Week+9

=Lab #9: Media Analysis of two online information sources:=

It is essential to analyze the //functionality// and //transparency// of an information-providing website as these two elements can render a website reliable or unreliable, legitimate or illegitimate. Internet users are constantly seeking for information when browsing the world wide web, and it is important hat we are aware of which online information sources can provide us with the kind of information we are looking for.

Wikipedia.org is one such information source that is constantly being reprimanded for its unreliability. Anyone, even non-members, has the ability to adjust information on any page about anything and everything on Wikipedia. For instance, I just entered Sara Bareilles, the musician, into the search engine and changed her //Alias// in her info box to //Serina//. Though this is a completely false piece of information as I just came up with the name off the top of my head, Sara Bareilles' alias is now Serina; moreover, many visitors who are to visit this page from now on will have the mistaken impression that Sara Bareilles is sometimes also referred to as 'Serina.'

Wikipedia.org has a unique form of 'transparency' as most of its users and viewers are aware that it is not a reliable source for information in that anyone on the internet can adjust information, at any time, on any page. Most of the writing on each page has citation which is accompanied by a list of corresponding //References// and //External Links// at the end -- and in my personal opinion, this may be the most beneficial aspect of the site as it can help you find actual sources surrounding a given topic, some are scholarly and some are popular. Since anyone is able to update information on Wikipedia, it is obvious that the millions of pages on Wikipedia are constantly being updated.

Each 'information page' on wikipedia is quite flexible. I already pointed out that just about anyone can alter information on a given page, but there are also other tabs on each info page such as, "discussion," where users can post any topic with the hopes of engaging in a discussion with other users on that specific topic. There is also a "history" tab which shows the history of the various alterations that were made to the page. And of course, "edit this page" is what people may click on to made the adjustments they desire. When clicking most of these tabs, a default pop-up usually shows which reiterates that Wikipedia does not wish to have any poorly or unsourced material on their pages and that if one notices something that is false or is not cited properly, it is important that one "report the issue to the biographies notice board."

Seeing as that Wikipedia is rather transparent and shows that much of the information is created by users for other users, and thus is not entirely reliable, one must wonder, //'why is it so popular?'//It's functionality is quick, efficient, straight-forward, and the site seems to have information, legit or not, on just about anything and everything that exists.

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Wikipedia's homepage is very basic, clean, and easy for people to use. On the home page there are two important elements: first, a series of links that surround a symbol of the globe which allows users to search the information pages of other languages -- users can also choose a specific language in the drop-down men beside the search box. Aside from English, Some of the other links are Portuguese, Polish, Spanish, French, and Italian. Therefore, Wikipedia is highly functional in the sense that is useful for people all around the globe.======

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Google.com on the other hand works differently than Wikipedia.org. It is solely a search engine and when one searches just about anything into Google's search box, a vast amount links to various webpages, websites, and sources show up, aiming to provide users with a response of information on the given topic that was searched. Google is known for it's extremely easy, quick, and efficient functionality. First, let us consider it's homepage. Google's homepage is one of the most basic and straight-forward of all search engine sites: The medium-sized Google icon, and the search box are the two elements that most users focus on as soon as they reach the home page.======

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The transparency of Google is highly straight-forward as all those who search within Google are aware that Google will deliver as many sources as it finds that is most accurate to what was searched for in terms of relevancy and popularity. Unlike Wikipedia, Google simply lists the sources that correspond to what is being searched, and thus there is no need for "proper citation" anywhere, and there is no question towards Google's reliability.======

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Google is extremely popular also because of its constant suggestion to all users that it is constantly being updated, it always delivers the most accurate and popular sources upon every search, and thus, Google really takes on an element of //liveliness// for its users. First, the Google icon on the the homepage often changes to portray various themes, especially during different holidays of the year such as Christmas and Halloween. This tells users that Google is always "alive" and in-tune with the same real-time calendar that we go by. Another aspect of it's liveliness is that upon every search, when the results show up, there is always a box on the top right that states the following: the number of results it is showing on one page alone, the approximate number of all of the results it came up with, and the number of seconds it took to perform this. For instance, I searched, "The Beatles," and this is what showed up: //Results// **//1-10//** //of about// **//42,900,000//** //for// **//the beatles//**//. (//**//0.15//** //seconds).// Obviously, it is not entirely necessary for Google to provide users with this information every time something is searched, but it does nonetheless, to assure all users that it is delivering every single source that exists on the internet which is somehow relevant, and finally, it includes that it did this for us in just about 0.15 of a second. Google is highly transparent in the sense that it hides nothing: all of the sources that exist online and apply to a searched topic is listed plus the extremely short time it took to gather all of the sources. The essentialy aspect of liveliness that Google depicts is what has made it the #1 search engine today. Google has gradually incorporated additional functions so that its users can get anything and everything from Google.com, and this further expands Google's functionality. On the top-left side of Google's homepage one can see, click on, and access its additional functions such as: searches for strictly just images, videos, maps, news, groups, Gmail, and a final link of "more" where all of the other functions are listed. Google's functions seem to be endless, and it constantly aims to prove this to all of its users. The "oo" in //google// represents the horizontal figure 8, which is the symbol for infinity: the concept of which Google.com lives and stands by. ====== 