A juicy class project
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ORANGE JOURNALISM A juicy class project |
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The Internet has become a huge part of most Americans’ everyday life. In turn people are beginning to find new and creative means to communicate with it by developing innovative ideas. One such idea is organizing aspects of your wedding. Danny Burguillos, a systems support coordinator from Fremont, explored just such a tool for his wedding and designed a web page with the help of an online service called the Knot, a web resource for building a custom wedding Web page using several templates. Though Burguillos said, “I didn't like all their templates,” he did use a few. He added portions of his own home page to fill in the site, making the site uniquely his. The page was used by Burguillos to introduce his wife to his coworkers and family because his wife currently resides in Las Vegas, Nev. Though they do not both live in the same state, they make an effort to see each other often. Burguillos is usually the one that heads out to visit his wife and do maintenance around the house. The wedding was a surprise to people in his department; few of his coworkers knew that he had been maintaining a long distance relationship much less that the relationship had become so serious. Burguillos enjoyed some aspects of the online site. The site was helpful with allowing guests to RSVP online, though there were issues with the online service. Some parts of the interface were difficult. “It was very restrictive in matching my guest’s names,” said, Burguillos. The web page though did give Burguillos the opportunity to post items such as his engagement party photos as well as the proposal video. Also linked on the web page was the bridal registry, which allowed guests to shop online, using the gifts lists from Macy's and Bed Bath & Beyond. According to a CNN article from 1999, online registries have been growing more popular and with the evolution of the web today, it is not surprising that many stores would work with wedding planning sites to create a more comfortable online experience. Though Burguillos says, “there wasn't much planned on the site,” it was just meant to be a tool for introducing his wife. They choose this medium because it provided the broadest capacity for reaching people. However, Burguillos soon realized the only people who accessed the site were his computer savvy friends. When asked if he would recommend using an online page in conjunction with planning a wedding Burguillos said, “I guess I would, it does give some advantages.” The web page proved to be effective for organizing guests and providing travel info. Nevertheless, it does limit the reach of the information to either people who routinely utilize the Internet or have a basic knowledge of how to access specific websites. And, though it may be rare, there are people who are not well versed in using the Internet. For those people, the website has no value. Now that the wedding is over and the hoopla has died down, Burguillos visualizes the day when he can move off to his own island with his wife. Until then, they continue to live in two separate states, he working in IT while his wife is in Las Vegas working as a Physician’s Assistant. They are still working out their plans for living happily ever after. Related Links: Back to Orange Journalism Home Page Orange Journalism: |
