An outsider journalist and an independent artist who has formed her own collective label correspond in attempts to build a framework to meet their needs and expose the shortcomings of attempts at universal structuring.
Can we break down the process into 5 steps (inventory, establish, chunk, draw and analyze)? It seems that corporate newspapers and postings of local events use this form in web writing. This assumes that there exists first a pile of content that is complete with only a need for organization. But as soon as this pile is laid out in 2D and 3D formats does not the process come to influence the content?
Epistemology would suggest that process informs content. It would be hard to build an erector set with your own pieces and someone else’s directions without having to add a few more elements and depth of content to connect the construct.
Another way of thinking about organizing content is using different terms. Location, alphabet, time, category and hierarchy seem to be evident even in the social media realm of limited characters in well followed postings.
Organization is important but while thinking of a website as a piece of prose, transitions are best if kept organically. If something works that seems contradictory to the rules of content organization, keep it. Use readership and reader response to your advantage. If fluid topic transitions appear wooden and forced their impact will be lost.
Instead of thinking of these points as 5 ‘rules’, approach them as systems that are capable of incorporating organic transitions and on the Macro level function consistently though on the Micro (or close inspection) of a particular page may seem to break from a ‘rule’. Systems are made for work as opposed to approaching these concepts as rules meant to absolute and prohibitive in nature. A good example would be Al Jazeera’s coverage of Native Gangs here in Minnesota. It’s a five part series that starts out each main body of text by stating the Location then positioning the individuals within the context their stories take place. The coverage seems to break form and assign no higher importance to one story over the other. Interwoven are historical details connecting the issues to one another. The use of images connect the text and content in a meaningful way.
That kind of egalitarian view of content organization applies directly to our collective label Doomtree. Each artist is given space on the heading next to one another. The rest is like a first-come-first-served news feed that updates merchandise, release information and events taking place. As readers enter the content a banner containing ten revolving titles announcing important news are presented. Each aspect is ordered alongside one another instead of in a totem sort of listing.
Though creative types like to claim equality, the internet and reader’s attention is always tuned into hierarchies. Where this is attempted to be subverted, there still exists the First slide you see and the First face/name/announcement and that in itself is the most important topic in that particular instant. Web content is instantaneous and I question the ability of content to ever be able to climb above the competition of images and text for a reader’s attention.
The issue of organization is not about circumnavigating the hierarchal structuring but to offer equal representation. Though we exist as a cooperative business model and creative outlet, that does not mean that everything published is going to reflect this. The aesthetic of web content, though seemingly endless in possibilities, have their own limits. I personally do not set out to smash through these limits as they come into play but attempt to use them to my own advantage. We can give visitors to the website new music when they enter the homepage and suggest videos of performances. Streaming music that automatically plays when the homepage pulls up is good for first time users, but actually the linked YouTube windows on the homepage serve to connect our website to social media views and queue readers towards participating in commenting on our content. This allows YouTube posted videos to serve multiple purposes and our website to be a promotion of these. SoundCloud has also served to be an offshoot that promotes independent music and offers an alternative to the standard YouTube releases of most musical acts.
Is not this the same thing as using the medium as a cork board or street post that contains? At one point do formality/informality play into organization? Al Jazeera uses clear distinctions between article topics and clear statements letting the reader know the importance of the arrangement.
Haha, perhaps formality is one of the things we want to use when we have to and discard when we can for our own ends. Fugazi DC-era DIY of the 80s of cut-copy-paste posters that were hyper-relevant and Zines that were hyper-responsive to their readerships relfect this same kind of notion. The 8 1/2 x 11" paper template was utilized the same way the 9 x 13" or so screen space is utilized in different ways. It is not our goal to reinvent the wheel. At the onset many creative types look for ways to break the wall between the medium and their audience. It would be great to reach through the screen and point readers from one song to the next merchandise release to the tour date page but participation challenges our design to be open to multiple interpretations. At what point does the bulleted list of information addressing the rules hinder the organization from the reader’s perspective?
I’m not sure that readers will ever get rid of a desire to know where, what & why before getting into the details. Readers have expectations that have been carried over from print readership (which many subscribers also consume) that carry over to judgment of web content and the design put into it. These rules are not to be thought of as bookshelves where inevitably some classifications will fall outside and have no place within. Influencing content while not being the driving force or parameter for inclusion is the role that LATCH and hat rack tools for organization play in the evolving process that is web readership awareness and pointed publication of thoughtful statements produce. The Al Jazeera article connects Government websites data spread sheets with personal photos and links historicizing and giving context to the stories as they unfold. The depth to which readers experience the content is directly tied to their investment into exploration. A story could be read in and by itself with no other outside reference. However, by maneuvering through the links the reader is given the in-depth analysis that goes beyond the continued story on A10 and becomes something that mixes participation, curiosity and a renewed interest in the content as a whole. The organization is designed to be consumed on more than one or two levels but can be taken independently.
And there is the intersection between hodgepodge collage and meaning. Social media references and connects themes in content to whole other realms of the discussion through links. The destinations become part of the exploratory journey. As one artist may pique interest it may feed in to another artist or simply made a longterm fan of the former. Even if the organization is not fully ventured into, the range of content presented should keep the interest of the reader at a level that warrants repeat visits and a high recommendation to people with similar tastes. The beautiful thing about independent labels and publishing is that authors-readers are able to synthesize the most exciting content and help shape what paths take form and expand where they lead to. Flowcharts incorporate changes in the form of mapping out the space content occupies and how it fits alongside other content.
Regardless of categorization tools, there exists at the basis of structure a psychological and epistemological foundation and theory that underlines the content. What is the purpose of readers navigating through content? Is it a closed or open system that changes frequently along with reader response and feedback? One of the most important aspects that the online medium affords readers is cross-linking. This can be utilized to move the web from a simple linear pattern towards something interdependent with crossing connections more resembling a web. This helps to contextualize content along with making connections for the reader who invests the time to explore and get a deeper understanding of the relationships exist.
Relationships are central at the core of the independent collective. Though each artist might benefit from having their own page dedicated to their work, it is by association as a whole that we choose to identify with. No matter how diversely different material is from one another, the communal benefit of all (attention for one artist is advantageous for others vis a vis) is the main theoretical thread that has made the brand and promotion worth the investment. This being said, organization stems from this ideal. Even though the content published on the website could fall under the category of ‘Creative’, there is much more to consider and consolidating similar categories of content with very different outputs. It is all a lot of work but rewarding when someone is introduced to music/art they may never have come across before. People hanging around after shows do not talk about how they were given a cassette or cd with our music on it but YouTube channels and the website reference each other and introduce visitors to the whole picture instead of just one artist. They came in the door for the crust of the pizza but returned for the onion butter garlic sticks haha.
Earlier this year I finished a piece on the privatization of the American prison system. Structurally, it resembles standard mainstream news feeds augmented with important links and background information. Utilizing font to highlight a quotation and having a direct link from the Bureau of Prisons allow for the reader to use the article as a stepping stone or thread to a larger ball of twine. The bottom allows for reader response which informs me of the forum between the readership community and the frequency of readership trends. Occasionally website oversight will need to flag or remove flagrant abuse of the forum but for the most part it is a helpful tool that allows the content to rework itself through the readers perspective and shed light on the different opinions that are out there on the issue. The hope is that the reader will feel fully informed after going through the content and exploring the links. The review/revision process is a sort of response and challenge to do better on the next article. The first mentioned series on Native Gangs in Minnesota reads entirely differently. The serialization offers clear breaks between topics where each of the five stories are allowed to exist on their own or amidst the others to make a whole. I think that the format screenshot above achieves the maximum out of the medium while not distracting with advertisement banners or media network headings.
Our ‘no crowns’ logo taps into so many cross referential movements. First of all, this particular image stemmed from a collaboration with Twin Cities’ brewing company Surly and how similar their startup was to our own. Not only pushing to keep the climate and atmosphere for creativity and innovation alive in our geographic space, our online communities help get shows in areas by requesting that we get booked and the Surly people benefit by word of mouth orders by liquor stores across the country by request of people who pay attention to online promotions and announcements. The internet is the base glue that connects what work we do in the studio and on the stage with the public at large. We are allowed to borrow from anarchist/diy/punk movements that went before and build off of similar examples such as the Rhymesayer’s business model. What started off as a crazy learning curve has been rewarded by allowing us to do what we want without compromise. The overarching rules for organizing what we do are as diverse as the actions/art that are taking place. To map out our collective it would take more than one crayon box and probably a couple of cans of spray paint. The online media lets us do that as well as having a microphone for performance space. All of this multilayering would not be possible except for using the online format. Coexistence of so many diverse aspects is one of the most beautiful things the internet has provided us. Reader-response is crucial to informing the process. You have to be really intentional including images and thinking of the experience readers will have. I think over time, our loose smattering of art content has been able to adapt and make new connections that opened opportunities for us that never would have been possible before.
