Today I had my first meeting with my client, a small non-profit looking to establish an online presence which promotes transparency, establishes their authority and builds the confidence of their local (donating) community. It was an interesting experience because my primary contact for the web design project had obvious experience using the web for her own purposes, such as searching for products and surfing for general interests, but was inexperienced in the possibilities of exploiting the web to build relationships that would drive use of the proposed website.
One of our readings for class studied the various literacies young people have and use for various activities, most specifically to foster their social relationships through instant messaging. The reading made a point to distinguish between the deep, reflective reading that is taught and valued in academic environments, (which adults value), and the social literacy that young people adopt in the management of multiple social communication networks, often simultaneously. (Lewis & Fabos, 2005 ) This makes me wonder if my client is expressing her perspective of the use of the web onto her ideas for the use of the website.
For instance, I asked if she would be interested in allowing visitors to the site to upload their picture, to which she responded, "no." I didn't ask her for details for why she was opposed to the suggestion, but I made note to create a sample page of how allowing visitors to create content would be beneficial by showing examples of use of the organization's facilities or participation in the organization's events. However, she did show great openness to my needs as a student for my assignment and so I know I'll be able to create a social media rich site from which she can choose the elements her organization is interested in using.
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