Blog Post II

The XKCD comic in Figure 2.5 is funny because it’s often true. First, look at the “things people go to the site looking for” list. Do you agree with this list? Why or why not?

As a student who’s experienced this issue, I partially agree with what the comic is saying. Current students and faculty use any school’s website as a resource to find general information. However, because school’s use their homepage to put their best foot forward, they’re clearly trying to impress more than students and employees who are already involved at the university. Therefore, I believe the true intended audience may be more for soon-to-be high school graduates and their parents, those looking for employment or anyone else curious to learn about the school itself. So while I may consider the purpose of the site as a tool to contact a professor, the author may feel that it’s more important for the rhetorical analysis of the site to persuade tough critiques (parents and competitors) and potential customers (students and the unemployed) of the credibility of the university. To summarize my point, the overall rhetorical analysis of a university website doesn’t fit me as a student because I’m already a loyal customer and dedicated to taking classes by paying tuition every semester, which means I am no longer the target audience and my use of the site is different from those the school is marketing to.

Second, visit a University website homepage and see if it follows the patterns listed in this comic. If so, why do you think this is the case? If not, what differences do you see and how do you think they matter when it comes to the purpose and audience for a University’s homepage?

I chose the University of Notre Dame – http://nd.edu/ – and found it to be extremely helpful and easy to use. The overall look and context of the site immediately appears clean and simple. The moving graphic is rather refreshing and encourages viewers to read about the student experience. There are also general links at the top with an interactive menu that slides down, while resources for frequent users resides underneath next to the news and spotlights. Personally, I think the author did a good job of following both sides of the comic because it seems to meet common needs while also maintaining credibility of the school and its values.

Multimodal vs. Multimedia

While multimodal and multimedia are undoubtedly connected, I believe there is a difference between the two. Multimodal describes the reasoning behind our choice of combining particular communication modes in order to best explain an idea to an audience. However, multimedia focuses on the technology to create captivating illusions for viewers. Both multimedia and multimodal are made up of similar content forms and used as tools to effectively explain ideas; however, the modes implemented are selected based on the objective of the presenter. This is where the two differ because, based on my personal interpretations, I believe the core distinction between the two regards the intention behind the project. Although both are about enhancing the experience of the audience, the two differ because multimodal focuses on choosing modes to improve communication with viewers regarding the intended message while multimedia uses technical tools to create a powerful presentation for compelling entertainment purposes. Clearly, this difference is minimal and depends on internal based decision making of the presenter because when the intention is excluded, the overall appearance and finished product of either system are the same.

Blog Post I

1. I noticed a tone of formality and clarity as to show where the White House stands on this issue. By choosing either “our” or “the President,” the statement touches base with how we as a country feel, which is represented by the White House, and also includes the support of our head, public figure, the President. However, the word choice that caught my eye the most was “our Japanese friends.” By simply including the word, friend, in the statement, our positive attitude toward the Japanese is demonstrated regardless of conflict in the past. Similar to helping out a personal friend in need, we as a country will help our Japanese friends in this time of crisis.

2. Visually, I notice that the colors used are opposite one another. One profile is particularly bold due to the extreme contrast while the other is softer and gentle. Based on the visual characteristics of the profiles, as well as the chosen avatars, I instantly assume that the account with the bold colors has an outgoing personality and may like attention. However, the softer profile with a panda bear rather than a personal picture for the avatar seems like the user may want to hide or have the focus directed more toward posts. Therefore, to go with outgoing, I picture the bold profile to be used for social purposes while the softer profile might be for personal use, as in brief blogging or writing down private thoughts. I personally have a Twitter profile but I stuck with a dark blue template because I like to stay simple. I’m not a fan of bright colors and perhaps that reflects my personality as well.

3. I hear music that gradually becomes more upbeat throughout the video and a speaker who consistently uses an encouraging and positive tone while also pausing when necessary to follow along with the graphics of the video. Since this video is working to encourage further innovation and creativity, using a classic, old school and rather irrelevant song would instead distract rather than work with the speaker.

4. My eye is first drawn to the crimson band on the top of the page because it loads first. Then I am drawn to the three changing pictures. The elements are laid out surrounding the center tile and the page uses all four corners of the screen with varying links. The layout encourages me to look around the page but that causes the grouping of topics to blend together and nothing really sticks out beside the changing photos and WSU icon in the top left. If this information was swapped, the importance of the bottom links would increase but the photos would also demand attention. Perhaps the bottom information would appear more significant and memorable.

5. I do find his use of gestural mode effective because he’s very professional and while he appears stern and rigid, his hands are gesturing to viewers, which makes all the difference. By doing this he appears open and it demonstrates that his decisions are what’s best for the country and what the people want.