Chun-Ta (Jack) Huang
41180138
Introduction
Many years ago, most websites and applications were created by a person or a team and posted onto the website to share the information to everyone. The public users only can receive the information passively. This kind of websites called web1.0 which belongs to the traditional website. However, the web2.0 applications are becoming more popular in the recent years. Web2.0 is a new style of internet service, those web2.0 websites and applications are focused on the internet social interaction between the users. The goal of using web2.0 websites or applications will help users' social interaction. Until now, there are a lot of web2.0 websites and applications around our daily life. For example, the MSN Messenger, Skype, and blog are belonging to the web2.0 style.
Background
As we know, the web1.0 had appeared around our social life for many years. Most public people are used to web1.0 style. For example, the internet users will read news from the news websites to get the information which they want to know. Also, the internet users can visit the website of weather bureau to receive the weather information. Actually, I did read news and visit the website of weather bureau via the internet every morning. And I feel happy to receive the information by using web1.0 style website. However, when I try to use blogger to write the articles and receive friends' comments, I found this kind of social interaction could be more interesting by interact via the internet. The Blogger and Flicker can be the representative web2.0 applications around out daily life.
Blogger - People can share their articles, pictures, and videos by post to the website. Also, the author can receive the comment from the article page below the article.
Flicker - People can upload, edit, manage, and share the pictures and videos via the website. The audiences also can leave the comments below the images or videos to the author.
Focus
In this reflection report, I will focus on the comments function and private upload function that Blogger and Flicker offers. According to the experience I had when I use Blogger and Flicker, I will show how the features need to improved to better internet social interaction.
Reflection
Blogger
Blogger is one of the most popular web2.0 applications around our social life. It is provided by Google Company and allows users to post the articles, pictures, and videos on their personal blogger web pages and share the information with the friends and public users. For the author who is not good at writing, the author can use the pictures videos to make the articles more interesting and allow the readers to understand what the author wants to communicate. Also, Blogger provide the date function which will allow your friends or public users to know when is this article upload to this website.
When I started to use the blogger to write my articles, I found it really good to use this tool for interacting with other people via the internet. When I post my articles with pictures or videos, my friends or other public users can read my articles and leave a comment to me. Those comments will record below the author's article in the same web page. After I saw those comments, I can reply those comments and discuss the article with my friends or public users by using blogger.
The thing is, when I reading articles from my friends' blog. I feel so disappointed with the commenting function. When I try to leave a private comment to the article's writer, I can not find out the way to make my comment become private which only allow the article's author to read. For this reason, I have to use other communication tools to leave comments to the article's writer. For example, if I have the author's mobile number or e-mail address, then I can send a message to author's mobile phone or e-mail box. It will make the readers feel inconvenience to use the blogger.
Base on my personal experience, when my friends or public users leave the comments for my article, I am not able to know it unless I am logged into my blogger and get notified. This problem might result a late reply to those important comments. For example, when I leave a comment to the teacher's blogger for asking the questions about assignments in the morning, if the teacher saw this comment and reply at night time, then I have to keep checking the teacher's blogger to see if there’s any reply came out from the morning to the night because I have no idea when the teacher would reply the comments.
To make the internet social interaction more useful on the blogger, it’s better to add a private comment option into the comments function. It will allow other users feel more convenience to leave the comments to the author. Also, it’s better to combine author's mobile number to the blogger. When people leave the comments on your blogger, then the Google Company can send a message to your mobile phone to notify you "there have new comments in your blogger." It will make the authors have a strong internet social interaction with other people by using blogger.
Flicker
Flicker is the one of the most popular shared photos website around our daily life. It allows user to upload the photos or pictures and share those creative images or personal photos with friends and public audiences. It is provided by Yahoo which allow user to create a Flicker account by using Yahoo account. By using Flicker, it is really convenient to know what is going on with your friends and keep touch with your friends. Also, when the users do not have images edit software, they can easy to use the Flicker edit function to create their own images and share to other people.
Flicker has some strong functions which will allow the users to have social interaction with other people via the Flicker website. For example, when the users upload the graphic design images to the flicker website, the other people can leave the comments to interchange the ideas, graphic design skills; images edit skills, and suggestions. Also, when I went to other places to have a holiday, I can upload the photos the share with my friends and tell them how this place looks like. It is really easy to share the information with other people. When you find out some photos that really attract you, you can leave a comment to ask where the author took those photos. It makes social interaction become easier and convenient.
Base on my experience, it is great to share images with friends and public people. When I start use the Flicker, I can search my friends' photos, and graphic design project. Then, I will leave my comments to my friends or classmates to tell them my ideas and suggestions. When I want to leave a comment and only show this comment to the author, I can not find the option to make my comment become private. It is really inconvenience for me to leave private comments.
Also, when I upload my personal photos to the Flicker, I can not find the options to set up the password to make those personal photos only share with my best friends. It makes me feel disappointed if I want to do the social interaction with my best friends via the Flicker. Also, if someone leaves the comments to the author, they do not know when the author will reply it.
To make the Flicker become more useful in internet social interaction, I would suggest a private comment option into the comment tool. It will allow more audiences to feel convenient when they leave private comments via Flicker. Also, it is better to add the password option when the people upload the images or videos. This option can help some people feel better when they interaction with limits people via the Flicker. Finally, I will improve the comment tool combine the mobile phone number, when someone leave the comments, the author and know it in the first time.
Conclusion
A successful website should consider the small problems which will make some users feel convenient when using the tools. After I use the Flicker and Blogger, both of websites already have useful tools and allow the audiences to doing the social interaction via Flicker and Blogger. However, if Blogger and Flicker can consider the needs of people leaving private messages, it will make both of websites a better place to social and interact. Also, if Blogger and Flicker can send the messages to user’s mobile phone, it will increase the convenience when people use Blogger and Flicker, and this will help in the aspect of social interaction.
Reference
[1] P.Norton, “Why Comment On Other Blogs?.” 16 March, 2009.”
http://labs.justsearching.co.uk/why-comment-on-other-blogs-612.html
[2] Last Blogger, “Does Commenting On Other Blogs Get You Backlinks?”
2 May, 2007.”
http://lastblogger.com/archives/441
[3] D.Scocco, “When Do You Stop Commenting on Other Blogs?” 26 March, 2009.”
http://www.dailyblogtips.com/when-do-you-stop-commenting-on-other-blogs/
[4] M. K. Htun, “Top 6 tips when you comment to other blogs,” 14 September, 2007.”
http://www.myokyawhtun.com/blogging/top-6-tips-when-you-comment-to-other-blogs.html
7 comments:
Privacy is a problem that people always discuss. Blog is a social interactive software that hard to keep private. For example, when user leave comments about your articles, other users can have a look and change their opinions/thoughts about your articles. If you keep private, how can they communicate each other.
i do think privacy is a problem and it always be... i more like sharing with my friends rather than set my articles private to others. I think this is what blogger should be, the function of the blogger is allowed people to share their opinions, ideas, etc, this is one of the main reasons that people would like to use blogger.
I agreed with some of the comments you made on Blogger. For example, you have discussed about the functionality of the tool. In another point, you mentioned about late reply on Blogger that some important comments could not be seen immediately. However, in my experience, Blogger is a simple social networking website where users only seek for socialising. You can send important message via instead of Blogger. Furthermore, the notification of on your mobile phone, in my opinion, would lead some inconveniences to the users.
i do agree with your problem with privacy... however having said that what you suggest with passwords on pictures could allow people to post rude or incrimination pictures which defeats the purpose of flickr as it is made for people to share photos to everyone.
I also think that with blogger if you were able to respond immediately to a comment made to you on a picture it would somewhat defeat the purpose of a web based social application... you may as well mms it or email it.
I agree to your point of saying "no private message on blogger"is a problem. Sometimes it is quite inconvenient for leaving a open comment to the owner. However, I think private message is getting popular nowadays such as facebook is already using this function. There is a blog called "xanga" which is quite common in Hong Kong users and they do have private comment for user.
I also think it is necessary to add the private messaging function on Blogger. However, I think the why Blogger doesn't attract me is that it is hard for people to find your articles unless you tell your friends to. Even if some people know the blog address, it is even harder to keep them visiting your blog unless you keep posting interesting or valuable articles.
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