Unlike the last blog I did, I'm going to be following an answer outline where I'll be comparing two sites. Though what sites accomplish are different, this is more based on how much they can help their communities and be an informative base for questions. The two websites in question are http://www.nanowrimo.org/ and http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/. To save time I'll explain each site for each question and specify each one with a short hand version.
Examples:
http://www.majorleaguegaming.com/. = MLG
http://www.nanowrimo.org =NANO
1. What is the purpose of this site?
NANO - The purpose of this site is a base of operations for Nation Novel Writing Month. They hold a sort of contest for anyone to participate in to write a 50,000 word novel by a specified date. This website offers a chance for aspiring writers to get on track with what they want to do and may even achieve a publication of their novel if it wins.
MLG - The purpose of this site is basically the home to Major League Gaming, a pro circuit for professional gamers on a variety of levels. It is home to millions of people involved in the community such as focused watchers, fans, and of course the competitors that span worldwide. From here, people can sign up to be in a league of a certain video game and find out about the events that take place.
2.What types of people would you expect to make up the population of the community?
NANO - If anything I would expect people who are aspiring to be successful writers, those getting started in writing professionally, or those who just want something to do quite honestly. These people can range from kids to adults. The community may also have publishers and others working in the novel industry looking for talented story tellers.
MLG - The types of people that could populate the MLG community may consist of attentive viewers, common gamers, professional gamers, sponsors, game journalists, and active forum users. I would expect the MLG association to work like almost any other sports organization.
3. How useful would you perceive this site to be for this community?
NANO - I think this site could be an excellent home for writers and those looking for writers altogether. Even though this site holds a contest for only one month, if they were to make this a biannual event, maybe this community can grow a bit more since its vast population growth the past 10 years as seen in their facts and information page. ---> http://www.nanowrimo.org/about/facts-and-stats/
MLG - Considering this is the home for all Major League Gaming, if I said it wouldn't be useful, this entire blog would just go under and lose all credibility. If any questions about this league can be answered... uh yeah... this is the site you would go to obviously. (Sorry if this seemed a bit sarcastic but, it is the hub for this community.)
4. How likely are members of the Viral Community to meet up in RL (Real-Life)?
NANO- For this site, probably not as likely as I'd think. Since this website usually covers the one month, ,National Novel Writing Month, I would assume it would be a day they would hold for people that won to come in and be recognized for what they wrote.
MLG - Since this site however is a pro circuit for all that is professional gaming, meet ups are probably very frequent for events. Events are held almost daily from what I've seen from the sites schedule, so it happens on a consistent basis from what I can comprehend.
5. Will this site help members of the Viral Community accomplish anything in RL?
NANO - Those involved in this site have a chance for recognition of their works. If they happen to win the contest or were apart of it to a certain degree, they can earn the opportunity to have their novel published and earn some money from it.
MLG - I think it is most likely that the professional players on this site have a chance to earn money in the tournaments they take part in. The journalists get to write their stories for their work, and those that watch have chances to learn about the players, how they get into this circuit, and how to prosper.
6. Which site is closer to the site you would like to design?
ME (Myself) - I think the MLG site would be more to my liking to design a website. They have several tabs going across the top of the page to indicate where you need to go for your own preference and have special buttons that are there for any questions. It has the feel that it is organized in a way where even the newest visitor could navigate it with ease. This would be a site that could be most beneficial to me out of the two that can be comfortable to use by anyone.
Actually, I'm not sure that MLG is all that easy to navigate--judging from what some of your team members in the research project said. I'm sure it was much more interesting to you because of your own interest. We tend to be willing to dig through what we're interested in.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, your point is well taken that it is considerably more dynamic than NANO and I like the way it has an "octopus's" worth of tentacles reaching into yet other sites.
I also really resonated with your point that once per year doesn't maximize the NANO potential. Thank you for a fascinating analysis.