So much to see, so hard to find

I decided to try this little exercise, too, and I discovered that it’s actually really hard! Like so many of you, I tend to use the same sites – MyBama, Facebook, YouTube, Blogspot, Shutterfly, and a few others – over and over and over again and don’t spend a whole lot of time exploring all there is out there on the web, even though I know there’s tons of cool stuff out there just waiting to be found. So I’m really pleased with all the stuff you guys found and I have to say that I struggled with this “assignment.” So kudos to you guys!

With that said, here are some sites I particularly like.

http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com

Since I’ve brought this site up in class a number of times, I’m sure it’s no surprise that it tops my list. I love this site’s general tone – intelligent, smart-ass, literate. It’s a very text-heavy site, so it would be easy for the design to be really poor, but I think they’ve done a good job in making it easy to read and use. While the recaps can be long, I like the fact that they are broken up into fairly small textual segments (makes me think hypertext) because reading on a computer can be hard for most people, myself included. The forum design is clean and easy to navigate. I especially like the design changes that have taken place over the last couple of months as the site has been incorporated into the Bravo channel’s family. I like the pictures that are now up and I like that they didn’t totally throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak, and have kept a number of the distinctive pre-Bravo design elements.

http://www.okaydave.com

This site makes me feel so bad about my own website. I’ve been looking at this site a lot as inspiration and trying to emulate some of what I see here, but it’s not working the way I’d like. I love this site and really love looking at Dave Werner’s work. This is what an online portfolio should be – a very intimate, very up-close look at his work. Very polished and professional. I’m so jealous I could spit every time I look at this site! But, in truth, it actually motivates me to do better in terms of my own web design.

http://www.levitated.net/daily/levTremaFieldWhite.html

I learned how to use Flash (though I would still consider myself a novice) in 2004. It’s very cool and it’s really not that hard to use once you get the hang of it. However, it’s very time-consuming to make even a short, simple piece. So it’s kind of nice to look at some of the little pieces here and realize that you don’t have to make something really big. Some of the littlest Flash pieces pack a big punch.

http://www.whedonesque.com

While this site is not much in terms of design, it does what it is designed to do and I like that it is a collaborative site that members add information to. The goal is to provide a central hub for news and information on the Whedonverses (the “universes” created by the television writer Joss Whedon, creator of the legendary Buffy the Vampire Slayer). The coolest thing about this site is that Whedon himself posts periodically and he’s very passionate and eloquent when posting about his work and his core concerns, particularly women’s rights issues. I love a man who’s such an unapologetic feminist!

http://www.vh1.com/
I decided to check out Vh1’s website because I haven’t been there recently and I wanted to see what it was looking like these days. I love a lot of stuff on Vh1 – lots of trashtastic pleasures like Rock of Love and Best Week Ever and I Love the…(whichever decade, part whatever)! Plus, my best friend is an executive at Vh1 and we talk a good deal about her work and she’s always sending me the latest update about new shows and specials to check out. I was pleased with a lot of things I saw on this website in terms of design. While there’s a lot on this page, surprisingly, it doesn’t feel overly cluttered and I think that is because it’s got a coherent and cohesive look in terms of colors and design motifs/themes.

My Fave Five

TeddyandMoo.com

This website has a great setup and design. It is visually set up to be fun. It is updated daily and gives users great information about celebrities. The pictures on the website are my favorite part and a great way to stay informed on celebrity life.

Jessicastyle.com

This website offers users alot! It was my favorite website for quite a while. It offers many links to great shopping websites that I never would have found if it had not of been for this website. It has many "layers" or places to go which make it interesting. It is also set up very functionally and it is easy to navigate!

Perezhilton.com

I love this website! The posts are hilarious and it is a great place to find celebrity gossip. It is easy to navigate and is has a great set up design with fun colors. It is updated daily and is always a fun place to visit!

Tuscaloosanews.com

This is a different type of website than those listed above. This is a great place to find local news. The forums on this site are very intersting to read, even though they get off track sometimes.

Foxnews.com

This website is great! I go here for all of my news. It has a very patriotic feel once you enter the site and it is easy to find whatever you are looking for. The links make it very easy to navigate and it is functions well.

Five Flavorful Websites

http://www.howthingswork.com/

This website is great for learning about random things that you're curious about- it has neat little animations and explains it well. WARNING: Do not visit unless you have time to kill! One link leads to another that is just as interesting! My favorite explanations are the ones on cars- I love them and it was great learning about how engines and turbochargers actually worked, plus they have an in-depth look at our most advanced and powerful supercar- the Buggati Veyron.


http://www.addictinggames.com/

This free online game website has lots of games organized by category and constantly gets new ones. The layout of the page is user friendly and most of the games are actually pretty fun. It's great the way they have it set up, action games, puzzle games, shoot 'em up games... whatever you're in the mood for. I usually check out the Top 10 Games, because you can't go wrong there.


http://www.espn.com/

Home of sports worldwide! Great to check schedules, stats, and professional's opinions on who will win the big game, SEC title, etc. This website has everything that has to do with sports, from drafts to injuries to law suits against players. There are also video clips of highlights and interviews in case you missed the game (or more likely, just want to watch them again).


http://www.about.com/

This website has it all- urban legends, random polls and stats. It's like Wikipedia except without the user editing. It has the top 10 everything, from guitars to bands, and it's always interesting to read these; especially the ones from the past. Good for research, but I think it's more useful for fulfilling general interest and curiosity.


http://www.explosm.net/comics/1061/

This website has a comic called Cyanide and Happiness. It's very funny in a wry humor kind of way. A lot of it is very cynical (go figure) and throws you off from what you'd regularly expect. It's updated quite frequently. It's like reading the daily comics or sunday comics whenever you have time to, and you can access the archive and read whichever ones from the past that you want. Check it out!

My favorite websites

As I set out to find five “neat” websites, I found myself in a slump. I tend to stick to two websites: Facebook and MyBama. Since we could not describe the importance of these two, I simply googled “neat websites” but I had no luck. Then I realized that I do visit websites, but I don’t think of them so much as websites, rather as stores.
After reviewing my recent history of searches, I traveled to a few of them, keeping an eye out for good design. My favorite website was www.jcrew.com. This website featured a video intro with a slideshow of pictures and a narrator. What was neat about the video was that the background music, narrator, clothing, scenery all matched one central theme: “greeting the season from the isle of skye”. With bagpipes and a rich Scottish accent, I felt like I was actually overseas and I really enjoyed looking at the different clothing options.
Another websites that I thoroughly enjoyed was www.ralphlauren.com. This site also featured a video, but it had a noticeably different style. With soothing, classical music and clean videos of snapshots created a very “classy” feel. The fonts also matched this style, with serifs giving a gothic look. The layout of this page was symmetrical and also featured a good use of white space along the outside.
The third website I enjoyed was www.juicycouture.com. This also featured a video, but it was humorous. I really enjoyed the synchronized sparkle effects on the label and crowns. The fonts also matched the logo, creating a rich, British mood.
The fourth website I enjoyed that would be appealing to both sexes was www.nike.com. This website again featured a video of at first glance, looks like a football game. Upon closer examination, I realized that this was actually a video game playing but the graphics were so well developed that it looked real. This video appears to pop from the darker background, although it doesn’t look 3-D, the background looks like it fades and has depth. The fonts are very crisp and the site as a whole is very unisex, which could appeal to a wider range of people.
The last website I visited was www.lacoste.com. The main difference between this site and the others was that this site did not feature a video. However, the reason I included this site was because of the creativity in which they introduced pictures. This site was asymmetrical, with a white space box with no defined borders. Every few seconds a new model/style would fade strategically in to the undefined block of white space.

Interesting!

The Internet offers a wide variety of interesting sites. Over the course of my Internet usage I have found myself returning to several due to certain interesting purposes.

1.) princetennis.com--I love prince tennis and I feel that the have the most exceptional quality when it comes to equipment and this is reflected in their web design. Their web site allows users to search their tennis product along with following up on the pros that use prince. Upon first entering the web site I noticed that it is visually appealing and makes me want to take to the courts immediately! They also do a great job of showing customers who uses their rackets and where they stand in the USTA/world rankings. I feel that they convey a lot of very useful information about the applications and stats on each racket that most companies tend to disregard. Overall, I feel that the rich graphics coupled with the in-depth descriptions makes for a great advertising web site.

2.) Ratemyprofessor.com--As I have began to look at classes I will be registering for this Fall, I have found this website very useful. This sites lets users post reviews and comments on their experience with professors at their university in each particular class. Where it's lacking in design it more than makes up for in utility. I can honestly say that before I came to the University I had never used this web site--but so far it has been a life saver! I have avoided so very questionable professors that could have caused me some trouble in my future academic endeavors.

3.) damninteresting.com--One of my favorite sites to visit when I am bored is damninteresting.com. The sole purpose of this sites is to...well provide interesting facts. It is sort of like a smart-ass news network. It's not very well designed, but I love reading what some of the authors have to say like Carol Otte. I seem to have this uncanny ability to remember useless information and this sites just feeds me more material.

4.)Google Maps--When I am REALLY bored I like to pull up Google maps on satellite view and go look at places that I have traveled. One of my passions is geography--I know I'm a nerd BTW--and so it's so cool to see the topography of the land from a bird's eye view!!! I actually got a feel for how Venice's lagoon filtered into the canal as I zoomed in on Northeastern Italy. The graphics are amazing and it is very accurate.

5.) destinationorganic.co.nz-- Oddly enough I just saw this web site on my friend computer and found it to be extremely visually appealing! It's almost like artwork! My bet friend is very into organic food, eating healthy, and a lot of other uninteresting things and she was browsing for foods when she came across this online storefront based in New Zealand. I guess it would have helped to give some background info that she is studying abroad the and was searching for somewhere to buy her overpriced fruit.

Five Interesting Websites

http://abc.go.com/index
This is the ABC network website. I have always enjoyed going to this site to watch shows that I have missed that week or just to browse around and see what is new on the channel. The reason I think that this website is interesting is because it catches my eye. I like the use of the big icons for each show; they are colorful and the fonts are always unique. The website always has some type of big box with a scroll of the popular shows and their scheduled times. I also like how the main background color and scheme of the website is black. I think this makes the website look organized and sharp.

http://www.hutchisonschool.org/Default.asp?bhcp=1
This is my highschool's website. I have always thought that the technoloy council does a good job of making this website interesting to look at. The first page you are brought to is a slideshow that fades into different pictures of Hutchison and its attractions. It also gives you an organized toolbar at the top of links that you can follow to learn more about the school, or to find out information such as the lunch menu, times of sports games, and recent events. You will also find a lot of pictures of the students in academic and athletic settings. I think the website does a great job of portraying a positive image for the school through the interesting and organized design layout.

http://www.apple.com/
This is Apple's website. I really like this website because I like all of Apple's products such as the iPod, iPhone, Apple computers, etc. The website works a lot like these technologies do, and it also uses flash design. When browsing the website, it gives detailed pictures and tutorials of how their products work that are really cool. This website does a good job of leaving a lot of white space in their design, along with pictures that stand out and catch the eye. And again, I like how organized they have made the website; you can easily find what you are looking for.

http://www.cosmopolitan.com/
This is the website of Cosmopolitan magazine. I love the color scheme of this website (pink and orange), but it could be because I am a girl. But the website does do a great job with catching your attention right off the bat, although it can be a little overwhelming. There is a box that has scrolling pictures of things that you can find in the magazine and off to the sides are icons/links to quizzes, games, and message boards. This website is a lot like any other entertainment website that you can visit in terms of information and gossip, but I like the web design of this website the best.

http://www.rascalflatts.com/home.php
This is the country group Rascal Flatt's website. The first page that you come to is really cool because the color theme is black and red, and an interesting schedule of their concert tour is the first thing that you see. In the meanwhile, scrolling on the side are adds that catch your attention by their movement and colors. There is a picutre of the band in the background and icons that lead to other links.

Five Websites

Here are five websites that I found to be very interesting:

www.postsecret.com This website is a place that people send in their secrets too. The secrets are on postcards, and then the postcards are shown on the web page. The background is perfect for the subject matter because it is just plain black. It makes the website seem mysterious, just like the secrets. Also, the postcards are shown straight down the page, one after the other, but the line of them is slightly to the left side. This makes the page a little more interesting than if all of the postcards would have been listed in the middle of the page.

www.rolltide.com
This website always immediately gets my attention because near the top in the middle, they have alternating pictures. They change on their own about every fifteen seconds. Also there is a bar where different sports information about Alabama flashes. The background is entirely appropriate because it is red. It seems that everything on the site is red, white, or black. It is very easy to navigate because all of the individual sports Alabama competes in are listed on the left side of the page. On the right side it lists excerpts from the media reports on Alabama.

www.match.com I have never actually visited this site until now. I just remembered it as being an extremely popular website. When I looked at the home page, I saw that it was nicely organized. They have a picture of a person in the middle of the page, and that actually takes up the majority of the page. The picture has a quote from the person underneath it, and the picture can actually be changed. Just to the side, there is the place that you type in your information. I could not see much more of the website because it would not let me without joining.

www.yahoo.com My home page is set for yahoo, and it has always caught my eye. The news feed in the middle coupled by a picture always gets my attention, and sometimes I am genuinely interested. I think the middle of the page is a great place to put the news. Also it is easy to navigate because all of the topics are listed on the left hand side.

www.jkrowling.com
I discovered this page last year when doing a report on J.K. Rowling, and I have not forgotten its graphics. The home page looks like a desk with several different items on it. As you scroll over those different items it will tell you what you can click on and what the title of that section is. The same graphics continue throughout the page.