EXEGESIS
Introduction
This
Exegesis includes information on the Web Presense I have created. It will
identify the central node and contributing nodes that were all created
specifically for this assignment. Also identified here are the reasons behind
the various decisions contributed to creating these sites. The central theme is
also discussed as well as the web 2.0 tools that were utilized in their
creation.
The
blog I have created for the Web Presence Creation assignment is entitled ‘minamap’. I created the central node
using Blogger and included four contributing nodes. The contributing nodes are
Twitter, Weheartit, Flickr and Tumblr.
On
first approach, I utilized namechk.com to ensure that the name minamap was
available across multiple platforms and was able to be shared among these platforms.
My chosen name came up as available on namechk.com across various sites,
however Wordpress was taken. This lead me to chose Blogger as my central node (Bracco,
2009).
Central Node
The
blog minamap was created as a photo blog, which is dedicated to generating
photos as its main purpose. Its identity is centered on generating girly,
glossy, stunning travel photos. Copyright on all photos that are published are
properly acknowledged and permalinked back to its original source (Arends,
2010). For example, when conducting photo research for new images to post on
Blogger, I may come across an image on a Tumblr page or blog. When posting to
minamap on Blogger, the photo will be permalinked as well as credited below the
image. This will avoid the issue of copyright entirely.
The
blog name, minamap, was designed in lowercase and written as one word in order
to create a noticeable digital footprint. It is an imperative part of
establishing visibility on the Internet that the name you use is not too
common. For example, the name 'Susie Jones' may bring up millions of hits on
Google, whereas 'susiejones' may bring up a fraction of that number, making the
name more visible and easier searched (Your Digital Shadow, 2012).
In
blogger and upon editing the appearance of minamap, the chosen template was
simple and clean with a white background to ensure that the photos posted were
easily visible, similar to a blank canvas. The title minamap is black, lower
case, one word and is in the most basic font available. Three colors were
chosen in the appearance of minamap; black, blue and grey. Black titles and
headers, blue post titles, links and archive, and grey text.
The
layout of minamap was decided in order to best show the photos posted. The
title is placed at the top of the page. The ‘About’ section is placed to the
right of the page. This was chosen in order for the audience to have a clear
visibility of the ‘About’ section because in the Blogger site builder, the ‘About’
section is either visible on the blog page or it is linked to a separate page.
I felt that the about section was small and informative enough to include on
the main page.
The
four contributing nodes I have chosen are placed to the right of the page
following the ‘About’ section. I decided to include widgets from each site, using the easy-to-use- tools
on Blogger, in order for users to be pointed towards 'following'. The direct links (not a follow button) are placed under the widgets in blue for anyone attempting to simply view the other sites instead of following them.
Contributing Nodes
Topic
2.4 on Content Sharing aided the decision made to choose Flickr as one of
minamap’s contributing nodes. This was a clear choice for to keep a cohesive, image-centered
focus across Web 2.0 platforms. Flickr is one of the largest used and well-known
photo sharing sites available on the Internet. The tagging function is useful
to categorize images as well as search for others. Furthermore, Flickr has excellent
functionality, with users being able to create photo sets, geo-tagging and
group pool creation (Shareski, 2012). The minamap Flickr page includes a title,
minamap Avatar, an ‘About’ section, and stream of photographs to the left of
the page.
Tumblr
was another choice that was centered on the photo blog theme. The minamap
Tumblr page has a simple theme, as in the central node, with images placed to
the left and the title at the top of the page in black. The Tumblr page also
includes the minamap Avatar and ‘About’ section to the right in grey text, and
links to the central node and other contributing nodes following this. This is
in keeping with the central node in color scheme, layout and content.
Twitter
an obvious choice to include as a contributing node to minamap. Twitter allows
minamap to tweet photos via a URL, which will direct users to the specific blog
from which it originated. Twitter will help to promote the central node by
updating enticing photos for users to view and retweeting relevant travel
images and content (Helmond, 2010). The layout of the page again utilizes the
central theme of minamap, using the same Avatar and including a shorter version
of the ‘About’ section as the description.
Twitter
also allows the function of following other Twitter accounts. minamap has
followed relevant travel, travel photography and photography pages.
Lastly,
weheartit is another site that was chosen to keep up with the photo blog theme
created in the central node. The Layout includes images to the left, an “About’
section to the right and the minamap Avatar. All images ‘hearted’ here, as well
as other nodes by minamap, are given credit. Relevant pages to travel and
photography on weheartit have been followed.
To conclude, with
the central node and four contributing nodes being up and running, minamap will be a visible
and cohesive photo blog aimed at generating beautiful photos that will gain a
large following.
Reference
List
Arends,
T. (2012). Different types of Blogs and the Many Facets of Blogging. Business 2 Community. Retrieved April 5,
2012, from http://www.business2community.com/blogging/different-types-of-blogs-and-the-many-facets-of-blogging-0174473
Bracco,
M. (2009). 3 apps to check username availability across all sites at once. The Next Web. Retrieved April 4, 2012,
from http://thenextweb.com/2009/06/30/check-username-availability-sites/
Helmond,
A. Identity 2.0: Constructing identity with cultural software. Retrieved April
3, 2012, from https://lms.curtin.edu.au
Shareski,
D. (2012). Flickr Training. Atomic
Learning. Retrieved April 8, 2012, from http://www.atomiclearning.com/flickr
Topic
3.1 – Your Digital Shadow. (2010). Retrieved April 10, 2012, from https://lms.curtin.edu.au
