Ebay Assignment

After exploring both the original Ebay interface, in comparison to the Flex interface...I have come to the conclusion that the original one was my preference. Ebay flex, seemed to have more steps than simply searching for a product, and I feel that th original Ebay interface was just more self explanitory. For my "watch list" that I set up for my ebay account, I chose to follow a Hasselblad camera, which is a really old antique camera that still works and is used by some today. I found it extremely simple to search for any product and put it in your "watch list". Basically all you did was click watch, and you were able to track the product, and the amount of bids that continually added up. I am not against change, which is not a reason I did not choose the flex over the original, I just like using, user friendly websites.

Usability 101

I was told in one of my Web art classes, that people who are searching a webpage decide whether they want to continue reading in the first 3 seconds. That is not very long! I feel as someone who is studying web design in school, that we need to remember this fact in order to guarantee that if someone comes to our webpage that they will not decide to leave in 3 seconds. Usability also comes into play on webpages when people are searching based on how easy it is for people to navigate around the pages. If it is extremely complicated to navigate around a page, then people will be less interested in visiting your website.

Research Places for my Senior Capstone

I have come to the conclusion that my senior capstone project is actually going to revolve around something that I want to do with my life. I was completely unsure of what was accepted as a capstone project, but after meeting with my director I was amazed at how in charge of this that I really am! When I started college, I really was so unsure of what I wanted to do with my life, because I did not really find what I loved, at that point! After four years, I have come to the conclusion that I want to become a photographer. I have always been an extremely artistic person, and I have always been in love with photography, but after taking classes and actually studying it I knew that I was destined for it.

For my project, I am going to create a blog that explores the evolution of photography, and explain the semiotics that tie into different iconic photos from over the years. My plan is to choose different photos from throughout history, tear them apart and explain their meaning, and message, and what the artist was trying to convey at the time. My plan is to shoot my own photos that would tie into a certain message from a photo that I am talking about, and explain the differences, and explore how the meaning might have changed over time. In order to find photographs to talk about, I am going to use my History of Photography book, which highlights hundreds of different iconic pictures from history. I am also going to use different search engines including the Shepherd Library search engine to find different articles and scholarly pieces that have talked about iconic photos and compare different interpretations.

The Web is Dead

As an avid iPhone user, my life has recently been taken over by apps for EVERYTHING, and when I say everything I mean everything. If you search the app store or any type of phone you can be pretty much garunteed that you will indeed find an app for whatever you are looking for. I will even admit my secret in that I recently downloaded a T-Pain app, that auto tunes my voice. (Don't judge me ;). Although i found the article surprising it was so right. The graph at the begnning actually illustrated different types of internet and ways over the years that people keep in contact with each other. Although email is still around, other than school I know personally I do not use it much. I feel that texting and other forms of communication have taken over emails. Like the article said, telerams are still around but who really uses them? The same goes for email. It is still around and probably always will be, but in a few years who will use it? Will the techies out in the world come up with a new and improved and fast way of communication? Although internet pages will be there for awhile, I feel that people are starting to steer clear of webpages and solely start using apps. I like this idea, and have actually started doing this myself. Facebook, Twitter, even Weight Watchers are all some of the apps that are currently out there!

I personally use the internet and webpages mostly for research. I do not really have a specific app that I do school research on, I usually just google everything. But now that I think about it, I actually have a google app, so even the way I search for research online starts as an app! I feel that there comes a time when everything will become outdated. Just think about cell phones for example! Zack Morris started out with a cell phone that probably as big as a small house, and now we have cell phones that are mini computers? As our country constantly progresses and grows so many different types of our technology and media will shift and get outdated. Webpages are still around but when will they realy go extinct? Apps are taking over the world! I'm kinda pumped ;)

Capstone Ideas

As a photography student at Shepherd, I know that going into the program I actually had no idea that there was even a program at Shepherd. I learned after I had chosen my major that you could actually major in photography, and that the art department at Shepherd was actually extremely prestigious. For my senior capstone project I would like to do some sort of a pr campaign for the Shepherd University Photograpy department so that more people would be aware of shows, all that is offered and that it actually exists. I would like to use my skills as an artist and skills that I have acquired in the Communication department to get the word out there to area businesses and students. I feel that more people need to be made aware of the the department and what the artists are capable of.