Category: ARTM2220 Designing for New Media

What are the goals of Apple’s website? How does Apple’s website address the needs of a user who has just purchased their first MacBook? (pp. 41-56)

The goal of the website is to promote and sell their products. There are full descriptions of everything as well as an option to purchase. If someone had just purchased their first MacBook, it gives them a method of communication with the company incase any questions need answered and it also recommends accessories to go with the new purchase.

▪What are the functional specifications of Facebook’s wall? If you are not on Facebook what are the specs for the signup page? (pp. 72-75)

Facebook’s wall gives a variety of things. It gives you a timeline of what other people you are “friends” with are saying. It also gives articles with news updates, recipes, shopping, pop culture, etc., however, whether it is your friends update or an article, you have the option to “hide” it so you don’t have to constantly see things like that. Above all, the very first thing on the page is an option for the user to type something, “share a post”. The user that is signed in is always the first priority.

▪What are four architectural approaches to information structure? Find one example of each. (pp. 94-106)

Sequential Structure: An article of a recipe that gives the reader step by step instructions on how to make it.

Organizing Principles: A news website that has options at the top such as “Local News”, “Sports”, “World News”, etc.

Language and Metadata: Amazon. The site lists the product name, the seller, price, type of product, etc., and everything is using common language that almost everybody can comprehend.

Team Roles and Process: A visual representation of the stock market; what’s up and what’s down.

▪What percentage of The Huffington Post index page is navigation, and what percentage is content? What about Google, Wikipedia, and Etsy? (pp. 116-134)

The Huffington Post: 40% navigation, 60% content

Google: 10% navigation, 90% content
Wikipedia: 20% navigation, 80% content
Etsy: 30% navigation, 70% content

▪How does http://www.landor.com guide the readers’ eyes and focus their attention on what is important? (pp. 144-155 )

They use very bright colors as well as large, bold texts. The images are very large so that you cannot miss them.

1. One of the goals behind the Apple’s website is to make the navigation and use of the website concise and simple for consumer use. Another goal for the Apple Website is to further advertise their products in a manner that reflects both the product itself and the simplicity and sleek design of it. Over the majority of the website different products were flashed across the screen with very minimal typographical descriptions; this layout shows the consumer how simple and easy their products would be to use. For new users of their products as well as old, there are several options for support. There are tabs specifically dividing the different apple products such as iphones, itunes, or ipads, so if a new user was in the need of looking up his first MacBook he could narrow down his search beginning there. Also readily accessible in Apple’s website is a search bar at the top of the webpage that allows a user to specify whatever problem they may be experiencing. The entire website is designed to market to new users of apple products as well as returning users.
2. When initially logging into Facebook, the page is organized so that the largest column you see is the recent feeds from all of the people you are friends with as well as the content that you have chosen to follow. On the left there is a clear navigation bar of short cuts, exploration tabs and options to create new pages and things. At the top of the page there is a navigation tab that can bounce you from notifications to your own feed to the general feed as well. Facebook is set up to be a social media device and to reach and connect as many people as possible, using as many tools as possible.
3. The four architectural approaches to information structures are hierarchy, matrix, organic, sequential. The first organizational structure, hierarchy, is commonly used as an organizational method in websites like an artist’s website where there’s a homepage and navigation bar for different pages. The next organization structure is the matrix which would be used in a website selling cars where you can preference make and model of the car as well as many other things at the same time. The Sequential organizational structure is one most commonly understood, such as Pandora, a site for listening to music, where you must listen to one song and then move onto another song. The last organizational structure is Organic, a structure that doesn’t contain any particular rule or pattern. An example of this would be wikipedia, a search engine that is a strictly contextually based search based off of key words.
4. I would say The Huffington Post index is split nearly 50/50% of navigation and content as a news post. Google would be about 75% navigation if not more, and 25% content as google merely navigates to other sources. Wikipedia is comprised of nearly the same with 60% navigation and 40% content. Etsy would also be primarily comprised of content at almost 75% with only 25% navigation as it is purely a content based outlet.
5. Landor.com does a good job of guiding the reader’s eye to important information using bright yellow for headline elements and overlaying white text across it. The way that the home page is designed, a user will most likely navigate down the page until the end, and how the website is set up it begins with content and then ends with an about page and contacts. Important points are highlighted with images and bold headlines surrounded by a lot of negative space.

Into the Art, an augmented reality project completed by Michael McAfee and Patrick Callahan, is a way to transform the normal art gallery experience and take it to new heights.

Below is a link you will find that takes you to our project home, complete with our presentation, as well as any files that went along with the making of the project.

https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B3PqiPOMa0ToNWZBN3dKemxTRE0&usp=sharing

Thank you,

Patrick and Michael

http://gizmodo.com/there-are-some-super-shady-things-in-oculus-rifts-terms-1768678169

This documentary hooked me in from the very beginning with the eery montage of people accepting terms and conditions on the computer with strange music playing in the background. From the get go, they established how much of a threat these terms and conditions have become, stating that it would take 180 hours a year for you to read every term & condition you sign up for. Which wouldn’t be a problem if they didn’t include anything harmful, but they do. The most astonishing one discovered in this documentary is the fact that Instagram owns all the right to photos posted on it. However, after doing some digging, Instagram’s policy on this has now changed: http://www.copyrightlaws.com/creators/instagram-and-copyright-what-are-the-terms-of-use/.

I have been incredibly interested in internet anonymity ever since the whole Edward Snowden vs. the NSA stuff in late 2012. Like a lot of americans, it opened my eyes to what the government really is up to, as that was all you saw on the internet and tv for weeks. The really interesting part, was the mainstream media wasn’t quite sure how to handle it. CNN and Fox News weren’t sure whether or not to label him a hero or a traitor. Luckily, I am an avid reader of Reddit, so I was able to get an unbiased view of what was happening.

Anyways, the whole NSA whistleblowing revealed to me, just like this documentary reinforced, that all Internet privacy laws really went out the window as soon as the Patriot Act was put into place.  There  was some things that were new to me from this documentary that I previously didn’t know about. I knew that companies like Facebook sells your info to other companies, but the ad networking flow chart displayed in the film was astonishing. The fact that that many different companies have information on me is terrifying.

More terrifying than all of that is not that companies have my info, but the government does and uses it to their advantage. All the examples in the movie, from the police in the Netherlands using GPS info for speed traps, the Cold Case writer mis taken for a murderer, the kid who was questioned at school by Secret Service for a dumb Facebook post, and the man who quoted a movie on Facebook and got the SWAT team called on him were all flat out disturbing. The worst part is that there’s all these examples, and so many whistle blowers and still NOTHING gets done to change what is happening. I was hoping this documentary at the end would bring a call to action, but instead ended with just a website, trackoff.us. It’s just about how to protect yourself on the internet, not how to protect everyone else. Hopefully Mark Zuckerberg ended up watching the documentary, and as he was asking not to be recorded, he will start to respect our anonymity and not record us. He won’t though, and neither will all of the big companies, and that’s why there is no call to action in this documentary. Money rules the world, and until that stops happening, nothing will be done to protect the citizens of the world.

In this documentary, they pursue exactly what it means when we check the terms and conditions box on many websites. They go into detail about many of the major points of large websites. After the first viewing of each point they go into extreme detail of exactly each point means.

Before watching this movie I knew about some of the things they were doing. I had the idea that “If I’m not doing anything wrong and it helps national security what do I care if the government listens to my phone calls.” I think I would still keep this thought-process if it were just that. However, I have learned that the government can access every single time you press a key on your phone. This rose the question to me, why in the world would the government need to know every time I press a key? That is not ok with me.

Another point that aggravated me was that these large companies are selling my information. I don’t even want the websites to know  as much about me as they do, never the less sell it to someone for a prophet. To me, that seems wrong. I can some what understand websites wanting to know information to better serve you, but that should be encrypted information that is safe. It seems like a responsibility of the company that is taking so much information to keep it safe from others, not sell it.

After this movie I wanted to through my smart phone off a cliff and go back to the good ol days of a flip phone. I think companies and the government have way too much of a foot hold in our personal lives. I understand when the government says its for national security but national security doesn’t need to document every time I add bills up on my calculator. As for the companies, I truly believe that they would be out of business if only 50% of there users fully read and understood there terms and conditions. It is intrusion of ones personal matter and should not be kept on file.

Everyone who has been on the internet has most likely agreed to a site’s terms and conditions. I think it’s safe to say that most, if not, all of those people didn’t read a single word of those terms and conditions. The same goes with any privacy policy. Terms and Conditions May Apply shares some scary facts about this phenomenon that could open some eyes. One being the fact that most websites, mainly social media, that you sign up for own anything you upload. This can be given to the government if requested. Sites like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn can and will use this policy. The film points out that this all started in 2001 with the Patriot Act. Before 9/11, the government was ready to pass privacy laws that would prevent citizens from having their personal information searched by authorities without their permission, but once the world trade center went down, these laws were given up on and the Patriot Act was signed. This act lay the groundwork for our internet privacy to become nonexistent. Google’s privacy policy was given as an example. In 2000, Google’s privacy policy said users were given anonymity, but in 2001, it was changed to their users’ information being “anonymous except when legally obligated.” This means that if the government asks for personal information about a user, Google will give them it. The crazy thing is that these sites can change their policies without anyone really knowing it. Facebook did this awhile back, changing everyone’s information back to the default of being publicly available. This can be done because the original policy said so. There are loopholes throughout every agreement and moments where they outright say something the user wouldn’t agree to had they actually read the thing.

There are arguments that “if you have nothing to hide, then you shouldn’t be worried” about spying and actions of that nature, but complete privacy is a basic human right. Even if you have nothing to hide, any authority could interpret something you said to mean whatever they want. For example, the film shows a 7th grader who made a statement of FaceBook about the president. He said that Barack Obama should watch out for “suicide bombers.” This was a statement of concern, not a threat, but sure enough the FBI came to his school and placed him in custody. Another example given was a writer on Cold Case being placed on a list because he searched Google for terms like “dead body,” “decapitated head,” and “murder wife.” He was just doing research for a murder mystery TV show. These provide ample evidence that the authorities having our information is more of a good thing than a bad thing. It places us all at risk and rarely does anything to “protect us.”

Terms and conditions are something that people see and experience daily but if you were to ask someone what they just agreed to the majority would not have a response. The companies who put these policies together and have you blindly agree to these conditions are not doing this to protect you, they are protecting themselves and invading your privacy. Some make the terms and conditions 5 pages long in an unreadable font so that you’d rather blindly agree to them than actual read them. Companies that actually want you to be aware of their polices, make theirs short and to the point. Signing agreements like this didn’t come around until new technology made it necessary. Laptops, smartphones, tablets, and more are now constantly have us sign and agree to things that we would probably need a lawyer to actually help us understand these terms. Every app, website, or new technology has a programmed terms and conditions policy that is constantly trapping people and stealing their privacy. Some people would think that its everyone’s fault for not reading these terms thoroughly, but it would take one month every year to read all user agreements. Which for the majority is baffling to even consider. Companies could have you accept anything, for example Instagram taking your photos without giving you credit or compensation. AT&T could tap your phone to prevent illegal activities, and cookies learn information about you and send ads. Those are just a few ways people are tapping into our privacy through technology. In 2001 bills were trying to be passed to protect privacy laws. Of course none of those bills were passed. Privacy policies are now used to take away privacy. Google users used to be anonymous and then through out the years they kept updating their terms and conditions to the point that now they can share any information on our account with domain administrators, for external processing, or for legal issues. Google hid and lied about their previous policies which makes you wonder what else they’re hiding. People also like what’s free and they’re willing to give up their private information for it. In 2009 Facebook changed its policy without notice, and throughout the years Facebook default settings have made it more public and less private. Overall our search records are becoming more public, companies are monitoring our every cell phone move, wiretapping programs are still out in the world, and sites can hand data to the government without people knowing it. Privacy is dead.