Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Google Sites

I think google sites is pretty cool, it really allows people to have some privacy out there. The website example of the family was really interesting to me, I was thinking about ways that you could really connect with distant relatives maybe or relatives that live out of state. With the side sites, google docs, calendar, and google talk families can what what others are doing every second of every day, and can constantly keep the website up to date.

Google is taking over, this is the first I have ever heard of something like this and it's pretty interesting. Google has made the Internet so easy and private that it really has endless possibilities. For me not being a computer whiz, this doesn't look that hard to figure out, I'm excited to try it out.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

good/bad websites

www.facebook.com

I chose facebook at the good website. I chose it because besides being a major information ecology, it really portrays good characteristics of being a good website. It doesnt have major linkage, its graphics and deatils are limited, and the links it does have are organized and managed. When information needs to get across to its users there are messages that are sent. I think it is managed well and it works well as a website.

For a bad website I chose Tolman High School's website. It is designed by the students, and even though it is an interlinkage website it doesnt work. There are key links missing, along with important information that in order to find you have to search deep within the text. There is no way to contact the faculty or a list or the faculty members. I dont think they should have let the students create it, or they should have monitored it better.

www.psdri.net/webs/tolman_high_school/index.html

Reaction to ch. 17

While I was reading this I knew that certain things appeared in websites for certain reasons but I didn't know they were strategically placed. For instances the pop-up windows are there because people are more likely to go back and read whats on the prior window after reading the pop-up.
And obviously the entire point of the Internet is to make everything convenient for the user. Page designers embed things specifically into the text to keep convenience flowing.
I think the interlinked page design is kind of self explanatory, aren't all web pages interlinked to the rest of the site, isn't that the point of the site? But I understand when the article states it's meant for smaller sites, it seems to be the smartest layout for the smaller site, the most convenient. And again the article states the obvious when they give the four points of web design. (be simple, keep good info, don't go for a lot of pictures)

I think the article itself is very obvious and in this day and age self explanatory. But at the same time it breaks down key concepts that are important like the way to design it.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

my thoughts on wiki #2

I got bored today and added to my wiki page, when I decided to do this I wanted to see if I could add without having to copy and paste the code for the template. When I did this I found it got easier the more I did. I was able to look at the entires above the one I was doing and it really helped.
On the last blog I did on this I was sick of talking about Poughkeepsie because it was frustrating to add all the information. Now I think it's easier since I've had practice, and I'm not so sick of Poughkeepsie anymore...which is really good.
As I look at my page and what I have done, compared to what was there before I started I am really proud of myself. As I've said before I am far from a computer person but I think I have the hang of this now and I like that I did it all by myself; with the occassional question here and there. I think I added a decent amount of information and I think my quality is good to. I wanted to add the places that I knew about and that I have been because I think that people would really enjoy them.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

reflection post on wiki travel 1

alright so I just did a good amount of editing on wiki and I have to say this could be the biggest pain in the butt I've ever had to deal with. I've been sitting in front of the computer since 2pm and its now 5, and that entire time has been dedicated to wiki. So if I dont get a good grade on this project I'm going to be very upset. I think I did everything well, I got through it so that must count for something. But in a couple of the sections wouldnt let me follow the format and would come out all messed up. Most of those I got through and fixed and they were fine but some of the things I wanted to add I just gave up on for right now, it was way to frustrating. Hopefully since I've gotten the feel for the site the second time around won't be so annoying and frustrating. Other than that it's going well, I have realized that I love my town very much but at this point I am so sick of talking about it.

Monday, October 12, 2009

Possible Entries

From the wiki articles I learned that the way the articles are written in a certain way and there is a certain tone that must be created. There are numerous things and links that cannot be left out of the article.

My possible articles would be:

DO:
Walkway Over The Hudson: get on at Parker Ave on Poughkeepsie side. Just finished this October, the walkway is a piece of history that has been restored. The old railroad bridge caught fire in the mid-1970's due to either a spark from a train or a bolt of lightening that struck the bridge. The bridge was restored to form a 1.4 mile walk across the Hudson River. The walkway is free to walk over; open Monday-Sunday sunrise-to-sunset.

SLEEP:
Poughkeepsie Grand Hotel: 40 Civic Center Plaza +1-845-485-5300 (fax: +1-845-485-4720)reservations@pokgrand.com

Hampton Inn & Suites: 2361 South Road/ Rt. 9 +1-845-463-7500 (Fax +1-845-462-1474)

wiki style

3 important things to know about wiki style:

-I think it's a good idea to have all the articles in the same tone, it allows for common understanding and gets the same point across.

-I think having the currency conversion on a wiki page id good as well. It helps out travelers, but at the same time it could get crowded since there are many different currencies.

-Finally it says "don't tout" meaning don't push the issue or topic. The writer is supposed to remain nuetral and pushing an opinion would be against the rules.

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

WikiTravel

Hyde Park, NY--I choose this as my number one place because it's my hometown, and I would love nothing more to talk about home since it's my favorite place in the World. Since Hyde Park already exists on wiki travel I would have to elaborate on the one that exisits. This works out perfectly because after looking at it I saw that there is a lot that is left out and should be in there. Such as resturants, attractions etc. If I could create my own itiniterary on wiki that would be better because I could start from scratch.

Poughkeepsie, NY-- I would definitly add to the existing one, the one that is up now is lacking good parts of Poughkeepsie. Poughkeepsie is one of the neighboring towns of Hyde Park so it will work out perfectly because it's all my home.

Salt Point, NY--Salt Point is not on wiki so I could create a new itinerary for it but Salt Point is a Hamlet...which is defined as being smaller than a town, it has one light in the entire Hamlet. I could create an itinerary that includes all the surrounding towns of Hyde Park. Hyde Park is not just all by iteself there are about 4 towns that surround it that all make up the town.

Sunday, October 4, 2009

wiki

travel-- my thoughts on wiki travel are different from my overall opinion of wiki. I think wiki travel is very helpful. Knowing that wiki is edited by educationed prefessionals and is on a world wide spectrum. Meaning the travel guides must be amazing. If you wanted to travel to another country, just do some background info on it by someone from that counrty. I think it's great for frequent traveling.

policies-- I think the polices for wiki travel are pretty standard and self explanatory, everything that you would expect. But I really like how wiki really wants to maintain a professional enviroment for information on traveling. I think that is helpful and a smart move.

goals--The goals of wiki I think are well put and to the point. I like that they state its not a travel magazine, but the articles should be brief and to the point. I also like that they tell you that it shouldnt be a travel chat room. That there are forums for that specifically for questions and concerns about personal experiences.

newcomers-- I think the welcome page for wikitravel is very well designed. when new comers come to the site they get the point directly from the first page. It tells the main points and allows you to click on links to be directed for further research.

Other-- While I looked around wiki travel I got interested in the other languages side board and I thought it was really great that they keep the same basic comcept without changing a lot of things. I thought the Travellers Pub was really interesting, it was a a collection of questions and conerns from people. I thought it was great that it allowed people to help others first hand.