Blog classifications.

In this entry, we will be looking at the types of blogs that are present to us today. There are different types of blogs with different functions and it is not entirely just for personal views. As the blog communities continue to expand, the roles played simultaneously expand. Needless to say that it is impossible to list down all the classes of blogs from a plethora to choose from.

Here are a few types of blogs listed by Misty Belardo:

• Collaborative 
• Tutorial
• Travel and Cultural
• Fashion and Lifestyle
• Personal
• Business
• Educational

There are obviously more kinds of blog and I will elaborate further on a chosen list of favourites in the blogosphere. The following also includes list by Darren Rowse that may overlap in terms of function with the ones given by Belardo. 

Informational/ Educational

Provides information of a specific topic to enlighten readers. Content may include facts, tutorials, images, graphs etc.

Personal

Most common and popular among all the types of blogs available. Content may include personal experiences, images, opinions, etc. Usually informal and is a form of self-expression. 

Link posts

Growing in popularity among bloggers. Basically, it is just posting an interesting post in the form of videos, images, quotes etc. from another site or blog and may include comments, captions, description etc. Notable link posts blog - tumblr.com

Reviews / research 

Provides reviews/ critique/ research of a subject such as gadgets, movies, music, restaurants, etc. This is helpful for readers who may want to purchase a product but is unsure of its value. Aids in decision making of readers interested in a specific subject.


References:
Belardo M, 2010, "The five type of blogs", last viewed at 28 September 2010,http://www.inkrebels.com/insp/the-5-types-of-blogs-which-one-suits-you-best/>


Rowse D, 2005, "20 types of blog posts, battling bloggers block", last viewed 28 September 2010, http://www.problogger.net/archives/2005/11/29/20-types-of-blog-posts-battling-bloggers-block/>

Blogs - Is it becoming a phenomenon?

The advancement of information and communication technology (ICT) has been remarkable over the years to say the least. This is largely due to the Internet being used widely throughout the globe. A common interest that gained significant prominence is blogging. What are blogs? Blogs act as a medium that shares a similar role to that of journal or diary by posting regular entries through blog websites in the internet.

Blogs are growing in popularity day by day with Malaysia being recognised as one of highest ranking country with active blog users of around 500, 000. (The Star, 2008) Technorati claims that about 100,000 blogs are created everyday. Below is a pie chart to showing the number of bloggers in the world.

Source : Technorati, 2010

Lenhart (2006) included a survey by Pew Internet and American Life Project in her article showing statistics of around 12 million American adults adding to the growing population of bloggers that also represents 8% of adult internet users. She added that a staggering amount of 57 million American adults are blog readers, which is 39% of the online population. These statistics are enough to convince me that blogging has indeed become a phenomenon and the numbers are only going to increase everyday.

Blogs serve a diverse range of purpose be it in the political field, technology, business, etc. Sussman (2009) states that politics and business are fields that are most impacted by the blogosphere.


References:

Blogging is bringing new voices to the online world 2006, Pew Internet, viewed 17 April 2011,  <http://www.pewinternet.org/Press-Releases/2006/Blogging-is-bringing-new-voices-to-the-online-world.aspx>


Blogging in Malaysia ranks among the highest in the world 2008, The Star Online, Viewed 17 April 2011, <http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2008/4/3/nation/20827588&sec=nation>


Hughes, D 2009, Blogging's global impact and the future of blogging, Technorati, viewed on 17 April 2011, <http://technorati.com/blogging/article/day-5-twitter-global-impact-and/page-2/>

Document Design

As a student of communication and media management, Powerpoint presentation is definitely important to master, as it is convenient when carrying out a presentation task. Before going into detail, the definition of document design must first be established. Reep (2006) states that a document design is the physical features of a document and it needs to be able to integrate with the context of the document to attract interest from readers.

In order to ensure a good presentation, Reep (2006) added further that a good designer applies the four basic principles of design that is balance, proportion, sequence and consistency. Furthermore, Schriver (1997) underlines the importance of the relationship between texts and images as it complements each other to deliver a message more efficiently. Below are examples of how text and images work together taken from my group presentation.

The two images above are posters. However, it is expected that viewers may find it hard to understand. Notice the text at both ends of the posters. Now, scroll down. 

 The posters are design in such a way that it is meant to be wrapped around poles. The texts at the end of each posters are now connected forming a full sentence - 'what goes around, comes around'. On the other hand, the images now show the rifle and tank gun to come round the pole and catch up with the attacker to further enhance the meaning behind the text. 

Besides that, Wendy Russel (About.com) states another valuable tip that must be considered when combining text and image - 'use contrasting colours for text and background'. This is to ensure easy reading. In addition, Zane L. Marquez (2010) asserts that fonts that are used must also be easy to read. Avoid using fancy or cursive fonts. Last but not least, good technical writing is also important by being direct with simple understandable language to make sure no 'information loss' when presenting to an audience. (Rothman, 2005)

References:

Marquez, ZL 2010, 'How to make a good powerpoint presentation?', Ezine Articles.com, viewed 1 April 2011, <http://ezinearticles.com/?How-to-Make-a-Good-PowerPoint-Presentation&id=4313178>

Reep, D 2006, ‘Purpose of design features’, Technical writing, 6th edn, Ch. 6, pp. 133 – 172.

Rothman, S 2005, What Makes Good Scientific and Technical Writing, Associated Content, viewed 3 April 2011, <http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/9447/error?cat=4>

Russell, W n.d.,'10 tips for creating successful business presentations', About.com, viewed 1 April 2011, <http://presentationsoft.about.com/od/powerpointinbusiness/tp/bus_pres_tips.htm>

Schriver, KA 1997, 'The interplay of words and pictures', Dynamics in Document Design: Creating Texts for Readers, Wiley Computer Publications, ch. 6, pp. 361 – 441.

Images taken from http://theinspirationroom.com/daily/2009/what-goes-around-comes-around/

Goal.

What to expect from this blog? As suggested by the blog headline, I will be discussing about the issues faced in publication and design that plays an obviously important role in the media world today. This blog serves as a tool to comprehend further on the matter for nobody in particular as I personally think it is an interesting topic for general knowledge. However, this blog may be of interest ideally for my classmates and whoever that is in the field of media and communication or even for those in the line of information technology. 

Shall we begin?

Next entry : Document Design.

Bismillah. Introduction.

Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. In the name of Allah, the beneficent the merciful.

Welcome to my humble blog, created to fulfill the requirements of my coursework for the subject Issues in Publication and Design (COMM 1043). Before I begin, my name is Ahmad Syafiq bin Ramlan but you may call me Ramses and I'm currently studying at Taylor's University College. I'm in my second semester of the Communication and Media Management degree.

Try your best, do your best, hope for the best, and let god do the rest.

InsyaAllah.