Hennen WRIT4662W Blog

When reviewing the Security and Exchange Commission's website (SEC.gov), I found that the site could have better information architecture. Generally, the site does a pretty decent job of creating effective pathways to reach information. What I am looking to amend is establishing the home-page as more of a center point and welcome screen linking to additional pages per the individual user. Right now the home-page is acting as an index page, containing links to everything on the site. In my opinion it is throwing too much information at the respective user at once. I want to simplify the site by having the user on the home-page click a box establishing what type of user they are. Is the person a financial representative or general consumer? When creating the hierarchy for the site this will be second on the hierarchy chart.

Currently the SEC's website follows a weblike organizational structure per the Web Style Guide located at the following address:
http://webstyleguide.com/wsg3/3-information-architecture/3-site-structure.html

As explained, this type of style and associative organizational schemes are "often the most impractical structure for web sites because they are so hard for the user to understand and predict." I want to develop the site into a more complex hierarchy, that the directed user can more easily navigate. At the same time filtering out some of the unneeded informational noise that is being thrown at the user.

Embarking on creating a few more useful, reader-centered and updated web-pages, the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) website is one that can use a design overhaul. When reviewing the site in question it seems to me that it is in a more passive than active voice. Ginny Redish in the book titled Letting Go of the Words, discusses how information delivered on a website should read as a conversation. Specifically outlined in Chapters 10-12 (p. 235-328), she states improvement areas regarding the use of headings, illustrations, and link names.

I will be applying these concepts to my revised version of the SEC's website. First, I will be completing a style sheet that matches the concepts of good headings listed on page 235 of the text. These include the following;
1. Getting the audience interested.
2. Helping them get a quick overview of what is on the page.
3. Setting the context for each section.
4. Helping them make sense of what follows.
5. Facilitating scanning so they can find the section they need.
6. Separating sections, putting a little space on the page.
7. Making the information seem less dense and more readable.

Secondly, as you might have already noticed the website doesn't make use of many pictures or images. In my opinion, this makes the website very dry, and reflects that it might not be updated to a newer fashion or standard. Redish discusses two principles I am going to deploy when creating the new pages. The first one being that the looks and pictures of the website should evoke a certain mood, this is discussed on page 288 of the text. I would like to relay that the SEC is not only there to govern securities but to help as an educational agency to not only financiers, but general financial consumers as well. Currently, the page to be quite frank is relaying information in a scare tactic sort of way by outlining enforcement over education. The second move forward comes from Redish's nine general guidelines for using illustrations effectively (p. 290). The few that stand out in regards to the SEC's website are the following;
1. Don't make people wonder what or why.
2. Use illustrations to support, not hide, content.
3. In pictures of people, show diversity.

The last area for improvement centers on organizing meaningful links. Overall, the SEC's website does a pretty decent job with this but I would like to make a few amendments to the design. As I discussed in my screencast, I want to manage Redish's philosophy of "grab-and-go," while still maintaining easy maneuvering throughout the site. I would like to initiate a top-bar that would have title links and drop-down menus for information that the site offers. I will keep within the 12 guidelines listed on page 308 of the text. Most importantly, keeping an active tone when naming the links and titles, and thinking ahead by matching links and pages. Also, making use of getting back to the home page and previous menus and web-pages within the site.

For the final project the website that I am going to review is the Security and Exchange Commission's (SEC) site: http://www.sec.gov/. Looking at potentially going into the finance arena after college, I researched that having a vast understanding of the SEC and regulations will ensure my success. The SEC's mission is to protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation, which is found when clicking into the "What We Do" hyperlink on their homepage. I found that initially reviewing the page was difficult due to the layout of the homepage. Also in my opinion, certain elements of the home page should be more emphasized than others. Such as the link to Investor.gov, which is an excellent site for regular consumers of financial products and services.

The three separate pages of the site that I am going to revise besides the home page are the following:
I.) What We Do
II.) For Seniors
III.) Trading and Markets (A division the the commission)

I am going to revise the site and pages to make it more reader friendly. For example with the Senior's site I would like to make the font a touch bigger and easier to read. Maybe incorporating buttons for links instead of just the underlined hyperlink. As far as the homepage is concerned I would like to move the mission of the SEC to under the title. Also moving the different sections to drop down boxes on a line under the title.

Using concepts from the book, "Letting Go of the Words," by Janice Redish (p. 3-8) such as keeping the website as a conversation, answering people's questions, and incorporating the feature of "grab and go." The author discusses specifically on page 7, "User-centered design is a process for creating products that will work well for the users. When you practice user-centered design, you focus on people: their goals and needs, their ways of working, and their environments."

I am looking forward to this upcoming project and learning a more depth knowledge of website structure and design.

In today's market video and podcasting have become a new norm for relaying information quickly and efficiently. With the advent of personal devices such as laptops/netbooks, smart-phones, and the use of ipods digital information is growing at alarming speeds. Writing is now being transformed to mesh with this new media. No longer is information being held to print via means of books, newspapers, and magazines. Writing today is directed more in with use with these mediums in the form of scripting.

Mindspring.com has outlined an effective 10 point scripting process (http://www.mindspring.com/~mmm/10point.html).

Expanding Composition Audiences with Podcasting (Bowling Green State University)
http://www.bgsu.edu/cconline/podcasting/

People now are using listening and hearing as a center point to gain information. Reading is dissolving through new and faster technology. Keywording, script structure, and the use of an audience analysis is centered on creating a viable communication deliverable (Youtube video, podcast, etc.)

There is nothing more frustrating and time consuming than having to sort information on a poorly designed website. From trying to find a product and service to researching news and academic articles, today's internet consumer has their expectations set at high levels. The consequences of a poor website can be as basic as people not reading or reviewing your page. This can also lead to a decrease in business relations, sales, and service. Janice Redish in her book Letting Go of the Words, in chapter 4 provides insight to effectively produce reader-centered websites. Examples of her key messages are as follows;
a.) Most site visitors are on a hunt- a mission - and the pathway is just to get them there,
b.) People don't want to read a lot while hunting
c.) A pathway page is like a table of contents
d.) Marketing is likely to be ignored on a pathway page
e.) Many people choose the first option that looks plausible
f.) Many site visitors are landing in your site
g.) Keep the website smooth with easy transitions, and less having the visitor utilize a back button/movement.

My example of a bad website is the Minnesota Department of Driver and Vehicle Services site (http://www.dps.state.mn.us/dvs/index.html). This website is not updated and not efficient. Right away up entering the site it throws information to you even if you don't need it. I am guessing that most people that visit the site want to get basic information right away such as licensing and fee's. How about having a search box at the top to help the person navigate to their nearest DMV location? Could the page have a site directed at teens and information they need to know for when they need to apply for a first-time license?

Redish discusses understanding your audience with website design. To apply this to the DMV website could be to have groupings of different users. Such as first-time license applications and teens, renewing licensees, transfer licensees, commercial drivers, etc.

Jay Bolter in his book "Writing Space" defines reading in chapter 6 as to follow one path from among those suggested by the layout of the text (100). Each following statement or idea comes after the previous statement. I would say that I am a cross between a linear and non-linear reader. As much as I prefer to read in a structured building sense (one sentence after another), I find myself reading more content delivered in a non-linear method. In my opinion, I think it matters on what genre you are reading and how it is delivered. For example fiction novels are going to be read in a linear fashion, while non-fiction books and publications are read non-linear. My reading comprises mainly of non-fiction and textbooks. I am reading to extract information in a timely manner. Also incorporated in the non-fiction genre are diagrams, charts, and pictures. The delivery of the reading also has an effect. Reading on the internet compared to a book is more sporadic and non-linear. Since you jump around from one link to another.

In the article "Reading on the Web," by Jack Neilsen, it is outlined that people rarely read a website in its entirety or word by word, but they look for keywords and sentences by scanning the website. This is the type of non-linear reading that I find myself doing everyday. One of the drawbacks to people getting comfortable with this type of reading is that they use this non-linear method in all reading. There are times that linear reading has its advantages most importantly in legal and contractual writing. A very high percentage of consumers today do not read the contracts that they agree and sign to implement. This can cause the consumer to not completely understand the terms and conditions of the contract and immediately puts the power in the contractor's realm.

This week's discussion topic presents an excellent question regarding if the "book" is here to stay. Jay D. Bolter in his book titled "Writing Space," he writes about the electronic book in chapter 5. Ending the chapter he states that cyberspace by itself is a great book of cultural choices that overlap and coincide with the "natural" order. And that this new metaphor is yet another way in which digital technology suggests a refashioning of the tradition of the great book. I couldn't agree with Bolter's statement more. In my opionion I believe that throughout history, as Bolter outlined, technology changes. With new developments the way that information is released and maintained changes with these new technological changes.

With the above stated I am going to argue that the book format is here to stay, but the way it is delivered is going to continue to change as technology develops. With the advent of the internet as well as ebook readers, consumers salivate over having information at the speed of their finger tips. Being able to have access to countless books and information is a luxury that will be sustained going forward. An image that comes to mind centers with the new ebook reader Barnes and Noble's Nook. This picture shows a stack of books and the new e-reader right next to it. This shows the simple convenience of this new technology and or device. Thinking about it when Apple's iTunes came out skepticism of having a complete digital music library was hard to swallow, but now it is standard with most music consumers.

Additionally, with the current "green" movement saving material is at a forefront. As the technology gets more efficient. These "greener" technologies become more popular. I like this concept of having access to these digital libraries at my discretion. Even though I do have the utmost respect for having a hard copy book, I think that the future is with digitalization.

After reading articles for the week especially "Can You Hear Me Now," written by Sherry Turkle of Forbes Magazine; I started thinking about how new platforms of communication is effecting the business environment. Turkle discusses in her article that people are now alienated by technology by being constantly connected and that they can't get away from the status quo. The article starts by Turkle describing when she attended a robotic technology conference in central Japan and how the presence of the attendees are constantly on some form of technology being email, pda's, and or laptops. Turkle brings up five trouble areas that exist from these new communication tools: 1. There is a new state of the self, itself, 2. Are we losing the time to take our time?, 3. The tethered adolescent, 4. Virtuality and its discontents, 5. Split attention. I am going to focus on the two areas that I think effect businesses the most being time and split attention.

One of the biggest items in running a successful organization centers with time management. More than likely as you are reading this post there is company meeting going on tackling this concern. But, have we gone too far with trying to integrate time management and technology? Are we spending too much time on speed and leaving out quality? These are just a few of the questions that come to mind. How about the time it takes to input to-do items in a digital list compared to the amount of time actually completing the tasks? I think people spend more time listing and discussing tasks than actually doing them. When the technology wasn't simply there the only option was to complete the tasks. Turkle brings up an excellent contradiction "Insisting that our world is increasingly complex, we nevertheless have created a communications culture that has deceased the time available for us to sit and think, uninterrupted."

This rolls into the other trouble area being split attention (or lack-of for better terms). What first comes to mind for me is general cell-phone and technology ettiquette. Everyone wants to strive to multi-task and I understand the need at certain times. But what happened to focusing on the current task-at-hand? Completing the task right the first time? And not being rude to others? I really like the term "digital curtsy" that Turkleson mentioned. Addressing split attention is simple in the business environment- Focus your attention to the person. This means turning-off or leaving the cell-phone somewhere else, especially when meeting with a client. Have as much face-to-face intereaction as possible by limiting email and voicemails. Start using handwritten corresponance, this will show the client that you are taking time for him/her. By going out of the "norm" and the "blackberry revolution" you will stickout and make a better impression on your client and even your co-workers.

Turkle, S. (2007). "Can You Hear Me Now?"

http://www.forbes.com/free_forbes/2007/0507/176.html

What does hypertext refashion? According to Jay David Bolter in his book "Writing Space", "In one sense this linking is simply the electronic equivalent of the footnote used in printed books for hundreds of years." He explains that the most important difference that hypertext facilitates is a process of web pages being linked together and that this process can continue indefinitely as the reader moves through the respective textual space. This form of layered writing is not as easily adopted in books, such as linking a footnote to another footnote, but is regarded as natural when reading and writing on the World Wide Web. Also the reader might be referenced to a more comprehensive and "elaborate" page.

A couple of items come to mind when thinking about Bolter's illustration. Google and other related search engines have become infamous with their comprehensive abilities to take inputted words and numbers and directing the user to a listing of the corresponding websites that a match is found. The importance of keywords and terms have emerged as a centered aspect of idea formulation. Also, the collaboration of wikis such as the information monster Wikipedia, has been built on hyper-linking and resource generation. This new form of writing can be both very helpful and confusing at the same time. Since in order to properly search, a greater background understanding of the subject's keywords can play an intricate role in the findings. This can be conducive at the same time to the reader when embarking in an unfamiliar subject matter's territory.

In an article written by Marc Prensky, it is pointed out that currently there are digital natives and digital immigrants. Even though growing up during the dot.com boom, I strongly consider myself in the middle of the digital divide. The methods and ways that I use to write can be through digital outlets such as email, creating Microsoft office documents, writing on internet websites (i.e. Facebook), and through cellular communication platforms. But even though I might utilize these stated formats to write through I am still an avid fan of the hard-copy experience. I do prefer to read, prewrite, and mind map from and on paper versus using a completely digital means of communication.

But with all the above stated, I am still always stretching to encompass a new "digital" greener method of communication. Getting out of the comfort-zone in printing materials and reading only print is something that I am striving to accomplish. For example; instead of purchasing hard copy books, I am looking to invest in an e-reader specifically the Barnes and Noble Nook. I was able to transition from purchasing hard-copy music compact discs to using Apple's iTunes a few years ago and have been enjoying the convenience that it provides. The only drawback or hesitance that I am faced with surrounds the lasting capabilities of the specific hardware/software. But being that the future is centered on information readiness and convenience, the personal need for these digital technologies will be increased. Such as with the telephone transition to the cell phone, then to cell phone users to data encompassing devices such as the blackberry and or iPhone. Sooner or later you must transition, appreciated or not.

Being a fan of technological advancements, I am looking forward to seeing where technology takes me in my lifetime.

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants - Marc Prensky
http://www.twitchspeed.com/site/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.htm

Barnes and Noble Nook
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/