Module 3 – Web 2.0

I am assuming in looking at the Blinklist page and the html page, that we are simply comparing the way the two pages set out the information. They seem to have different links, but have the same type of information on them (ie, links to other websites that may be useful in this course).

Looking at the differences between the two sites brings to the fore what Jakob Nielsen was saying in the link to his Alert Box, Oct1, 1997 – How Users Read on the Web. He stated that people usually scan rather than read web pages, and that highlighted keywords & links will attract the eye. Yes, they will both attract the eye, but if you are offered a choice of looking at thumbnails of links, compared to just highlighted links and keywords, the thumbnails are usually easier to look at. Unfortunately being easier to look at doesn’t necessarily mean that they have more information or even the information that you need.

In this situation, considering both sites have information on them that would be useful to anyone doing an internet course, both sites would have to be carefully combed over and the information on them picked through painstakingly to ensure that all the useful information had been retrieved.

Just comparing how the two sites look and the “ease of looking at them”, the Blinklist page is easier on the eye – easier to look at and easier to see the information it offers. The html page contains as much, if not more, information, but because it is simply laid out in links, it is harder on the eye and actually requires reading, rather than just scanning through.

I personally prefer to look at the Blinklist page, but if I was looking for the various pieces of information that are scattered over the two pages, I would be reading both pages very carefully to get the best “value for money”.