Design and level of attraction to users. This can be attained by using vibrant colors and moving images, which are appropriate for a site that is geared more towards entertainment and brand awareness than information. The introduction flash piece grabs the user’s interest and entices them to browse the different pages on the site.

Consider Your Site Visitors. Are they there for information, entertainment or both? Would viewing a product or application in 3 dimensions with audio and interactivity encourage them to buy? A good rule of thumb is to examine the purpose of their visit and what would most enhance their experience. Don’t know? Ask them.

Usability. The flash introduction allows you to enter the different sections of the site and an effective navigation bar is present on the interior pages. The “Info Center” provides a creative site map — by putting your mouse over a particular building, you are informed of its description and can link to that specific page.

Privacy. A link to the Privacy Policy is provided on the map on the homepage, the town map in the Info Center, and on the bottom of every page on the site. The policy is broken down into general policies, personal data, additional information collected automatically, use of cookies, and use of IP addresses. An email address is provided for those who have additional questions about the privacy policy.

Customer Support. This information must be made visible to the visitor’s and make sure to get the necessary information without keeping visitor’s waiting. Be efficient.

You also won’t want to scare off visitor’s so try not to take these steps:

Don’t Use Intro’s. There is a famous web site called “skip intro” which is all about intros that do a lot of exciting movement and very little in the way of actually communicating information. Why delay your visitor’s need for immediate gratification by adding another click to their experience with a “Skip Intro” link. Useless intros often delay the site visitor’s access to the information they came to the web site to see and they may leave.

Overuse of Animation. Any animation should reinforce the goal of the business. Repeated animations on pages that are meant to inform will distract the eye from the written message on the page. Instead, have the user interact with the piece and instruct it as to when they are ready to view a moving image.

Underestimate the Value of Planning. Plan how a user will use your multimedia. Have your customers and potential customers give you feedback as to what would make their experience with your company even easier. Thinking the process through before you begin will give you the most rewarding results.

Well, with the advances of internet base technology, there has been an increasing interest in online journalism. There is a fine line whereby not everyone will want to put  the truth out there. It’s NOT as INTERESTING, must have more JUICE to the story! Even for professional journalists, they sometimes TWIST the TRUTH according to what they feel is right or what the media want us to see and hear. You don’t just print it because somebody wrote it, right? Citizen journalists must learn the skills necessary for providing credible news coverage.

The Code of Ethics for Journalism:

•  Professional integrity, the cornerstone of journalist’s credibility
•  Duty of the journalist is to seek the truth
•  Provide fair and comprehensive account of events and issues
•  Serve the public with honesty

Citizens need to report the truth as well. No point in talking about freedom of speech if we’re not going to present credible and reliable news. Where is the integrity? In fact, that is why it is work done by professionals that online publications depend on for original reporting and becomes a basis for commentary and opinion. In taking an alternate form of dissemination, online journalism may consequently become a means of unconventional reporting and, for this reason, is often a source of concern for traditional journalists. Dangerous!!!

Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said his “biggest mistake” in the disastrous elections was to ignore cyber-campaigning on the Internet which was seized by the opposition. “We certainly lost the Internet war, the cyber-war,” Abdullah said in in a speech to an investment conference. “It was a serious misjudgement. We made the biggest mistake in thinking that it was not important,” he said. What was he thinking or may I add, what are his advisors doing?

The transformation of American politics by the internet is an example to make the Malaysian government sit up and take notice of the power of the internet. Advertising, fund-raising and spreading of positive and negative information is just part and parcel of politics. Today, with the internet at our feet, it bemuses me to think that the Malaysian government thought that only newspapers, print media, and television were important  to the success of their political campaign.

But  of course, we all make mistakes and the important thing is that we should be willing to learn from these mistakes.

Hopefully the Malaysian government will.

1. Antivirus Software- Install it and keep it up-to-date!
2. Install and use a firewall
3. Use a complex passwords
4. Be a suspicious user. BE AWARE!
5. Be a conservative downloader
6. Keep informed about the latest software and viruses that are around

Phishing email scams is something that has been of interest to me because I do use the the internet banking facility quite often to pay my bills and so on. When I read about how easy it can be for someone to infiltrate my computer system if I do not take the necessary precautions. People tend to be ignorant of the dangers that are out there, and I have sometimes been like that. Perhaps one of the easiest way and most important ways to avoid falling victim to these scams is to train and educate oneself of these nuisances. Not to be naive in thinking that it won’t happen to us. It can’t happen to us, right? Yes, it can! So be alert and if need be ask someone you trust and who is reliable for help.

One of the seven deadly sins is GREED, it is inevitable that this should be happening in the world today.

I also recently palyed around with Windows Media Player. While I used photos of my two sons instead of a video clip it was a fun experience. However, I did bump into some problems like uploading the video onto my blog. I found out much later that I needed to pay to increase the size or something. Well, at least Ben and Joel enjoy watching themselves on my computer.  

Microsoft Surface makes it look so fun and relaxing, so easy and user friendly to use that you just want to try it.  It is something that looks like it may solve a lot of problems such as taking a photo, printing it, then immediately sending it as a post card to a friend or to family in just seconds, wherever, whenever you want to as well as being in control of this experience with a fantastic technology.  How much greater can an experience like this get?        

The only reservation I have is regarding the security features in Microsoft Surface.  I did not see what measures that are in place and whether it is sufficient.  Children also face the dangers of being exposed to it so early on in their lives and with regards to the reality of what is real or what may not is something that amy be of concern to parents.  Microsoft looks to have broken the boundaries for computing by delivering a new experience that breaks down the barriers between people and technology.  New opportunities await us, through the use of Microsoft Surface. It is the future.

Hello again! Firstly, a Happy Chinese New Year to all of you out there! 

E-Commerce: Success or failure

Well, with today’s speed of communication through the internet, e-commerce has become an important channel of doing business for many companies. In every business venture, there will always be certain steps or guidelines that one should follow in order for it to be a success. Otherwise, a business could be doomed even from the start of its operation. Here are 10 key reasons why some e-commerce succeed:

1. Must have a knowledge of the business you’re entering into and also have an understanding of how the online world works.
2. The product(s) should have a market or be in demand.
3. Competitive pricing
4. Provide good service and delivery of products as well as return of products.
5. Provide an attractive website (professional, first impressions count)
6. Web page should be easy and user friendly.
7. Provide security and reliability. (firewall etc)
8. Providing value to customer.
9. Website should be accessible to all.
10. Personalized attention to customers.

Here are 10 reasons for failure:

1. Weak Website Design
2. Unclear Purpose
3. Shopping Obstacles
4. Poor Marketing
5. Weak Customer Service
6. Poor Product Choice
7. Fail to Prepare for Success
8. Slow Shipping
9. Lack of Specialization
10. Missing security

E-Marketing

E-Marketing, an explosive way to reach a targeted audience in the 21st century, ranging from thousands to millions of potential customers. This attractive form of marketing can use two methods. The first is an online route whereby marketers use e-mail to get their message across to the public and expose them to the message. The second is relatively a new concept called virtual marketing (eg. Facebook), whereby, mass e-mail is sent out to entice readers to want to learn more about the products or services. Here are some suggestions as to how to make an e-marketing campaign a success.

• Know what you’re getting into and what it takes to pull off a successful promotion.
• Use traditional online advertising such as banner advertisements and text messages. 
• Then place on particular websites to reach targeted audience.
• Use traditional media such as radio, billboard advertising to support online media.
• Product must be in demand or something loved by people.
• E-Newsletter (enables businesses to communicate regularly with customers)
• Invest in search engine optimization or SEO.

I’m trying out the feed reader. It’ll take me some time to get used to this as I’m a little blur as to what I’m supposed to be doing here and getting out of this service but I suppose practice makes perfect, right? 

To think that, in the past, I would have to go and look for the news or things that interest me. Now, the news can come to me. Fantastic! Just amazing! I especially enjoy reading soccer news and finding out the latest in what’s happening around the world. I think it’s a matter of one’s need? I was so comfortable being in my comfort zone such that I did not feel the need to venture out and learn new things on my computer. However, I had made a decision to go back to study and improve myself. LEARNING is a never ending process. Previously, I wouldn’t have been bothered to find out about RSS, if not for this class COM 125. I’ve always thought of computers as being something very technical and that to use computers, I had to be skillful in IT stuff but this has opened my eyes. I am so back dated, man! RSS is easy, fast, saves time, user friendly and free.

“Second Life”? Again, I’ve never been very interested in computer games so reading about Second Life is very new to me. A 3-D virtual world that has virtual currency? A place where real people get connected to friends in a virtual world. Being able to communicate as well as deal real business and transactions in a virtual world is something quite far from what I ever imagined. Being able to convert to real money using the Linden dollar that has been accumulated is just mind boggling for me. But I’m sure that if used in the right manner, one could get ahead of competitors and build a useful social network with people as well as businesses. With companies such as Toyota using this site to advertise and market their products, this is a cool advantage which could also enable companies to get feedback from people who test out their products in the virtual world. On the other side though, one could get so engrossed and sucked into this virtual world game. With features such as being able to fly from one place to another just isn’t as exciting for me than the real thing (that is, flying of course). I’ve read some articles where people just “zoned out” from the real world while playing these computer games. Not eating or sleeping for days, being absent from work and losing track of time in the real world. Can this create a healthy lifestyle for one by sitting at a table and typing? I’m sure that if one loses sleep over it then the verdict is NO. Is it just a temporary escape from reality for some of us? How beneficial is it to us?