Social Psychology of Web Architecture:

Introduction: Personal Perks of Web Publishing

    Web architecture is a very important factor in web pages now days.  With the creating of dozens of web authoring tools and the advance of html, there seems to be no limit to the bright and new web pages of the future.  In this report we will examine the psychological aspect of web architecture and design.  From this you will gain an overall view of what it consists of and what elements should be implemented in a "good" web page design.
    As for my experience in web publishing and design, prior to this class, I have made attempts to post a formal web page, but never got around to finishing those.  They were mostly for experimentation purposes.  I did have extensive experience of the web as I have browsed the web for a couple of years and have viewed many "good" sites as well as "bad" sites.  When I did get to post something on the web for everyone to see, I was actually excited.  It felt like I was publishing a new book that was about to be sent to almost every person in the world.  As for now though, I feel that I am much more advanced in terms of web publishing.  I have gone beyond the experimentation phase and have gotten down to the work ethic part of it.  It is still enjoyable though, no doubt about that.  I find that these reports not only expand other's knowledge about the subject matter, but it also helps me become a world renowned artist on the vast space we call the world wide web.
 

Reviews of Other Student Reports in this Subject Matter

    In a report done by Craig Kawamura, he gives an overall look on his venture into the web publishing domain.  He addresses the necessary topics that were supposed to be touched on and I enjoyed how he got quotes from other people's web sites and analyzed them.  It was really interesting to seem him progress throughout his html programming because before the course, it seemed that he was familiar with the internet, but not with web publishing.  I can relate to this because I am exactly at that point in my web publishing career.  Like others, he wishes to further his web publishing career by creating more elaborate and appealing web pages for all to see.

    Scott Chang also took another approach to web publishing.  Scott takes it to a business point of view in taking web publishing as an opportunity for others to place their resume or other job related information up on the web to further themselves in the business world.  Being that he took ICS 101, a general course on computers and programming, he already had experience with computers and creating web pages.  Although, as he was part of G6 and with web publishing not as elaborate as it is now, a lot of his views of what a web page should be were a little limited.  As web publishing has become exponentially grand now, back then it may have taken a back seat to information rather than appearance.  This was really interesting to see because as times change, so does the technology.  A basic reality check to the changing times of our world is what I believe Scott has gone after.

    Leslie Francis concentrated on the tools for web publishing.  I especially enjoyed the table of the different programs which indicated what areas the programs were strong in and what areas the programs were weak in.  I believe that mentioning the tools of web publishing is a very important topic because they make we publishing so much easier.  What we have to remember though is that although web authoring tools, such as Microsoft Front Page or Netscape Composer, may make web publishing easier, one still should know the underlying html that builds the foundations.  Time and time again people do web publishing from web publishing tools without knowing html.  Overall though, Leslie seemed to get to know html pretty well, by the looks of her page, and she did this through tenacity and persistence.

    In a report done by Cherisse Eguchi, we see an example of a fairly failed attempt at web publishing.  From her report we see that frustration just led to more frustration which led to a frustrating web page.  I chose this report because it should remind all of us that web pages are intricate reports that must be tweaked to something close to perfection.  It certainly isn't something that can be whipped, scrambled, and baked in an hour or so.  Web pages are a lifetime of work, and according to some site I've viewed, are a lifetime of improvement.  Some pages update their content every single day while others sit dormant for years, but either way it still gets its point out to the world and presents itself in this age of information technology.
 

Web Designer Principles As I See It: You Gotta Love It or You Gotta Hate It

    Sucky to Savvy, by Jeffrey M. Glover is a web site to help you develop your web site to appeal to a range of users.  All of his insight comes from 2 years of experience in creating web sites and viewing them.  Although this site has tips on improving your web site, these aren't the absolute standards that must be followed.  I appreciate how Mr. Glover acknowledges that every web designer has his or her own tastes and standards in creating a web page.  After all, it is "creating" something, wo why not be creative right?  Well, as Mr. Glover keeps this in mind, he also keeps in mind what constitutes a good, clean, and attractive web page, and as we'll see, many of his suggestions are, in fact, applicable to almost every single web publisher.
    As Mr. Glover takes us on his journey to a better web page, he reminds us that there are 3 main things to keep in mind which are what is sucky/savvy, why it is sucky/savvy, and what you can do about it.  I believe that these three things aren't the only things that one should worry about when creating a page.  I believe that when you look at your page and judge it, personal taste also comes in to play such as how it appeals to yourself.  I mean, when you create a page, it's not only for others to look at, but for yourself to admire it also!  Take pride in your work and sometimes you just have to say, "I like it just the way I did it!"

Here's a list of things on web pages which Mr. Glover thinks is "sucky."

    As I went through these, I found that Mr. Glover had 1 main point in mind while creating this list, and that is SIMPLICITY.  I found that many times in his instructions on how to improve the "sucky" item is to simply keep it simple, eliminate whatever is giving the trouble, and put it in plain text.  I agree with him in that many web publishers actually do more than what they should.  There are many exciting things one can do with web pages, but sometimes there is just too much.  For example, I really enjoyed how Mr. Glover interpreted the use of scrolling marquees and ticker-tape status.  He mentioned that these types of items force the reader into a reading pattern which is quite uncomfortable.  These scrolling marquees usually come out 1 word at a time and it forces the reader to read like a robot which is like this, one---word---at---a---time.  I agree that this may be quite spectacular in the beginning, but after a while it gets very distracting and annoying.  I believe that a page shouldn't have too much movement.  Too much movement equals to too much distraction.
    Another item which I would like to discuss is Mr. Glover's opinion about frames.  I believe that he has the same opinion as I do where frames do well only if you know how to apply them.  I have seen sites where one narrow frame on the left side of the screen is the navigation frame and the other full frame is for viewing.  I believe that this is probably the best and should be the only use for frames.  I say this because overused frames cut down on the viewing areas for the main viewing frame.  I've been to sites where the screen is cluttered with 4 or 5 long narrow frames and by the time the main viewing area is showing, I would manually move the frames so that I could see the main picture.  That was very annoying.  Another major pet peeve about frames is that sometimes it's very hard to break from them, in other words when traveling to another page from the page with the frames, sometimes the page tends to get stuck with the frames further limiting your viewing range.  So a note to all web publishers out there, use frames to a minimum!  And as you can see, I never use frames and neither does Mr. Glover.
    Mr. Glover also reviews what is "savvy" in a web page.  The seven items he thinks are "savvy" are:

    Looking through Mr. Glover's "savvy" items brought up the thought again about simplicity.  In his savvy list he didn't mention anything about great looking graphics or any other flashy things.  He mentioned practical items, such as contact info, that should be placed on each and every web site.  These are definitely essential for a well thought out web page and for continued success in the future.
 

Psychological Aspects to Web Design: Homes and Wires

    "Later, when I got over my disappointment, I realized that there are two views possible regarding the Internet, one external and the other internal. My friend, along with many influential people in government, education and industry, are going to have only an external view. And this view is uninviting, unattractive, and unexciting. How fast it spreads, how much it costs, how it can be used for increasing sales, for delivering distance education, and making electronic libraries and information databases more accessible to all people. These external considerations regarding Internet are necessary and worthwhile. The new teletechnology is a boon to society worldwide. We need to protect and foster its development through appropriate and wise legislation and international agreements. I support and applaud this. But it is not where my love is. My love is in My Home Page architecture -- and this requires an inside view, a perspective obtainable only through doing the work of a cyberspace architect."  -Dr. James, 1994

    The internet is a vast world where things such as commerce and business take place.  But what about the beauty behind all of that hustle and bustle.  Within the quote that I chose from Dr. James' paper, he explores how his friend views the internet.  Basically Dr. James says that his friend's view of the internet is an external one where those who take this view look pass the backbone of the internet and just look at the gains and profits they can achieve through it.  This is a very blanketed view of the internet because the internet is so much more than just a bunch of sites for the expenditure of information.  There is beauty in in, such as the creative thoughts a web designer ponders over while creating his/her page, the emotions stirred while someone posts his first picture on the web, and the excitement that one can express through her web page.  These are the things that should be looked upon in conjunction with the external factors and I believe that Dr. James shares that same point of view.  We have to keep perspective of the whole picture otherwise we will lose it even before we have begun.

    "Because you determine what the browser sees and has access to, you are acting like a virtual god -- building a cyberspace architecture through virtual pathways to people's minds."  -Dr. James, 1994

    I really enjoyed this quote because in a way we are all like virtual gods.  Every single time we are on the internet we all are able to see into people's lives, their beliefs, and ideas.  Not only do we create a web full of useless information, but we do tend to put ourselves on the internet for all the world to see.  Relating it to Dr. James' topic about why we call it home pages, I believe that our "home pages" on the internet are very similar to the homes we live in.  By this I mean that each person's home is designed and furnished to reflect the person's personality and tastes.  Relating this to our home pages on the internet, it's like an open house for everyone to peruse and inquire.  Our home page is our presentation to the world saying who we are, what we enjoy, what our tastes are, and what our personality is.

    "A link always has a purpose or function."  -Dr. James, 1994

    Although this quote may be subtle, in actuality it means a lot.  We all speak about our home pages, our pictures, and our property, but what is the internet without links?  Links are the connections to each and every person which allows all of us to be related in some fashion on the internet.  It is true that a link is a very simplistic thing, but I believe that links are the lifelines of the internet community.  It is certainly something which you can't leave home without.

    Overall when we look at the internet, it is simply something like the homes we live in now, but much more public.  We have our home pages which consists of who we are, what we are like, and then we have the links which are our lifelines to others to build a community of web architecture.  I believe that building a community of fine web pages is the pinnacle of web architecture and we are all on our way to becoming that.  Still there are factors which must be dealt with, such as the ugly external factors, but with time all of that will be connected in our web of perfection.
 

What It's Like to Become a Web Designer:  10% Inspiration, 90% Perspiration

    Becoming a web designer has been a very exciting journey for me.  I've had prior experience with creating web pages for class as well for leisure so as for background, I've had some experience.  Despite that prior experience, there is always room for improvement.  It takes a lot of energy to actually come up with ideas for a web page, but it also takes a lot of work.  I believe that my hard work has paid off because I do find that creating web pages aren't really a chore anymore.  I find it exciting and innovative and certainly invigorating to think about others reading my reports.  As I stand now, I believe that I am an novice web designer.  I don't believe that I am an expert yet because there is so much more for me to learn about html, appearance, and content.  Although I am at this stage in web design, I know that there is no where to go but forward to learn more about web design.  Also, as technology improves, so do the tools that help create web pages.  Soon, every single person will have the tools that give them the ability to create and exciting web page with just clicks of a button, and as Mr. Glover says, "Just add text."
    My advice to future generations is to not get discouraged if you happen to run into a roadblock.  Remember that in the world of computing, there is always some way around the problem, and that just takes a little critical thinking, creativity, and insight.  Stay calm when creating your web pages.  I say don't design a web page to impress anyone except yourself.  If you can't please yourself, you surely can't please others, so create web pages using your own creativity and heart.  And lastly, web design takes a lot of work.
    My advice to Dr. James is to keep up with what you're doing.  I believe that it is a great system and very few changes should take place.  I say this because the presentation of the generations reflect the period of web publishing during that time.  For example, generation 1 will not be as elaborate as our generation 10, but that's okay because they're unique in the way they presented.  It also shows how much we have progressed in terms of the abilities to design web sites and more.
 

Annotated Index to Web Design: Helpful Sites

Top Ten Mistakes in Web Design is a great articles very similar to Mr. Glover's sucky/savvy postings.  Like Mr. Glover's site, this one takes you through each mistake and tells you how to fix it.

HTML Help by the Web Design Group is a great site for those who want to learn html but don't have the resources to by a textbook on it.  It includes a whole run down of what html is and how to use it.

The Web Design Resource has everything from an html tutor to a javascript tutor.  A great site to learn html from!