Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Response to Palmquist

There are many specific things to consider while setting up a website, aside from considering your purpose, audience, design, and style. Theres decisions to make involving what methods are best to present certain information, such as whether to use a pop-out window and when to use digital illustrations. Theres also the organizational structure to consider: linear, heirarchical, or interlinked? Its also very important to consider the aesthetics of the page. Its should be consistent and simple, not using too many graphics, audio, video, or flash objects. Having too much can be distracting and annoying to viewers.

A good website I found is: www.owlcitymusic.com
Its follows the checklist Palmquist provided to the tee. The organizational structure seems to be interlinked and the aesthetics of the page are fantastic. Just the right amount.

A bad website I found is: havenworks.com
Its obvious why this is horrible. Theres seems to be no organizational structure; its just a mesh of things lumped together using overwhelming colors and images.The individual articles are squished together and hard to read. Its terrible!

Monday, October 19, 2009

Frustrated...

I have to say, I'm feeling a little frustrated right now. I'm not sure how this happened, but for some reason no one in my peer review group did peer reviews! I took the time to review all of theirs but didn't have the favor returned. This was frustrating to me because I didn't get any sufficient feedback. I wasn't really sure if there was anything I needed to fix. Judging by my own standard, the work I've done looks good-to-go, but someone may have had a different opinion; I'll never know. I don't always trust my own eyes because I don't know everything and since its my own work, its easy for me to miss mistakes. It's important to get second opinions in order for my work to be at its best. I hope this isn't going to affect my grade.

Not Too Bad

At the start of the project, I predicted that it was going to be difficult. I had never used any sort of wikimedia tool other than just for reading. Inexperience always adds some element of intimidation. However, it turned out to be easier than I thought. I chose my hometown, North Kingstown, where I've lived for over 12 years. I know the area pretty well so while I was reading through the pre-existing material on the wikitravel article, I was able to picture most of the places listed. I was also able to pick out wrong information and a bar mentioned that was recently closed down. I was able to think of a few new pieces of information that I could add, just off the top of my head. So I just did some research online, followed the mark-up and voila!

Monday, October 12, 2009

Potential Entries

 '''Hamilton Village Inn'''

"642 Boston Neck Road
North Kingstown
Rhode Island 02852"


Enjoy a quaint and scenic stay at the Hamilton Village Inn. This award winning Inn is located only minutes from key areas such as beaches, Newport, and the University of Rhode Island. Guestrooms and suites are available at affordable prices and include cable tevlvision, wi-fi, telephones, and private bathrooms. For more information visit the Hamilton Inn Village Website [http://www.hamiltonvillageinn.com/rooms.htm].  




'''Juntion Trattoria and Bistro"'

"1051 Ten Rod Road, Suite 7
North Kingstown, RI 02852"

Enjoy an authentic Italian meal or dessert in you choice of a restaurant table or bistro setting in a warm, low-light atmosphere. Curbside service and take-out is also available if you're on the go. Menu [ http://www.thejunctionnk.com/online-menu.html] is available online. Visit http://www.thejunctionnk.com for further information.




'''Rolling Greens Golf Course'''

"1625 Ten Rod Rd
North Kingstown, RI 02852
(401)294-9859"


Relax and have some fun at this 9-hole public golf course. This is a well established green founded in 1969 and includes a driving range for those who want to brush up on their swing. Costs range between 28 and 30 dollars. For further information, visit http://www.thegolfcourses.net/golfcourses/RI/4516.htm.


2 Important Tips

  1. Articles should be relatively self-sufficient so that travellers can print them out, put in their back pocket, and use for travelling around. At the same time, articles should not be so long that they're impossible to read, print, or use. This is an important thing to consider throughout the whole article writing process. Articles should be long enough that they provide the necessary information, but can't be so long to the point where they are impractical for users.
  2. The "How to" for listings. Categorizing is crucial for these kinds of articles. They make it easier for readers to find specific information instead of just trying to scan and sift through stuff. This "How to" section teachers writers how to make listings to organize information.
  3. Avoid 1st person pronouns. These are articles, not editorials or customer reviews. Its important to avoid personal pronouns to not make the article about you and devote it to unbiased, as-true-as-possible information.

Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Wikitravel Potential Articles

1. North Kingstown: This is where I grew up; where I've spent the last 12 years of my life.There is already an existing article, but it looks like it hasn't been updated in a while because some of the places listed are closed down. Also, I might add a few spots where recent movies have been filmed that people might be interested in seeing.

2. Hope Valley: This is where I used to live.I lived here for seven years and its a quaint old country town, which some people like. I didn't find any articles on Hope Valley so I can start from scratch on this one.

3. East Greenwich: I never lived here,but I have spent a whole lot of time here since its the town right next to mine. There is an existing article for this, but I feel like the person who wrote it left out some awesome things about East Greenwich. And they only listed one place to stay.I wonder if there are more...

Monday, October 5, 2009

Response to Wikitravel

I hope its not weird that I've never heard of Wikitravel. However, I think its a fantastic idea! For so many people, travelling is an interest and something that a lot of people spend a lot of money and time on. Because going places that you've never been can be somewhat risky and you don't usually know 100% about what you're getting into, most, if not all, travellers like to research places they want to go and get as much information about it as possible. Wikitravel is great because instead of spending money or travel books, or sifting through thousands of google search pages, you can get the information and opinions you need from people that have been there conviently all on one site!
I thought the policies section was vague and not very helpful. You can't really made set rules in this kind of online community because it's a little hard to control. I liked the goals and non-goals better because it really explained what the site is all about and what wikitravel wants to see in reader articles.