Learning about the semantic web was very interesting. I gained an understanding of different stages of the Web (1.0, 2.0 and 3.0). See this YouTube video on the evolution of the Web Each different stage has had its strengths and weaknesses. Web 1.0 including static web pages which were used as information only pages with little interaction from users. Web 2.0 allows users to interact, and control their experience while being dynamic and customizable. There is so many databases and search engines which makes Web 2.0 possible. Now the Internet is trying to grow into its next stage Web 3.0 or semantic web. Web 3.0 is derived on machine rules based driven pages. There is lots of information on Web 3.0 which causes the web to rely more heavily on structure. Robin Fay gave our class a presentation on the semantic web. Here is a link to her PowerPoint: http://contentdivergent.blogspot.com/2009/10/semantic-web-social-web-and-progression.html.
Web 3.0 it made of different layers which include a framework, schema, ontology language and resource identifier. According to Robin Fay, “libraries, museums, and other resources already have huge record sets of structured data for their resources,” which the data will be derived from. But before we can truly get Web 3.0 Fay states, “we need smarter computers, better web standards, better behind-the-scenes structure (RDF), more built in metadata generation tools on social networking sites, and better search engines.” Sounds to me like the Master’s of Internet Technology students will contribute in the evolution of Web 3.0 in some form or fashion.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Thursday, October 22, 2009
So you want to make a video that's going to be viewed on or downloaded from a web site. What's the best way to go about that? Before you blurt out, "YouTube", here are some things to consider first.
Streaming vs Downloading
This will depend on how you want users to view your video and your budget.
The easiest, cheapest thing to do is to have visitors download the file from your web site. It works but it requires your visitors to get the entire file onto their computer before they can watch it.
Streaming video is the more expensive option. A streaming video allows the user to view the video as it's being delivered to them instead of waiting for the entire file first. It costs more because it requires the server to be running an application specifically for streaming video. However, in addition to users being able to view the video faster, a streaming video can detect a user's connection speed, broadcast live events, and handle larger traffic loads.
There is an option in between the two called progressive downloading. It mimics streaming in that it allows users to start viewing the video as soon as the beginning of the file has been downloaded but it lacks the additional benefits of streaming video. It's cheaper than streaming since it doesn't require the additional software on the server.
Which to pick? If you want visitors to be able to keep the file you can allow them to download it. If you want users to start viewing the video as soon as possible but don't have a big budget or do anything else special with it use progressive streaming. Sites with large amounts of traffic and want to do live events, like Hulu, need to use streaming.
Format
There are a few formats available: Windows Media, Quicktime, MPEG-4, Flash, and, more recently, Silverlight.
If you are a business, use Flash or Silverlight. You want as many people as possible to be able to view your video so you should use a format that works across multiple platforms and browsers. Flash edges out Silverlight in that regard since Silverlight does not work in Opera on Macs yet and Microsoft does not plan to update IE6 so that Silverlight will work in that browser.
This article comparing different aspects of Flash and Silverlight is useful for considerations beyond compatibility such as the ease of creating animation, sound quality, and accessibility.
You'd want this on your personal web site as well but since Flash video is expensive. In this case a MPEG-4 format that works in multiple players may be the way to go. However, if you do plan to have your videos on a site like YouTube or Vimeo they will convert your file to flash for you.
The Video Itself
This is information I learned years ago in a New Media class so it is not universally applicable. If you want people who are on slower connections to be able to see your video clearly you should consider this during video production if you intend to stream your video.
No rapid movements: Avoid having a lot of unneccessary movement in the video and nothing fast. The video will become pixelated and blurry on a slower connection.
Close up shots: Do not use wide shots for videos intended to be viewed on slower connections. The less color information the better. Like fast motion, a wide shot will be blurry when streaming on a slow connection.
The Pew Research Center has a survey of dial-up vs broadband use but note that they do not ask about how fast anyone's broadband was and the survey is only relevant to the United States.
Copyright Law: Using Other People's Stuff
The Center for Social Media has a video and article for their Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video. Generally, if your video has copyrighted material in it then it should fall under at least one of the scenarios that constitutes fair use:
*That's not mine, I'm quoting the home page of Adult Swim
Streaming vs Downloading
This will depend on how you want users to view your video and your budget.
The easiest, cheapest thing to do is to have visitors download the file from your web site. It works but it requires your visitors to get the entire file onto their computer before they can watch it.
Streaming video is the more expensive option. A streaming video allows the user to view the video as it's being delivered to them instead of waiting for the entire file first. It costs more because it requires the server to be running an application specifically for streaming video. However, in addition to users being able to view the video faster, a streaming video can detect a user's connection speed, broadcast live events, and handle larger traffic loads.
There is an option in between the two called progressive downloading. It mimics streaming in that it allows users to start viewing the video as soon as the beginning of the file has been downloaded but it lacks the additional benefits of streaming video. It's cheaper than streaming since it doesn't require the additional software on the server.
Which to pick? If you want visitors to be able to keep the file you can allow them to download it. If you want users to start viewing the video as soon as possible but don't have a big budget or do anything else special with it use progressive streaming. Sites with large amounts of traffic and want to do live events, like Hulu, need to use streaming.
Format
There are a few formats available: Windows Media, Quicktime, MPEG-4, Flash, and, more recently, Silverlight.
If you are a business, use Flash or Silverlight. You want as many people as possible to be able to view your video so you should use a format that works across multiple platforms and browsers. Flash edges out Silverlight in that regard since Silverlight does not work in Opera on Macs yet and Microsoft does not plan to update IE6 so that Silverlight will work in that browser.
This article comparing different aspects of Flash and Silverlight is useful for considerations beyond compatibility such as the ease of creating animation, sound quality, and accessibility.
You'd want this on your personal web site as well but since Flash video is expensive. In this case a MPEG-4 format that works in multiple players may be the way to go. However, if you do plan to have your videos on a site like YouTube or Vimeo they will convert your file to flash for you.
The Video Itself
This is information I learned years ago in a New Media class so it is not universally applicable. If you want people who are on slower connections to be able to see your video clearly you should consider this during video production if you intend to stream your video.
No rapid movements: Avoid having a lot of unneccessary movement in the video and nothing fast. The video will become pixelated and blurry on a slower connection.
Close up shots: Do not use wide shots for videos intended to be viewed on slower connections. The less color information the better. Like fast motion, a wide shot will be blurry when streaming on a slow connection.
The Pew Research Center has a survey of dial-up vs broadband use but note that they do not ask about how fast anyone's broadband was and the survey is only relevant to the United States.
Copyright Law: Using Other People's Stuff
The Center for Social Media has a video and article for their Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Online Video. Generally, if your video has copyrighted material in it then it should fall under at least one of the scenarios that constitutes fair use:
- Commenting ON OR CRITIQUING OF COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL
- USING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL FOR ILLUSTRATION OR EXAMPLE
- CAPTURING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL INCIDENTALLY OR ACCIDENTALLY
- REPRODUCING, REPOSTING, OR QUOTING IN ORDER TO MEMORIALIZE, PRESERVE, OR RESCUE AN EXPERIENCE, AN EVENT, OR A CULTURAL PHENOMENON
- COPYING, REPOSTING, AND RECIRCULATING A WORK OR PART OF A WORK FOR PURPOSES OF LAUNCHING A DISCUSSION
- QUOTING IN ORDER TO RECOMBINE ELEMENTS TO MAKE A NEW WORK THAT DEPENDS FOR ITS MEANING ON RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE ELEMENTS
*That's not mine, I'm quoting the home page of Adult Swim
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Midterm Paper
So for the midterm we were assigned a paper on Web Analytics and Web Attractiveness. I was not able to link my paper through Scribd to my blog. I uploaded the midterm to Scribd as a private document so no one will see it, but Scribd does not allow private documents to be embedded to other sites. Also if I chose the doument as public I can embed the document but Blogger does not allow a mix of public and private posting. So I just sent Dr. Piercy an e-mail with my attached midterm for grading. Wish me luck!!!
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Software as a Service
I checked out Google Docs at docs.google.com and Zoho at www.zoho.com. Google docs allows translation and detect languages in Google spreadsheets. Google also have forms which allows add pages and allow navigation to a specific page within a form. It also allows equations which can include the =sum() and =sumproduct() functions. Images can be exported into .xls files. The files can also be e-mailed as an attachment. With the presentation application you can automatically cycle through slides in presentation mode and enable time delay, autostart, and loop.
Comparatively with Zoho it allows integration with Google Docs. Zoho allows the user to sign in and import data from multiple sources to see auto-generated reports immediately. Zoho has spreadsheet, word processor and presentation applications to allow users to drag-and-drop on report building functions. Also Zoho has a centralized data maintenance. All data can be uploaded in a single data store which lets connecting multiple reports easier.
Personally I preferred Zoho over Google Docs. It seems to be more user friendly and looks more like the word processor, spreadsheets and presentation applications I use everyday. I think the only shortfall is Zoho is not an American household name yet like Google is right now
Comparatively with Zoho it allows integration with Google Docs. Zoho allows the user to sign in and import data from multiple sources to see auto-generated reports immediately. Zoho has spreadsheet, word processor and presentation applications to allow users to drag-and-drop on report building functions. Also Zoho has a centralized data maintenance. All data can be uploaded in a single data store which lets connecting multiple reports easier.
Personally I preferred Zoho over Google Docs. It seems to be more user friendly and looks more like the word processor, spreadsheets and presentation applications I use everyday. I think the only shortfall is Zoho is not an American household name yet like Google is right now
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