Week 6 Social Graph

The creation of a Foaf profile can be a powerful tool for professionals to network, one which allows large numbers of individuals to contact one another without needing to be personally introduced. It can replace the need to research and connect with peers manually, by providing information about yourself and displaying it to other individuals who may also possess a Foaf profile. This would allow the rapid creation and growth of online communities linking related professionals, allowing for discussion and collaboration to occur on a much larger scale.

This technology can of course also be utilised outside of the professional world as well. For example, it could allow friends to contact one another across various social networking sites which may not have features built-in to make this possible. This can allow for large social networks to exist outside of any one given website, a meta-network. This can harness the power and features of many various platforms, as opposed to limiting one’s self to a single portal. While Facebook and Twitter have their own unique advantages, a process by which you can combine these platforms is infinitely useful.

The downsides of this system relate to privacy and the availability of information. This is particularly important for sensitive information such as one’s address and telephone number.  Specification is also an important consideration, as a vaguely created Foaf profile may attract contacts which are related in obscure ways which may not be significant, creating bloated networks of negligible usefulness.

Week 5

Google Map API's could be useful when implemented into an online video game service. After playing an online game with a group of people, the location of other players could be found and displayed by using their IP address. After accepting a friend request, the two people can share their locations and see if they are close together. In this way, a community of local players can eventually be found who share similar interests.

By layering an additional system on top such as the 'Fusion Tables' API, a visual representation of players skill level could be displayed. Over time this could build an interesting depiction of player ability based on geographic location, encouraging local and distant competition between gaming communities.

On the side of developers, a similar tool could be implemented to show where certain types of games are most popular. If a publisher knows which games have been popular in certain areas, they will know where to focus their advertising to take full advantage of consumer demand. Likewise they can investigate ways to boost sales in weak areas.


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Week 4

At first glance, ‘One Frame of Fame’ seems like a fairly typical digital art project. Whereby the creator requested dozens of photos from the general public in order to create a moving collage in an animated sequence, timed to music. While this type of video is quiet common on the internet, there is one aspect of this particular project that makes it innovative. And it is the same aspect that is shared among many modern projects which differentiate them from past attempts; dynamics. The fact that the photos presented in the video are updated dynamically and constantly innovates dramatically from previous similar projects.

The uploading process is very intuitive. (http://oneframeoffame.com/ Accessed 1st August)

Added to the level of innovation is the intuitiveness of allowing the general public to participate. Rather than needing to get in contact with the creator and sending a pre-shot photo, participants need only follow a wonderfully simple 3-Step process which allows them to upload their photo directly from their webcam. This choice of upload method is highly commendable as it significantly lowers the bar of entry. Many users may not know how to take a digital photo, transfer it to their hard drive, convert it then upload it. But anyone with a basic webcam can follow these 3 steps to instantly and actively participate in the project.

Not to mention the rather impressive feature that the video is updated hourly. This allows participants to see their contribution in a very short time frame, as opposed to a more traditional system whereby the creator may update the project manually monthly or annually.

Week 3

The ‘Best Job In The World’ campaign was highly successful thanks to its extensive and thorough use of already established communication technologies. By utilising the fact that most everyday people already know how to create and upload videos online, they opened the campaign up to a huge demographic of eager participants. Without requiring special skills, technology, or product purchases, almost anyone had the opportunity to submit an entry. The same can be said about the competition’s requirement that the winner write a personal blog about the job. Having a task to be performed by the winner added legitimacy to the prize, as opposed to seeming too good to be true.

Using online video’s as a medium also encouraged participants to be creative with their entries, which was a key strength in its ability to not only spread virally online, but also through word-of-mouth between social circles in the real world. The media attention that the unique videos attracted further enhanced the exposure of the campaign overall. This was amplified by the campaign's extensive use of social media networking, which achieved its effectiveness through the already established connectivity present between popular websites like Youtube, Facebook and Twitter.

The website features a large collection of interactive media, such as blogs, embedded videos, and banner ads. (http://islandreefjob.com/island-caretaker-blog/ Accessed 5th August)

The campaign also had a likely intentional flow-over effect, whereby foreigners who are considering a vacation are likely to remember Queensland after hearing about this competition. Even without entering the competition itself, many individuals and families are likely to be willing to spend money to experience the ‘best job in the world’ for themselves.

The Official Facebook page is highly customised to promote Queensland tourism. Note the links to associated social media sites. (http://www.facebook.com/visitqueensland, accessed 3rd August)

Week 2

User Interface and Customisation-

Wikipedia uses a clean, minimalistic user interface. All pages are presented in such a way that text and information are given the most attention, and appear confidently in the foreground. The use of colours and animations are nominal to reduce distractions, and are only used for the purpose of further presenting information in a more clear and concise manner.

            Registered users are given an account which allows them to monitor certain articles which interest them. A member will be notified any time one of their favourite articles is edited. This presents a dual-feature; by watching a topic that you are interested in, you can be updated when new information comes to surface. And it also allows you to prevent your favourite pages from being vandalised or updated with incorrect information.

            Articles are found through a very useful search bar located at the top of each page. This particular search engine is very powerful as it lists suggestions of articles you may be looking for as you type. For example, you may begin typing “World War” and the search engine would subsequently suggest “World War I” and “World War II”. Additionally, if you type a phrase which is not exactly the same as the title of the article, the engine has a large list of disambiguation’s which means you will likely come to the page you were searching for. As an example; if you search “World War One” you would still arrive at the correct page “World War I”.

The table of contents presents all information in a clean and clear fashion.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II Accessed 30^th July)

Moderation-

The Wikipedia community contains a very large number of field experts. When a dispute occurs over the accuracy of a statement, the related expert will likely step in and provide guidance. It’s this endorsement that provides each page with its credibility, allowing readers to feel confident that the information present is accurate and up to date. Overall, the site features over three million English articles, and many more available in other languages.

Average people can also contribute to articles, through the use of the site’s referencing system. When a new piece of information is added, it must be accompanied by a verifiable source, which is automatically added to a list of footnotes at the bottom of the page. If anything is added without a reference, it is very likely to be removed. These references can come from news websites, or interviews in the case of biographies. Certain articles can also be blocked from being edited anonymously, requiring registration with the site. This allows moderators to protect articles from being vandalised, and also provides them with the ability to monitor incoming additions and modifications.

The Wikipedia page covering the Libyan uprising contains over 600 references from news sources.

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_2011_Libyan_civil_war_and_military_intervention Accessed 19^h July 2011)

Week 1

I am a member of Wikipedia, a collaborative publishing site which I use frequently. The concept behind the site is that of a global encyclopedia which anyone can contribute information towards. Within the Wikipedia community, I am the lead editor of one page, and assist with the maintenance of several other pages. My job is to monitor changes made to pages, and check that they are legitimate by having a verifiable source. It is this ability that makes Wikipedia as accurate as The Encyclopedia Britannica, while possessing many times more articles.

The site also features a comprehensive discussion element in order to resolve disputes. In the event of two members disagreeing on whether a part of the article is accurate or unbiased, a group of peers will help make a decision based on evidence presented to them. Moderators can also protect important articles from being edited anonymously, and if one certain IP address is found to be vandalizing articles frequently, that person can be blocked from making edits in the future.

Wikipedia is a useful tool for finding detailed information about virtually any topic one can think of. It also provides links for further reading which may be outside the scope of the main article. It is also available in many different languages, making it the most comprehensive encyclopedia in the world.

The Wikipedia Home Page is updated daily with recent news events and popular articles.
(www.wikipedia.org Accessed 17th July)

 

The academic presentation of the site and the structure of the articles lend itself greatly to aiding students. It is a powerful research tool in which an individual can search a topic, find a comprehensive summary of all aspects of said topic, and is then presented with a series of links for further reading. This allows students to gain a wide understanding of the subject before delving into their own original research, helped again by the reference section of each article.

In addition to this encyclopedic structure, each page is further broken up into sections and sub-sections based on topic. To prevent navigation from becoming clumsy and confusing, a table of contents is present at the start of each article which clearly shows where particular information can be found. Furthermore, the title of each section in the table is also a link which will move your scroll bar to that exact section of the article, preventing the need for manually searching through articles.

 The search bar is a very powerful and adaptive tool.
      (www.wikipedia.org Accessed 20th July)