Is setting up a web site to look like a tv kind of cliche? Clever, but cliche?
To quote from Mad Men, "the medium is the message." Ok, that's funny because it's extreme, but it's true to some extent. Because we are creating this as a digital "package," we have a unique opportunity to use design elements to convey information. How we organize and display our content can immediately -- before users begin to process words, video, audio, etc. -- give cues about our intent, tone and topic.
I'm no design expert (that's why I'm in this class!), but one of the things I want to do with this project is focus on the presentation of information in addition to the gathering of information (I get plenty of practice doing that in my other classes).
So.
I like the idea of having some kind of thematic design that will help us dictate how we construct our stories. At the same time, I totally hate over-designed pages that get in the way of themselves. (We should definitely make sure we don't do that. And...at this point I don't even know what we'll be capable of by the end of the semester, though...)
Making out homepage look like a TV instantly focuses our viewers, as long as we stay on the useful side of cheesy. (And just think about all we can say with it -- if we make it look like an old fashioned rabbit ears set with dials we say one thing; if we make it a sleek flat screen with no buttons we say another.)
At this point in the semester, we are kind of grasping for a focus. Structuring our stories as "channels" is kinda fun and gives us a chance to be creative.
Will this be ultimately useful? I don't know yet. At the very least, we have a navigational/organization structure waiting in the wings. If it turns out to be too cheesy, too overdone, we can always scrap it.
And a news update...
I'm sure you've all been following along, but for future reference, here are some happenings in the digital tv saga from this week:
Boston Globe - The delay is officially law now that Obama signed it (on Feb. 11).
But of course, some stations are making the switch this month anyway. That's ok, as long as they aren't the only station in their service area.
AP - FCC cracks down on the Feb. 17 early birds to make sure analog service continues.
--Jordan
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