Selecting one of the websites featured in the syllabus for evaluation was an intriguing experience, and a slightly difficult one also, as each site was interesting, and even impressive, in its own way. I enjoyed exploring the Valley of the Shadow, which was like walking into a well laid-out library, and I got enmeshed in reading Martha Ballard’s diary instead of writing. National Geographic’s “Pearl Harbor” tie-in website impresses with its density of visual design, filled with such features as adding a slight flicker to its sequential photo gallery to recreate the ambience of vintage film.
Ultimately, however, I chose to concentrate on the website devoted to the small town of Brainerd, Kansas. I felt it represented a presentation of information more or less unique to the “web,” at least in the sense that the web is the only place where presentation of this type—viewed as either a form of publishing or a form of exhibition—could ever hope to be seen by more than a trivial number of people, or indeed have much hope of being assembled in more than a person’s scrapbook or memoir.
“Pearl Harbor” and the “Valley” essentially translate into the virtual environment the non-virtual library/archive and the advertisement, as much as they are enriched by web features. The Internet adds an accessibility to one and a richness of detail to the other that would be unattainable in the traditional media they are rooted in.
The Brainerd site appears to be primarily oriented to general users, although it clearly could be of interest also for scholars and as a teaching resource. It is quite well organized—cleanly designed and easy to navigate. The layout and navigation seem to me to be “friendly” to novice users without sacrificing the complexity needed to organize the materials presented. The initial pages in particular are successful at explaining, clearly and concisely, what this site is about, placing its topic in its demographic, historic and geographic context, explicating the methods and sources of the site’s originator, and why the viewer should linger and read on. A major strength is the development of exposition throughout the site—considerable information is presented in each section and contextual explanations are woven throughout, in a clear style that is accessible to a wide range of users while still able to hold the interest of the more knowledgeable visitors. The site was marred by a few misspellings and grammatical errors, however.
It is possible to imagine such a close and rich examination of all aspects of a small community being created in some other medium—a personal research project, perhaps, or even developed into an exhibit. But in neither form would it be likely to be seen by any significant number of viewers nor have any impact on our collective understanding. This impresses me as something that could find a true home only on the “web.”