What exactly is a home page? Is it a place of dwelling? A common ground to welcome others? Or maybe where social gatherings can occur? A home page can contain many characteristics that have these unique perspectives. But first let's define what exactly a home page is. For a percise view of the different types of home pages here is D.C. Denison's article on the different types of home pages people can have. If you want an indepth study of what a home page contains, its features, purpose, and uses look into Dr. James' Architecture Home Page. Done by a brilliant professor of social psychology who has personally instruct his class on the great advancement of the "information highway." These two articles contain information on what a home page can contain and what its purpose and usage is.
According to Dr. Leon James, a standard home page:
Although home pages can be used for personal purposes it can also be used to advertise, be a source of infromation (political, environmental, educational, etc.), entertainment, and the list can go on and on. Within each home page there are links that bring you into other areas of intrest on realted topics or the obscure. Home pages act as a type of "switchboard" allowing visitors access to information upon information that can remain endless. Here is a great sample of one the many home pages found within Netscape Lori Morita's Topical Index which contians the searches she found to be of intrest to her.
Creating a home page takes much effort and is quite time consuming so why in the world would people spend so much time on it? According to Christina Kealoha's week 6 report, in the Psychology class taught by Dr. James, she expresses her concerns while working on the internet. "But even with all that planning, I can't believe how long I am capable of staying in this computer lab. There is always more to do and I always have to DRAG myself away, either because I have a class, or because the computer lab is closing. I think it's insane how addicting this computer thing is and I have to admit, it's not a pleasant addiction for me. I don't really enjoy sitting in front of a computer for hours on end, but I really want to get these things done and that's what drives me and forces me to stay in the computer lab for hours on end. Granted I don't stay nearly as long as Lori , but to me, I am putting in an awful lot of hours. Does anybody else feel that way?" But after all this she ends her report to mention that "...I feel that these skills that I utilized this week will be invaluable in the future as my homepage evolves into my own little work of art."
As you create your own home page you realize the hours that is required in setting your own home page. You become involved in creating that perfect personalized home page for others to see and admire. You tend to want people to view your home page in awe as they look into what you have to offer and what ideas they can use. This becomes your personal project that you have contol over. It becomes intergrated into your personality and gives the viewers a taste of what this "interior-designer" has instore, a reflection of your being and what you want others to see when they enter your "world."
Creating a home page you have to take certain criterias into consideration. A home page allows visitors to read and explore your "home" so it is important to make this a pleasant trip. I feel that the most important aspect is entertainment. It is always a pleasure reading fun home pages that are not too complicated or unclear (remember even children can have access to your home page). Keep your home page short, percise, and eye-catching. You can have links that can lead your reader into a more indepth access, but since your home page is the first thing they encounter before the journey make sure it is a pleasant one. You also have to keep in mind that if it is too long to load due to images and other fancy gadgets your viewer may loose interest. Therefore, keep the images small and sparce. An example of a home page that is just too long to view is Kevin Bogan's Home Page. Notice that he had a large picture which takes a while for the computer to load so if you have the time then this would not matter. An example of a quick home page is Cynitha Yap's Home Page. Here she gives you the option of viewing two types of home pages; the one with images and one that is strickly for reading.
Another point to remember is that it is good to include your e-mail address so that people can reply their opinions about what they had just viewed. So make sure that your home pages are respectable for your viewers. Being offensive is not considered a good quality home page. People do not want to feel defensive once they read your home page so as a consideration to others keep it clean and tactful.
As we enter the 21st Century we have accomplished so much in the area of techonolgy that it is a mystery what we will be uncovering by this time. Right now in the present we are embarking on a whole new era of information and communication. We are now able to communicate with people continents apart within seconds through a computer for FREE. We can now transfer information via the computer and change information within seconds all due to this new process called the internet that is sweeping through the whole world. Anyone with access to a computer and a modem can now have this luxery of "surfing the Net."
An example of the information we get through the internet is CNN news update. Here are news breaking updates on the world, weather, technology, and sports. If we want to read about health issues we can look into Washington State Department of Healths' Home Page which gives us links into many health issues such as Emerging Infectuous Diseases, or University of Washington Helath Sciences Center. To get the lastest updates on movies you can view The Movie Web. These are just samples of the wide range of information that are available at our finger tips. Gathering information is not the only thing that you can get from the internet, you can also look at advertisements, promotions, go shopping, partake in surveys, or talk to other people around the world.
Here is a small list of links that you can find while on Netscape:
WWEB Shopping
Directory
Sky Dive-
UK! The Clubs (an advertisment for the clubs that offer Sky Diving in
the UK)
MTV.COM
Joe's
Amazing Relationship Problem Solver!
The Quotations Home Page
Riddler
There are many other home pages to explore this is just a sample of the other thousands that are just waiting to be viewed.
Another advantage of having a home page, other than for information purposes or for personal use is that it can be used for personal expressions. As mentioned in Part One was that anyone can post personal issues or opinions, however, consideration for others should be taken into account when posting opinions that others may not share. Home pages are a new and innovative way to post, read and recieve information.
In essence home pages is new way to introduce yourself to the world. A way of transcending your thoughts, opinions, likes, dislikes, personal background, education, etc. through a computer to be accessed by anyone anywhere. This maybe our newest form of communication for the years to come. As we come closer to the 21st century this type of communication may not be as "new" to us as it would be in the future.