In the "Narrative Web" article, I found that the notion of experience online is true and the web gives us the opportunity to "find out what the reader really wants, even if the reader herself doesn't know it yet." That is why we give options and menus on websites on different subjects. We are creating a narrative for that person's experience. It could be because of that website that a person decides to try something or becomes more knowledgeable about something, and now has a narrative to pass on to others. Many websites want to invoke that notion because it keeps their site remembered. That was the purpose of my "Life List" website. It was so that people could experience what a life list is and then give them resources as to how they can create their own life lists. I was deciding on what I thought the reader really wanted out of experiencing my website. I guess my website really isn't organic because i tour the person to creating their own life list rather than allowing them to read mine and decide for themselves. When you visit sites and blogs, you get a peek into someone else's life, and that alone can be a narrative for you because you cared enough about this person to read about their life, and sometimes continue reading, like you are experiencing their life with them. (It's almost like the experience you get when reading a novel or book -- you are experiencing along with the characters).
It is so important to show rather than tell a narrative -- especially online. No one is on the website, giving people nonverbal clues to what the text means or how it should be taken. You need to really pull the reader in, not tell, but show. You wouldn't say "I am sad" when you are talking to someone -- you have a reason, you have a purpose for being sad, so when you are posting that on your site, your reader wants to feel what you feel.
In "Patterns of Hypertext," it is interesting to see the various kinds of patterns. I have hear of web rings before, which are entire sites linked together under a specific subject.....more are social or entertainment purposes (Like fan sites of actors or television shows or a subject of more social interactions like certain religions or careers). I think most sites have a cycle, where you go through one link and all the little links, but you can return to the original homepage and start on another path. You can always go back. I think I would find this the most user-friendly pattern. I also agree that as hypertext becomes the norm in society, people are attracted to more links and more information and how hypertext is linked together. The way it is linked really reflects the purpose of the hypertext -- whether it be artistic or professional.
In "Hypertext Narrative and Baseball," it really did seem as if these two were connected. They both have a beginning and an end point but between those two points are just endless cycles of pitchers, batters, switching positions, the cycle of the count of the batter, the movement of the runners, etc. Some things happen simultaneously, the narrative is constantly changing. The same can happen with hypertext. The more you read the more your narrative is altered, and as you travel through the cycle of the site and experience the different information behind the links and exhaust the website until you have visited every corner of it, your narrative is also constantly being reshapened and redefined.
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