Communication in the Computer Age

"It becomes difficult to say where thinking ends and writing begins, where the mind ends and the writing space begins. With any technique of writing -- on stone or clay, papyrus or paper, and particularly on the computer screen -- the writer comes to regard the mind itself as a writing space"

-- Bolter, Jay David. Writing Space: The Computer, Hypertext, and the History of Writing.
Hillsdale, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Publishers, 1991.

The Internet must be considered as a space; a space in which individuals put things for others to see. This new medium will be useful only to the extent that the information it conveys is well-ordered or possessed of a design aesthetic that invites or promotes access.

The following sites all have as a common theme the way information is packaged, produced, displayed or accessed. A poorly designed site has the ultimate impediment: it will not be used.

David Siegel's High Five for Excellence in Web Site Design: http://www.highfive.com/contest/erich_voice/; Winners are selected on the basis of design, concept, execution, and content, with an emphasis on clear information design and visual aesthetics.
Sites for Sore Eyes: http://www.dsiegel.com/talk/sites.html; Siegel's design filter is in high gear, as we see 'the best' and the 'the worst' according to his criteria.
Web Pages that Suck!: http://www.webpagesthatsuck.com/begin.htm; The temptation to make use of every possible trick is strong, given the dynamic nature of the web and its rapidly evolving technology. This site attempts to blow past all the gimmicks.

Remember that 'criteria' can vary! What holds true from a strict "design and hi-tech/html" perspective may not quite work under different circumstances.

If WWW resources are to be used for 'scholarly' work, other factors must be considered, such as those found in:
WPUNJ/Sarah Byrd Askew Library - Evaluating Articles and Resources.
Another great source for such "critical evaluation" ammunition is offered by Susan Beck, Instruction Coordinator at New Mexico State University.

Here is a stew of resources that show some ways the web is being used. It's a mixed lot of issues, sites, examples and resources. Bon appétit!

CMC Magazine: http://www.december.com/cmc/mag/; If you want to touch the current discourse on 'computer mediated communication'...here it is!
CMC Journal: http://cwis.usc.edu/dept/annenberg/journal.html; OK. More CMC here. Which is scholarly? Which is popular? What's the difference? You be the judge.
Computer Crime Reference Center: http://www.virtuallibrarian.com/legal/CompCrimeRef.html; Owned, operated and hosted by my friend, The Virtual Librarian, this site shows the extent to which computer/online crime is affecting our society.
C|NET: http://www.cnet.com; C|NET is obviously trying to monopolize your online peregrinations. Why go anywhere else? They hope you won't, and so do their advertisers.
Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com; The folks at Amazon have got it all figured out. It doesn't matter that Amazon.com is just a couple of big warehouses and a bunch of computers. The 'online face' is what matters. High volume, low overhead, great service...libraries are using this as a collection-development tool!
Shameless Plug #1 - Sarah Byrd Askew Library: /~library; It's not perfect, but boy is it ever dynamic! Hopefully, it will reflect our growing savvyness for how this is supposed to be done.
At least it is better than it was.
Shameless Plug #2 - Spooge: http://www.gti.net/kwagner/spooge; When you look at as many sites as I do, you've just got to have a place to showcase the really weird ones....; This one is getting ready to join the honorees!

That's it. The truth is that this new media is constantly redefining itself and is a swirl of experimentation. Keep your eyes open, head down, and have fun!

Kurt W. Wagner
kwagner@gti.net
Reference Librarian, Webmaster, Publications Coordinator
Sarah Byrd Askew Library - WPUNJ
http://www.gti.net/kwagner

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