From these elements, the constructs that I designed were based on the experiences I had from reading those particular publications over the internet. For instance, some publications have alot of pictures contained in it, a downloaders paradise. Some on the other hand were strictly text, and contained no pictures whatsoever. As well, some publications strictly forbade people from copying the contents in the publication, with a big copyright notice plastered about the site letting people know that copying is a big no no. Some on the other hand had no such notices, so it is implied (since it is on the internet) that copying and down loading the material is ok. I also chose the issue of whether the publication can be termed pornographic or not because the U.S. has implemented an indecent materials law, so some of the publications like Penthouse has really cleaned up. So in that sense, it is no longer deemed pornographic. But, on the other hand, newspapers (like the Calgary Herald and USA Today) must write about stories that affect people's lives, so the potential for a mild form of pornography is there.
Description of each construct :
1) Easy vs. hard to read - some publications were very easy to read, using simple
english that made reading enjoyable, but some were very technical in nature,
and used alot of facts and numbers, which is very difficult to read.
2) Lots of pictures vs. no pictures - in essence, all publications must have text,
but some publications had alot of pictures, while some was just straight text.
3) Ads vs. no ads - some sites had ads all over the place, it felt like a TV
commercial, while some blocked out ads altogether.
4) Copyright laws vs. no copyright laws - there was some publications that I
encountered that had a strict no copying disclaimer on their page, while some
sites had no problems with people copying the material from the page.
5) Only one kind of viewing alternative vs. lots of alternatives - this option
allows people who aren't using Netscape to view their page, but only in a
text version (like lynx).
6) Exactly like the paper copy vs. different from paper copy - was the electronic
version exactly like the store bought paper one ? The newspapers ones weren't,
but some of the magazines were.
7) Should the entire publication be converted to electronic form vs. no it shouldn't
- this is more of an opinions question. It makes people think whether the
publication they are reading should be entirely converted over, or should
the publisher be more selective as to what is converted to electronic form.
8) Is it porn vs. not porn - with the advent of the new U.S. indecency law, you
would think that Penthouse would be porn, but in some respects, it isn't anymore.
On the other hand, you could classify magazines like Car and Driver as porn
if they begin to advertise cars with bikini clad women on it.
9) Linear vs. non linear - some of the magazines require that you go back to the
sites' title page to branch off, while others has links to other parts of the
publication on a particular page, so does the electronic version try to emulate
the paper version to the best of its capabilities, or is it linear in nature.
10) Extra links vs. no extra links - some of the sites have links within an
article that help describe or give the article more understanding and depth.
Some sites don't have links whatsoever, and to get more information you have
to fire up Yahoo search.
After careful analysis of the Focus grid, electronic publications that has just pure straight text (for example, computer science journals and electronic zines) is linear in nature, in other words, it does not flow like a book. Newspapers (Calgary Herald and USA Today) should be more selective as to what they should publish, for if people knew that the publication can be read on line, no one would read the paper. For magazines (like Penthouse, Hustler, and Car and Driver), they tend to be more possessive of their material, not allowing people to copy their stuff at will. Ads occur in sites with adult material, and that is why Penthouse and Hustler is rated quite high in having ads on their sites.
Upon closer analysis of the PrinCom grid, you can pick out some trends like publications that are clean (no nudity, no profanity) aren't too worried about copyright laws, but tend to be more linear in nature to read, contain no ads, and tend to be hard to read. On the other hand, publications that have alot of pictures tend to be published more or less like its paper counterpart, easier to read, but more possessive of the material they put up on their sites. This part is true since Penthouse and Hustler both have a copyright disclaimer on their sites.
As well, publications that is published differently from their paper counterpart tend to contain extra links to other places, but opinion has it that they should be more selective as to what they publish in electronic form.
PrinCom grid.
The PrinCom grid for the grid that was created.
Focus grid.
The Focus grid for the grid that was created.
To : Table of contents.
Takes you back to the table of contents.
To : Exploration.
Takes you to my first exploration of webgrid. Topics include description of the
initial grid that I created, comments of my first impression of webgrid, and links
to the grids created.
To : Ellicitation of constructs on my own topic.
Takes you to a comparison between a grid that I created and, using the same elements
and constructs, one that Chris Kliewer made. Topics include a discussion on
how I developed the constructs, a description of the grid, a comparison between the
grids, and a link to these grids.
