Extracting the Good, But Leaving the Bad: My Search for Valuable Internet Resources on Sociology

This week, I continued the search for valuable online resources that I began weeks ago. While there is a superfluous amount of information sources online, I used the Webby Awards and IMSA criteria to decipher between what is a reliable versus weak source. Described below and available in the link roll of this blog, I have found ten exceptional websites. My favorite of the websites is VALPO. It is aesthetically pleasing in it's simple, but organized layout. Each week the website posts a current important topic, and I am constantly fascinated by the subject matter. However, the website would benefit from being more interactive. A site that does a wonderful job inviting viewers to share insight and opinions is A Very Public Sociologist. This site is a blog that is well laid out with noteworthy discussions and informative posts. However, the authors do not establish their authority anywhere on the page-this is certainly a weak point for the blog. While A Very Public Sociologist only has one main flaw, SocioSite is an example of a page that is highly useful and academic, but faulty in multiple areas. It links to numerous famous sociologists, but it is unattractive, boring, and lacking much other information. Even with these errors, this web page has been extremely useful to me-in fact, just last week I utilized the database supplied on the page. A similar site is the American Sociological Association, which has a simple interface, but is of high value. It provides an interactive forum for sociologists online. Furthermore, I am quite impressed by Cyberspace and Web Sociology as it directly discusses sociology online. It is easy to navigate, but could be more descriptive in its material. All Academic is another great resource. The website is useful for finding articles on abstract subjects, although many times you have to pay to view the entire article. Spoil the Kids provides many articles and viewers can read them for free. The articles focus on sociology of childhood. Because the site is so wonderful, it would be great if the producers of Spoil the Kids had other sociological websites that focused on more topics. Furthermore, Sage Journals is a blog with many posts on sociology, but it is quite frustrating to navigate. A blog that is easier to navigate is The Global Sociology blog. It has outstanding posts, however the posts need to be more concise. Lastly, another fantastic blog is Y for Yendetta. This blog is well-written and credible, but not always relevant to my research. These online sources exemplify the outstanding information and discussion that the internet houses.

Looking Outside: An Investigation Into Other Resources on Sociology and Media

This week, I paused my own writing in an effort to research and uncover the indispensable sociology-related and media-related resources on the internet. While there are many arbitrary websites, there is also a multitude of fascinating, scholarly websites. It is a difficult but worthwhile task to sort through the clutter of websites to find only the most valuable websites. I am hoping that in identifying these resources, I can become better informed in my field and I can give you, the reader, the opportunity to read more about media and sociology's symbiotic relationship. I evaluated the websites based on The Webby Awards and IMSA standards, and the following ten websites meet the criteria. The first website is Project Censored. This website delivers controversial and unheard stories in the news. Following The Webby Awards guidelines, the creators of the website are academics who cover the material with authority. Furthermore, the website is interactive, inviting readers to nominate a story if the story fits the necessary guidelines described on the web page. The biggest flaw with the website is in its aesthetics-it is not a very attractive website. Another resource is Reportage-this is a respected Independent Australian Magazine that emphasizes the role that the media plays in influencing politics. The site is easy to navigate through, aesthetically pleasing, and credible. However, it is not as interactive as it could be. A website that is incredibly interactive is the Canadian Content. It covers important news stories, and it is unique because the website provides forums for people to join and discuss current topics. The posts focus on how the media impacts the people, and it meets all of The Webby Awards standards. This website does not have any outstanding weaknesses. It is attractive, easy to navigate through, interactive, and the writers are credible. Another highly interactive resource is Media Rights -the website serves as a platform for independent filmmakers. Individuals can submit their documentaries to the website and have their social issues heard through the documentaries. This website could be improved by taking more authority on the issues that are discussed in the documentaries. Additionally, New Media Studies is a wonderful resource. It is incredibly easy to navigate, wonderfully designed, and the material is wonderful-sociologists examine a variety of current mediums. Sociology in Switzerland is another valuable resource because it links to many articles related to sociology and culture. However, the website is not very attractive and slightly difficult to navigate through due to the clutter. One of the most useful websites I found is the Electronic Journal of Sociology. The site links to many highly valuable articles on current sociological issues. The website is weak in that it is difficult to submit essays to the site- the interactivity portion of the website should be improved. While there are many helpful websites about sociology, I found fantastic blogs, as well. Occam's Razr is a valuable blog. The posts are not the most provocative and academically advanced posts, but they are highly interactive, thought-provoking, and interesting. Culture Matters (depicted on the left) is a blog that has many posts discussing issues with a sociological and anthropological analysis. The site meets the IMSA criteria in the sophisticated language, established authority, and admitted bias. My only critique is that the blog would benefit from the use of pictures as a way of drawing attention to particular posts. Finally, Thinking Culture is a fantastic blog-it is provocative, authoritative, and completely confesses to biases. Both Culture Matters and Thinking Culture are my favorite resources because the posts are completely opinionated, which makes them interesting.