Website Design

As our pitch presentation draws closer, Editor Zed has been honing in on exactly what style of web feature we will produce. Our target user group consists of internet-savvy women between 17-65 years old, who are members of the blogosphere or frequenters of social media sites such as facebook and twitter. To keep this group engaged, the aesthetics and functionality of our website are paramount.

Tara previously discussed the importance of 'de-cluttering' our website. Keeping content (including images) clear, minimalistic and relevant is key to producing a site which is easy and enjoyable to use. In the fast-paced online world, the first sign of lagging, circularity or convolution will immediately deter potential users.

Sophistication is the aim. Pages should be linked appropriately with one another, enticing the user to seamlessly transition from one article to the next. Users should always want to consume more information, and not have to search hard to find it. Ultimately, they should feel compelled to actively interact with the site, by posting comments or even submitting their own research articles.

Taking this collaborative attitude means that our site will be continuously accruing content, and the design needs to be sustainable. Thus I have looked to content-heavy websites, such as those used by magazines, as inspiration.

This screenshot of 'Good' Magazine's website shows how a huge amount of information and content can be displayed clearly, even for a first-time visitor. They have incorporated facebook, twitter and tumblr on their landing page, and have shown restraint in their image use. Tabs up the top allow users to quickly navigate to what form of information they are after, while tabs on the side and the search feature, allow users to narrow down the subject area that they are interested in.

Blogging and Citizen Journalism

BlogHer is a website that compiles links to blogs written by women in a number of different categories. Some of these include blogs about career, love & sex, health and feminism. As well as providing information, this website aims to get exposure for writers, and establish a sense of community amongst women on the internet.

Mona Gable, section editor for 'feminism' on BlogHer.com

Image from http://www.blogher.com/member/monag, retrieved 7th September, 2011

The term 'citizen journalism' is applicable to these types of social media. Although the content of the entries may not be strictly 'news', these women are contributing articles, many of which display research and critical thinking. The blogs are curated, ensuring a high standard so that most of them would almost be at home as feature stories in newspapers and magazines.

While both helping and promoting women, this website does not seem to adhere to any strict feminist ideology. Like Editor Zed, it does not attempt to achieve equality by promoting women's roles in traditionally male-dominated fields, but also allows them to participate in a type of 'lipstick feminism', whereby they can embrace their femininity while still standing up for women's rights. This attitude of acceptance and collaboration is what I hope we will achieve on our website.

References:
Flew, T. (2008) 'Citizen Journalism' in New Media: an Introduction. Oxford University Press: Oxford. 143-147. Print.

Who am I?

Image from Opensecrets.org, retrieved via

Google Image search, 7th September 2011.

A major difference between internet and face-to-face interaction is the potential to remain anonymous, or even to intentionally misrepresent one's identity online. Users of social media such as chat rooms, blogs or networking sites, can (and sometimes do) take advantage of this potential, for example by adopting pseudonyms and changing their profile pictures to something, or someone, else. Some see this as a way to preserve some sense of privacy in the digital age. Others may have ulterior motives, where assuming a different identity will allow them to achieve certain goals. For the rest, it is just a chance to experiment, have fun, and to put it simply: Why not?

But is misrepresenting your identity online ethical? Is it intelligent? And underpinning everything else, is it possible?

In the case of online gender misrepresentation, the answers to these questions are not necessarily clear. In a study by Jaffe, Lee, Huang, and Oshagan (1995), it was found that when told to use a pseudonym, women were more likely to mask their gender than men. Does this perhaps suggest that women think they will be taken more seriously as men?

On the other hand, research has shown that in practice (when they can choose their real name or a fake one), men are more likely to elect to use a female pseudonym than women are to use a male one (Spender, 1995). What are the reasons behind this? Are men doing this because they think it will facilitate communication, grant them access to more private information, or allow them to show their more feminine traits without fear of judgement?

The question of possibility is also contentious. A number of different studies have revealed that men and women tend to communicate differently, both offline and online. For example, women tend to write shorter comments, be more supportive (even if they disagree with someone's point of view) and use more emoticons. The question is, can these written cues threaten anonymity online? If so, to what extent? Is it a question of sex vs. gender - the physical attributes of men and women vs. their social adherence to stereotypes?

We hope to explore these questions and more in our website article about anonymity online.

References:

Jaffe, J. M., Lee, Y, Huang, L, & Oshagan, H. (1999). 'Gender identification,

interdependence, and pseudonyms in CMC: Language patterns in an electronic conference.'

Information Society, 15 (4), 221-234

Spender, D. (1995). Nattering on the Net: Women, Power and Cyberspace. Melbourne,

Australia: Spinifex Books

BOTH as quoted in

Lim, L. & Larose, R. (2003). 'On the internet, everyone knows you're a man (but not a woman): varying gender identity in online discourse. Conference Paper: International Communication Organisation. EbscoHost. Retrieved 2 September, 2011.