The Modalities of Blogs and Wikis
Objective
Rather than make claims about a specific website, I will make generalizations about the modalities of blogs and wikis.
Blogs to Visit
Although blogs and wikis are both examples of websites organized by a CMS, each has their own set of affordences; another case of form follows function. The temporal and individual nature of blogs lend themselves for users to express their personal ideas over time. The group write / edit nature of wikis lend themselves to collaboration and organization of information. That is to say, blogs can't do the job of a wiki and vice versa. They each evoke specific interactions and representations of the world through various modes.
Rather than make claims about a specific website, I will make generalizations about the modalities of blogs and wikis.
Blogs to Visit
- Weblogg-ed: weblogg-ed.com/
- Snazzy Kat: www.snazzykat.com/
- Zach Braff: www.zachbraff.com/
- Wikipedia: www.wikipedia.com
- Whole Wheat: www.wholewheatradio.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page
- KOL Wiki: kol.coldfront.net/thekolwiki/index.php/Main_Page
- What modes are utilized?
- What info can you gather about the author?
- Do you notice a pattern in the layout of header, side-bar menu, and content?
- Both blogs and wikis still rely on text as the primary mode. Menus, content, hyper-text and tags all need text. Choice of fonts, size, colors, and formats (ex. strikethrough, italics).
- Images appear in more or less frequency depending on the nature of the website. Notice the blog’s use of an image in the header.
- Blogs may also utilize audio and video. Prevalence of these modes depend on the nature of the blog.
- Interpersonal:
- Typically authored by a single user; info flows one way- from local to global.
- Audience is invited to leave comments on individual posts. Comments not visible on main page.
- Ideational
- An “individualist” technology; content thematic to the identity of the author.
- Written in first person; presents their perspective of the world.
- Textural:
- Reverse chronological organization emphasizes most recent ideas.
- Posts are often text, but can also include hyper-text, images, audio, and video.
- Interpersonal:
- Typically authored by a global or hetereotopic group; a “collectivist” technology.
- Audience invited to collaborate on shared documents.
- Ideational:
- A depository of information on a given topic; typically a nonfiction text.
- Collaboration of authors creates a neutral voice; no mention of author within the text.
- Textural:
- Info accessible through hyper-text, tags, and search features.
- Posts are often text, but can also include hyper-text, images, audio, and video.
- Are specific varieties of websites organized by a CMS, or “content management software” that allows publication without much knowledge of how to code HTML.
- Blogs and wikis take form of their software. There is little variation in layout from blog to blog, and wiki to wiki.
- Popular blogging software & services include: Blogger & Wordpress.
- Popular wiki software & services include: MediaWiki & WikiSpaces.
- Since blogs have a similar layout, the feature of the image header to make a particular blog distinct from the others.
- Images are used to draw the readers and maintain their interest. Blogs that combine images and text have higher viewership.
- Notice that the blog post is arranged on the left hand side, the point of departure. The post, the identity of the blogger is what’s “given” information (as highlighted by the header).
- The right side-bar menu links fellow bloggers and an archive of past posts. Once the audience reads the most recent post, they can explore these links for additional information.
- Most wikis are used as depositories of nonfiction. More times than not, images support the informational text; diagrams and models serve to deepen knowledge.
- Title headers are less important in wikis than blogs; rather, headings and subheading text take prominence at the top of the page.Notice that the side-bar menu is arranged on the left hand side, the point of departure. The reader can access information with the “given” key word or search.
- In wikis, content is a destination and not a point of departure. Wikis are used to access “new” information on a given topic. Notice the content appear toward the right of the menu.
Although blogs and wikis are both examples of websites organized by a CMS, each has their own set of affordences; another case of form follows function. The temporal and individual nature of blogs lend themselves for users to express their personal ideas over time. The group write / edit nature of wikis lend themselves to collaboration and organization of information. That is to say, blogs can't do the job of a wiki and vice versa. They each evoke specific interactions and representations of the world through various modes.
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1 Comments:
I don't understand what it all means, but it sure looks interesting! Thanks for picking up on Whole Wheat Radio...maybe I can use "Halliday's Functional Grammer" in a rant sometime.
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