Project update...new literature proves very helpful!

Ok, so our project is almost finished (i say almost, I may be getting slightly ahead of myself). As far as most in our group would say, its pretty fair to assume that we've got a coherant structure, and we're in our final stages of 'tweeking'.

Lately I've been working on an essay on cyborgs for Chris Sams and was previously writing up a seminar paper for a seminar on cyberspace and its metaphors . The reason I mention this is because almost everything I've read somehow relates back to this module (at the risk of making a sweeping generalisation). A fantastic book which i've managed to obtain is called Cyber_reader, (edited by Neil Spiller). This book contains a list of essays written from the mid 1950s, all the way through to modern day, on all things 'cyber' related. My particular favourites have been the essays regarding cyberspace, and leaving our 'physical' bodies behind as we enter the realm of cyberspace (in Karen A Franck, 1995's aptly titled When I enter Virtual Reality, What Body will I Leave Behind). John Perry Barlow, Micheal Heim and Stelarc also have some very thought provoking essays in this collection, all of which somehow relate back to views of identity, and identity online. A list of all these key texts will be included in our Wiki Page.

Anyway, enough of the 'academia', I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that i am now a victim of the post modern condition that is cyberspace...fabulous! I find myself spending COUNTLESS amounts of hours online, and talking to my friends more on FACEBOOK than on the phone!!...I've even resorted to communicating with my brother (who may i add lives in my house) on msn...as opposed to walking for 2 seconds to his room and asking him whatever it is i need to ask him (which is often 'make me a cup of tea'). Should I be disgusted with my excessive laptop appreciation? Or should I just deem this as me being 'busy'? (which in my defense i am). I hate to think I'll end up relying on my laptop as an essential tool of communication, and become a social recluse, (which ladies & gentlemen, is not far from the truth, see last blog for details).
Habit 1: I switch on my laptop the minute i get home....be it 3am to check email, facebook and whos on msn (worrying...methinks yes)
Habit 2: Social communication breakdowns, i.e. arguments with people i know in real life have resulted in hostile facebook statuses i.e. sara is angry at xyz for xyz (usually a bit wittier tho....and not as direct)
Habit 3: I'd rather buy stuff online, then in the shop...why????! oxford street is 10 minutes away, whsmith is downstairs, and i live next to a bookshop!

and now my crisis is that my dvd drive isnt working...which 3 years ago, would not constitute as a 'crisis'

The stuff we study is closer to home then we think eh?

Web layouts...the good, the bad, and the baffling..

I've spent the past few days doing online shopping, (because thats what happens when you've got 5 pieces of work to hand in and want to escape theory for a few hours). My online shopping spree tends to begin with the shops i actually shop from on the high street, (Zara, Topshop, Diesal...the usual suspects), and then go on to internet sites that are more specialist (http://www.net-a-porter.com/, http://www.asos.com/, http://www.tightsplease.com/). Anyway, what tends to happen when I do undergo random browsing, is I jump from one site to another, and find random links which often take me to unknown locations that either prove to be fascinating (and worth putting on my 'favorites list'), or shocking and deemed not worthy of ever returning to. This online shopping time helped me determine which sites have exceptionally good layouts and are user friendly, and which aren't (also which are worth visiting, to avoid the actual shop itself). This was one of the tasks that i believe was set for us, and I found a good list of sites which are worth it, and ones which really should be avoided.

First on the list of impossible to navigate is the Zara website (http://www.zara.com/)...
what on earth were they thinking?!

Not only does it take ages till something actually pops up on the screen as an indicator of what to do next, but its also really badly organised. It goes from blank page to menu, to blank page, and you're never quite sure what you should be clicking on. The women's collection takes several attempts to access (and I like to think of myself as a fairly computer literate individual), its just all a bit of a nondescript mess. It takes a lot of blank expressions and mouse clicks to actually get to any clothes! Not recommended for those who like no fuss websites, and are in a hurry.

Next on the list of badly layed out sites is (surprisingly) the H&M website. Its easier to navigate then the zara website, and a lot clearer in terms of content, however it falls short in terms of actually being able to view the collections (which in my opinion defeates the purpose of a fashion website!), there arent any clear 'men', 'women' labels to click on, and again, its a bit all over the place...irritating actually. Also you can't buy things online which i think is a real let down, and the Roberto Cavalli range took AGES to view.

A fantastic site was net-a-porter.com, this site is so well layed out and 'to the point', that i was astonished. Everything is clearly marked, non ambigous, perhaps lacking creativity to a certain degree, but great for shopping (which is essentially why its there). The same goes for ASOS.com, which was once not very good in terms of layout, but has changed in recent months and has become MUCH more concise.

Another great shopping website in my opinion is Amazon.com. Since joining I've really grown to love this website. Every book I will ever need will no doubt be on there, and as well as this, every time i logg in, they'll recommend books for me, based on my previous purchases. I love this feature! Not only do they genuinely recommend very good titles, but they also recommend titles that are very relevant and that i've actually ended up buying, and loved. BIG thumbs up to Amazon.

A good website in terms of visual beauty is the website for chinawhite resteraunt/club http://www.chinawhite.com/new/, the site was very disorganised a few months ago, as although it was very conceptual and looked great, it was almost impossible to figure out. Luckily they changed it to a much more 'user friendly' format, so now its not just more accessible, but a lot clearer in terms of content.

In terms of our project. Its coming along pretty well. This week is editing week. I'm planning on really fine tuning all the contents and making the pages look user friendly without bombarding people with paragraph upon paragraph of text.

Its something i'm sure the guys are going to want to discuss tomorrow.

Ciao for now

Wiki formation, bad search engines and insomnia

Its either too early, or too late to be online (it becomes a blur when you're an insomniac like myself), and seeing as I couldnt sleep a wink, I thought I'd use it as a perfect opportunity to investigate whats going on with the group Wiki at the moment, and make changes/edit material where needed.

The first thing i was estatic about is the fact that the wiki has actually got some really good bits of information on it this week. Last week we all decided that we were going to go and do our own bits of research into various aspects of the project, and then get put it all on the Wiki in its rough form. The plan was to then take the relevant steps in order to fine tune this information over the next few weeks so that it a) sounds coherant b) flows nicely, and c) doesnt sound like we're jumping from on subject to the other, (so to essentially tighten the structure of the wiki). The final thing on our list was to do something about the layout.

My job was to focus on the intro page & write about identity; what it is, what it means to have an online identity, and how it varies from having a normal identity. This intro is designed to set the scene for the information that follows especially in regards to how one's identity will or may change in regards to social networking sites or online communities.

Seeing as I've been primarily looking at identity on social networking sites for the past three weeks, it wasn't too hard to put a (hopefully) coherant context/intro together (although at the moment its REALLY lacking in theoretical information). Its a very basic outline of identity, two definitions (one from an ordinary dictionary, one from a psychological glossary), and how these definitions change once an online setting is thrown into the mix. I go on to briefly talk about the layout of myspace and how the layout itself will automatically influence how one would want to project themselves, as well as what happens when you join an online community (based on the dozens of articles i've read over the past few weeks regarding online communities).

I still need lots of theory, some links, and some images to make it look aesthetically pleasing, and more well argued.


The rest of the Wiki looks good so far. Alisha sorted out the layout and background issues (and now we have a very eccentric bamboo background which i'm pleased with!) Everyones put some info on the wiki in regards the topics we talked about last week as a group; so in that respect there are no complaints. My only rant is perhaps that we talk a bit TOO much about myspace and facebook, and should narrow this all down to one page. We still need to go into issues surrounding deception, as well as looking at a case study regarding online identity.

The work of James Cote is very interesting, I need to look into that more, hes got some great theories on identity in relation to the modernity, and fragmentation of identity.

Also i was very unhappy with google tonight (or this morning rather!)...it was coming up with some really random results when i typed in identity.
I should ask jeeves in future