Post 7

Themes: Category, location, time, alphabetic, and continuum. There is also card sorting and chunking. Those are pretty basic and are mostly just a method of simple divisions. The heirarchies included are hub and spoke and the more complex. Hub and spoke is mostly defined by the middle going out method. The more complex are used sub divisions of a key idea. This is how most webs form. As the idea develops from a linear motion it develops into a web that is more complex. Wireframes really define the start of this organization and development. They are the main precursor to web development and information architecture.

We then move into some of the layout formations like eye tracking. Eye tracking simply defines the way the eye moves across the page. There are a couple methods of eye tracking that explain the different ways the eye scans from left to right or up and down. This relates to the way information architecture is set up. The information architecture is difficult to lay out due to many different reasons. Whether it is perspective, politics, or ambiguity there are many areas that cause info architecture to present problems for site developers. This is why hierarchy is important. The top down method of hierarchy is important because it is allows the readers eye movement to fit in with the architecture. It can be broad or shallow but it is important to specify one style or another.

Connecting Weinberger, Jenkins, and Lessig

We started our discussion with Weinberger's Everything Is Miscellaneous. Weinberger mainly talked about the transition from print to digitally based content and how the transition was effecting our perception of text. He argued that the information age was changing with the invention of such technologies as web 2.0, stating that they were altering the organization of content in a completely new way, which ultimately is effecting the way information is being found and interpreted.

After we learned about information organization from Weinberger we then applied it to Jenkin's Convergence Culture. Jenkins talked about the way our culture is adapting to the technologies that Weinberger mentioned and the way they are forcing us to develop a new way of communicating. The adaptation of technology in a ubiquitous culture forces us to focus on convergence in a completely new way.

Finally, we moved on to Lessig's Remix. Combining some of the notions from the previous books Lessig teaches us about copyright and creative commons culture. He talks about the fact that in such a culture where technology is forcing these new levels of interaction and learning techniques, that existing copyright laws are irrelevant and outdated.

After reading all of these books we finally get a chance to see the entire picture. All of these combine to form the complete technological revolution that is currently taking place and is laying ground for future use of technology. When Weinberger points out the organization of information and how we are rewriting the way in which information is shared, it really strikes a strong cord with the me. He seems to nail it right on the head that this is one of the pivotal points in the revolution. What was once considered a norm is now a completely outdated thing. Once we can accept this we can than realize that Jenkins and Lessigs points are really helping create a new culture. They are fighting for the technological revolution that is smart, well thought out, and relevant to our growing technologies. If Jenkins ideas on convergence can be applied to weinbergers organization and then applied to the laws that restrict the sharing community, we may be able to find a common ground for future copyright laws. This is not to say that the main point is copyright laws or even creative commons. These are just points that are important. What is most important here is learning to adapt to technology in a way that is fast paced, relevant, and understanding of the changes that are taking place. It seems that all of these authors are arguing along the same premise and are therefore on the right side of the revolution. The question is, what are we doing to aid this revolution?

Convergence Culture-Intro

Convergence Culture, Henry Jenkins, starts about by talking about what convergence culture is. Jenkins sums it up to mostly mean the joining of new and old forms of media on all levels. It bears down to participation of user and its final product of content generation. "New media technologies enabled the same content to flow through many different channels and assume many different forms at the point of reception." p. 11

"...we are in an age of media transition, one marked by tactical decisions and unintended consequences, mixed signals and competing interests, and most of all, unclear directions and unpredictable outcomes." Pool 11

"Our lives, relationships, memories, fantasies, desires also flow across media channels." p. 17

As a DTC student and an avid technological participant, I have found this short intro very interesting and particularly well connected. I think that being well connected is the key to understanding technological impact. In the intro by Jenkins, I get the feeling that he is focussing on that without actually just saying that. Being connected to the physical world through technology can often be very difficult. This convergence of new and old is the issue at hand, and I think Jenkins is diving right in to that.

I honestly see very little connection to Weinberger, mostly because I feel like Weinbergers material was outdated and slightly irrelevant due to its simplicity and obviousness. I think Jenkins may touch on similar issues in web organization and digital organization, but I think he will take us down a far more relevant path.

Post 4 for Weinberger

Weinbergers Everything is Miscellaneous is mostly about digital organization for today. It really is dedicated to understanding the different ways in which things can be organized or categorized, whether it be digital or otherwise. For the most part, we learn that organization is far more particular than we may have noticed. It follows a set trend and is actually logical in almost all methods (to a certain point).

This is important because as a DTC major it is important to understand the ways in which the web is being organized and effected by these ideas. While some may think that the web is this relatively unorganized base of knowledge, part of our job as DTC majors is to make this more clear and make it so that people are able to access and understand the ways in which the web works.

Weinberger Final Chapters

Chapter 8

Summary

Chapter 8 Focusses on metadata. It really starts discussing the different meanings associated with being explicit and implicit and how that relates to a new level of organization through technology. The shortening of information to concise metadata forces us to decide what we think is most important and what else can be excluded from out summary.

So What?

The information that Weinberger is talking about is important to us because it shapes the way we develop our skills, both as students and as young professionals. As a new DTC student I am still learning the uses of our studies and find that the understanding of technologies place in our world is what is so very valuable to employers. Being able to translate the ideas that Weinberger is talking about with metadata to a company can be a highly valued trait.

Chapter 9

Summary

What chapter 9 is mostly talking about is new organization across platforms and they way in which they are governed. Weinberger is talking about the levels in which organization exists among the completely open network of the web. I think that he is simply pointing out the idea of group thinking and knowledge among web users.

So what?

The reason I think this is important is because it is shaping not only our generation but the ones to follow us. It is leading to a new wave of thinking. It seems like we are in a transition period right now between new ideas and old foundations that will eventually die and be taken over by what our generation develops as web standards. These standards may or may not be the best but they are important to relate to our work relations and personal relations. So I think it will be extremely important to take the idea of the non governed body of internet work and find a way to make it more powerful and useful than ever.

Everything Is Miscellaneous-Response Ch. 5 & 6

Chapter 5

Chapter 5 focusses on the ways in which organization can begin to breakdown and become useless over time. Like most organizational levels, as new technology emerge, old technologies become outdated and further from regular use. What chapter 5 talks about is the way in which this happens.

Quotes: “That’s why its so powerful to let users mix it up themselves.” (Talking about metadata organization). pg.105

“Tagging grew out of a very personal need.” pg. 92

“The new rules of the information jungle are in effect, transforming the landscape in which we work, buy, learn, vote, and play.” pg. 106

In chapter five I enjoyed the part where Weinberger talked about going into a clothing store and sorting the items in your size all at once. While this would be the logical way to do this, this is clearly not the way it is set up and can therefore make it difficult to rationalize any order from shopping.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 is based around bar codes and their uses. It discusses the ways in which they were initially implemented and the ways in which they have served an organizational purpose. It goes into the parts of store organization and the ways in which bar codes made them more efficient.

Quotes: “But putting the “universal” into UPC requires some work.” pg. 109

“A world of ideas and knowledge, more than we could ever absorb, is waiting for us, carefully indexed in those neat rows of drawers.” pg. 118-119

The part of the chapter that talked about taking a picture of a bar code with your phone reminded me of the iphone app I have that lets me do that. I think that this is one of the greatest technologies relating to bar codes on a consumer level. It allows me to access prices and reviews so that I can compare them with the product I am looking at.

Everything Is Miscellaneous-Response 1

Prologue: The prologue starts the book out with a conversation about store layout. This leads to information organization, a point which seems to be the header of this chapter; Information organization and layout in a digital world.

Favorite Quote: A quote I found interesting was what Medill said about customers movements with the store. "In a physical store, ease of access to information can be measured with a pedometer, and each step i precious.

This introduction to information layout reminded me of when I was in staples last week and literally did the exact steps Medill described. I walked in about 9-12' and then stood and scanned the area for the most relevant information.

Chapter 1: This chapter talks mostly about understanding the new order of a digital world. It discusses the way we through out old notions in order to bring new ones into our digital lives.

Favorite Quote: "The digital revolution in organization sweeps beyond how we ding odd photos and beyond how we organize our businesses' information assets."

This chapter reminded me about how I organize my digital life. When I was a sophomore in college I used to spend hours organizing my itunes library so that it was both well organized and visually stimulating. I found it interesting to see the way that order makes so much more sense to me personally than most other formats.

Chapter 2: This chapter is mainly focusing on alphabetization and how it became what it is today, and further more, the way it effects our lives in both the physical and digital world. The chapter discusses the origins and meanings of our well know alphabet.

Favorite Quotes: "Arbitrary organizational schemes such as alphabetization make a virtue out of ignoring the joints. But our categorizations of animals into species, species into races, animals into sexes, heavenly bodies into planets, and atoms into elements reflect real, existing joints in nature..."

This reminds me of when I am trying to organize random files for the semester that I cannot categorize due to there lack of reference to any other files I have. It seems that I tend to take them from miscellaneous to alphabetical in order to make them referenced later.