Networked Media Production

This article discusses the importance of visual design, SEO promotion and content development for a micro-blogging site. It covers factors to consider in visual design such as nature of content, target audience and navigation. It also explains the importance of SEO promotion and content development in generating traffic. Lastly, it discusses the different types of content moderation and their effectiveness.

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Running Head: Networked Media Production
Networked Media Production
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Running Head: Networked Media Production
Visual Design
Visual design deals with the look & feel and generally the aesthetics of a site. A good visual
design implements different elements, such as images, videos, fonts, and colors to enhance the
site’s interface ( Tselentis, 2012). Visual design is as important as the content itself. For
example, in this case, a microblogging site such as Tumblr must take crucial attention to the
visual design of the site as it complements the content provided. Before designing the interface
of the site, there are several factors to be considered. Firstly, and the most important, is the
nature of the content to be displayed. For example, for a site such as Tumblr, the background
color and theme should be of a fairly low contrast so that it can bring out an optimal focus of
images and videos when they are played. A dull blue color with a contrast of about 40% should
be good for the site. The font should be of a higher contrast but not with a large margin
difference. Optimally, the foreground should have a contrast of about 65%. This ensures that the
content is not “swallowed” by the background ( Tselentis, 2012).
Secondly, the target audience plays a very big role in determining the choice and style of the
visual design (Krause, 2014). For a micro-blogging site, the target audience focusses on the age
bracket 16-45. This age bracket consists of young people to a slightly older generation. Within
this generation, sharing of information is of high importance to them. Their joy is to be able to
share ideas and thoughts in a comfortable environment that they can easily be attracted to.
Designing an interface with no target audience in mind means that the design is done under
broad guidelines that might not be cohesive with the client’s language. This may result in
mismatched priorities and confusion that may end up leading the target audience elsewhere
(Vecchio, 2016).

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Running Head: Networked Media Production
Lastly, the visual design is highly dependent on navigation of the site. An easy to use interface is
likely to attract customers and make them stay for a long time. For a micro-blogging site, clear
buttons, pop ups and color change for clicked links should enhance the interface operation of the
site. Creative menu navigation labelling and language with a special focus on clarity is an added
advantage. Links and labels should be easy to understand and discover. This will ensure that the
user experience is not compromised. Additionally, it is a good practice to use standard language
according to the web conventions. For example, clicking the logo of the page should navigate
back to the homepage (Levene, 2011).
SEO and Promotion
To generate income, every site requires persistent traffic flow. However, persistent traffic flow
does not come easy, it requires advertisements and promotions in order to inform and to remind
customers of the website. Search Engine Optimization allows a website to be strategically
positioned in the search engine (Google, Bing) such that when a customer searches for a product
or service that is offered by your site, then your site appears on the top list of the search engine
( Skinner, 2014).
The first step of SEO promotion is to identify the target keywords (ZOLOTARYOVA, 2017).
Target keywords are those words or/ and phrases that identifies a particular topic from a web
page. Search engines creates most traffic and hence it is imperative to use the right keywords to
ensure the website appears in the top pages of the search engine results. In general, keywords
help improve the rank of a website in the search engines. For instance, for a micro-blogging site,
the keywords may include “sharing images and videos”, “share your story”, “connect with

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Running Head: Networked Media Production
friends” and “read about”. However, these words and phrases are very common with the
numerous social networking sites and blogs in the search engines. Therefore, narrowing down
the keyword to be more specific and relatable to the topic is important. For example, using
phrases like, “find friends around you” will allow the sites to be categorized according to
location (Varndell, 2015).
Moreover, besides SEO promotion, there are other ways of site advertisement that can be used to
generate traffic. For instance, according to (Shivar, 2017) you can accomplish this by using
social media platforms that provide links to your website, using advertisement platforms like
YouTube where Google allows placement of ads in various videos, and the use of banner ads
where you advertise your website on other websites.
Content Development
The content development defines the purpose of the website. This is inception stage in which the
idea was born. For a micro-blogging site, the content will include but not limited to elements
such as texts, images and videos. The posts will be updated as regularly as the bloggers upload
them to the website. This will ensure the top posts relate to the recent happenings and new
information is given priority (Chad Barr and Alan Weiss, 2012). Additionally, the site would
lose the customers if the customers view the same information every time they log in. The
content will last in accordance to the user’s preferences. By creating a queue, the user is able to
stretch their content to hours or even days.
Moreover, users can assist the audience in finding their content by tagging them. The audience
can also choose the content that will appear on their timeline by choosing from a category of
items. That way, the content is not only displayed on the site but more specifically the target

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Running Head: Networked Media Production
audience are notified of a new post. Most of the content produces will contain pictures and a text
caption (Roy Strauss, Patrick Hogan, 2013). However, this does not create a provision for
limitations. The language used will be left to the discretion of the user. The users will choose
their style and language according to their content and specific target audience. As the micro-
blogging site aims at connecting bloggers with audiences, each user will tailor their content to fit
their target audience. The platform allows bloggers to share small snippets of information.
Therefore, user will be advised to keep their content short and precise.
Beside the content format and style, the site has a team of content moderators that review the
uploaded content and flags any inappropriate information. Content moderation is the process of
establishing a set of rules that determine what is acceptable and that which is not (O'Donovan,
2016). There are different ways to achieve content moderation. These are as follows.
Firstly is the pro-active moderation. Pro-active moderation is used in cases of extreme user
generated graphic content. The content is removed by an automatic moderator system
before it hits online. Content such as terrorism and child sexual abuse falls under this
category of extreme user generated content. However, there are setbacks to using this
type of moderation. The users can become frustrated and confused waiting for their
content to appear online. This causes the communication to be interrupted along the way
and hence the site runs the risk of losing customers (Hopkins, 2017).
Secondly, is the post-active moderation where inappropriate user generated content is allowed to
be published on the site. A team of site moderators, later reviews the content and
determines if the content has crossed the threshold established to what content breaks the
rule. If the content is deemed inappropriate, it is removed or reported immediately. Post-

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Running Head: Networked Media Production
active moderation allow moderation to be done in comparison with the activities
happening in the world (O'Donovan, 2016).
Lastly, there is reactive moderation. Reactive moderation lets users report content that they
perceive to be inappropriate. After receiving the complaint, the team of moderators
review the offensive content and take appropriate action. While this method is most
effective one, it also gets the most false positive. Users may report a post that does not
contain any extreme graphic content but because they disagree with the user who posted
it. Additionally, this method may not be all effective in cases where immediate action is
to be taken. For example, in cases where safety is critical, or a brand’s reputation is at
stake. This is because this method maybe slow and great damage could be done between
the time of reporting and the time of removing the content (O'Donovan, 2016).
Reflection
The micro-blogging idea is one of some revolutionary ideas. In this era where there is freedom of
speech and the need to share your thoughts, it is recommendable to have a platform that will
facilitate and host sharing of thoughts and ideas across the globe. With proper visual design and,
the web page can be very attractive to keep customers glued to the site. The SEO promotion and
the type of content published will go hand in hand to provide the best blogging experience for all
users. However, there are improvements that require to be considered that would create a setback
to the excellence of this website. These limitations are as follows.
To start with, there are many blogging sites and social media networking platforms that offer
similar services to this proposed web platform. Therefore, the SEO promotion may not be as

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effective, because the keywords chosen are also highly likely to be taken by other hundreds of
sites that provide similar services. The remediation to this problem is to provide other means of
advertisements that will cover the loss suffered by SEO promotion.
Another setback is that of the visual design. While it is not possible for the design to consider all
age brackets, all people from different types of life (those with different disabilities), the site is
going to only be tailored to meet the needs of the highest percentage of target audience. While
this might be the only way to handle it, it leaves an unexplored market niche. The remediation is
to create more tools of viewing information, that will include as many people as possible.

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Running Head: Networked Media Production
References
Skinner, S. (2014, April 7). Use Paid Promotion to Refine Your SEO and Make Your Visitors More Valuable .
Retrieved from https://moz.com: https://moz.com/blog/using-paid-promotion-to-enhance-seo
Tselentis, J. (2012). The Graphic Designer's Electronic-Media Manual: How to Apply Visual Design
Principles to Engage Users on Desktop, Tablet, and Mobile Websites. Essex: Rockport Publishers.
Chad Barr and Alan Weiss. (2012, August 22). How to Create Great Content for Your Website . Retrieved
from https://www.entrepreneur.com: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/223752
Hopkins, N. (2017, May 21). Facebook moderators: a quick guide to their job and its challenges.
Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com:
https://www.theguardian.com/news/2017/may/21/facebook-moderators-quick-guide-job-
challenges
Krause, J. (2014). Visual Design: Ninety-five things you need to know. Told in Helvetica and Dingbats.
New Riders.
Levene, M. (2011). An Introduction to Search Engines and Web Navigation. New York: John Wiley &
Sons.
O'Donovan, D. (2016, August 9). 4 types of content moderation every social media manager should know
about. Retrieved from https://blog.crispthinking.com: https://blog.crispthinking.com/4-kinds-of-
content-moderation-every-social-media-manager-should-know-in-2016
Roy Strauss, Patrick Hogan. (2013). Developing Effective Websites: A Project Manager's Guide. Oxford:
Taylor & Francis.

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Running Head: Networked Media Production
Shivar, N. (2017, April 3). EZ Website Promotion. Retrieved from https://www.shivarweb.com:
https://www.shivarweb.com/2644/how-to-advertise-your-website-online/
Varndell, D. (2015). Learn Search Engine Optimization: Beginners Guide to SEO. EZ Website Promotion.
Vecchio, S. (2016, August 18). Designing for a Target Audience. Retrieved from
http://blog.catmedia.com: http://blog.catmedia.com/designing-for-a-target-audience
ZOLOTARYOVA, E. (2017, May 22). 11 Essential SEO Promotion Stages For Your Website. Retrieved from
https://curatti.com: https://curatti.com/essential-seo-promotion-stages/