So, I’ve decided that I’m no longer going to keep to my ten-year rule of posting only once a day. I collect things to write about and then when it comes to the next day, the news has changed and I no longer want to write about that topic. So I have pages and pages of stuff that is not relevant anymore simply because I wouldn’t blog about it when it was on my mind.

So there.

I know I’ve been writing about zooomr a lot lately. You know, I go through my phases of what interests me. Right now, that community is very interesting to me because it is on the cusp of big change. They are going *more* social — which is exactly what I love about social software and social networking. I do like the connections even if I am an introverted hermit of a geek girl. Heh.

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So, the other day, a flickr user asked for a critique on his web site. He doesn’t ask in just any group — but he asks in a professional photographer’s critique group. Everyone kept writing, “looks alright by me” and “I like it.” What the heck? For photographs, we are *required* to critique the image on very specific points and I figure that’s what he wanted. He did say, after all, “Since this is a portfolio group, I thought I would open myself to all the critics I could find. Let me know what you think…”

So, what do I do? Yup, you guessed it. I critiqued it. I have to look at web sites and other materials on a daily basis with a critical eye. I figured I could give him some good feedback. So, I wrote

I’ll preface this by saying I’m on a Mac PowerBook G4 running Firefox 2.0.0.3. Part of my professional background is in usability, web development, and rhetorical values of text and graphics in online environments. That being said, these are only my opinions and are subjective. :-)

The most important things to remember are audience, context, and purpose. When you keep those three areas in mind, you can create a usable site that will promote you well.

I think it’s important to understand who your audience is. Are you trying to sell your photography to a certain demographic or just showcase it? In your contact, you write that you are seeking corporate, agency, and ministry-related assignments. Your site doesn’t say that to me, though, when I go to the splash page. Tell your audience up front what it is that you are doing. Let them know you are for hire for certain industries.

The brown text on brown background could cause problems for some who may have sight disabilities.

While flash is nice, also know that it is not always accessible for those with accessibility issues. That means you could lose customers because of it.

When I select a specific portfolio area, it would be nice if it closed with a click instead of having to open another in order to close one. Also, it would be better to have a gallery than to have rotating images. That could be confusing to a customer.

I do like the look of it and the palette. It has a relaxed atmosphere and makes me want to stick around and check out more. It is very peaceful. Your logo is wonderful — not too overwhelming and not too understated – perfect.

I realized, as I’m going through, that I am an expert in this field. I do know what I’m doing. I’m good at it. I not only have an education in looking at these kinds of things critically but I also have real-life on-the-job experience at doing so. I am good at this.

But he didn’t really want that kind of critique. He actually did want us to say, “atta boy, good job!”

Oy.

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The ‘sphere is all-a-twitter over twitter. Do you twitter?

I thought about it. But really, who wants to see what I’m doing throughout the day?
wake up
go to the bathroom
let dakota out
find some clothes to wear
take a shower
brush my teeth

Bored yet? Oh, sure…you got stuck on the shower image, didn’t you? Heh.

Plus, I can’t post photographs to go along with my twitters. How would I convey my meaning without visual cues?

Really.
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Speaking of visual cues, I am thinking more and more about the connection between bloggers’ text and images. Of course, you may realize that my thesis is on the autobiography of women’s traumatic blogs — specifically women who write about trauma and also use visual media to aid in that conveyance of information.

What they write and what their images say are not necessarily the same things. I find that interesting.

But it’s true even throughout the ‘sphere. People seem to miss that rhetorical connection between textual language and multimedia language.

I’m not sure why.

Maybe that’s the next step for the doctorate.