My project itself is an experiment, but before I set up the 3 blogs and start the 'competition' between them, I need to consider the criteria through which I will evaluate their effectiveness. Some suggestions so far have been: which is the quickest/easiest to set up, which is the most aesthetically pleasing, and ultimately: which reaches the widest audience! I not only want to look into how these 3 blog environments are different, but also why. And what kind of people do they attract?
Topherchris works for Tumblr: worryingly, I think he made this image himself.
"Here we see him practically drowning in Internet culture, joyous to the end, and nationalistic to his corner of cyberspace (a particular nationalism new to our generation, and one that I share, which often supersedes any allegiances to physical surroundings)." 'Forbes' article
We discussed the idea that one could assume the blog that takes the least time to create is the best, and I feel I could analyse this link between 'speed' and 'progress further; when did we decide faster is better. Is it really better, or has technology simply lulled us into thinking this?
An interesting suggestion that came up, based on an image in my previous post, was that I need to consider the icons representing each blog more carefully. This was a good point, as each one ultimately summarises the site and its target users. For example, the Blogspot logo looks very technological and its brightly coloured. Its simplicity and boldness could attract users, but could also but them off, as the technological aspect could suggest that the blog site is dauntingly difficult to use and requires specialist knowledge (it doesn't).
My research has led me to this site, which I will look at more closely this week:
It provides a visual list of the 'best blog logos', but this is only according to the author. For me it would be more useful to conduct a survey, where a larger number of prospective (or current) bloggers select their favourite logos, and explain why. I could also investigate which are the most visited blogs on the internet, and compare their logos according to these statistics. Even their names are important: surely a catchy title would make people more likely to re-visit a blog (as well as initially choosing it from a search engine search).
Screengrab of Andy Smith's blog, the first illustrator who's blog came up when I searched for 'illustrator blog' on Google. Why? I've never even heard of Andy Smith. I need to investigate this!
We talked about the differences between displaying reproductions of art on the internet and in the real ('atom') world. Does putting images on blogs take them out of context? What happens if we design images especially/exclusively to be displayed on the internet? Adapting images to suit the internet is another interesting strand of thought.
So, how can I contextualise an illustration blog with a real scenario? My first thought would be an art gallery but there are obviously vast differences. How could I create a real-world alternative/solution to blogging? Now that we are so reliant on it, we may need one if the internet ever disappeared!
So for my 3 experiments are:
1) Asking people who use each site, why they use it and how it suits them (or doesn't). Present these findings on this blog.
2) Making (and recording the process of making) the 3 contending blogs which I will then develop and then analyse.
3) According to my findings, suggesting a MORE successful alternative, perhaps even in the real world rather than online. Try making a rough version and see how effective this is.
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