New Media Paradigms: Site Comparison ExerciseNew media, and the effects of technology on writing, are by no means defined by or limited to what is found online. The Internet, however, particularly the World Wide Web, is a good place to look for the best and the worst examples of the changes we have been discussing. This exercise asks you to take find two websites that have very similar content or purpose: one that represents a successful understanding of the new writing paradigms, and one that either ignores or misapplies them. Procedure. There is necessarily a good deal of subjectivity in this critique. It will help if you begin with a set of principles derived from our class discussion. Be selective, and perhaps add one or two of your own. Be prepared to adapt or abandon some of them later. Then start surfing. Perhaps you already have an idea of a good (or bad) example from among the websites you visit frequently, or, you might look at websites for companies or organizations that engage in similar activities to see how their web presences differ. Avoid personal websites and those that are clearly amateurish. Once you have found your examples, look at them very closely, applying the criteria that you have derived. As you do this, you will probably find other relevant criteria--things which you hadn't thought of before. And you might find yourself questioning some of your initial ideas. That's all well and good. Write up a brief report (on paper) to share with the class. Include the URLs of the websites you examined, a discussion of your initial principles, and a fairly detailed description of the sites. Explain how each one succeeds or fails to succeed in the areas you identify as important. You don't have time to talk about every aspect of these sites, so focus on the most salient elements. Direct comparisons between the sites are often very helpful--be sure to give examples. Finish up with a conclusion which brings together some of your main points and tells us what you discovered. Try to do all of this in two pages. Be economical and clear. New insights are welcome. |