Response to video
Wow. This was a pretty informative video. I really didn’t watch the debates or the campaign for presidency this year. So I did not notice the brilliance of the campaign strategy. I see now why Obama won. Integrating social networking tools into everything that they did really put them in touch with the people, and made it seem like Obama was truly into making the changes that are needed by keeping in touch with a younger generation. Getting the people that are Internet and socially active on the web was a brilliant idea. The older generations rely on what media they are familiar with, such as television, newspapers, and magazines. The new generation is all about communicating via mySpace, flickr, facebook, youtube, and other web based communication tools. Creating the sense of worldwide saturation was one of their goals, and they met this outstandingly. Keeping in touch with everyone really says I care, and doing it using the tools of the younger generations says Obama really had an open mind and will use every tool available to accomplish what needs to be done.
This would transfer over to any business strategy. In today’s marketplace, consumers have a ‘now’ attitude. We want it, we want it done right, and we want it done right now. Just look around, businesses are becoming more technologically interested. Name a successful business that does not have a web presence. Think of a person that does not have an email address, or some way to receive content over the internet. Today the push to be integrated into the internet is almost overwhelming. Think of the business that Amazon and similar companies does….they’re open 24-7. If I need something, I can get it anytime I want it. They also offer a personal touch. Offering other products when you purchase something, and recommending other products that have relevance to that individual. Not like a random phone call offering me medical coverage for my children…you know, the ones I don’t have. Getting to know your consumers, customers, users…this is the new way of doing business. And the internet provides this in spades.
This social networking interest is not going to go away, and before long, there will be a whole new world where everyone is connected to each other in some way or another. Something that businesses need to understand… word of mouth is instant in social networking groups, and one bad word can turn hundreds against you instantly. The flip side, one satisfied customer through the internet, can reach millions in a week.
Social Networking
After reading this article again, I have come to a few startling conclusions. While I think that the information and social aspects of Web 2.0 are exciting, I can also see the future of this technology. Now that companies are really starting to get into the blogging, and social networking, I foresee an ever increasing way for them to sell their messages. As soon as someone created the telephone, what happened…People around the world were able to communicate with absent family members and friends. Then came the telemarketing. Now you have to have your voicemail and answering machine screen your calls so you don’t have to repeatedly tell a solicitor that you are uninterested. Then came banner ads, as soon as they were created, boom, more crap on the internet and websites that are annoying, and personally ruin the experience.
So now here we are with a great new technology. Social tools for networking, keeping in touch with friends and family, etc. And now we must look ahead to see the problems. Just like with cell phones, texting and other technologies, this is dangerous territory. The public as a whole are not responsible enought to be given these communication tools. They have already proven this by texting while driving, while in class, at work, etc. So now there are blogs. This is great! Now everyone can say what they want, when they want, whether it be for fun or work related. Some of these are phenomenal. But with this tool you have to have responsibility. The average person does not have this in mind. There are already people who start blogs as revenge against an ex-partner, boyfriend etc. People with blogs are being sued for slander. This is the crazy world we live in today.
I think that the dawn of this new world is great and exciting, and I really like the idea of being out there, letting the world see my work, and receiving job offers and suggestions. I think these things are great. Being able to collaborate on a project with someone around the world is awesome. I just think that we (companies and individuals) need to slow down a bit and make sure we are prepared for the repercussions of unleashing this technology to a planet who cannot even take care of their environment, and risk their lives to text someone a message while driving.
CSS3
When looking over the CSS3 information, the first thing I could say is oh my god. What is all this stuff? Where is my CSS that I learned and have become accustomed to? After a cursory glance I felt lost and was wondering if I would have to look for a CSS3 class to help me understand what was going on. Upon further review, I can see the benefits of what CSS3 is trying to accomplish. They are trying to make CSS more dynamic in what it can do, as well as how it can look. I refer to striping lines in a document (alternating color bars). The old way that was used required some ajax or javascript, but now you can do this with CSS. http://www.w3.org/TR/css3-selectors/#typenmsp under structural pseudo classes. Items like this can help by having more dynamic styling tools to work with.
Overall I think that the transition will require more in depth learning and research, as the technical aspects read like stereo instructions. I think that CSS3 is leaning more towards programmers than designers, and this worries me a bit. Before I felt that CSS was the designer’s tool, and javascript, ajax, and other languages were for programmers. Now it seems like they are trying to take this away from designers.
CSS3 will only be worth the trouble if all browsers conform to what CSS3 is capable of doing. I did not read anywhere that all browser makers were on board and will make their browsers fully CSS3 compliant. So to me it does not matter if we have a new tool if it does not work for all browsers. Its like having a paper cutter that only cuts 8.5 x 11 paper if it is black cardstock. I understand that this is a step towards that, but I think we need to get the browsers compliant before we try to write new stuff to create for them.
I did find some neat stuff for CSS3. These are listed below:
CSS3 quickguide: http://my.opera.com/Rijk/blog/2007/11/05/css-3-quick-reference-panel
some pointers and great information here: http://reference.sitepoint.com/css/css3psuedoclasses
the CSS3 selectors: http://www.cssdog.com/css3.html
some tutorials and examples: http://www.css3.com/
Studio Problem
I have noticed that the price of getting an education has gotten out of control. So much that some people will never get higher than a High school education. This seems to be an escalating problem. There is a solution though. In the past there were apprenticeships available for eager students who wanted to learn a career. This would entail an apprentice learning from a master in a field, usually only for room and board. I think that there is a great deal to learn from a master that has been doing something professionally for decades.
I think that this resource should be tapped today. Imagine learning from Michaelangelo, or DaVinci, living and breathing art with these masters. Not only learning the craft, but learning about them. I think that learning one on one, doing and talking and asking questions is a great opportunity, and I am sure that there are teachers and craftsman out there that would like to share what they know.
The problem:
There is not a resource to find craftsman and masters willing to share what they know, free of charge to interested parties. Like Big Brothers and Big Sisters, there are individuals who would like to share their knowledge with students that really want to learn what they know, in a friendly environment.
The solution:
I propose to create a website community that facilitates the connection between those willing to teach and those wanting to learn. I would like to have a teacher section, internship section, and an apprentice section. These would have their specific listings. I would also like to add a place for speakers to list speaking events, and a section for people to post their needs and questions, like a blog.
Further research for Capstone
I guess in wanting to re-create something as big as a comic book database, you have to look at the main players in the field. This would include Marvel comics, DC comics, Image comics, and Darkhorse comics. There are tons of other publishers out there, but I think that these four would have to be included. This would be a good starting place for a comic book database, and would entail alot of work.
Marvel comics is the industry leader. If you think about comics surely you think about Spider-man, and the X-men, and Iron Man to name a few. The Marvel comics site is super clean, informative, and very artistic. The nice flow is what I would like to incorporate into my comic book database. The amount of artwork shown is not overwhelming, but represents good design. I do like the flash banner under the header.
DC comics is the traditional comic book company. Over the many years they have been very predictable and sturdy. This company features the all-time greats Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. I love the design of this website. It is very clean, not a lot of scrolling, and the flash scroll at the top of the page is great. This site does feature a community type of portal, with videos and other items, which focuses on their own products. I would like to incorporate these items into my database as well. I also like their global navigation, and categories. A new to comics feature is a great idea.
Dark Horse Comics features a little more off the wall type of comic books. Their titles consist of Hellboy, Star Wars, an Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Their website has a nice community sense to it. There are features offered here that I would consider adding to my Capstone project. Including the message boards page. I really like this idea. I would like to include a message board on my site, as well as a page for fan created artwork.
Finally, Image comics. When this company came out, they took an enormous amount of DC and Marvel fans with them. They became a very big player in a really short period of time. Their most notable contributions are Spawn, Witchblade, and The Savage Dragon. This site is a bit awkward, but it does have a sense of community to it. There are a few items that are of interest to my capstone idea, including the schedule page. This is a must have, and will be alot of work to keep up with.
Research for Capstone Problem
This website offers software designed to create a user database for home use. This is a neat software, and I like the idea of what it does. This is similar to what I want to do, yet I want to do it online. After delving deeper into this site, I noticed that they have an online element as well. The part lacking here is the community feel. This is a problem I plan to fix.
http://www.collectorz.com/connect/comics/
This website is an ongoing project, and is approximately close to what I am looking to do, but it is slow, badly designed, and has problems with it’s search. I like the fact that this website is trying to catalog EVERY comic worldwide, which is well beyond what I want to do. The design of this website is part of the problem I intend to solve with my website. A comic book site should have breathtaking artwork.
The comic book database is another great comic book website, that falls short on design. This is an amazing website database with tons of information. The only drawback here, is where is the community again?
Yet another comic book database website. This one allows for more advanced searching, and seems to work pretty well. However, there is no design or community here either. A big part of why I loved comics when I was younger was the artwork, and going to a comic book store was overwhelming. Beautiful art everywhere you looked. I do not see this on the websites I have researched. I think this is another problem that needs to be solved.
This website adds a bit more of a community feel, with trivia, and categories for artists, and writers, and creators. The addition of videos is a nice touch. These are reasons for fans to come to this website. The design is better, but where is the wonderful artwork? I do really like the organization and the cleanness of this website, but it is still lacking in design. I think this comes closest to what I want to create…an online home for comic book fans.
The following website has a nice feel to it. I like the openness of the design. This website has no community features, however, and does not contain enough information.
There are hundreds of websites for comic books. I realize that when creating my site I have to really focus on what I am trying to accomplish. A community. A community that contains what comic book lover’s want and need. A few things that I do like: These sites want users to help update their databases, the thoroughness of some of the websites actual database, and the organization of those sites.
Of course the database creation is a lot of work, a lot of inserting and updating. PhP and Ajax would probably work well here.
Capstone ideas
After much deliberation I have decided to focus on something that I really want to do. In User Centered Design, I created a mock website on a comic book index. This was to hold all information on comic books, including the artists, publisher, issue, summary, and cover of each comic available. Since comic book art is the reason I decided to go to art school, I thought that this would be a project that I could start for capstone, and something that I could continue to maintain and add to throughout my lifetime. I propose to make this website, which will focus on the following problem:
The Problem
There are many different comic book websites, yet most seem to be devoted to a particular publisher. Marvel comics, DC comics, Image, etc… There really is not a definitive website that contains all the titles from all the publishers. There are comic book price guides, but these focus more on the prices of particular titles, and although they do offer a categorizing of comic titles, it is not interactive. The problem is there is no website that offers all of these things together. The problem: there is not a comic book site that offers a database of every comic book that has been printed, with information about every comic, with a checklist for collectors to keep track of what they own and what they need for their collection. The problem of not having a non-biased resource for comic book titles compounds this inadequacy.
The Solution:
I think that through Php and Ajax, a comic book database could be created that would allow a user to log in and create a checklist of titles that they own, and perhaps create a wishlist for titles needed. This website would have a search feature, checklist, and the actual database as well. I also think a website like this would be a prime target to create a community of comic book people and artists.
