There are a number of ways to define a website, and that’s what this reading discusses. The use of metaphors is a nice tool to imagine the different ways in which a site can be defined. There is a greater emphasis on the importance of creating an individual space. The idea of a website originates from the idea of collection and interconnected spaces on a vast network. Something I found interesting was imagining a website as a room. The idea of endless possibility within one space is hard to comprehend. Like a room you can decorate and construct, a website is able to change to the creators will as well as never be fixed and finished. Individual websites are encouraged instead of having the web be filled with larger corporations.
Technology is a broad term used to describe advancements throughout history. Typically, technology or tech is associated with digital advancements such as the internet, or “supercomputers,” but in reality it is up to the context of its time for one to truly understand its need but it is still regarded as technology today. For example, the loom is considered technology just as one would consider the iPhone as one. Technology is a reflection of its time and what circumstances arose for its need to formulate.
The handmade web emphasizes human creation and individual work, rather than assistance from software and maintenance kept by larger corporations. This is similar to Laurel Schwulst’s article on defining websites and their importance in maintaining individual voice on a larger network. Websites coded by hand are no different than the construction of print materials.
This article begins with the idea of building a computer from scratch. This idea is the start of an epiphany that reveals how computers work. For the majority of people, they just accept what they see, but do not know what happens behind the scenes. The interface is the first thing we see. This allows us to blindly accept what is given to us through the screens because it is easy to comprehend. Because of this, media is made to be as easily digestible, which makes it easier for corporations to capture our attention.
Communication by digital means acts as synchronous communication. The ideas of dialogue and communication are affected by online messaging because it is seen more as an event rather than a constant dialog like talking in person. With messaging there is more room for pauses or even rapid-fire replies. It is interesting that the ellipsis in messaging is seen as almost a mini screensaver for the person on the other end to create a sense of action occurring while waiting. It is an illusion to appease the viewer.
The web is seemingly limitless in its capabilities to capture an audience. Because of this, creators of these sites tend to try to go “overboard” in terms of its design. Chimero focuses on the ideas of responsive design and how it affects the experience of its users. With designs and formats that seem very extravagant and like a show, there is also a need for design to be simplistic and easily digestible.
The addition of tools can be used to enhance the experience of its viewers. These tools can allow for flexible outcomes that can create different renditions of work that affect how it can be read or seen. Functionality is something important when it comes to design. The experience of the viewer decides how the viewer receives the information. It can also become a performance of its own.
Public spaces are areas with a purpose that helps build community. Technology can be used to enhance these spaces as well as redefine them. With the progression of technology, our day to day has been affected without us even realizing. Because of this, there is also a loss of spaces that do not have a motive for benefit. By saying this, I am referring to the commercialization of spaces to emphasize consumerism of its occupants. Most places look to take our money or aid in it. An example Chimero gives that opposes this is the library. This take is very interesting since it is true that the library has little to no motive to create a transaction that's in their benefit.