Process Post: Seven

Design Principles Within a Websites: Critiquing Kendrick Lamars Webpage

Within lecture we were joined by Mauve Page, a member in the department of publishing at Simon Fraser. In which she taught us how to be a critical examiners when it comes to web design, especially on the design principles that allow for an effective sight. Allowing us to view and critique other sites in order to better understand what principles work in offering a better look within our own webpages. Thus, with this new knowledge I decided to do a critical examination of my own, choosing to pick a part one of my favourite artists websites. 

Thus, without further ado I will be looking into Kendrick Lamar ’s oklama site. In which I don’t go through often, but was more just curious as to if/how famous music artists offer their information on webpages. Leading to itch my curiosity by jumping right in and critically evaluating it.

Balance:

When discussing balance of the design I’m referring to the distribution of visual elements on the page that create a sense of equilibrium and unity. This can be achieved through symmetrical or asymmetrical arrangements. However, the oklama website lacks balance, with disproportionate elements all over the page, it feels almost loop sided in a sense. While this may have been intended as differentiating his website from others, it ends up taking away from the sleek visual concepts he has going for it otherwise. Thus, making the page difficult for visitors to navigate efficiently by allowing confusion on what items we are to possibly start with or even what each uncentered file represents.

Proportion:

Moving on when diving into the proportions oklama offered it was hard to give it a gold star. For reference, proportion relates to the relationship between different visual elements, such as the size of text and images, or the spacing between elements. The oklama website has a few problems with proportion, such as the font size used for the navigation menu. The text is small and quite hard to read myself, let alone people who have visual impairments. As well, the elements from which to find content and interact with are miniscule too, leaving ample amounts of blank white space, almost too much. With this it is also clearly seen that the space between the elements is not equivalent to each other, showing disproportional placement of the files.

Contrast:

Lastly I looked into the contrast from which the design of the website offers. Now for contrast I refer to the use of color, texture, or other visual elements to create emphasis and differentiation between different elements on the page. This is one of the principles from which the website follows more, yet still it doesn’t use contrast overall effectively. The background and font colors are too similar, making the text difficult to read for some. Additionally, the good part is that due to the white background the visual elements/buttons they are wanting to be seen are easily viewed. This allows for their users to find and click on the content faster then if it where hidden by paler colour schemes. 

My Final thoughts

Though I may be biased as I love Kendrick as an artist, I truly do enjoy the full look of the website he offers to his fans. The ability to step outside of the ordinary design scheme that most sites follow has allowed the captivation and curiosity of those who enter to want to click on every button offered (though few). But as stated above no matter how much the younger audience and myself may personally value the website, it ultimately falls short within all the principles that Mauve discussed in our lecture. Leaving me sadly sour about the overall truth, but glad to have been able to critique and evaluate the design principles within his webpage. 

References:

Page, M. (2023). Web Design and Type on Screens [PowerPoint Slides]. Department of Publishing, Simon Fraser University.

oklama. (2021). Oklama.com. https://oklama.com/

My Favourite Production Scene in 2023 So far

The way in which the production is able to portray such raw emotion within simple scenes and camera angles is amazing to me. As well the idea from which they’re placed within a wholesome room talking about such things as murder, offers an intriguing take on the religious or a cult experience. Although I truly haven’t seen the full show or even episode yet, the way in which this single four minute clip intrigues me is unlike any other. Or at least from what I’ve seen so far within tv shows this year.

FOOD RECOMMENDATION —— Liuzhou river snails rice noodle

I would like to recommend a Chinese delicacy to you. I personally like it very much. — Liuzhou river snails rice noodle

⚠ It’s extremely high in calories! (I’m sorry I was recommending a weight loss method not too long ago)

It’s an amazing dish because you feel an indescribable stench before you taste it. If you choose to eat it at home, please open the windows.

But it doesn’t affect its own deliciousness at all! It has a unique flavor of spicy, crisp, fresh, sour and hot. It’s also full of ingredients, including sour bamboo shoots, tofu skin, fungus, peanuts, dried radish, etc. These are just the basic ingredients in the instant food! If you can go to China to taste it, you can also diy your own toppings that you want to add.

Be sure to experience it once!

#POSIEL

The post FOOD RECOMMENDATION —— Liuzhou river snails rice noodle first appeared on My blog.

Process Post #12

Comments, oh the power they hold. We always want comments. We want to feel like people care about what we’re putting out into the world. On an instagram post the more comments correlate to your ‘popularity’ in a sense. We love to feel supported and have that validation that our content is good, but is that validation really worth the hate that can come with it? Hate comments have a real effect on people and their mental health. Major youtubers, social media influences, and many more have closed their comment sections, so that they can keep the hate comments from accumulating on their platforms. 

I have never received a hate comment on any of my social media accounts. This is probably because I’m no one when it comes to having a following on these platforms, and I’m not a controversial figure. Even though I have not been on the receiving end of these hate comments I don’t think the solution to these comments is to not allow these comments to be posted. 

It’s unfortunate that people feel the need to pick apart people on the internet, but I do think there is a solution to this after reading what Maria Konnokova had to say in her piece in the New Yorker. She stated that “a quarter of Internet users have posted comments anonymously” (Konnokova, 2013, para. 2). This makes me wonder if we were somehow able to prevent people from posting comments anonymously if they wouldn’t post hurtful comments in the first place. I have found in life, and I think it’s pretty commonly known that people are less likely to say negative things to your face. The trouble with the internet is that these people can hide behind their screens while having anonymous profiles. I personally will not deactivate comments on my media platforms, but if I do see comments that I don’t like I think it is fair that I have the option to take them down. I want my viewers to know that I value their opinions and I want them to be able to say what on their mind, just as I am doing.

I am a firm believer that everyone has the right to their own voice, so who is to say what you can and can’t say on the internet. I think the way to go about the hurtful comments is to educate people about what these comments can do to a person. I would say from my own experiences that people are usually pretty supportive of each other, heck if bots can say they love my posts why can’t humans do the same! I don’t think this is an internet issue, but rather a humanity problem. 

References

Konnikova, M. (2013b, October 23). The Psychology of Online Comments. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments

Neon Genesis Evangelion- Daddy Issues

our protagonist Shinji Ikari has a pretty complicated relationship with his father, Gendo. To say it’s strained would be an understatement. Gendo is the head honcho of the organization that’s fighting the Angels, and he’s also the one who brought Shinji in to pilot an Evangelion. But instead of being a loving and supportive father figure, Gendo is cold, distant, and creepy at times.

Shinji’s desperate need for his father’s approval and affection is a driving force behind much of his character development throughout the series. He’s constantly seeking validation from Gendo, even though he knows deep down that his father is unlikely to give it to him. This leads to some pretty intense emotional moments as Shinji grapples with his feelings of abandonment and inadequacy.

But Shinji isn’t the only character with daddy issues in this show. We also have Asuka Langley Soryu, another pilot who is driven by her desire to prove herself to her absent father. And even Gendo himself is revealed to have some pretty serious daddy issues when we learn about his past and his relationship with Shinji’s mother.

The daddy issues in Neon Genesis Evangelion are a pretty significant part of the show’s overarching themes of loneliness, isolation, and the human desire for connection. It’s not always easy to watch, but it adds an extra layer of complexity to an already fascinating series.

Parting with Posiel

Well… this is it! My last process post for PUB 101. I’ve learned so much about blogging, marketability, and the online self in this course, and hopefully it shows through melatonin gone missing.

Reflecting On The Process

Despite this course only being 13 weeks long, it feels like I’ve grown exponentially over the semester, probably because posting weekly has forced me to consistently critique and improve my site. It feels like decades ago when I was feeling frustrated trying to set up my site, which is mostly documented in my second process post From Pinterest to WordPress. At that time, I was completely uneducated about what it really meant to own a website. So when I slowly started to pick up on blog design, SEO, user experience, accessibility, readability, typeface, analytics, and everything else I’ve touched on in my process posts thus far, I was a little shocked that there was so much that went into the websites and media we interact with every single day. Even if at some point in the future I forget what the term “personal cyberinfrastructure” means (although highly unlikely), I will always perceive published media through a different lens. A more critical one, but also one with more respect for the effort that goes into actualizing every single detail we take for granted.

My blog feels a lot like a gallery or a scrapbook of the beginning of my publishing journey, and it always feels extremely rewarding and fulfilling to scroll through and see how far it has come. I’ve grown to be very fond of blogging, and I am quite proud of the site I’ve created. I mean, I made and own a whole website… that’s pretty cool. melatonin gone missing truly feels like my own digital garden, and I’m not quite ready to let it die!

Looking Forward

That being said, I’m excited to continue blogging and sharing my most unimportant thoughts here. I thought of a few ideas of ways to expand the site in my post Melatonin’s Many Channels, which are always paths I could look into pursuing (especially social media), but before going any further with expansion and development, it is important to establish community guidelines. An easy and effective way to ensure user safety and my own safety is to add a page outlining what users can expect and what they should abide by on my blog. Some of the things I would likely include in my community guidelines are:

  • Be respectful and kind
  • No spam or hateful comments
  • Respect people’s privacy
  • No personal promotion

By having these guidelines made explicit, it should hopefully prevent any uncourteous or unwanted behaviour from my blog, which is meant to be a safe and cozy space for all. From my list, it is clear that most of these guidelines are related to blog comments and social interactions. In the modern age of social media, the effects of online hate have proven to be a) very real, and b) severely damaging. As discussed in the Jon Ronson’s Ted Talk “When online shaming goes too far“, and the article “The dark side of Guardian comments“, people’s online behaviours can be incredibly harmful, and can escalate into dangerous and out of control situations. These guidelines essentially are to prevent these situations from arising on my site.

Against my expectations, there have been a few comments on my posts from my friends and classmates that have all been sweet and supportive. I’ve learned that blog comments are a really fun place to interact with others and trade complements and ideas, in a different way than the usual social media comment. I think this is because there is a sort of detachment from your personal life, since you can choose any name to display with your comments (on WordPress, at least). Maria Konnikova explains that anonymity encourages participation, which is further expanded on in John Suler’s discussion of facets of the online self, and I think this is demonstrated in the comments on my posts. For example, Tori Vega’s comment on Toe is Broken (Up).

Saying Farewell

And that’s it! To Dr. Norman and all my classmates, it’s been a pleasure getting to know you and making content for you to stalk. I’ve really enjoyed this class, and it’s sad to say goodbye.

Lastly, huge shoutout to Micky, who’s support means the world to me! I’m so lucky to have a TA who understands and appreciates my content posts on a personal level 😉

Alright, melatonin… officially going missing.

References:

Basu, T. (2020, September 3). Digital Gardens let you cultivate your own little bit of the internet. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved March 2, 2023, from https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/09/03/1007716/digital-gardens-let-you-cultivate-your-own-little-bit-of-the-internet/

Campbell, G. (2009). A Personal Cyberinfrastructure. EDUCAUSE. https://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/9/a-personal-cyberinfrastructure

Gardiner, B., Mansfield, M., Anderson, I., Holder, J., Louter, D., & Ulmanu, M. (2016, April 12). The Dark Side of Guardian comments. The Guardian. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/apr/12/the-dark-side-of-guardian-comments

Konnikova, M. (2013, October 23). The psychology of online comments. The New Yorker. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments

Ronson, J. (n.d.). When online shaming goes too far. Jon Ronson: When online shaming goes too far | TED Talk. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://www.ted.com/talks/jon_ronson_when_online_shaming_goes_too_far?language=en

Suler, J. (2001). The Online Disinhibition Effect. The Psychology of Cyberspace. https://truecenterpublishing.com/psycyber/disinhibit.html

Photo:

-, H. T., By, -, Heather TaylorIcon Researcher & Blogger at Advertising Week, Taylor, H., Icon Researcher & Blogger at Advertising Week, here, P. enter your name, & -, H. T. (2020, December 21). How celestial seasonings’ sleepytime bear became a tea icon. PopIcon.life. Retrieved April 11, 2023, from https://popicon.life/celestial-seasonings-sleepytime-bear-tea-icon/

Timing is everything

“Analytics (Google, Facebook, Twitter etc.) is a very valuable tool for building your audience. For content creators, knowing how your reader behaves on your website can help enormously with developing the best content, posting at the right time, and developing the appropriate engagement strategies. On the flip side, for the reader or user, it can be tiresome and even worrisome knowing you are providing data trails every where you go online“

When I was younger, I used to have a One Direction Instagram fan account. I think I was about 11-12.

I was able to gain between 5000-10k followers during that time (predominately other teen One Direction fans) and I was able to make a cool and functioning fan account.

However, A LOT of work went into making it. Firstly, the most important thing for Instagram engagement at the time is the use of hashtags. I had to make sure I used a bunch of different hashtags like #OneDirection #HarryStyles etc… and this was one of the ways I was able to gain followers.

Another tool I used was posting at the right times when my timeline was most busy. This made it possible for me to get a lot of likes at one time. For example, If I posted in the middle of the night I wouldn’t get many likes and my post would be hidden by the time everyone woke up. I found that posting around after school time was a good time to get good engagement on my posts.

This was all a lot of work, but for the engagement, I got it was worth it. I also gained skills that would be able to help me in the future if I pursue content creation especially with social media.

a collection

conquest

letting you in

was what made breaking so easy

trojan were your claims

yet i say come, i say-

maim

–

trash

i hope you find love

in used cigarettes

in embers that lit

and never digressed

in candy wrappers

rubbed with cocaine

and crushed pop cans

that all sing

my name

–

manic

your names tattooed onto my heart

and even if i rip it free

i’ll etch it onto swollen skin

and stitch it back with a safety pin

–

experience

surround my heart with spears and thorns

it changes shape

adjusts its form

stab right through

and i won’t feel

i am modeling clay

to your preemptive

zeal

–

sidewalk flower

i’d eat concrete if it made me metal

grind up pavement between teeth

ensuring its density

so i can feel the wear

on my molars

create rubble from slabs

those freshly laid

and fully set

a bloodied mouth

and slit gums

i’d eat concrete if it made me metal enough

to forget the sidewalks i walked

with you

– ammarah siddiqui

The post a collection appeared first on ammarah.

Process Post #12: Questions, comments, concerns? How about a comment?

Comments. You can find or hear them almost anywhere.

Under your posts on Instagram; under that YouTube video you watched a couple days ago; from the hairstylist you see every few months; or behind your back and you may not even know.

Now those are just comments in general, but I’m here to look at online comments in particular.

The realities of the Comment section

While the Comment section of a social media post or blog are there for readers and viewers to express their thoughts and opinions, they aren’t always the safest places to be on the internet.

Depending on your platform and audience, these types of spaces can fill with aggression and mockery, anonymity and false information, and more (Konnikova, 2023).

Konnikova (2023) notes that this may have to do with the “online disinhibition effect” that John Suler coined and that I’ve brought up in conversation before. It’s that feeling of being able to say and do anything like nobody is watching because nobody knows who you are. Your identity is hidden by the shields of the internet, you could say.

At the same time, anonymity must be credited for its ability to encourage participation. Instead of fearing uniqueness and difference, commentors feel a sense of community. There is little to no fear in speaking one’s mind and the opportunities for creative thinking are practically endless.

Creating and implementing guidelines for commenting

To mitigate these potential issues, it would be good to create a set of guidelines for commenters and their commenting.

If I made a list for Two A.M. Thoughts, I’d make sure to include things like being respectful of others and their comments; keeping comments relevant to the post; using appropriate and clean language; and have fun with the discussion.

These guidelines are likely something you’ve read or seen before many times, but they are things that I would hope to see in the comment sections of my site too. They are values, if you want to call them those, that I uphold when I comment. So, it would be great to see that reciprocated.

In terms of implementing them, I would most likely create a page on my site dedicated to community guidelines. However, I wouldn’t expect every visitor to read that page before getting around to their commenting. Perhaps a disclaimer above comment forms with a link to the community guidelines page may do the job. Ultimately, it will have to be something moderated and reiterated until commentors catch on.

References

Konnikova, M. (2013, October 23). The psychology of online comments. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments

If I had all the time in the world… what would I do?

If I had all the time in the world, what would I do? 

I took a nap the other day—or what was supposed to be a nap—and woke up half a day later more refreshed than ever. 

That was probably more sleep than I had gotten int he past two months. 

But if I had all the time in the world, what would I do with it? 

Maybe, let’s narrow it down to a day—all the time in the day. 

1: Sleep 

Sleep could not be more valuable than now, but I know that I’ll need it even more 10 years from now. As a student, I could care less about my sleep. Like, yes I care about it a lot, but there’s not much I can do when I have a semester’s worth of assignments due in the next week or so. 

Plus I have to keep up with work and everything beyond school and work without completely botching it all. So for the time-being, I could care less about my sleep. It’s 12:53 AM and counting and I don’t have time to sleep. 

2: Travel 

Travelling is one of those long-term goals that I don’t need to fulfil right away, but I can definitely dream. 

If I could go anywhere in the world, it would be Europe. Just Europe. All of it. Don’t make me pick and choose specific countries because I cannot handle decision-making and this will only stress me out more than I already am. This is a discussion for years from now. 

Anyway, I don’t know if it’s the food, architecture, or aesthetic—it’s probably all three and more—but something about Europe just seems like a beautiful place to visit. Something about the landmarks, cobblestoned city roads, and European food just screams ‘chef’s kiss.’ 

3: Explore the city 

Now you might think that ‘explore the city’ and ‘travel’ are kind of the same thing… but they aren’t. Travel is a broad-scale, long-term goal-type of adventure. But explore the city is like a mini, everyday-type of adventure that I can easily manage on almost any given day. No need for advanced planning and extreme saving. Open mind and comfy shoes required, and that’s it. 

Though what would I explore? You name it: food spots, landmarks, places I’ve passed by a million times but have never actually stopped to see, you get the gist. 

4: Hobbies 

Whenever someone asks me what hobbies I have, I panic because I never know what to say. I am so busy with school, work, and everything else on top of that to the point where I don’t have time to get into traditional ‘hobbies.’ I have time to write papers, work, listen to music, transit place-to-place, and that is pretty much it. 

BUT with all the time in the day, I could probably relax and paint, read a book or two, try playing an instrument, or learn to origami-fold all my old homework because why not?

5: Spend time with friends and family 

As much as I hate to say this (especially because my parents think this too), I think I spend more time out at school and studying than I do at home with family. That’s just what the job responsibilities entail but it is just sad. I cannot even imagine being a full-time student working full-time at the same time. To the people who can do that, bravo. 

If I had all the time in the day, I’d meet up with friends who I haven’t seen in months—maybe go to dinner, go shopping, or just sit and chat in a café; watch movies with my family; take a group trip somewhere; the possibilities are endless. 

6: Alone Time 

Lastly, I couldn’t forget to have some time for myself. Take a break from my phone; go on a walk first thing in the morning; paint my nails; read a book; bake a cake; clean my room; enjoy a movie; watch a sunset; or just sit in the comfort of my own presence without a worry. 

I could add lots more to this list, but I can’t get too ahead of myself. There’s too much for me to get done right now, but in the meantime, I can always dream.