References Used

Aculearn, viewed 8th October 2007
http://www.aculearn.com/about.html

Aculearn, viewed 8th October 2007
http://www.aculearn.com/images/logo_aculearn.gif

Advantage Online Services LLC, Advantages of online shopping, updated 29th October 2004, viewed 5th October 2007
http://www.advantageols.com/

AsiaMedia SINGAPORE, Censors gunning for blogging servicemen, 21st Noember 2005, viewed 3rd October 2007
http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article-southeastasia.asp?parentid=34025

BBC, Singapore attacked over blog gag, updated 6th April 2006, viewed 3rd October 2007
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4882746.stm

BBC, Talking point: Snail mail versus Email, updated 17th July 2002, viewed 8th October 2007
http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A788484

BBC, What is blogging?, viewed 2nd October 2007
http://www.bbc.co.uk/webwise/askbruce/articles/browse/
blogging_1.shtml

Benny Hinn, viewed 10th October 2007
http://www.bennyhinn.org/default.cfm

Blogging, viewed 2nd October 2007
http://www.blogger.com

Facebook Image, viewed 9th October 2007
http://mashable.com/images/facebookbigshot1.png

Gam Amelie, Modern Ways of Communication – VoIP, Ezine@articles, viewed 8th October 2007
http://ezinearticles.com/?Modern-Ways-of-Communication---
VoIP&id=293072

Hillsong, viewed 10th October 2007
http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

Joel Osteen Ministries, viewed 10th October 2007
http://joelosteen.lakewood.cc/site/PageServer?pagename=
JOM_homepage

Joyce Meyer Ministries, viewed 10th October 2007
http://www.joycemeyer.org/OurMinistries/Podcasts/
podcastdownloads.htm

Kapoor Gopika, Rediff.com, Access denied, updated 23rd April 2003, viewed 4th October 2007
http://www.rediff.com/netguide/2003/apr/23net.htm

Leong Sandra 2007, ‘We’re (NET)Working’, The Straits Times 30 September, L4-5
Media and I – Internet, Media Development Authority, updated 29th December 2004, viewed 3rd October 2007
http://www.mda.gov.sg/wms.www/actualTransferrer.aspx?c=10.1.6.&sid=135&eid=-1&fid=-1

Messenger Live, viewed 8th October 2007
http://get.live.com/messenger/overview

Messenger Live, viewed 8th October 2007
http://www.voipcentral.org/images/msn_messenger_live
_v8b.jpg


Nielsen Jakob Alertbox, Weblog Usability: The Top Ten Design Mistakes, updated 17th October 2005, viewed 11th October 2007
http://www.useit.com/alertbox/weblogs.html

Online Shopping Image, viewed 5th October 2007
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2006/11/09/260_shopping2.jpg

Parker, RC, 2003, ‘Designing documents for web distribution’, Looking good in print, 5th edn, Paraglyph Press, Scottsdale AZ, Chapter 14, pp. 269-293

Skype image, viewed 8th October 2007
http://www.cnet.co.uk/i/c/blg/cat/skype_logo_
connect-web.jpg

Skype, viewed 8th October 2007
http://about.skype.com/

TrustSg, viewed 5th October 2007
http://www.trustsg.com.sg/v3/for_consumers/

Weboptimiser, Local search and online shopping growing in popularity, viewed 5th October 2007
http://www.weboptimiser.com/search_engine_marketing_
news/6090802.html

Wikipedia, Internet, viewed 10th October 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet

Wikipedia, Online Shopping, viewed 5th October 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Online_shop

Wikipedia, Podcasting, viewed 10th October 2007
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Podcasting

Zach Paul 2007, ‘Face Value’, The Straits Times 30 September, pg. 27

My Reflections

FINALLY! I’ve completed my blog assignment. This is my first time doing an academic blog. It’s an interesting way of grading an assignment. Initially, it was mind-boggling about the topics that I was going to write about. But as the days passed, ideas just flowed. In addition, I had to be careful of the tone I was using. I couldn’t write like how a personal blog would sound like. I had to be more objective than subjective. But I had fun doing assignment.

While doing my assignment, I put into practice what was being taught. In Parker (2003, pg. 273), there were a few several design suggestions which I applied to my blog.

          •   Avoid Multi-column Layouts: As seen in my blog, there is only a single column. This prevents the reader from scrolling up and down if the blog was written in a multicolumn layout. Additionally, there is sufficient line spacing to compensate for the resulting long lines of text.

          •   Reduce Line Length: There is white space build up on the left and right margins my blog. This is to ensure that the readers won’t have to make as many left-to-right eye movements as they scan each line of text.

          •   Using Typographic Constrast: The titles are larger and more noticeable than the body text.

        •   Add Text Hyperlinks: On the left margin of the blog, there’s a hyperlinked table of contents to help the reader navigate around the blog.

          •   Background and Visuals: I kept the design of my blog as simple as possible. This is because I don’t know the resolution or size of my reader’s screen.

I also made sure my blog followed Nielsen’s (2005) list of top ten design mistakes. I avoided most of them, except for first two top mistakes – ‘No Author Biographies’ and ‘No Author Photo’. These restrictions were also compulsory in our assignment requirements.

Gospel Message Goes WWW

The gospel message has been able to reach many parts of the world because of the internet. Gospel resources are no longer just limited to America or Australia, but nations around the globe are able to have access to the resources because of the advancement in technology – the discovery of the internet. For instance, if Singaporeans want a CD teaching from America that’s unavailable in Singapore, we can just go online and purchase it. It’s another way of shopping online.

In addition, Singaporeans can watch Church services or television programmes of other countries as well. For example, Benny Hinn, or Hillsong. Even though Singapore doesn’t have a Christian TV channel, but we can still watch the programmes online. As compared to the past, we are as privileged as the Americans who have the advantage of having a Christian TV Channel.

Podcast has been introduced in the media market not too long ago. It began around in 2005.
          A podcast is a digital media file, or a series of such files, that is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds for playback on portable media players and personal computers (Wikipedia).

Church ministries have caught up with the technology and now they produce their own podcast content for Christians to download. Ministries such as Joyce Meyer or Lakewood Church have already started using Podcast as a means of outreach.

For further reading.
The Rookie Youth Worker
Danboles
Gregstier

Facebook

An example of a Facebook account

The latest social network craze on the World Wide Web has been phenomenal. It’s none other than - The Facebook. As stated by The Straits Times dated 30 September 2007, from the articles titled Face Value and We’re (NET)Working, it said that with about 42 million active users, Facebook now ranks as the Web’s second most trafficked social network, behind News Corp’s MySpace.com. In Singapore, according to the online intelligence firm Hitwise, Facebook’s growth over the six months are been extraordinary, it’s share grew from close to zero in March to 2.61 per cent this month.

Facebook has not only been a place for social networking, but it has been good for team bonding and also remarkably good as a business tool. XM Asia Pacific used Facebook as a marketing for Tiger Airways. More than 100 public users have since joined to get first dibs on the low-cost carrier’s latest promotions (The Straits Times, L5).

I too have a Facebook account. The functions are pretty similar to the rival social networking site – Friendster. But in Facebook, you get to write on your friend’s “FunWall” or even “poke” them. It’s pretty fun, but time consuming.

Communication via The Internet

Today’s technology has advanced so much so that one can make a phone call over the internet. This is called Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP). What you need is just a computer, an internet connection, an earphone with an attached microphone and you’re all ready to talk to someone over the internet instead of using the phone (Ezine@rticles). There are various servers such as Skype, Aculearn and MSN Messenger that provide such a function of talking over the internet. With VoIP, calls across countries are free. No more the fear of bursting your pockets over a phone call.

Skype

Aculearn

MSN Messenger Live

If your friend or relative is overseas, you can look them while talking to them. All you need is an additional gadget – a webcam, and you’ll be on your way to talking with them face to face. You can also do video conferencing with a number of people with the use of the program called Aculearn.

In addition, communication via sending emails have become the preferred option over sending snail mails. According to a survey carried out earlier this year by a UK-based internet-measuring company, in January 2002, UK homes sent and received 550 million emails but only 258 million letters (BBC). Reason why emails have an advantage is because it’s fast and cheap. There’s no need to wait for eons before your letter arrives. With just a click of a button, you are able to receive your friend’s letter. But having said that, emails do have its cons too. For example, there’s no personal touch if the letter was sent through the email.

Online Shopping

With just a click of the mouse, one can buy any item from the internet irregardless of the geographical location. This is known as online shopping (Wikepedia).

Shopping is just a click away

Shopping online has gain more popularity over the years. In a survey conducted by BizRate.com and The Kelsey Group in 2004,
     Nearly half of respondents (43 per cent) said that they preferred to research and shop online, while around 28 per cent displayed some combination of offline/online behaviour. (Weboptimiser).

There are many reasons to why shopping online has become more favourable. Firstly, one can shop from any country. There is no geographical boundary. If Singapore does not import certain items, one can purchase it online. Shopping online also allows one to compare prices from different online stores. Additionally, one does not have to travel from one store to another to find an exact product. This makes shopping online very convenient. (Advantages of online shopping).

In Singapore, the National Trust Council has made shopping online safer for its consumers. All consumers will just have to look out for the TrustSg seal on the website to ensure that it’s a credible website.

TrustSg gives you the assurance that you are dealing with trusted online merchants who will honour their promise and deliver what you order. Sufficient information about goods and services is also made available to make an informed buying decision. So, not only do you get the conveniences of online shopping at your fingertips, you can also shop without fear of security risks and fraudulent merchant behaviour (TrustSg).

For further reading.
The Bargain Queen
Bargin Hunting
Sg Spree

The Internet

Can you live without the internet? What will you do if the internet server was down? Or if the internet connection was slow?

With more and more people getting hooked to cyberspace, being disconnected in a totally connected world is like being left out of the gang. For most, it's like a drug -- one that calls for a daily fix. – Gopika Kapoor (Rediff.com)

Being connected to the internet has its positive sides. But if one can’t control themselves from the internet, they can get addicted to it and it’ll thus result in negative repercussions. But in this post, I’ll be pointing out the benefits of the internet.

Firstly, the internet provides us with fast and easy access to any kind of information. No more the conventional way of flipping through piles of books. We can also read news reports from around the world. Shopping online has too become another option. In addition, communication via the internet is becoming very widespread. Lastly, entertainment on the internet is another outlet from the television.

For further reading.
Taiwan Earthquake Disrupts Internet Access
Internet Marketing Singapore

Blogging Censorship in Singapore

If blogging is an online dairy, is there a need for censorship?

However in Singapore, the government has enforced strict censorship rules even on websites and blogs. Furthermore, they must be registered with the government (BBC). This is because Singapore is a multi-racial society and thus protecting the social harmony and political stability is important to the government.

Reasons to why the government implemented such harsh censorship rules are due to the fact that blogging has been used as another outlet for the opposition party to win votes from the citizens. Additionally, national servicemen were blogging about their military life both locally and overseas. But, there’s a need for information security. Hence the call for such measures. (AsiaMedia)

The National Internet Advisory Committee (NIAC) advises the Media Development Authority (MDA) with regards to the Internet policies and regulations governing the internet, new media and related services. Every year, there will be a censorship review committee that will assess the present framework of regulating the content of various medium. (MDA)

For further reading.
Singapore: New Media, Politics & the Law
Capitalist Infidel

Why blog

Blogging is a way of collecting links to webpages and sharing thoughts and ideas with people online. Blogs (or Weblogs) are basically online journals or diaries which are great for sharing information and ideas. (BBC)

Or Blogger.com would say,
         A blog is a personal diary. A daily pulpit. A collaborative space. A political soapbox. A breaking-news outlet. A collection of links. Your own private thoughts. Memos to the world.

To me, blogging is one way where I can update my friends about what’s happening in my life. However, blogging to others may seem as an outlet where they can pour out their emotions or it’s a way to inform people about one’s new discoveries.

Blogging is an advancement from the traditional dairy where one would write their thoughts and feelings in a book. No more using pen and paper. Now, it’s typing time. Furthermore, I can not only upload pictures and videos, but I can have comments from my friends as well.

For further reading.
Active Rain Blog

Introduction

Welcome to my humble blog. This blog has been created as an assignment for one of my modules – Document and Design Publication.

I blog for personal use. But blogging as an assignment is something very new. I’m being graded for blogging. How interesting is that?

Let me give you an overview about the posts that are to come. Basically, I will be giving my personal comments about the new forms of media technology and communication practices that are current in the 21st century. Hence my blog address, thetimenow.blogspot.com.

So stay tuned for more of my posts.