Exegesis
An explanation of the choices I've made in creating my web presence.On the Web, the establishing of an appropriate web presence is indispensable in creating a positive identity and countering any undesirable digital shadow. Using the networking capabilities of Web 2.0 tools, valuable social networks can be formed and virtually any kind of content can be created and shared. In creating my own web presence I have utilised a variety of these tools, while taking into account the connotations attached to these tools, the way they are used, and the types of content that is created with them. My web presence is a representation of my self - focusing on my created identity as Emily, the student environmentalist. Aside from simply stating my desired interpretation, I have made a host of choices relating to the design and social aspects of my web presence, within the limitations of my central node and supporting Web 2.0 tools, to construct my desired online identity.
With a focus on myself as a sort of student environmentalist, I have attempted to create an impression of myself as someone who is concerned about the state of the environment and is encouraging others to do the same. The most observable way that I have constructed this depiction is through the visual design choices on my central and contributing nodes. Using various shades of the colour green as the colour scheme was intended to create an immediate association with the environment, and by extension, 'green' methods of living. Because my intended identity is one of a student and my apparent audience are young people, however, I have sought to avoid being overly traditional, by incorporating a grungy graphics style to give a more urban feel to the website - this is supposed to promote the idea of environmentalism in an ordinary, urban setting. This 'grunge' style, which is most noticeable in the background and heading fonts, is also compliant with ideas of environmentalism as earthy or 'hardcore'. In addition to using these techniques on the web page layout, I have ensured that the same colour scheme and graphical elements have been carried over to my three contributing nodes where possible, providing a means to immediately recognise one of my nodes as belonging to part of my web presence as a whole - this practice of creating consistency on the web has long been a respected method for user-friendliness (Joergensen and Blythe, 2003).
The tools I have used for each of my nodes also say something in themselves about my online identity, and thus I had to choose these carefully. I built a web site as my central node, both to provide a solid location to link back to, and to enable me to include relatively static information as an online resource for my intended audience. To incorporate elements of currency and real-time updates, I embedded a Twitter widget displaying the latest updates from my Twitter page into the home page of my central node. In addition, I situated noticeable links towards the top of my web page, to make it easy to move between nodes and give promote the notion of my web presence as one interlinking whole, while encouraging people to further explore and engage with my web presence. By having all the nodes easily accessible from one another, I am providing context for the content created on each contributing node, avoiding the risk of out-of-context snippets of content that are a defining feature of the social media rivers formed by use of Web 2.0 tools (Akshay et al, 2007).
My choice to use Tumblr as a contributing node was a result of my decision to share multiple types of media as part of my web presence. Rather that confining myself to primarily text-based updates, I chose this Web 2.0 tool to better take advantage of the web's content-sharing capabilities, as Tumblr facilitates the posting of text, images, videos, sound, links, as well as allowing content from other social media sites to be shared there. In contrast, my choice of Twitter was motivated by the simplicity and moveability of its content. With small, text-based content, Twitter posts can be easily moved between mediums, as I have shown by embedding a real-time Twitter widget in my central node. This, and the popularity of this Web 2.0 tool, makes it ideal for sharing small snippets of information relating to the environmentalist theme, allowing me to build and continually shape my online identity by broadcasting my message to my followers' feeds. Care2, on the other hand, is a social networking site that is less dynamic, but directly relevant to the theme of my web presence. By being present on a website that is constructed specifically for the "green community" I become able interact with an appropriate community and strengthen my image as an environmentally-minded person.
As part of each node, I have included a short description of myself appropriate to each tool. On Twitter I have aimed to capitalise on the micro nature of the medium by having a simple one-sentence bio outlining the purpose of my web presence. On Care2 I have filled the most appropriate fields in the categorical biography system provided, while the About Me page on my central node gives a more detailed description of who I am (in terms of my online identity), what I plan to do, and why - common elements of most 'about me' pages (Patel, 2007).
All of the above choices that I made while constructing my web presence are intended to combine to form a coherent, consistent frame for a web presence which presents a certain representation of my identity. Working within and taking advantage of the capabilities of each Web 2.0 tool, I have created a purposeful message using text, hyper-links, and design elements, demonstrating the potential of a well-implemented web presence. This kind of deliberate presence is essential in creating and maintaining credibility in today's media landscape, while minimising the impact of unintentional digital shadows.
Akshay, J. et al. (2007). Why We Twitter: Understanding Microblogging Usage and Communities. Procedings of the Joint 9th WEBKDD and 1st SNA-KDD Workshop 2007, August 12. Retrieved October 30, 2009, from http://ebiquity.umbc.edu/_file_directory_/papers/369.pdf
Finck, N. (n.d.) About. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://nickfinck.com/about/
Joergensen,J. and Blythe, J. (2003). A guide to a more effective World Wide Web
presence. Retrieved October 30, 2009, from https://www.jyu.fi/econ/oppiaineet/yma/arkistoyma/vanhatmateriaalityma/YMAS350/Exam%20article%203.pdf
Patel, N. (2007). The 4 Essential Elements of an About Me Page. Retrieved November 1, 2009, from http://www.quicksprout.com/2007/06/11/the-4-essential-elements-of-an-about-me-page/
Shipp, J. (n.d.) Ummm... Who are you exactly?. Retrieved November 2, 2009, from http://www.heyjosh.com/about/