film 20c

fall 2004

web analysis guidelines

due in sections, 14&15.10.04

specs

• 750-900 words, typed, double-spaced
• include your browser and platform information [i.e., Safari 1.0 on Mac G4 with OSX]; this is not included in your word count
• paper must have pages numbered and be stapled or paper-clipped; keep a hard and electronic copy for your records

overall instructions

Your main objective in this assignment will be to analyze and develop an argument about a website. Slightly more specifically, your argument will address how the site organizes information and how the site is situated within a network of information. This assignment is not designed to prove your prior knowledge of web design. You do not need to worry about the technical terminology of web design. In fact, you should avoid it. Rather, you should concentrate on critically thinking about the overall structure and dynamics of the site you analyze. You should also avoid making simplistic and “review”-like judgments such as “good design” or “bad design.” The concepts that you will need to draw upon are those in the Bernstein et al. and Berners-Lee readings (see below). (Your reading and discussion of Vannevar Bush has set the conceptual groundwork for your thinking about the organization of information.)

You should focus on the following:

• the way the site organizes, juxtaposes, and connects information within the site
• the way it allows navigation through the site
• how its organization of information fits the apparent purpose of the site
• how it establishes a relationship with the visitor (does give the visitor freedom to navigate? what type of visitor does it expect?)
• the way the site situated in relation to other sites

For this last item, you need to do 2 things: 1) look at the links the site makes to other sites outside its domain (links out); 2) consult http://www.alexa.org to see what types of sites link to it and what other sites visitors have also viewed.

To break this down to its basics, you should think of this as a map of some of the main features of the site, except done in verbal rather than graphic form. However, you may want to sketch out a map of the site to help you write your paper. Obviously, you cannot cover everything on the site. You need to make some overall descriptions of the site in terms of your argument and then provide one or two detailed examples to support your general observations.

reading concepts/argument

In developing your argument, you must incorporate at least one of the following concepts from the Berners-Lee and Bernstein et al. readings. You should not simply make passing reference to the concept; you need to use it in the structure of your own argument.

Bernstein et al.

• potential multivalence of the site
• the role of recurrence or repetition
• depth, contour, and/or density of the site
• contingency and coherence of the site
• tension over pathway choices
• role of reader (creating a working model of the text)

Berners-Lee

• flexibility
• his description of nodes
• tree structures (and the problems with them)
• information organized to reflect an organization or institution
• linking different databases

Be specific in your reference to these items.

structure

You should begin your paper by clearly stating your thesis: that is, what you are going to say about this site. Don’t waste space with a fancy introduction, such as “Since the beginning of time, man has communicated through technology . . . .” This paper’s too short for that (and that’s a bad introduction). Hit the ground running while also being specific and clear. After presenting your thesis, support it by discussing the formal features of the site, concentrating specifically on the links it sets up between different nodes. Examine how it sets up various pathways for a user to follow and connect information. End by discussing how the site is situated in a network of other sites and what this says about the site’s own organization of information.

Avoid the “5 paragraph theme” model.

strategies

· start with the readings; use the concepts when looking at the site and developing your argument

· map out the site graphically to help you write about it

· stay focused on your argument; describe the navigational potentials in terms of your thesis

sites

You must choose one of the following sites. All the sites deal with issues of digital media (or media in general).

http://poynter.org/

The Poynter Institute is a school for journalists, future journalists, and teachers of journalists.

http://www.ntticc.or.jp/index_e.html

NTT InterCommunication Center [ICC] is an innovative cultural facility in Tokyo. ICC wishes to encourage the dialogue between technology and the arts with a core theme of "communication," thereby building an affluent society for the future. Through such dialogue, it also aims to become a network that links artists and scientists worldwide, as well as a center for information exchange.

http://grandtextauto.gatech.edu/index.php

A group blog Grand Text Auto is about computer mediated and computer generated works of many forms: interactive fiction, net.art, electronic poetry, interactive drama, hypertext fiction, computer games of all sorts, shared virtual environments, and more.

http://www.politechbot.com/

Politech is the oldest Internet resource devoted to politics and technology. Launched in 1994, the Politech mailing list has chronicled the growing intersection of law, culture, technology, and politics. Since 2000, so has the Politech web site.

http://rmc.library.cornell.edu/games/political/3.html

Site for a recent exhibition that includes a wide variety of antique and contemporary games, as well as rare books on rules, strategies, and recreation.