Examining digital artefacts: E-Portfolios

I first looked at a youtube tutorial on how to create an e-portfolio as it tied in well with the current portfolio compilation brief, and also i've never seen a portfolio video before.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6B3tujXlbdk

Potential problems with this video:

Cutesy design: Does not seem relevant to the student/professional target audience
Not targeted: A user has to listen to half the blog before realising that the e-portfolio is not for media/creatives.
Not signposted: Content list is not outlined quickly
Informative but uninspiring commentary

My experience was that i was not drawn into the video from the start, and it took a little while to find out if the video had content that i would be interested in. There was no textual explanation to inform the viewer, so i wasnt sure if it was relevant before i looked at it. In a way this created intrigue, but when it failed to deliver what i wanted, i felt disappointed.

What i've learnt from this is that you have to identify your audience, and tailor the design to make it appropriate.

The next e-portfolio i looked at was a 'related link' titled 'My e-portfolio'

I clicked on it due to the icon video screenshot which was a pair of hands with an earth painted over them. From this i assumed it would be an art/design type of portfolio, however, it ended up being the life story of a student interested in learning/teaching foreign languages.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-kB7AcZ3xY&NR=1

A little ineffective to have a portfolio of someone aged maybe early 20's that doesn't show any of their work and is just their educational life story. However, it seems like a school project so for what it is, it may have been effective for the brief.

I skipped through the frames after a few seconds of watching it properly as it did not draw me in, and did not contain any visual work or information that would draw me in. My treatment of the video is different from perhaps if it had been their tutor or teacher, as they would have watched the video properly. This shows how perhaps you should tailor a piece of media not only to the intended audience, but also take into consideration other possible viewers.

What made up the experience?
-Slideshow
-Regional classical music

How would i do it differently?
-Faster transition through slides/more information on each to get the point across more quickly and avoid users getting bored with it
-Perhaps show exerps of
-However, do not overload with information too quickly!

Why would it be online?
-There is no contact information or samples of work, so there is not visible benefit of it being online.

http://www.youtube.com/user/ozgergen
The user has little online activity and probably created the account to share this video with her teachers/peers

How does the design play a role?

It affects how you read the media, attempts to push focus to certain things, either forces you to focus on something or allows you to make the choice. In this portfolio presentation, you are forced to read the media in a linear way, although you can skip to different parts. Perhaps you should get the choice to read certain parts in a linear way, where other parts you get a choice?

How to recreate the experience? Or a similar one?

-Applying my findings from my original research: Showing what i notices, focused on, sounds i listened to, the order i experienced the media in (frames i skipped to)
-Fuzzying out the parts i didnt listen to, muting the sounds i didnt listen to
-Listing things i noticed?
-Ability to read the media in different ways at different times