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In “Affordance, Conventions, and Design, Donald Norman argues that the usability of a device’s design boils down to three major concepts: the model, the constraints, and the affordances. Since the appearance of a device should provide clues for its operation, a designer’s job involves knowing how people relate to an object’s functionality. Affordances refer to … Continue reading
I’ve never been one to take many pictures. I have my smartphone for my cat, dog, and food photos and the occasional lovely tree (with an Instagram filter, of course), a small point-and-shoot, and a digital SLR. It never occurred to me until now how differently I use these cameras; My smartphone gets the most … Continue reading
When Equestria Daily announced “Double Rainboom,” the much-anticipated fan-made episode of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic in March 2012, the Bronies rejoiced. Directed, produced and written by Zachary Rich and the collective efforts of the Brony fandom, this episode is in no way affiliated with Hasbro, even though Rich received written permission from the creators … Continue reading
In “Private Uses of Cyberspace: Women, Desire, and Fan Culture” Sharon Cumberland argues that cyberspace is a liberated arena for female authors of fanfiction erotica. Its ability to provide a personal outlet within a public forum allows women to explore and write about alternative ideas surrounding gender and sexuality, as well as “feelings and ideas … Continue reading
In the article “What Interactive Narratives Do That Print Narratives Cannot,” Jane Yellowlees-Douglas argues that hypertexts are, in effect, all interactive because one cannot unfold and participate in the story unless they have made certain decisions. She compelling asserts that hypertexts can do far more than printed texts due to the fact that the former … Continue reading
In this article, Yellowlees-Douglas talks about “hypertext” fiction and evaluates how interactive narratives differ from print narratives. In terms of reader experience, Yellowlees-Douglas begins by exploring the long-established definition of hypertexts as “nonsequential writing with reader-controlled links.” She then questions how exactly readers can participate in something non-sequentially, considering that language is inherently sequential. Hypertexts … Continue reading
Gmail’s privacy policy is one of the shortest I’ve ever read, and is broken up into nice headings with concise paragraphs and bullet points. Full disclosure is their big thing – they want their users to be totally aware of what is going on. They want you to trust them with your information, while perpetuating … Continue reading
Affordance, a term first conceptualized by J.J. Gibson, is used to refer a type of relationship that naturally occurs between an inanimate object and a person or animal. In this article, Norman refers to affordance as the actual and perceived use of a thing, and when affordances are taken advantage of, the user knows what … Continue reading
New Media Genres 