Sunday, January 28, 2007

A vast sea of cultural contexts

Cultural contexts of most websites are generally pretty specific. For websites dealing with the news the reader must have some sort of knowledge of present conditions in the world, and the cultural contexts of where the article is taking place. For historical websites the viewer must understand what the contexts of that specific time were. For search engines the user must know who or what he is searching for and in what language. Ebaumsworld, and other video based websites, are somewhat different in this regard. They are different because each individual video, picture, or joke has its own cultural context. In many cases though, it is very helpful for the viewer to have some sort of basic knowledge of the context of that specific video. There are a few different ways Ebaumsworld does this.

One major way this website does this is by breaking down all of the different content into separate categories. Videos are broken down into hilarious, extreme, cool, or stand-up categories. This allows you to choose generally what kind of videos you are going to be viewing. If hilarious is chosen the viewer knows that the purpose of these videos is to make him laugh, and will be looking for something funny about that video. On the other hand, if the viewer chooses extreme he knows he will be looking at videos that contain content that wouldn’t be seen on the everyday basis. This could range from incredible stunts to bizarre acts of nature. The jokes, pictures, and games are similarly broken down into categories describing the general context. Click here to see some of these categories.

Another way Ebaumsworld helps you to understand the context of the individual parts of its website is to add some sort of short explanation of what the user will be viewing. With this explanation the user has at least a small amount of prior knowledge about whom or what it’s about, and when or where it’s taking place. This small amount of information can prove very useful in understanding the overall meaning of the media clip. These tidbits of information also help the viewer to decide what he wants to view. The explanation will either grab the viewer’s attention or persuade him to not waste his time downloading that specific media clip. Without this, users could spend hours searching through the archives of Ebaumsworld without finding anything they really enjoyed. Since entertainment is the main purpose of this website, easy access to what an individual finds entertaining is important.

I believe that defining a specific cultural context for a website like Ebaumsworld is difficult at best. With the help that this website gives in defining the cultural context of each individual piece of media, it is easier to understand the website. I think that this is why Ebaumsworld, and other websites like it, have become so popular. They have information covering many cultural contexts, and at the same time help the user to understand them.

Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Ebaumsworld.....misunderstood

Most often the web is used as a communication tool, and as a resource for finding information on just about anything you want. I tend to like the more entertaining side of the internet, where users can share jokes, pictures, and videos. A website I find quite amusing and visit often is Ebaumsworld. We have come to recognize many similarities in websites that help us to navigate easily. Links are usually underlined and in a different color text, a menu bar can help you navigate the site, and the ever present ad is easily spotted with bright colors and moving pictures. Ebaumsworld tends to stick to these basic conventions, but also changes them to better suit their purpose. Click here to visit the site, so you can see what I’m talking about.

The links to other websites are not underlined and in blue text, but in a box to the side that labels them as other websites. This means anything that is blue and underlined on the page is a link to another page of Ebaumsworld. In addition to these links, which are most often links to movies or pictures, they have provided a small picture to give the user an idea of what the video or picture they will be viewing is going to look like. You can click on either the highlighted text or the picture to be taken to the same page. The site has a basic menu bar that can take you to any category you want, but also has menus off of these links if you would like to make your choice more specific.

The Focal point of Ebaumsworld is the daily media. Every day the site has an update of 4 or 5 videos, pictures or games that are brand new to the site. These are placed near the top of the page in the center, and also on a white background. The links are both in text and picture format. The placement and color of the daily media will grab the user’s attention and keep it. Also this is the main point and focus of this site, a vault of videos, jokes, games, and pictures that were found or sent in, with new things to see everyday.

This site has a wide variety of videos and jokes that cover almost any ground. Because of this Ebaumsworld tends to generate a lot of ill favor with some viewers. Some people may find some videos racist or discriminatory. I think that what viewers must take into account is, this website is not just making light of one specific race, gender, or disability. It is making fun of practically everyone. Many people seem to take some of these videos as a personal attack on them or their beliefs. This can be seen in the Hate Mail section of the site. Click here to view this section. Overall I think one must view this site with an open mind and not take it too seriously. It is all meant to be fun and not intended to hurt any specific person or ethnicity.