Symbols, metaphors, narration and drama.

There is little use of buttons and icons within the site, most of the links are connected to headings. The use of buttons is kept to features such as Donate, Search, Act Now and Go. These buttons are active to the interaction of the site in order to donate or find information. However there is a strong use of colour throughout the site with yellow, black and grey being the main focus. Red is also used subtly on the sites pages. The navigation bar changes to red when visiting another area or it is distributed subtly through well placed images, using the effective colour to help lead the eye around the page. Rss feeds and small arrows are scattered throughout the site also appearing to be limited in size to reduce distraction from the main content.

The use of colour throughout Amnesty Australia has been placed in such a way that it helps tell the story of the content. The black is dramatic with the yellow used in such a way that a sense of hope can still be had from the help of participants in aiding humanity. The grey is the balance of the impartial communication of the information that needs to be presented. The limited spots of red could also represent the bloodshed as a reminder that we are all human and still need to be recognise the atrocities that are happening to humanity.

The choice of colour in this site confidently upholds the purpose of the content it is representing enhancing the narration of the information. The clean placement of the sections and placement of information increases the effectiveness of the overall intention of Amnesty Australia.

Web 2.0 features.

The best examples of web 2.0 can be found best in igoogle, facebook, myspace and other social networking sites that allow the user to become involved in their space on the internet and be interactive with the site as well as other users in that space. Also provided is the opportunity to grow and change the content in an ongoing challenge to be creative, keep informed or to inform.

Navigation structure, logic and consistency.
To move around in the site is very simple, the navigation bar that displays the Home, About, News, Campaigns, How you can help and Donate buttons moves you around the site easily. This grouping of topics helps to clarify the major areas of information within the site. The search section is also located on the same bar making it easier for the user to locate not only for its position but also for its size and clarity.

The login and registration section for members is also clearly represented the top right corner of the page as it is place on top of the yellow header in black. It is a bold use of the colours to make the section clearly visible.

Due to the divisions of colour throughout the site it is basic for the user to recognise the continuity therefor not making it hard to find information within the site. Links are highlighted in blue and the navagation bar across the top changeds to black as the user hovers over it and red when visiting through that link. However as the user travels through the site it is not visible to see which links have been taken as there is no change of colour showing the link has previously been visited.


The pages are consistent throughout the site making sure the user does not have to think too hard to find information required. The Navigation bar through the site however is place on the right side bar as opposed to the left. This positioning works well with this site although it is not generally what the user is acustomed to. As many sites provide the position of navigation elements to the top or left side.

Interactive elements.

There are not many elements to this site to make it interactive for the user. Campaign blogs are the most interactive element to the site. The aim for this charity is more about getting the people to continue the movement for human rights by geting out and being seen. There are several places in which you can make donations or receive news letters. Feeds are also obtainable on the site to stay informed and recently added to the front page is the video of the Fijian Crisis.

This site seems more to be about getting the news out to the world about Human Rights rather that making the site the place for interaction. The shop and jobs section included are also part of the web site however this is still not contributing to a high standard of web 2.0. Facebook, Twitter, Myspace and Youtube appear to be the gateways to the social networking for Amnesty. It is also encouraged on the site to share the information on other networks like digg, Del.icio.us, Reddit, Stumbleupon, Magnolia and Newsvine.

To become interactive you are guided to go off site and use other facilities rather that the Amnesty site itself.
http://del.icio.us/about
Register at:
http://del.icio.us/register
Digg
Information:
http://digg.com/about
Register at:
http://digg.com/register
Facebook
Information:
http://www.facebook.com/about.php
Register at:
https://register.facebook.com/r.php
reddit
Information:
http://reddit.com/help/faq
Register at:
http://reddit.com/login
StumbleUpon
Information:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/about.html
Register at:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/sign_up.php

Organization and presentation of content.

The sections of the page are separated with quite definite area that are defined with a colour, bar or white space and images. The recent inclusion of a video has also increased the information on the front page. It has also been place under the 'make an impact' box with nothing else but an introduction enhancing the impact of the video itself.

Amnesty International Australia is my choice

Layout of site catering for target audience needs and expectations.

The Amnesty International Australia website displays the layout for the content in a clear manner for the user to understand without difficulty. The target audience wants to be able to get around the site quickly and precisely. This has been achieved by plenty of white space around the text and using complimentary colors to enhance its simplicity. Also the separation of information helps guide the user easily to what they want.

The body is split into three areas with a header and footer completing the layout. The body provides the most resent story being followed as well as offering the opportunity to get involved and 'Make an Impact' a theme that is carried through to other pages of the site. Maintaining the same basic structure throughout the site. Separating this section from the header is the navigation bar clearly stating the pages directly.

The middle section reflects the first block of the page by keeping the story to the left third of the the mid section. To the center of this area brings in the element of community action and the last third also reflecting what is above it by enabling interaction to join with an email account to receive newsletters.

The final third of the home page is still broken down into three more sections, these separating the information again keeping the lines clean throughout the page and sectioning events information and another way towards participation.

The flow of this site is easy to read for the user whether they are involved with Amnesty or maybe just new to the site and wish to find out more information about what is happening locally or abroad.

Web 2.0 Definitions

The definitions in this list are a great reference to what you are looking at when analyzing web site to see if it covers as many of the standards enhancing the it to a Web 2.0 standard. This image was found on Ross Dawson's blog on discussing Launching the Web 2.0 Framework.
The original comes from the Future Exploration Network. The image is connected to the networks site.

The concept of 'Web 2.0' was born in a conference brainstorming session with Tim O'Reilly and Dale Dougherty.
Soon after the collapse of the Dot-com bubble in 2001, it almost seems that it was inevitable. Making way for many sites to appear with a new generation of applications, tools and an awareness of what is possible on the internet and the few sites that survived and thrived all seemed t0 have some things in common.
Even though it is felt that 'Web 2.0' 'does capture the widespread sense that there's something qualitatively different about today's web'.[1] Tim Bray also argues that the internet is beyond 2.0 considering it to be more like 8.0 in comparison to other software versions and referring to memes as 'marketing hype'.[2]


1 Tim Bray http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/08/not-20.html
2 Tim Bray http://radar.oreilly.com/archives/2005/08/not-20.html

Since the Dot.com bubble burst many people suffered the effects, some losing a lot others a little. However the internet has not slowed as a platform for business, social networks and information.

The creation of many tools in websites to increase the capabilities of the user have provided a gateway to bringing the populations networks together increasing communication between friends, families, media and global news.

What is the concept of Web 2.0

What is included in a web site that embraces Web 2.0?

Continual evolution provides constant availability for the user to become interactive. Contributing information and opinion, gaining knowledge and relationships are all part of the developing web 2.0. Professions can also use these concepts to increase, data to bring progress to research.



http://www.oreillynet.com/pub/a/oreilly/tim/news/2005/09/30/what-is-web-20.html

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