WetPaint is an interesting  and interactive site that allows users to create and develop their own wiki sites.  To general consumers this service is free which is a huge benefit.   The Wetpaint site boosts that it is “The leading social publishing platform [and] brings your website the benefits of a more active user base. Your online visitors will no longer just be exposed to your brand, they will be engaged with it. They will create massive amounts of relevant content that search engines love and reward with increasing amounts of traffic.”  While this statement maybe slightly optimistic I think that in many cases it may be true.

The site opens with the following page:

The site immediately invites users to “Create a free website about anything you love!”  For those who are unfamiliar with this application there is a video to help you learn how and why to use this site.  The video is only about four minutes long but it covers most of the basic elements of using the site. 

However even without the handy how-to video, the site is extremely easy to use.  First; you name your site and create a URL.  Second just hit the big green Go button.  (Even I can do this one.)  The site then brings you to the next step where you are prompted to again 1. name your website 2. Create an address at .wetpaint.com 3. Describe what your site is about 4. Select categories to help people find your site such as; Arts, Auto, Business, Education, Entertainment, Family, etc. Wetpaint gives hints and examples for each of these steps.  You are then asked who you would like to be able to view your site; “Everyone: A public site allows anyone on the web to discover, explore and join your site” or “Invited members: A private site is only viewable by people you invite.”  They would also like you to decide who you would like to be able to edit your site.  While this may seem like a lot to decide upon right up front, Wetpaint assures you that you can easily change things later. (Which I tested and found to be true.)

Next you chose a “style” for your site from 24 different options.  It would be nice if there was a few more templates to chose from however you can modify some elements of the appearance of your site later such as adding graphics.  Personalizing the name of your site by adding images from either your computer or the web is the next step. 

Finally before you are able to begin working on you site itself you must register by creating a Wetpaint account.  This is as simple as entering in your email address and password.  Then you can use your email address book to invite others to view and help you work on your site.  

Once you have created the wiki site you can customize it using the “Easy Edit.”  With this you can add text, bullets,  images, videos, etc.  Because the amount of coding is limited the site is easy to work with even for those unfamiliar with the process.    In fact is Wetpaint is geared for those who have little to no experience creating wiki sites.  Because of this, the site is working to change people’s interaction with technology by making it more manageable and accessible to the general public.  This application is more consumer focused while still offering some “navigational features, such as a feature that lets you quickly find pages in a wiki based on tags.”  (Needleman 2006) However the possible down side is that “in Wetpaint, there's no way to dive into page's formatting code, so you can't do complex or advanced formatting. Advanced users will want more control.”  (Needleman 2006) Also “most higher-end wiki services, such as JotSpot, have no templates but do offer more capability and features. JotSpot, for instance, has applications, such as a contact manager and a spreadsheet, you can install into your wiki.” (Needleman 2006)   Therefore Wetpaint is geared more for amateurs than similar applications such as Jotspot, PB Wiki, Wikia, and other wiki sties.   But after all you cannot please everyone.  The site does pride itself on having an easier interface than the others, so that you can see the changes that you are making to your site as you are making them.   While working on this project I found myself trying to make a site about some of the information that we talk about in our Information Architecture class.  While at this time, I have only added a few pages of information I would like to add more to the site as our class progresses.  It will be interesting to see if anyone who is not related to our class comments or adds information to the site in the future.

As most of the web 2.0 applications are, Wetpaint is a new company.  They were founded in 2005 and pride themselves at being run by experts and backed by Accel Partners, DAG Ventures, Trinity Ventures, and Frazier Technology Ventures.  Recently Wetpaint launched “Just add Wetpaint” onDecember 10, 2007.  This application is geared to corporations that needed more customization than the initial site could provide.  This new service, unlike the original Wetpaint site, has a fee starting around 10,000 depending on how much modification needs to be done.   As the Wetpaint site explains, Just add Wetpaint goes “beyond simple avatar-and-messaging social networks, …and adds the best aspects of wikis, blogs, and forums, resulting in the perfect online environment for fostering deeper customer engagement and content creation activities around a company’s brand assets.” Ben Elowitz, the CEO and co-founder of Wetpaint states that, “Our goal with Just Add Wetpaint is to tackle the market opportunity and emerge as the leader for powering external-facing communities that drive key business metrics for traffic, content, and page view growth.” Just Add Wetpaint features; “a full-featured social computing platform, custom development, content development, promotion, and hosting and support.”

Even more recently Wetpaint has started Injected.  This service lets “online publishers embe code to open up select Web pages to readers or viewers, allowing them to "inject" videos, photos, reviews and comments alongside the professional content. Wetpaint dubs this “social authoring,” the idea that the community not only wants to consume content but actively participate in its creation.”  (Cook, 2008) Injected is just one more way that Wetpaint is attempting to engage consumers in an easy user friendly way. 

Overall I found Wetpaint easy and fun to use.  Perhaps even a little too easy to use.  Even for someone as technology illiterate as myself I tended to want to have more control over the look and feel of the site that I was creating.  However I must comment the application again for an interesting and user friendly experience.

 

Cook, J. (2008, May 18). 25 Million injected into Wetpaint; New services lets viewers leave thier mark on Websites. Retrieved March 25, 2009, from seattlepi: http://www.seattlepi.com/business/363596_wetpaint19.html?dlbk

Needleman, R. (2006, June 19). What you Wiki is What you Get. Retrieved March 26, 2009, from CNET Reviews: http://reviews.cnet.com/4531-10921_7-6543971.html?scp=3&sq=wetpaint&st=cse

 

 

 

 

    I chose to review the Twitter Application “AlertThingy”.  AlertThingy’s creator’s, Howard Baines Ltd., list the goal of their application as, “[an application] that brings the very latest updates from your favourite social networks direct to your desktops.  Send Tweets, update your Facebook status, and upload photos to Flickr, post to Tumblr and more.”  



    When reviewing all that AlertThingy has to offer, one concludes that it is a software application that sends updates from many different social networks, including business social networks like Yammer and Huddle.  It also offers updates from dozens of news feeds and news blogging sites using a RSS reader.  In addition, users have the opportunity to upload pictures and use service websites like Twitter Search, TinyURL, and TwitPic.  It even offers a service where one can search for a product on Amazon, and if Amazon doesn’t offer the product, AlertThingy will send an “alert” to your desktop when the product becomes available.



    Twitter interacts with this application by sending updates that come from your Twitter page to the application in real time, without having to be refreshed, unlike the Twitter web page.  It also allows ease of use because users who typically use Twitter quite often use the other networks and services offered by AlertThingy; AlertThingy gives access to these networks and services all on one application.  All users have to do is sign up for the applications they use; AlertThingy will deliver updates to users’ desktops in real time.

    Instead of searching for information, AlertThingy allows users to pick their information sources and have it delivered to their desktop.  While it is much easier for users of various social networking sites, I don’t see any practical usage for applications such as this for all aspects of the Internet.  There is a point, click, and search aspects to the Internet that user’s expect and wish to have at their disposal.  It is easy to feel like there are new social networking sites popping up everywhere, and to feel overwhelmed at keeping up with all of them.  As previously stated, this is where AlertThingy works well for its users.  Instead of logging on to each social networking site separately, users’ may sign up for whatever networks they use after downloading the application.  Then, all they have to do is log in to AlertThingy from their desktop.

    One drawback of AlertThingy is that it makes users reactive to information instead of proactive.  Instead of individuals using the service to find information relevant to them, it brings information to them.  The source of information may have been useful to them in the past, but it doesn’t necessarily follow that it will be useful to users’ in the future.

    Another drawback of AlertThingy is that unlike access to broad mass mediums such as the Internet, the application offers only a limited amount of resources of information.  


 

As one can see, it offers only a few mainstream sources of information, like CNN, BBC, and ESPN.  There are users out there who feel that those sources of news don’t fit with their preferred taste.  Some users may prefer Fox News to CNN, and Comcast Sports Net over ESPN.

There are many other Twitter applications, but I would say AlertThingy falls into the category of general usage filtering type applications.  Other applications allow you to alter tweets, use to market businesses, conduct alternate searches using twitter search, send future tweets, etc.  AlertThingy seems to be the most applicable to individuals who are frequent users of most popular social networking sites.  The typical audience of social networking sites is young adults, aged 18-30.

    I recommend that AlertThingy offer more news feeds and access to more social networking sites.  Currently, their application does not offer service to social networking sites such as Myspace and new feeds like Fox News.  I would also ensure that they don’t market the application toward users as an alternative to searching the Internet to seek the information they wish to find.  As I stated above, users of the Internet expect a point, click and search capability to find the data they seek.  In addition, it would limit the sources of information for users, so the likelihood of the application becoming an alternative to how individuals’ use the Internet is small.

Introduction

Nearly a year ago, my professor suggested that I use Netvibes to organize my life on the web. I added it to my mental “to-do list,” but I managed to keep putting it off. Thanks to my Information Architecture Web 2.0review assignment, I finally had the chance to explore Netvibes.

Netvibes is a Web 2.0 application that provides users with a personal home page. Once a user creates an account, they can customize their Netvibes home page by adding various widgets. These widgets allow the user to personalize and organize their digital lives.

Features

Users have two customizable pages. One is a personal page, and the other is public. The personal page can only be viewed by a logged in user. The public page is open to anyone. Users may alter the theme, wallpaper, and colors of each page and its widgets. The widgets are customizable and movable, so users can tailor their pages to appear as they like.

There are over 180,000 widgets that users can add to their home page. These widgets work in conjunction with popular Web 2.0 applications. Users have the ability to create their own widgets which they can post and share. In addition, users can add RSS feeds that will update on their home page.

Benefits

Netvibes propagates the dissemination of information among its users. It connects users to various Web 2.0 applications and RSS feeds. It allows users to constantly stay in loop with their favorite applications and feeds.

Comparison

Most search engines and ISP providers offer personal home pages to users. Google has iGoogle, and Yahoo has My Yahoo!. They both allow for the personalization of content; however, they are lacking in options. Netvibes provides more widget and customization options. Its main purpose is to connect users to other sites; whereas, iGoogle and My Yahoo attempt to keep users from straying from the sites services.

Conclusion

Overall, I think Netvibes is an important tool for the active Web user to have. It allows users to keep up with their favorite web activities. I do think Netvibes should give users more layout and theme control, so that the users can truly make Netvibes their own.

Introduction

As part of a larger assignment, the Information Architecture graduate class has been assigned a mapping project. The mapping project consists of two basic components: a sketched memory map of the Rowan University campus and a remediation of the memory map into a Google MyMap. In this analysis, I will compare and contrast the two maps in relation to the actual campus. I will discuss my role in the creation of the maps and their resulting accuracies and deficiencies. Finally, I will use the theories of Bonnie Nardi and Vicki O’Day in Information Ecologies as well as the theories of John Seely Brown and Paul Duguid in The Social Life of Information to postulate that the Rowan University is not an information ecology but rather a network of practice.

Maps

I have never been able to draw a straight line or a perfect circle, I have never been good with maps (I love you Tom Tom, and at times, I have a barely functional memory. Needless to say, I wanted to run and hide when I learned of the mapping assignment. I managed to be brave, and I committed myself to creating my map.

My memory map of the Rowan campus.


An professional map of the Rowan campus

I felt confident that I captured the Rowan I came to know, but I also knew that there were parts of Rowan I never explored. I did capture the areas of Rowan I was familiar with fairly accurately. Most of the missing buildings and areas on my memory map I had only brief interaction with if any interaction at all. I rarely participate in sporting events, and I commute to the Rowan campus; thus, areas like the football field and buildings like the Triad Apartments were left out of my memory map. I rarely use the far north east and south east, side of campus, which may explain the lack of inclusion of buildings such as Mimosa Hall, Laurel Hall, Facilities, and Evergreen Hall. In addition, I neglected many of the parking lots that surrounded the areas that I did not include in my memory map. Finally, I neglected to map many roads that are a part of the campus, mainly on the south side of campus.

View Larger MapA Google MyMap remediation of my sketched memory map

As per the assignment, I replicated my sketched memory map onto a Google MyMap. In this remediation, I kept all of the buildings, parking lots, fields, etc. that I drew on my memory map, and I attempted to position them similarly. Instead of rectangular boxes, I used markers to represent the buildings and areas because I felt it made the map more presentable. Unlike the memory map, the remediated map includes additional information. For instance, all of the surrounding roads are already labeled; thus, the streets I had forgotten have been automatically included in the MyMap. In addition, I was able to embed photographs of the actual buildings, so viewers are able to click on the marker and see an actually image of the building rather than a place marker or a terribly drawn rectangle or square.  Finally, if the users wish, they can switch to satellite view in order to see a satellite image of the campus; however, the markers will no longer line up with the satellite view as my memory map was not completely accurate with building positions. It should also be noted that there may be inaccuracies with the satellite view as it is not a current image. For example, the satellite view includes Bosshart Hall, which has been torn down.

Information Ecology vs. Network of Practice

Nardi and O’Day defined information ecology as “a complex system of parts and relationships. It exhibits diversity and experiences continual evolution. Different parts of an ecology coevolve, changing together according to the relationships in the system. Several keystone species necessary to the survival of the ecology are present. Information ecologies have a sense of locality (pp. 50-51).” In contrast, Brown and Duguid shaped the concept of network of practice by stating “People in such networks have practice and knowledge in common. Nevertheless, most of the members are unknown to one another. Indeed, the links between members of such networks are usually more indirect than direct—newsletters, Web sites, Bulletin boards, listservs, and so forth keep them in touch and aware of one another (pp. 141-142).” Based upon these definitions, Rowan is a network of practice that consists of many information ecologies.

Comparing my memory map the professional map of the Rowan campus, it is visible that I am not an active participant throughout the entire Rowan campus. There are many sections of which I have little to no involvement. I clearly do not coevolve with the whole of Rowan, yet I share knowledge of the campus with other students, faculty, and visitors as would occur in a network of practice.

Conclusion

In Maps of the Imagination: The Writer as Cartographer, Peter Turchi wrote, “The first lie of a map—also the first lie of fiction—is that it is the truth (p.73).” As I studied my maps, I realized that I had not mapped the Rowan campus, but rather, the Rowan campus as I have experienced it. I participate in the Rowan network, but I am not essential to its existence. Rowan is more a component to my life than I to its existence.

Review for CiteULike, a Web 2.0 application.

     CiteULike is a Web 2.0 application that enables users to bookmark and organize academic research for later use. While non-academic material can be put into the application, the makers are quick to point out that they prefer refereed articles and that non-scholarly articles will not be displayed in user searches, though they can be placed in the individual’s library. The application was developed with a specific purpose, and the developers are keen to make this distinction between refereed and non-refereed sources clear. I think the designers of the site were spot-on with the decision to disallow non-refereed articles on the site, while also allowing people to use them in their own libraries. This ensures that articles found when searching other peoples' libraries is also refereed. Many journals and databases have already been cleared with the site, including many of the articles I accessed through Google Scholar and Rowan’s databases. You can view the list of sites who’ve been cleared with CiteULike, and whose citations will fill in automatically with the addition of the url, on the front page. Also, CiteULike can be used by people who speak many different languages, using the UTF-8 Internet character encoding method.

The front page is a little busy, but not distractingly so. Most importantly, the site is easy to use. The ads aren't too obtrusive on the left side of the page. 

Also, CiteULike's FAQ page is very thorough and useful, including some information from the site's principal creator, Richard Cameron.

CiteULike's Journal Search page is clear and uncluttered, making its purpose recognizable. The Search function for the site works well though it's important to follow the "search syntax." After a few tries, I had no problems searching this way.



    According to its primary developer, Richard Cameron, CiteULike was created with the aim of taking some of the “drudgery” out of research. I think Cameron succeeded with his goal. While not all scholarly information can be found online as yet, this tool is certainly helpful in culling the parts of it that are. This is done by first copying the url from the page or pdf and pasting into CiteULike. CiteULike then stores the bibiographic info when you save the article on the site if it's a site that CiteULike has cleared. If CiteULike does not know the site used, the user can insert the article’s vital information, which doesn’t take very long.

    Like everything else about the site, tagging is very flexible in CiteULike. You can tag the articles any way you'd like, and add as many as you'd like. I tagged items by author and topic, and it proved useful for me. Other people may opt to tag things differently; and that’s fine too: The application is designed to be customizable and helpful to the individual. I believe the “folksonomy approach”, as Tim O’Reilly calls it, to categorizing information, allowing individuals to tag information at their discretion, works well for the site.
   
     A good way of looking at CiteULike might be to think of how Diigo or Delicious would be if they were designed primarily for storing scholarly information. Whereas those more common social bookmarking tools are designed to socially bookmark websites, CiteULike is designed to hold all the vital info about the source. The link, the title of the article, author, date of publication, and the journal in which it is found can all be easily added to an entry (if the information doesn’t pop up on its own).

     One of the coolest things about CiteULike is that it's social, in that you can look up what other people are reading who have similar interests to your own. Users can search for articles of interest, you can find who else has it in his or her library. Then, you can search that person's library to see if they have any other articles stored that could be of interest to you. Also, the site allows the user to join groups of people who have similar interests. It is possible to form new groups as well.
 

     CiteULike can be a valuable resource for anyone doing scholarly research. This would include graduate students primarily but some undergraduates as well. The site is well-designed and simple to use. I imagine anyone with just marginally better-than-novice web skills to be able to use CiteULike without much problem. If familiar with Google, and Diigo or Delicious, I imagine that should be all the training one would need to start using CiteULike. Actually the site looks a bit like Google with its search bar in the upper middle of the screen. While I think the home page could be little less busy, the primary navigational tools are well-implemented, easy to see and easy to use. Instead of adding the list of approved scholarly sources under the page where the urls are pasted, I would prefer that the list opens when the user hovers the mouse over it. I think the information is a little more cluttered than it needs to be, but it’s not such a sever problem that it affects the usability of the site. With this in mind, I can understand the designers' decision to put the names of all the approved journals on the front page. This is probably helpful for people who are new to the site and want to be sure their journal of choice is supported.

Here is a group I found on just a search I conducted with the terms "instructional & design." CiteULike implements a search syntax I was unfamiliar with previously, and may take a few tries to get accustomed to. One could complain about this, but I won't because there is a help box right on the page that explains how to get the best results when searching the site.




     This is one of the single most useful applications I have seen for my own purposes. The tool is invaluable for storing, collecting, and organizing research. While I've used Diigo before, and it's great, CiteULike works better for searching for academic information. It's great to have a virtual stop to collate and organize research. Whereas we once needed to trudge to the library and dig up stacks of books, much of that leg work is no longer needed with the advent of CiteULike. Cameron dreamed that his application would help make that a reality. While that reality isn’t here yet, that’s just because not all the world’s research is available online yet.  You can't fault CiteULike's creators for potentially making research more productive.

    CiteULike is an excellent tool for staying on top of recent literature in your field of choice. Again, you can't access all the articles that are published in journals, but you can access whatever is posted online. Building on the idea of "wisdom of the crowds", CiteULike allows users to tap into what other people are using. This is like having other people do the research for you. Searching out online research is much easier than it once was thanks in part to CiteULike. I fully expect to use the site heavily as I begin my work on my thesis work this semester. It would behoove anyone else in Information Architecture to check the site out who will be working their theses as well.

My CiteULike Library:

While working on a map of Rowan University’s campus from memory for class, I have discovered several things.  The most apparent of them was that I am a poor artist, the second was that I am also a very poor photographer, and the third was that my skill in working with various forms of technology, such as scanners, digital cameras, recorders and then putting these images into a form where others can utilize that information are horrendous.   In fact I am ashamed to admit that I did not realize that I had access through family to all of these devises.  I am not sure what that says about myself, but it must mean something. 

I was also somewhat concerned, although not surprised, that even though I have been attending Rowan for almost a year, my knowledge of the campus could be considered vague at best.   It was interesting to notice what things I acknowledged and therefore included on my map, and what things I did not.  Generally speaking, I think that it is obvious from my map that I am a commuter, and have never actually lived on this campus.  This is because the detail that I was able to include focuses many on the areas near the roads that I take to and from campus.  For example, I know where gas stations, fast food restaurants, supermarkets and parking is located.  But, I only know the names of four of the classroom buildings and none of the dormitories or apartments.  I find it interesting that in my memory map, I labeled nearly all of the buildings as classrooms, whether or not they may actually be administrative.  I suppose that I did that because I tend to associate all of the buildings on campus as falling into three categories, buildings you sleep in, buildings you learn in, and building that you buy things from.  (I realize that this statement is a gross simplification of the workings of a college campus)  I did not even remember the names of all the buildings that I personally have attended class in.  I also know where the bookstore and the health center are, but I do not know where any popular hangout spots or nightlife might be.  One also might be able to guess that I am a commuter because I have labeled several restaurants, but the school cafeteria and market are missing.  I have since learned that they are in the student center, which is a building that I have only visited about twice. 

My knowledge also becomes much more vague toward the interior of the campus and in relation to athletic fields and dorms because I have never used them.  I think that it would be interesting to do a second map of my undergraduate university,  because I did live there and see if this theory has some truth.  However, because of time constraints that is not possible.  It is also interesting that I seem to have fairly accurately captured the shape of the campus, which probably has to do with the fact that because I park in a lot that prohibits you from making a left turn upon leaving, I therefore have to circle the entire campus each time I drive to class. 

I do however find it interesting that even though I have driven on these roads about three times a week for about eight months I have no idea of their names.  The only one I knew was 322 and that was only because it was mentioned in class that day.  I have since learned that the other roads are called Main Street, Bowe Boulevard and Carpenter Street.  But I know from previous experience driving to new places that I tend to locate a place based on landmarks, not street names.  Therefore, it is perhaps not so odd that I have labeled many of the buildings on corners and not the streets themselves. 

  http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3439/3397870076_799445fd99.jpg?v=0

After we had completed our maps we were encouraged to think about “what the maps say about the space as being a potential information ecology.”  I admit that I am still somewhat vague on distinguishing between Information Ecologies; which we have defined in class and through the Nardi and O’Day readings as being “a system of people, practices, technology and values in a particular local environment where the spot light is on human activities served by technology.  Networks of practice, which are “large networks that link people to others.  These people  never get to know one another, but work on similar practices.  There is little reciprocity between these people.”  Communities of practice are more “tightly-knit groups formed through practice by people working together on similar tasks.  In communities of practice there is usually face to face interaction and people generally communicate, negotiate, and coordinate with each other directly over the course of work.”

When looking at the map I drew I believe that there are several ways of identifying information ecologies.  To begin with we could describe Rowan University as a network of practice, which could then make our graduate program the information ecology and our Information Architecture class a community of practice.  In that example, I would imagine that the students would be considered the keystone species.  However, one might also argue that the students could not learn without the professors or that the classes would not be possible without the administrators.  However, if that makes the administrators the keystone species than one might argue that the administration only provides categories for the university that are based on fallacy.  For example the idea of a degree, a certificate, even a class could merely be thought of as a label.  Yet we would probably not be here without these labels. 

Another possible ecology might be within the students themselves.  Certain buildings may act as information ecologies, such as the art buildings for art students, the science buildings for those involved in science related majors, even the student center and dorms for less formal interactions and the athletic fields and center for those involved in sports.  Then these separate more specific groups might form together to create a network of practice that could be described as Rowan University. 

One could also describe the graduate school as a Network of practice, the individual master’s programs as information ecologies, and the classes as communities of practice.  Or perhaps the Master’s of Writing Arts program is the network of practice the classes in the program are the information ecologies and the work each student must do with their thesis advisor is the community of practice.   As you can see in my opinion there are almost an infinite number of ways to categorize an organization as large and complicated as a university. 

Overall, I found this assignment very interesting.  I wish that I could have uploaded all of the pictures and videos that I took of the campus (I had about a hundred in total) but I found it frustrating to put them on the map so I only did the routes that I took to and from campus and classes.  I look forward to our in-class discussions of our maps and discoveries. 

 Link: <http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?hl=en&gl=us&ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&msa=0&msid=103331410026745691717.0004660a09c5425007068&z=15>

 

Having lived at Rowan for six years (4 of which I didn't own a car) and been a member of SGA, PROS freshman orientation staff, a Resident Assistant, Resident Director, a member of numerous campus planning committees and Coordinator for iMPACT! freshman leadership program, I believe I know this campus pretty well.  For me to write every memory and route taken on a map would take me a decade.

In fact in PROS, they used to make us do this very assignment, draw a mental map and place every single department on it. As a representative to the university it is imperative to be able to answer any question people may have. In one of my design classes, we did a similar assignment as well, where we had to take pictures along of route to class and then layout a book to illustrate the journey.

Thinking about a space that I have traversed so much and know in such detail takes the brain in strange directions. I begin to think of every little thing that has happened there. It is surprising how much of our memory is spatially triggered.  For me, drawing these kind of maps from scratch, the landmarks fall into place once I establish a few starting points.

For me these were the three dorms I lived. I drew them first and everything just began to fall into place. The hardest places were actually the ones I knew best, because I was not happy until I had them the way I remembered them.  I couldn't put in every detail, so things like pathways and sidewalks intended up being excluded, but I managed to remember the placement of basically every building and roadway around the campus.

For the digital version of the map, I focused on the buildings that I currently spend the most time in during my daily routine and job.


Looking at Rowan as a home for information is interesting, as information is so important for education.  As someone that has worked for the university, I have always found the general layout of the offices to be annoying and looking at them on a map makes it blatantly obvious. To do a task as simple as getting a copy, I have had to walk between three buildings and across two roads. Just this week to pick up a paper, I had to walk across the campus to find the office I was sent to had moved to another building. How can this be an efficient way of working as a whole?

Looking at how  the academic buildings are arranged points to other issues.  As a design undergrad with an interest in new media, it always annoyed me that tv studios and the radio station were not only in a different department, they were on the other side of a highway! No wonder academic departments start to have arguments that resemble turf-wars. Areas of study that are as related as design and the media are completely separate.

I would firmly state that Rowan has little bubbles of information that are highly segmented by building with the academia and administration in complete other universes. Surely, most Universities have a layout that is as piecemeal if not more, but why can't that change?

Twine is an ambitious social bookmarking site that enables users to research, track, and share information related to their defined interests.  The application has several overarching goals, the first being to provide users with customized recommendations of content based on the individual’s search and sharing history.  (Further details are below.)  Second, Twine provides users with a variety of ways to organize the information they collect, listing interest categories that include twines, items, members with whom the users have connected, and other information.  The third overarching goal of Twine is to enable users to connect with members who share similar interests to their own, providing a vehicle for distributing information.

 

The application’s complex usability suggests Twine was not designed for someone who is new to navigating the internet.  Rather, the site is better suited for users who are moderately tech savvy, though with patience, a novice could also learn to master Twine, as it builds upon basic search and upload procedures.  In terms of content, Twine reaches a wide audience, as the application allows for exploration of limitless content.  It may be important to note that much of the content shared is not what would be defined as “scholarly” (speaking in terms of traditional academic publications).  This seems to reinforce that the intended user would be someone whose goal is to connect with others and develop knowledge on a topic of interest, but this site would not necessarily support traditional scholarship.

 

One of Twine’s key features is its attempt to customize recommendations based on your interests.  From the moment you access twine, the system prompts you to enter key words related to your interests.  Prior to joining, users can enter these key words in a search field to discover what related items the site has to offer.  (pictured below)  Once within Twine, use key words to search for members, twines, or all tagged content, depending on which category you select from the dropdown.  Additionally, when you create your profile, you are prompted to insert key words, as these phrases will serve as tags for the system to customize content and will also allow other members of twine to find you.

 

 

Within your account, you can search for and organize information within the following sections:

1. My Interests
2. My Profile
3. Explore
4. Inbox

 

1.  My Interests

 

My Interests is comprised of several categories.  The first category is My Connections.  Connections refer to other members on twine with whom you would like to share correspondence and information.  For example, you may want to send a connection a direct message (further details on sending messages to follow) or you may want to share an item that you have found on twine.  When you find a member you would like to follow, that member will be notified.  They need to accept before you can send them direct messages.

 

The second category within My Interests is My Twines.  A twine is a collection of information related to a particular topic or interest.  You can choose to collect twines created by others members or you can create your own.  You can add a variety of items to your twine, including bookmarks, documents, notes, images, and videos.  All items, including your twine, can be tagged with key words that will pull the content up in a search.  Also, when creating your twine, it is a good idea to provide a meaningful description so that, when users are searching twines, they have an understanding of your twine’s purpose and the information they can expect to follow by adding it.  Within your twine, you can link to summary information, items contained within your twine, and other members of your twine.

 

The third category within My Interests is My Items.  Similar to the items you can add to a twine, this section lists anything you have added to a twine or shared with a connection, including comments you have made to another member’s twine.  You are able to filter your view by items you have added, items that others have shared with you, items you have shared, and items you have collected from other twines. 

 

The fourth category within My Interests is My Comments.  Similar to commenting on a blog post, you can add comments about items posted on a twine.  For example, you may want to respond to an image another member has posted or you can add a comment to supplement the description of an item you are adding to your twine or sharing with a connection.

 

We will discuss the My Interest Feed later in the review.

 

2.  My Profile

 

Your profile is one of the ways connectors will find you and, if you are trying to connect with someone, this is one of the first ways a connector will get to know you.  Therefore, like your twine description, it’s important that your profile reflect your interests.  Also within your profile, you can view the twines you have created and joined, your connections, and your recent activity.

 

3.  Explore

 

Explore provides even more search features, including searches by Top Twines and Top Members.  Explore also contains a useful Getting Started section, which links users to resources such as video tutorials, tips, and FAQs.

 

 

 

4.  Inbox

 

Similar to an email inbox, this section is used to correspond directly with your connections.  So, where posting a comment on a connector’s twine will be visible for all members to view, these messages are only visible between the connectors engaged in the direct correspondence.  Similar to twitter, you receive an email notification when a connection has sent you a message.  Within this section, you can also modify email notifications.  For example, you may want to be notified via email if someone wants to connect to you, but may not want to be emailed every time a connector sends you a message.  Selecting/deselecting the available options allows you to customize your preferences.

 

 

My Interest Feed

 

Based on your account activity, twine will recommend other twines for you to join and other connections who share your interests.

 

 

Twine supports the movement of information through its promotion of connectivity and interaction based on interest.  Beyond bookmarking, twine encourages users to share the information they collect from the web with others.  Twine cultivates these connections by allowing users to search for members with common interests and by establishing a sense of personal connection through features such as sending direct messages.  In addition to sharing information found on the internet, twine also allows users to upload documents from their local computers in order to share information that may otherwise be unavailable to the public.  Also, features such as adding descriptions with uploads and adding comments enables users to share their personal perspectives on information that they have not created, but found on the internet. 

 

LetsGetSocial provides you with an html link to embed in your site for the purpose of creating a button for social bookmarking.  LetsGetSocial also enables you to create a “Connect With Me” widget where you can place specific sites where users could connect with you, such as Facebok, Digg, or Flickr.  This application could be an effective way to cultivate communication—but, while Twine encourages users to communicate with each other within the area of its owners, LetsGetSocial seems like it would cross users into various sites, taking away the element of community within the application.  For example, in Twine, regardless of what sites users link to information through twines, their correspondence is held together through twine.  LetsGetSocial puts the location of socialization in the hands of the user. 

 

Overall, Twine is an impressive tool with much to offer users who are interested in collecting and sharing information.  Twine’s tutorials and introductory information is helpful for new users trying to understand the site’s purpose and capabilities.  However, I did find the site’s layout to be confusing and overwhelming when I started.  Part of my confusion stemmed from what the site defined as “My Twines.”  It would be useful if, in the search option and results display, an owner’s twines were differentiated from those the user collected, with the owner’s twines displaying at the top.  This would more clearly reflect the user’s ownership for connectors and, for the purpose of managing a twine, it would be more appropriate if the owner’s twine was the one that displayed by default. 

 

Something else I noticed was that, when adding comments that were shared with multiple connectors, the system replicates the comment, assigning each connector to a separate line item.  In this context, it seems more appropriate to display the comment once with a list of connectors who were attached to the comment.  This would better enable users to scan comments for content.

 

Like any other search tool, users need to question the validity of the information they find and carefully review the search hits.  With so many opportunities to tag within Twine, users may find it overwhelming to find valid information on a particular topic.  For example, in an early search for twins, the system retrieved twines and connectors with anything from the Minnesota Twins (twine title) to Twin Cities (connector profile).  But, again, like any search tool, users need to look for ways to narrow their search results. 

 

Despite my initial confusing with the site's layout and wealth of information, the more I navigated within the site, the easier it became to use.  Perhaps Twine’s complexity is more a reflection of the variety it has to offer rather than complicated usability. 

 

 

I was pretty proud of myself when I finished this map.  I really thought that for what I had drawn, it was pretty darn accurate.  That all changed on the day I grabbed my camera and went to take photos of all the places on my map.  I would snap a picture, then look around and think to myself, "Oh yea, I forgot that was right here.....how did I miss that?"

There is a great deal missing from this map, both big and small.  Part of this was intentional.  I wanted to fit my drawing all on one page, and so I chose which things at the perimeters would be omitted.  This is the first indicator of me as the creator.  My first choice was to decide which things were important in my eyes, then which things would actually make the cut as being absolutely pertinent.  I left out Lot D (which I believe I referred to as "Lot Q" in my video), as well as all of the sports fields.  I also skipped over the Rec Center and Edgewood.  To me, these weren't important to my map.  I work out at a gym near my house, so the Rec Center isn't that important.  I've never really had an interest in Rowan sports, so I cut the fields.  And now that I'm a grad student, I usually park in Lot A, and I have no more use for Lot D, so that was sacrificed.

But for as much as I purposely left on the cutting room floor, there was just as much that I simply forgot.  Bole Hall, Memorial Hall, and Bole Hall Annex completely slipped my mind, and I never even thought to draw in Hollybush.  I also forgot all about Rowan Hall, as well as Mansion Apartments and Chestnut, and didn't even realize until picture day that I never added in the bookstore.

 

 

View Larger Map

It seems that my map shows not only which buildings are important to me, but which buildings I think matter.  As a journalism major, I spent most of my time in the Bozorth area, so by now, I know that whole section of campus like the back of my hand.  A lot of the buildings where I had class as a freshman are also stuck in my mind, and I feel that the reason for this is that entering into college was such a big experience in my life, that they were burned in my brain forever.  You can also notice that the farther we move away from the Bozorth area, the less detailed my drawing is, showing once again that that specific section of campus is ingrained into my head much better than any other area.

My map is a prime example of an information ecology.  You can see that, as a student in the college of communications, most of my map knowledge is based in the area where communication classes are held.  This shows that my information ecology is wrapped up in that area.  For me, the passing of knowledge and information takes place primarily in that specific section.  As Chris posted earlier, Rowan is an information ecology and there are smaller ones within it. This is a great example; every major can be seen as an information ecology because they are given specific areas on campus where the majority of their learning takes place.

This project was a lot of work, but in the end it was fun, and I feel like I learned a lot about information ecologies by actually working with something in a hands-on manner.

I recently had the opportunity to do a fun experiment.  In class, we questioned whether Rowan was an information ecology.   We then tested this hypothesis.  We drew a sketch of how we get to campus, and how we get to various classes, all from memory.  Then we made our own personalized maps from the Google My Maps function.  We placed pictures on the various place marks we created.

There are quite a few things missing from my map.  There are at least a half a dozen buildings on campus that I have either had a class in or seen on my travels.  I don’t include much on my maps because these are the only buildings relevant to me this semester.  There are several reasons for this.  I am a graduate student, so many resources that are on campus are not meant for me.  Second, I don’t live on campus, so it is much more convenient for me to use academic resources closer to my home rather than resources on campus.  Like other graduate students, I have other areas of my life I must attend to professionally.  As an undergraduate student, a majority of one’s time is spent working toward completion of one’s first academic degree.

    The choice of what to include on the maps say that there isn’t much I pay attention to when traveling to my classes.  If I did, there would be more buildings and landmarks that I could sketch from my memory.  Also, it says that I haven’t spent much time on campus.  It follows that those who are have spent more time on campus are more familiar with campus.  If I were more familiar with campus, there would be more buildings I could remember from memory.  

    Based on observations I made during the process of working on this project, I feel Rowan is an information ecology.  It is a place where humans interact on a daily basis with information in the digital age.  There are various types of technology and digital equipment that humans interact with and it changes on a daily basis.  That doesn’t necessarily mean that there aren’t smaller groups of information ecologies within the Rowan community.  It is similar to how sociologists label the overall social community and the smaller groups within the social community.

Here is the Google My Map of Rowan.  As you can see, there are limited places and landmarks on this map.  It is obvious that I am relatively new to campus. 
View Larger Map




Here one can compare it with my sketch:

Twitter is best on the go. It was built as a way to post what a person is doing and who wants to read "i am sitting at my computer"? When I just started using twitter, I had a standard cell phone and sending a tweet away from the computer required using a text message and a carrier pigeon. It was clunky and took away from whatever I was tweeting. Then, I got my iPhone and my communications experience completely changed.


At first I tried Twitterific. Although it has a great design and icon, it is very limited in what it can do (basically just read and post).  I have now moved on to Twitterfon, which is fully featured and free making it all the better. The app Tweetie is very popular, but it is 3 dollars to buy.

In the beginning twitter was a one sided posting software, but the users started @replying and so twitter had to add that functionality. In its evolution, twitter users seem to be inventing new conventions almost daily. Who doesn't use Retweeting, twitpic, and trends? Twitterfon adds these in an easy to use way.

Twitterfon also uses the iPhone hardware to its advantage. With a single press of a button, it can take a picture with the iPhone's camera and include it in a post with Twitpic.  Since the iPhone has a powerful GPS, Twitterfon  allows to view just tweets in the area. It can even search for a #hashtag in a specified area.At big events like concerts/conferences or cities, this feature can be very handy.

Of course, on top of the more advanced features, Twitterfon also handles viewing user profiles and timelines well. Tapping a tweet brings up a screen with detailed information.  If there is a link in the tweet, you can visit it in Safari. Want to RT it? Well no copy/pasting is need, just press Retweet and Twitterfon does the work for you. Most useful is the ability to view the entire tweet conversation if the tweet is an @reply.

On a critical side, I would say that the fact that the program can only load 200 tweets at a time is highly annoying, especially for anyone that is following a large number of people during a high volume time. I am also not a huge fan of the interface design as scrolling through the basic timeline, it is easy to lose information.

Mobile locations aware apps on smart-phones is definitely where the future is heading and judging by how I check Twitterfon more than my email or voicemail I can say I don't really mind.

In my graduate course, Information Architecture, we were challenged with constructing a map of Rowan from memory.  We started our sketches in class, laptops closed, in the absence of any support that the official university maps would have provided us.  Unable to complete our maps during class, we received strict orders from Dr. Wolff not to “cheat” by looking up all we had forgotten as we worked independently towards completion.  (Dr. Wolff reinforced this point by capturing our initial efforts in his camera phone.)

 

After completing our sketches, we remediated our maps using Google My Maps, including paths and place markers of significance with photos/video from campus.

 

The purpose?  Beyond providing information about locations, maps often reflect the values of their creators.  As an extension of this, just as important as what has been included is what has been omitted or (approaching this with the understanding that we can measure accuracy) what has been misconstrued.

 

Comparing my own map to an official campus map, it is clear my perspective of Rowan is limited.  The focus of my map is on the buildings I visit regularly.  The landmarks I have noted in passing have been included in a non-descript form, absent of specific labels.

 

My original sketch is below.

 

 

 

To begin, my map only identifies two roads (Route 322 and Carpenter).  I do regularly drive on two other roads, including Bowe Blvd at the University’s entrance and the side street that turns into what I now realize is Lot B, aka “Commuter Lot” on my own sketch.  Ironically, my omission of these street names is a reflection of my familiarity with this route—consider the first time we drive somewhere with the support of directions from MapQuest.  We look for street signs that match the labels identified in our printed step action table.  However, I know that when I reach the light at Bowe, I will pass through the university if I continue straight, and so I know to turn because I already know what follows. 

 

I have also missed a number of parking lots in my map.  I realized there were places to park beyond those I identified as I created my map, but as a student commuter, I’m not able to park in the other locations.  Not having used them, I couldn’t pinpoint where they were located or how to situate them in relation to roads I had never driven. 

 

To state the obvious, I’ve missed many of the buildings on campus, including dorms and buildings that are administrative and academic.  Similar to my omission of the parking lots, my lack of familiarity with these structures is the reason they either do not appear or, are present, but non-descript. 

 

Based on what has made it into my map, there are several information ecologies with which I most clearly identify.  (Note that, in my Crayola sketch, I have included dots to indicate the groups I affiliate with each location.)  Generally speaking, one information ecology includes Students (green dots).  In my sketch, students mark all of the detailed structures on campus, with the exception of the Visitor’s Gate.  This suggests a variety of environments enable the sharing of information or interests at Rowan:  classrooms provide areas to participate in discussion, whereas the Student Center may cultivate socialization in a more casual setting.  Although one may expect to also see students in the dorms, in my mapping, I placed Students as a subset within the Graduate School (yellow dot).  This reinforces that I was identifying with graduate students when I created my map.  However, as the subsets narrow, the number of times the dot appears also reduces.  For example, Information Architecture (ias09) (pink dot) appears in Education Hall, the Commuter Lot, and the Bookstore, but not in Bozarth, a location I affiliate with Seminar students (red dots). 

 

Also note that the buildings I have included and labeled are those in use by students in Rowan’s writing program.  Those facilities I use most frequently (are intended to) display bloated, the narrowness of buildings increasing as my affiliation with them decreases.  (Note that the dorms are mere lines.)

 

Red buildings are academic, including Bozarth and Education Hall (where I have attended class) as well as Campbell Library and Hawthorn Hall (buildings I affiliate with thesis).  Brown buildings are those I visit less frequently.  However, the placemarkers in my google map identify further areas of significance.  For example, within the Bookstore, there are several references to graduation, less than two months away for me.

 

Additionally, in my mapping of these ecologies, there are several that are not pictured on the map through physical landmarks, though I see them as an extension of my groups at Rowan.  For example, my active involvement in the National Writing Project (NWP) (purple dots) had connected me with New Jersey schools and educators who shared the goals of NWP at Rowan.  Also, our use of applications in ias09, such as twitter, has connected me with users of similar interests.  This includes fellow instructional designers at work, also located within a subset of other designers of e-media.  Note that no external ecologies have colored dots.

 

My link to the remediation through Google MyMaps is below.  

 

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=117059304162904294853.00046637368117090085f&ll=39.710933,-75.12346&spn=0.017695,0.045319&z=15

View Larger Map 

 

If we were to distribute my map on freshmen orientation or visitor’s day, there’s a good chance no newcomer would ever make it from point A to B.  But, however limited or skewed, the map portrays what I value at Rowan—and isn’t all documentation a reflection of perception?

     For the last few weeks, our Information Architecture class has been working on a project in which we have created maps of Rowan University. Anyone in my class already knows this, as they have been grappling with the challenge of completing the assignment under a deadline while also learning to use new technologies at the same time. It's been a frustrating, but rewarding experience.

    We drew the initial maps from memory, and thus, had no reference to ensure they were accurate. Naturally, then, my map was inaccurate to an extent, and missing some things. Notable omissions include: several administrative buildings, parking lots, and all of the dozen or so athletic fields or  courts. My map is also missing the full names of building in spots (or I have corrected them in the marker as I learned the correct names of a few buildings when I took their pictures). It is also missing the names of all roads not named Route 322.

    My memory map (the source from which my Google My Map is based) contains the things I deemed were most important in light of the small space and my less-than-spectacular cartographic skills. I started my map with Route 322 which I drew running vertically across the center of the page. I oriented everything in relation to what I call the main artery of the university. While I managed to include all of the academic buildings, I  forgot to map out several things.

    One of the first things someone familiar with Rowan's campus would notice is the lack of administrative buildings. There are several reasons for this. For one, I forgot some of the administrative buildings were there. This is understandable as I have never been to a few of them. Also, I was working under space constraints, and, for my purposes, administrative buildings are simply not as relevent as academic buildings. Also, even when I did remember some administrative buildings, I could not orient them to other buildings, so I just left them out.

    Along with the administrative buildings, I also left out several athletic fields and courts, and for similar reasons. I forgot some of them were there, I ran out of space, and I had trouble orienting them to other things. Another reason I omitted the athletic fields is because I don't think they're as important.

    I also ignored several of the roads that run through and around the campus. On one hand, this is a curious omission because roads are obviously essential for travel. How can we explain where things are if we cannot explain how we got there?

    When you consider the things I've omitted from the maps a few things will probably come to mind. For one, it's clear my maps aren't very accurate: they're missing a great deal of important items. Also, I privilege some  over other types: academic buildings above the others. Some people may feel differently, and may not agree with this cartographic decision. The fact that so many items were omitted from the map suggests that I may not be best person to ask to draw a map. It can also be assumed that I have trouble representing information visually. At best, one could merely say I can't draw; at worst, that I lack attention-to-detail.

    While adding roads would have been useful, I just didn’t think of it. And if I did, I probably wouldn’t have remembered many of the roads’ names. While this is understandable, it does not make my map any better: roads are essential in maps, and my map only has one.
   
    Deficiencies with my map aside, I did learn to view the campus in a new way: as a bundle of potential information ecologies. Administrative offices serve to make the work done in academic buildings and athletic fields possible. Work done in academic buildings by student-athletes allows the work on the athletic fields possible. The work of undergraduates makes it possible to gain acceptance to graduate programs. Computer labs serve students in completing assignments and printing assignments for all the academic buildings. In this instance, it can be said that academic buildings are a keystone species.

We can look at Savitz Hall, home of the admissions department as a more in-depth example of an information ecology at work. Savitz accepts thousands of applications from would-be students every year. From here, applications are accepted and rejected. When students are accepted, they are awarded a letter from the financial aid office which tells them how much money in scholarships, grants, and loans are available for their use. When the Financial Aid Office sends out award letters to students, they need to pay their bills with the Bursar Office. These offices work in concert to carry out the business of the university.

    We can also view the relationship between Savitz, the Student Health Center, and the various academic departments. After a student is accepted and has paid his or her bill to the Unversity, he or she will have to send in medical information to the student health center. If this person has a medical impairment that affects his or her academic performance, the student will have to provide professors with proof, that could be furnished by the Student Health Center.
   
    We can look at the campus as an information ecology academically, as well. When I graduated with my degree in history from Rowan, I asked some of my former professors to write me letters of recommendation. They did, and sent them the Graduate School Office. Partially based on these recommendations, and partly based on my academic record as an undergraduate, I was accepted in the MA in Writing Arts program.

    When we examine how we present information visually, we can draw connections to how we write. Presenting information in written form is not unlike presenting it in visual form, though we may not always see it that way. I hope my maps are helpful as guides to how we might better represent information visually.

This is my memory map, which was done, curiously enough, from memory.



   
    And, my remediated memory map created with Google's My Map feature.
   



View Larger Map

There has been a lot of coverage on how the recent Facebook redesign has annoyed the user-base, even in mainstream media like CNN.  Facebook has problems, but the biggest is this... I don't care.


Facebook's early culture before the days of the News Feed or multiple redesigns was vastly different. Facebook was like collecting baseball cards. Random people would meet me at a party or conference and later find me on Facebook. Since there was no real consequence, the friend number would tick up on my profile and I slowly amassed over 500 friends.

Then came Friendfeed and Twitter, intriguing web apps where you could track the every movement of your friends and colleagues - people you selected because you desire their thoughts. As these networks gained steam, Mark Zuckerburg decided that he wanted Facebook, and no other site, to be the center of people's online lives. So he turned Facebook into Friendfeed and Twitter, but there was a big problem...

All of the random people I met once? I do not care what they are eating right now. I don't care to see pictures of them and their "bros" beer pong tournaments, I don't care what their Top Five beers are, I don't care that they just bought tickets to Jonas Brothers 3D, and finally I don't care that they share characteristics with President Willard Filmore.

The newly enhanced filters address this issue, but it does not fix it or stop all of those random people from learning random information about me.

For advertisers and companies that are excited about the new way their updates can work their way into people's feeds, this is also not great news.  Will their messages get to ANY of their public effectively or get lost in the white noise of a thousand random people's updates?

The way to fix this issue is going through all my Facebook friends and deleting all the random people, but that is a lengthy process that causes more problems than it fixes. Even with an excuse of getting free Burger King, the old culture of "collecting Facebook baseball cards" is still there and deleting someone is the ultimate online slap in the face.

So what is the answer?

Facebook needs to decide what it is - a communications tool and directory of close friends or a bloated jack-of-all-trades, that is a master of none.

Wired.com has launched a sister site exclusively for the United Kingdom. Even though America and the UK speak the same language and are moving closer and closer culturally with the internet, there is still a market for UK only stories for our brothers and sister across the pond.

The design of the Wired.co.uk is still distinctly Wired, using their striking, yet simple boxy design that invokes the digital world of 0's and 1's.  The use of the complimentary blue and orange really pops for the eye and separates the UK version of the site from the original which prefers exclusive black and grays.

From a type standpoint, the site excels by using big sans-serif to attract users to the titles and serif for the article content. As most blogs lately use sans-serif site only, it is nice to see a site going with the more traditional sans-serif. It is much easier to read, even on screen.

The layout of the Wired.co.uk site packs a magazine's worth of articles on to the first page without being overkill.  Other technology blogs such as Engadget and Gizmodo use a long scrolling page of chronological posts.  To stick with its Magazine roots, Wired.co.uk's hompage is setup categorically. It is easy to find which articles are most popular.

The decision to arrange by category/popularity or by date is an important one. Even though blogs have pushed the "stream" design to the forefront, for sites that produce as much content as a Magazine or Newspaper, the categorical design is far more user-friendly. Imagine the NewYorkTimes.com setup like a blog? It would be overwhelming.