HTML Code

We are going to be looking at HTML code today. We originally viewed the source for the Google homepage.

1. Google
   
2. NQ Access To Creative Industries Blog
   

Crossword

Punk Rock Crossword

Search Engines

Yahoo

Ask

Bing

Google

For our EPK project, we have to research using search engines, i'm going to show 4 search engines.

Google is the most popular and a huge brand worldwide. It is the easiest to use and has a very basic interface, which doesn't confuse people, you get what you want, with minimum fuss. Bing is the recently re-branded Live Search from Microsoft/Windows. Yahoo is a more expansive search engine, while Ask is a former Q & A, while it is now a more common search engine, however Google is almost unreachable and you will find that Google is used to search for other search engines!

INSANE IN THE BRAIN - Bounce

Our project is to create an Electronic Press Kit (EPK) for the show:
INSANE IN THE BRAIN - BOUNCE.

Useful Links:
Tour Website - www.insanetour.co.uk
Event listing on the Macrobert website - www.macrobert.stir.ac.uk/MACROBERT/Index.html
Event listing at Sadler's Wells Theatre - www.sadlerswells.com/show/Insane-in-the-Brain-Bounce
Facebook Group Page - www.facebook.com/insanetour
Article from the London Evening Standard - www.thisislondon.co.uk/theatre/show-23382729-details/Bounce:InsaneInTheBrain/showReview.do?reviewid=23444566
Youtube videos

• www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptP5jqTBgd4
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=E10cUMFURqU

Article from The Independent - www.independant.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/reviews/preview-insane-in-the-brain-sadlers-wells-london-786672.html
Article from The Guardian - www.guardian.co.uk/culture/2008/feb/29/theatre.musicals

What information will we need for our EPK?
We will need to gather a lot of resources for this EPK, including:

• Images
• Show Information
• Reviews
• Videos
• Dancers
• Tour dates
• Links
• History of the group/previous shows/experience
• Influences

Roles
Designer - David
Editor - Reece
Researcher/Sources - James

Everyone will help each other out with the project, these roles are just primary roles, they don't define that is what you will only do.

We will use i-photo to gather our images.

Video Sharing Websites

Above: Blip.TV
Below: Youtube

Tuesday 8/9/09
I am going to compare video-sharing websites today.

First example will be the ever-popular YouTube, which has set the high standard for today's video sharing market.


YouTube
YouTube was created in 2005 by Chad Hurley and Steve Chen, who proceeded to become the first members of the YouTube management team and currently serve as Chief Executive Officer and Chief Technology Officer respectively.

Features:

• Video embedding: Users can insert a YouTube video into Facebook and MySpace accounts, blogs, or other Web sites where anyone can watch them.
• Public or private videos: Users can elect to broadcast their videos publicly or share them privately with friends and family upon upload.
• Subscriptions: Users are able to keep track of their favorite users' new videos.
• Record from Webcam: Users with a webcam and Flash software are able to instantly record video responses or normal videos onto the site rather than having to prerecord and then upload the video.
• TestTube: This is an area where YouTube engineers and developers conduct alpha testing for new features in development. Users are encouraged to participate in the development process and are welcome to evaluate the feature.

Blip.tv
Blip TV is an up and coming Video-sharing website that is currently in BETA mode, therefore it is not the final edition. The main aim of Blip.tv is to showcase independent shows to an audience, giving indie show creators the chance to show-off their skills.

The site has a useful dashboard feature, making it easy to find shows and to navigate your way around the website.

Comparison

Blip TV uses advertisements to generate revenue which is one disadvantage due to the fact that Youtube has no adverts on their website, meaning that users will find Blip TV slightly more annoying.

The fact that Blip TV also doesn't have many videos or major links is a disadvantage, however I get the feeling that Blip TV is aimed more at creating a community and allowing others to share their work and talk about their shared interests and comment on the work whereas Youtube is aimed at a more generable audience, a more marketable audience.

I would say that Youtube is a lot better than Blip.tv, but the fact is that Youtube are an established worldwide commercial success while Blip.tv are still in the beta stage, so it is hard to compare the two when there is such a difference in development.

Photo-Sharing

Diary of today
Today the class worked in iWeb, playing around with the program, trying to get used to the software's features. Reece, James and I were in a group and we created a website with a Homepage, an About me page, a Photo page and finally a Blog page. The program is fairly easy to used and soon enough we will have it mastered. I had to search Google for some images, and type in information for the website, while I also found out how to create my own hyperlinks. I also learned how to take a screenshot by using Drag.

Flickr
Flickr is a well-known specialist photo-sharing website. The homepage for Flickr is very easy to use as shown by the screenshots below:

Flickr features:
Upload - Upload from your desktop, send by email, or use your cameraphone.
Edit - Get rid of red eye, crop a photo, or get creative with fonts and effects!
Organize - Use collections, sets, and tags to organize your photos and videos.
Share - Use groups and privacy controls to share your photos and videos.
Maps - Share where your photos and videos were taken, and see photos and videos taken near you.
Make Stuff - Sexy cards, photo books, framed prints, Target pick up, DVDs, etc.
Keep in Touch - Get updates from family and friends.

So as you can see Flickr has many useful features for serious users, casual users, and those who just want to view or share photo's. I searched for "live music" and their engine returned 2,529,291 items! An amazing return for high resolution photo's. There is also the option to upload videos to the site.

Woophy
Woophy is another photo-sharing experience where the main feature is a large map that highlights how many photo's are from which part of the world, which is a different feature to that of Flickr's. However compared to Flickr, the navigation is slighty more difficult and less appealing. The site also has a news section and a forum dedicated to the members of the site, whereas Flickr only has photo comments as an option. Unlick Flickr, Woophy has no edit functions, meaning what you upload is final, and it also has no video option.

Conclusion
From looking at both websites, personally I prefer Flickr, it looks more proffesional, has more and better features, and is a lot easier to use. It also appears more of a community plus editing features to give it the upper hand.
Verdict:
Flickr - 9/10
Woophy - 7/10