New Forms of Media Publishing

New media technologies today are radically challenging media forms. Popular forms of media publishing may be called by different names, and they may be used in different ways. As the idea of new media has often been debated, there are a few new forms of media publishing:

a. Device/media types of blogs:
• Moblog – mobile blogging, e.g. Seth Lakeman’s moblog
• Vlog – video blogging, e.g. Lonelygirl15
• Splog – spam blog, e.g. Casino Online
• Linklog – URLs (hyperlinks) blogging, e.g. Jennifer’s Link Log
• Sketchlog – sketch blogging, e.g. Karin Rindevall’s sketch log
• Tumblelog, e.g. A Shot of JD
b. YouTube
c. Online newspaper, e.g. News.com.au
d. Online magazine, e.g. Iconique
e. Online books, e.g. Read Print

In understanding the newest trends and issues relating to new forms of media publishing, we also need to study the demographic makeup of online media:

Web traffic to the blog pages of the top 10 online newspapers grew 210 percent year over year in December. The overall unique audience growth to these online newspapers was 9 percent year over year. Unique visitors to blog pages accounted for 13 percent of their December 2006 Web traffic, up 9 percentage points from 4 percent in December 2005 (Nielsen/NetRatings cited in New Media Institute 2007).

YouTube may become the most popular form of new media. During the US Election 2008, the number of videos online which are connected with US politics has increased followed by the increase of visits. One of the examples has been well documented (US Election 2008 Web Monitor 2007).



A similar situation also happened to the US Midterm Election in 2006. The below chart by Hitwise Intelligence (2006) shows YouTube's share of US internet visits on the left axis in orange compared with the percentage of downstream visits from YouTube to Politics websites on the right axis in grey.




References

Hitwise Intelligence 2006, YouTube the US midterm elections and UK politics, 6 November, viewed 2 May 2008, <http://weblogs.hitwise.com/heather-hopkins/2006/11/youtube_the_us_midterm_electio.html>.

New Media Institute 2007, Online newspaper blog traffic grows 210 percent year over year, 17 January, viewed 2 May 2008, <http://www.newmedia.org/articles/54/1/Online-Newspaper-Blog-Traffic-Grows-210-Percent-Year-Over-Year/Page1.html>.

US Election 2008 Web Monitor 2007, video, YouTube.

Designing For Online vs. Print

Considerations of design for a printed piece are different from those for an online one. What needs considering firstly is layout and this has been established by Parker (2003) who states that single columns are not appropriate for documents intended for onscreen reading. Nielsen (1999) points out that ‘print design is 2-dimensional, with much attention paid to layout’. To the contrary, Web design is ‘1-dimensional and N-dimensional’ with up-and-down scrolling experience for the users.

The treatment of type is another area that differs between online and print design. For example, the use of HTML text in web has to limit the placement of type by separating the page elements from the HTML texts. In contrast, on a printed page, designers have freedom to use layout, spacing, font type, etc. This is clarified by Lynch and Horton (2002) who point out that ‘each line of text, each headline, each unique font and type style is re-created by a complex interaction of the Web browser, the Web server, and the operating system of the reader’s computer’.

The pages in these figures are good examples of the differences of online and print design that are derived from the same source, but published in different genres.


The Web page: The Jakarta Post (Indonesian newspaper)


The print page: The Jakarta Post (Indonesian newspaper)

It is clearly seen on the printed page, the typography can be fully integrated with the other elements. In contrast, this is impossible with the typography on the website.

However, the differences between online and print design must be appreciated by making use of the strengths and underrating the weaknesses. As clarified by Nielsen (1999):

1. Print design is based on letting the eyes walk over the information, selectively looking at information objects and using spatial juxtaposition to make page elements enhance and explain each other.
2. Web design functions by letting the hands move the information (by scrolling or clicking); information relationships are expressed temporally as part of an interaction and user movement.


References

Lynch, P & Horton, S 2002, ‘Typography’, Web Style Guide, 2nd edn, viewed 2 May 2008, <http://www.webstyleguide.com/>.

Nielsen, J 1999, Print vs. web design, 24 January, viewed 2 May 2008, < http://www.useit.com/alertbox/990124.html>.

Parker, RC 2003, ‘Ch. 14: Designing documents for web distribution’, in Looking good in print, 5th edn, Paraglyph Press, Scottsdale, Arizona.

Classification of Blogs & Example(s) of Blogging Communities

As people blog for different reasons, they also create different types of blogs, depending on their target audience and interest (Librari*s & ‘Blogs). Some examples of the classification types of blogs include:

Subject matter:
1. Politics, e.g. Donklephant
2. Fashion, e.g. Fashion Tribes
3. History, e.g. Blog 4 History: American & Civil War History
4. Law, e.g. Sentencing Law & Policy

Device:
Moblog or mobile blogging, e.g. Seth Lakeman’s moblog

Media type:
1. Vlog or video logging, e.g. Lonelygirl15
2. Linklog is URLs (hyperlinks) blogging, e.g. Jennifer’s Link Log
3. Sketchlog, e.g. Karin Rindevall’s sketch log
4. Tumblelog is similar to link log but with more variations of posts, e.g. A Shot of JD

Status of publishers:
1. Business blog, e.g. GuruFocus.com
2. Corporate blogs, e.g. Redfin Corporate Blog

One of the difficulties with the combinations of blog styles is to identify unique types. Most people therefore have a look at the topic, style, and format. For example, when reading Lonelygirl15, we will be able to recognize that it is Vlog from the format (video).
Similar interest and passion precede a number of blogging communities such as The Dublin Community Blog, Coworking Community Blog, and The SXSWi Community Blog. The Dublin Community Blog, for example, is a group of bloggers in Dublin who write about the life and happenings in and around Dublin City.

With the emergence of social networks all over the place, many people start creating their own blog community. Drupal is an open source content management platform which supports a variety of websites ranging from personal weblogs to large community-driven websites. Also, it enables users to build their very own community blogs.

References

Librari*s & ‘Blogs, How blogs are moving into the library world, ‘Types of blogs’, viewed 1 May 2008, <http://www.slais.ubc.ca/COURSES/libr500/03-04-wt2/www/J_Thomson/types.htm>.