primary target market are students studying Issues in Publication & Design.