Below is the link to an online hoax that I randomly came across recently and thought was relevant to this week's reading on credibility. Apparently the page's creator was a college professor trying to teach his students that you ctan't always trust information you come across on the internet. Also interesting is that it's an example of rather poor design and usability, which we're learning are predictors of perceived credibility. It hasn't stopped some for beliving the site, though.
http://descy.50megs.com/Emankato/mankato.html
Have you come across any other examples of outright hoaxes or pages that appear less than credible? How do you determine credibility when doing research? When using the net for personal use?
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Want to Delete Your Account? Good Luck!
Do you have a Wordpress account? If so, did you know that you can't delete it?
If you've contributed to Wikipedia, you can't delete you're account there either.
Smashing Magazine is a blog on website design that I follow from time to time. They recently did an article on how to delete your various accounts. According to them, it's a lot harder than one would expect. But don't worry...they give you shortcuts and tips on how to get rid of unwanted accounts.
In my opinion, making the settings on social networking websites easy to access makes me feel more confident in using them. This includes being able to find the "delete" button when I need it. Websites designers may feel there's an advantage to hide these capabilities, but I'm not a fan of the website easter-egg hunt.
PS: There's another interesting website I'd like to tell you about - http://www.bounceapp.com/. Bounce App allows you to type in a website you are designing and get collaborative feedback from your friends. You can even use twitter and facebook to get input.
If you've contributed to Wikipedia, you can't delete you're account there either.
Smashing Magazine is a blog on website design that I follow from time to time. They recently did an article on how to delete your various accounts. According to them, it's a lot harder than one would expect. But don't worry...they give you shortcuts and tips on how to get rid of unwanted accounts.
In my opinion, making the settings on social networking websites easy to access makes me feel more confident in using them. This includes being able to find the "delete" button when I need it. Websites designers may feel there's an advantage to hide these capabilities, but I'm not a fan of the website easter-egg hunt.
PS: There's another interesting website I'd like to tell you about - http://www.bounceapp.com/. Bounce App allows you to type in a website you are designing and get collaborative feedback from your friends. You can even use twitter and facebook to get input.
More on the Digital Divide
Hi folks!
I know we've already finished up our discussion on the digital divide, but I came across this article at Good and thought I would share it: "Is the Digital Divide Such a Bad Thing?"
The article references a study by Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy which finds that increased online access may decrease test scores. This brings into question what impact shrinking the digital divide may have on "divides" in other aspects of society.
So, check out the article and let me know what you think!
PS: Good is a website/magazine that tries to tackle issues facing society, including issues in digital technologies.
I know we've already finished up our discussion on the digital divide, but I came across this article at Good and thought I would share it: "Is the Digital Divide Such a Bad Thing?"
The article references a study by Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy which finds that increased online access may decrease test scores. This brings into question what impact shrinking the digital divide may have on "divides" in other aspects of society.
So, check out the article and let me know what you think!
PS: Good is a website/magazine that tries to tackle issues facing society, including issues in digital technologies.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Why is Craigslist Such a Mess?
In anticipation of our discussion tonight on web usability, I came across this article from Wired Mag about the highly-trafficked website that serves as a platform for everything from selling IKEA furniture to finding a sexual partner. Focusing mostly on Craig Newmark, the founder and (infuriatingly coy) brains behind the site, Wired Mag delves into the various ways that keep Craigslist not only afloat, but thriving. Craigslist is ugly, extremely functional, and sees 47 million unique users every month in the U.S...
Read the full article here: http://bit.ly/bV83vOdd perhaps, but no odder than what you see at the most popular job-search site: another wasteland of hypertext links, one line after another, without recommendations or networking features or even protection against duplicate postings. Subject to a highly unpredictable filtering system that produces daily outrage among people whose help-wanted ads have been removed without explanation, this site not only beats its competitors—Monster, CareerBuilder, Yahoo's HotJobs—but garners more traffic than all of them combined. Are our standards really so low?
Friday, June 18, 2010
Hello and Welcome to Digital Age Class Blog
Hello and Welcome to our class blog on Digital Age. Here we will blog about all the topics related to digital age that we discuss or are not able to discuss in our class. This is a space for our class to deepen our understanding of Digital Age through sharing and collaborating with each other. In addition to blog posts we will also communicate with each other through twitter @digital_age2010 We will tweet all the blog posts that we write here in addition to interesting news, studies that you might want to share. I hope you will enjoy blogging!!!
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