Introduction
Media is considered to be one of the most crucial issues of current culture. There are a number of people from different parts of the world, who cannot imagine this life without exciting media projects. As a rule, media production aims at entertaining, informing, exchanging of services, etc.
People benefit a lot from media development: they find the required portion of inspiration, stimulation, encouragement, and support. Sometimes, it is hard to realize how people could properly organize their work without different media products lately. Nowadays, researchers state that “people regularly collaborate in information seeking activities, both in their personal and professional lives” (Paul & Morris, 2011, p.72).
Meaning of the project
The project chosen for the analysis in this paper is a cocktail website Cocktail Recipes 101. This online media product is the attempt of two people to create a new world, where they can develop their skills, share interesting information with the consumers, and realize how they can find practical application to their theoretical knowledge in two different spheres, web design and cocktail making.
In the exegesis, certain attention will be paid to the form, content and materials used in OMP, the evaluation of functions and purposes of the work, understanding of the context from the legal, social, and cultural contexts, and, finally, the analysis of the process in terms of practice and theory.
Worth of OMP to audience
In fact, the worth of the web product under consideration is evident. On the one hand, this site is a unique opportunity for people to demonstrate their skills, attract people to the chosen sphere of interest, and prove that such narrow concept as cocktail making may gather many people from different parts of the world.
This site is not only simple exchange of information. It is a chance to be involved into cocktail production and share personal experience.
A cocktail website is regarded as a successful project within the frames of which producers are able to rely on their cultural understanding of the matter, use media skills and technologies, and present their preferred meanings and points of view to achieve the goals set, use their knowledge on practice, and impress the audience as “the initiator of the production-consumption chain” (Cohen, Salazar, & Barkat, 2009, p. 78) that is usually people under the age of 20, who are interested in drinking and making cocktails in everyday life.
Conceptual Exegesis of a Cocktail Website
Borrowing some concepts from the work developed by Wubishet (2009) on the importance of mixing characters and attention to a variety of problems, the online media project may be viewed as a possibility to unite certain users’ needs within the frames of one particular project.
Audience plays a very important role in the development of a new project, and sometimes, it defines as the body that performs more difficult functions than producers (Green & Jenkins, 2011). This is why, to understand a true role of producers of the project, it is necessary to analyse the form, content, materials, ideas, and considerations that are inherent to the chosen cocktail website.
Project understanding: form, content, and material
The form of the website corresponds to the content and the materials used by the producers. There is no need to apply some types of too complicated techniques in order to impress the audience. The main goal of the project is to present interesting material about cocktail production and engage people into making cocktails on their own. It is not enough to prove that cocktail making is something the producers are good at.
One of the tasks set by the developers is to explain the audience that it is possible for any person to contribute the cocktail industry (Dusy & Redies, 2006). This is why the main material used in the creation of the website is basically producers’ personal experience, ideas, and knowledge.
There is no need to use too complicated terms to explain people their possible connection to cocktail making activity. Informal style, extracts from real life, and the desire to share information are the three basics of the site under consideration.
Purposes and functions of the work
Nowadays, people are under the influence of mass broadcasting and online publishing (Nightingale, 2011).
Information that is got through the Internet or some other media sources may define the quality of human life, human actions, and thoughts, this is why when a single person makes a decision to create a website or contribute media in some other way, he/she has to weigh all pros and cons of the chosen activity, elaborate thoroughly the functions and purposes of the project, and consider personal ability to meet the goals set.
The main purposes set by the developers of Cocktail Recipes 101 are all about the support of personal interests and contribution human passion to the cocktails (Liu & Long, 2001a). In real life, there are many customers, who find the cocktails made by the developers of the site amazing.
Understanding of the fact that something done in life makes someone happier and satisfied at least for a moment turned out to be that portion of inspiration under which the site was created. Some people cannot even imagine their lives without properly prepared cocktails, this is why they find it interesting to share their experience, emotions, and desires online.
This is the second purpose of the site’s creation. Taking into consideration the purposes used by the site producers, it is possible to identify the main functions of the projects which are to inspire people with making and drinking good cocktails, to guide people on how to create a cocktail at home, and to promote exchange of information about cocktails and their ingredients.
Relations between ideas and considerations
The relationship between producers’ ideas and practical consideration is evident. The point is that it is unnecessary to make too many links to inform a person on how to prepare a cocktail. This is why there are three simple links used on the site: information about the developers, list of cocktails and their recipes, and a link by means of which ordinary people are free to share their own recipes of cocktails.
The main idea is not about the complexity but about the access to people with different interests and preferences. It does not matter whether you are a profound user of the Internet or only a beginner, information of the site will be easily available to you.
10-year period for the site
When the site was created, it was important to consider the emotional cues of the audience (Keim, 201) and personal needs that make people address some sites and neglect the information from other sites.
Such sources of information like Google, Wikipedia, and Yahoo are regarded as the best examples of properly organized collective work (Malone, Laubacher, & Dellarocas, 2010; Niederer & van Dijck, 2010). Of course, Cocktail Recipes 101 producers did not set the goals to be similar to the above-mentioned web products. Still, such sites help to understand what should be expected from the site in 10 years, for example.
In 10-year time, the chosen project should become a solid source of information for the web, where people with similar interests and demands are eager to share information gathered worldwide and available to people of different age. Worldwide communication should not be limited, and this site is one of the possibilities to encourage people to share their experience with the others.
Context of OMP
Social context
Social context is closely connected to the reasons why the site was created. Its developers enjoy making cocktails and understand that this industry is one of the immeasurable sources of incomes nowadays (Rothbaum, 2007). Many groups of people like drinking cocktails and organize numerous cocktail parties.
It is a real pleasure to communicate with different people drinking cocktails to refresh the environment, feel more comfortable, and find more interesting themes for conversations. Some people are not aware of how to create tasty cocktails, this is why our site may become a good credible source of information.
Cultural perspectives
Exchange of cultural knowledge and experience is another important issue considered by the developers of the site. According to Faiole, Davis, and Edwards (2010), cultural context should be placed on retrospective reflection by means of which the developers are able to explain their choices of design, ideas, and approaches. In the project under consideration, the cultural context is not clearly identified, still, it is present.
The developers try to add some pieces of information about each cocktail from the historical point of view. Though there is not much information, it is still interesting to read it. With time, this section has to be considerably improved.
Legal issues
The concept of software licensing is crucial indeed as it deals with the property rights and owner’s possibility to dispose the information offered in the source (Classen, 2007). The project under analysis is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License (Liu & Long, 2011b). In accordance with the license, the creative is protected by copyright law meeting all the important measurements (Creative Commons, n.d).
Description of the creative process
Cocktail Recipes 101 is not characterized by some too high-technological concepts. It is simple in use but rather informative. Within a short period of time, a visitor is able to get some information about its developers and observe several interesting recipes for cocktails.
The context of the project is not complicated to understand as well. In fact, the chosen Web does not encourage too wider use of graphics, still, a variety of colours is impressive indeed and make OMP attractive to the visitor (Liu &Long, 2011b). From the very first minutes of visiting the site, it is easy to understand its main theme, still, some opportunities offered are not expected still interesting.
For example, the fact that ordinary visitors may add their own recipes captivates a lot. Involvement is one of the most important concepts in audience research as it defines the level of connection between people, who use media, and media content itself (Luers, 2008; Yale & Carothers, 2001).
The developers of the site took this issue into consideration, they did involve people into the development of the site as well as promoted human skills as one of the main factors of media development.
Analysis of the process in terms of practice and theory
It is usually expected to see a lot of new web applications each year (Ankolekar, Krotzsch, Tran, & Vrandečić, 2008). These applications may be of different types, and “every platform change to date has also created opportunities for a leadership change in the dominant applications of the previous platform” (O’Reilly, 2007, p. 35). It is necessary to admit that there is a person behind each web production process.
People are engaged into the works they present and try to contribute the chosen sphere the best possible way. This is why nowadays it seems to be necessary to attract people’s attention to different web projects in order to analyse their thoughts, intentions, and demands and find successful practical application to the gained theoretical knowledge.
For example, the developers of Cocktail Recipes 101 offer their visitors to submit their own recipes (Liu & Long, 2011c). The world of Internet technologies undergoes a number of changes on a regular basis.
People are not always able to evaluate all information and opportunities available to them, this is why they are in need of additional help (Milech & Schilo, 2004; Godwin, 2004). Tips offered on the page for the visitors are clear and simple. You should not do much work just put the required information in a logical order.
Trends in web production and the role of the chosen media project
Whittaker (2002) admits that “one of the most exciting aspects of the Internet is the ease with which users can publish content in contrast to other media” (p. 74). It proves that usually people, who are involved into media through the Internet, face fewer problems in comparison to the attempts, which are made by the representatives of other spheres.
Trends in web production are hard to follow all the time. Still, if a person is interested in one particular activity and sets certain goals, he/she has all chances to achieve the required success.
This is why the chosen project Cocktail Recipe 101 should be regarded as a successful attempt to use student knowledge and passion to cocktail making process that can be easily improved and developed with time in case the technologies are used properly.
Conclusion
In general, Cocktail Recipes 101 is a properly organized online media product that attracts the attention of many people. It does not matter what country a person is from, the desire to drink a tasty cocktail may be inherent to him/her.
There are many different ways of how people can find information about the required subject, and if someone is interested in making cocktails independently, it is possible to use the website offered. A simple form of the site, clear social and cultural context, and developers’ personal involvement are the issues that make this project successful.
A number of online sources may present credible information, still, dry facts and definite structure may be not that appealing for the ordinary visitor. This is why the winning side of the project under consideration is the desire to unite as many people as possible and share one and the same interest that is making cocktails.
The site may be improved each day, and it is always interesting to follow how people are ready to contribute the chosen sphere.
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