Find 3 sources of information, advice, or tutorials online and review them.

I looked at answers to the question “How to Illustrate a Children’s Book?” The three sources I found were YouTube, and the two blogs Artists & Illustrators and Creative Bloq.

Technology changes very rapidly, how current is the information you found?

The YouTube video was from January 21, 2014. Creative Bloq’s post was published on February 25, 2022. Artists & Illustrators’ post was from September 8, 2011. The initial search gave me information from varying times, but the most recent results were closer to the top of the page than others.

Who is posting the information? Are they an authority on the matter? How can you tell?

The sources were made and published by users either on their blogs or YouTube channel. Each article or video was from an authority on illustration. The channel is organized by a professional illustrator who explained her personal experience and process of illustrating. The blogs were either written by journalists who interviewed a professional illustrator or by the illustrator themselves.

What types of gatekeeping mechanisms are in place for the source you found? (i.e., is there an editor or are posts up/downvoted democratically?)

YouTube as a platform has Terms of Service and community guidelines for what is and isn’t allowed to be posted on its site. Individual channels may have editors to help them put the video together but there is also a system of viewers liking or disliking videos to tell others whether or not the information is helpful. The blog sites are big and set up like news sites with editors and journalists creating the posts.

Discuss the quality of the information. Is it well-written, clear, and easy to follow?

All the information was of high quality and easy to understand. The information was clear and helpful for the question being asked.

Finally, is this a resource you might use in the future, and if so, why?

YouTube is a great resource that I would use in the future to find tutorials on something I am interested in or just an explanation of something I don’t understand. Blogs can be a great source of reliable information with references and professionals but you need to double-check their sources and make sure they are truly reliable.

Sources:

How to illustrate a children’s book

https://www.creativebloq.com/features/how-to-illustrate-a-childrens-book

 

 

Briefly define what we mean by “content management system.” Is it just for websites?

A content management system or CMS is a tool to create and manage a website without the hassle of coding everything from scratch. Instead of having to write all your own code and then inputting the format you’d like, a CMS like WordPress, would act like an interface for you to easily input content and pick a format or template that works for you. It enables users to create, publish, edit, collaborate and store digital content. Most CMS platforms are typically only used for websites because of the ease they offer users.

Compare and contrast building a website using a CMS and coding a website by hand using HTML/CSS. What are the benefits and drawbacks of each? What is the current best practice when it comes to making a website?

With HTML/CSS coding you have complete freedom and control of how your website looks, what functions it has and everything else but with a CMS you only have the flexibility and freedom of what they provide. Some benefits of CMS are the ease and speed of their platform, you can quickly type content and post it immediately, whereas coding is a lot more time-consuming and difficult to work with especially for beginners. The best option is to decide what works for you and offers what you need because no one option will be best for everyone.

How do CMSs impact the web design industry? Are they taking away jobs from web developers? 

CMS makes it easier for entrepreneurs to create a website for their products without all the extra time or money spent with a web design company. It has made things easier and more accessible for those who would never have the ability to hire a company to create a website or the skill to do it on their own. Web developers may look like they are becoming obsolete, but they have just found a new area to be creative and innovative. Although we the users may no longer be using web developers as before, the CMS we rely on does need web developers to stay relevant, and create more templates and functions, to maintain the sites and keep everything secure. Without the web developers behind the CMS, the CMS would no longer be useful and all websites would look the same and become stagnant.

Sources:

https://bemarketing.com/websites-pros-cons-building-html-vs-cms-platforms/

https://www.ramotion.com/blog/web-design-dying-career/

Today, do more people access the web using computers or mobile devices?

More people access the web using a mobile device than a desktop but people spend more time per visit on computers rather than mobile devices. Mobile tends to be used for short searches or visits but for more in-depth research and long-term entertainment computers are more widely used. According to the Google Analytics’ Benchmarking feature, which provides aggregated industry data from companies that share their data:

“Mobile devices drove 61% of visits to U.S. websites in 2020, up from 57% in 2019. Desktops were responsible for 35.7% of all visits in 2020, and tablets drove the remaining 3.3% of visitors.” “Globally, 68.1% of all website visits in 2020 came from mobile devices—an increase from 63.3% in 2019. Desktops drove 28.9% of visits, while 3.1% of visitors came from tablets. However, desktop devices remain very important, as they drove 53.3% of total time on site in the U.S. and 46.4% of total time on site globally.”

Does anyone control the internet? And what is it made of?

No one person controls the internet it is open to everyone and is too big for anyone to control or manage. The whole point of the internet was to create a decentralized network that could survive a nuclear bomb. It is made of independent networks that are fully distributed and share the goal of universal connectivity.

Who is Tim Berners Lee? What is he best known for?

Tim Berners-Lee is a software engineer who invented the World Wide Web in 1989 while at CERN, the European Particle Physics Laboratory. He is known for inventing the World Wide Web, the first web browser, and the fundamental protocols and algorithms allowing the Web to scale.

What is a blog? What is it used for?

A blog is an informational or journal website. In the 1990’s it was more of a personal online journal, now it can be used for many purposes like building up your business by connecting with a wider audience and communicating with them.

What is a “responsive” website design?

A responsive website adapts to the needs of the user and offers them the best experience no matter what device they use. It will automatically adapt to the screen size and capabilities of the device.

Why are “responsive” website designs necessary?

Having a responsive design assures a good experience for all users no matter what they use and alleviates the work of designers so they don’t have to create a whole new website for every individual device in existence.

What is SEO, and why should website owners/managers be concerned with It?

SEO stands for “Search Engine Optimization”. It is a way to get your website on the first page of a search and bring in more customers. This is a very important aspect of any website because the higher you are on the search the more people will see your website and the more potential clients you gain.

What is dynamic content?

Dynamic content or adaptive content is exactly what it sounds like. Web content that adapts to a user’s preferences, behavior, and interests.

What is a content management system? You work with one, what is its name?

A Content management system or CMS is an application for the easy managing of content and allows multiple creators to make, edit and publish their sites. I work with WordPress.

What is a YouTube channel? Who might want to start one?

A YouTube channel is an individual’s personal account where they can upload their own content or comment on the videos of others. Anyone could start a channel and Its uses are plentiful, from promoting your business to a vlog of your week it’s a great way to reach a large audience with the right content. People who might want to start a channel are entertainers, teachers, entrepreneurs, and influencers.