Website Analysis

The site that i have chosen to analyse is the Aston Villa homepage website. (http://www.avfc.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home)

The site states the name of the football club in large font at the top of the webpage and has main news headlines in the centre of the page, with a relevent picture. There is also a link to a video piece with a report from a player about a recent match or recent news. This shows a 'multi-linear' experience. With not just text but video as well.

The links to these other pages have links have links themseleves to other sites, which Lister would describe as being 'Hypertext'. 'We may define a hypertext as a work which is made up from discrete units of material in which each one carries a number of pathways to other units' (Lister pg 24)
There is also a countdown in the top corner of the page which counts down til the next match. The colour scheme of the page is relevent as it is all in Aston Villa colours, claret and blue.

On a cultural level, the site functions as a place where fans and people interested in the club can find out about it. This in a way, creates a sense of community, with fans knowing the news and discussing the club with friends and other fans. However, expanding on what Turkle's said about computers - 'computers are not just changing our lives but changing our selves.' Instead of picking up a newspaper to find things out we can just type in a URL and get an immediate update of news. You can also watch video clips, and find links to other pages that interest you. This site is useful for me as I can find out information and results quickly and easily. If a game is being played at the time, the site automatically updates throughout, showing the score in real-time. Fans can make comments as the game plays on how they think it's going etc, which also links with Bruns' point that produsage is collaborative (2006), as it is like a forum which allow users to post under one another, or even quote someone else to build upon what has been said.

Week 6, 6.1, Community of Practice

A community of practice is something more than a club of friends or a network of connections between people’ (Lave, Wenger) An example of a community of practice could therefore be dancing. Everybody who goes to the dance class simply goes to learn how to dance. At the class you get to know people and build relationships, ‘They build relationships that enable them to learn from each other’ (Lave, Wenger) It is thought it is easier and more effective to learn something with other people than teaching yourself as you can learn from others. The group understand eachother as they are learning the same routines and also have a shared interest in dancing.

Wenger claims that community of practice 'emphasizes the learning that people have done together rather than the unit they report to, the project they are working on, or the people they know.’ In terms of dancing, everyone is learning the same routines, and there is no hierarchy other than the dance teacher. This means that they can relate to one another and learn from eachother.