WikiLeaks - Freedom of information or has it gone too far??

By now everyone is aware of the WikiLeaks scandal. Confidential government documents went global after they were put up on the wikileaks website recently and now governments worldwide are outraged. The founder of the site is being sought under criminal charges, governments (particularly the US government, as the documents were mostly from the US) are scrambling to maintain international relationships (many of the documents released private feelings on a variety of foreign dignitaries) and the people of the world are left questioning whether they should have a right to this information. Should everyone have access to these documents or did the site go too far and put too much at risk? I am really not sure of the answer but I think it does highlight an important issue. That the web has created a paradigm shift in power structures - people now have power and have the ability to influence and affect an international audience and governments can't stop this from happening.

Click here to find out more information on the WikiLeaks!

Site Diagrams

Before the creation of a site (through html code or programs such as dreamweaver, etc) it is important that a site diagram be constructed. This diagram is simply a basic outlay of the structure of the site. I found it very useful when designing my first website (coming soon!) as it helped me visualize how the user would navigate through the site and provided for a very easy breakdown of simple site elements. It only takes a minute and can save a lot of time in the long-run if you run into any confusion!

Here's an example of my site diagram (created using Word but you can also use any paint program or even do it by hand)!

Website Structures

Websites are constructed using three basic architectures:

1. Sequences - simplest way, only option is to proceed to 'next page'
2. Hierarchies - most common site structure, user starts at homepage and navigates throughout the site with a navigation bar
3. Web structures - few restrictions on movement through site, links highly common and move user throughout site

Example of a Sequence Design - Website Design Tutorial 

The bottom of each page has a selection option to bring user to the following page. This design is most often used in teaching or training sites.









Example of a Hierarchy Design - CIT Website

Users are brought to this homepage, where they have a clear selection of categories to browse in the navigation panels.









Example of a Web Design - Wikipedia

Wikipedia entries allow the user to navigate through the site as desired. Highlighted links to other information are highly common and can redirect the user to new information sources. Wikis are the most common users of the web structure.

Engagement Mania!

With the announcement of the 'Royal Engagement' media has been on an overload of all things royal. Most of the media attention is ignoring the Prince and focusing on the Princess-to-be. If you type in 'Prince William and Kate Middleton engagement' into google there is approximately 258,000,000 results. Considering their engagement was announced just over a week ago (November 16, 2010) that is unbelievable! The media attention is so great that Kate Middleton is being given her own security detail before the marriage, due to fears over her safety.

The truth is all forms of media, even formal newspapers, love this story not for its political importance but rather for gossip. News is focusing on the ring, comparisons to Diana, the potential dress, potential wedding dates and locations, the way the Prince proposed and not on the long-term impacts the engagement has to the political realm.

Media has sold out to the tabloid generation.

Website Design: An Example of Excellence

When designing a website there are four key factors to keep in mind:

1. Proximity
2. Alignment

3. Repitition

4. Contrast

The National Gallery of Art's website is designed to an excellent standard, fulfilling the four criteria of website design.

1. Proximity

The homepage has grouped related elements together (i.e. site navigations, header elements, footer elements, images) and all elements are close to one another.

2. Alignment

The text boxes, header, footer and image are aligned along hard vertical edges. Every item has a visual connection with something else, creating unity.

3. Repitition

External links are coloured identically, other text is in the main colour scheme, font is repeated throughout the homepage and connecting pages.

Other pages throughout the site replicate homepage elements: sidebar, font, colour, etc.

4. Contrast

The use of neutral format colouring allows images to be of focus on the page, important as the website is for the National Gallery of Art.

For more tips on good website design click here!

More Media Facts

Released in 2009, this video gives an update on how technology is changing the world. The facts would be more shocking today!

Irish Pub Owner Harnesses Power of Web 2.0

Neil Molloy, owner of the Hop Inn in Athenry, Co. Galway, has created a series of satirical videos to generate publicity for his pub. Molloy spoke at Content is King, a conference in Dublin, on Tuesday and confessed to his own technological inabilities. Joking to the crowd he talked about how until the day before he thought Powerpoint is where you plugged in a kettle. Molloy is a perfect example of how a low-cost viral campaign can help businesses, no matter the size, create value, especially in a recessionary climate. He blew the crowd of technology junkies away! He was definitely my favourite speaker, he perfectly combined a sense of humour with real business results.

Our class with Neil at Content is King!

View some of his videos below

To see more videos visit http://www.youtube.com/user/neileeen34.
Click here to go to the Hop Inn's website!