DH Dev Report 2: The Message is in the Medium—"A Comparative Analysis of Digital Tools Part 1: Blogger, WordPress, Flickr, and Omeka"

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While Blogger, WordPress, Flickr, and Omeka have distinct functions or purposes, each platform has a different monetization option, and these options affect how users use and navigate these sites.

    Blogger and WordPress are two tools that have similar functionality. They allow users to create and manage digital media, namely blog posts. Where the two differ, however, is in their accessibility to users. Blogger is a tool that is very easy to use and requires little knowledge of digital tools to be used effectively, while WordPress is more difficult to use, but offers many more customization options. Additionally, Blogger is an absolutely free service, but WordPress requires users to invest money if they want features like a custom domain name, more storage space, content monetization, or the ability to add their own CSS code. Blogger acts as an introduction into the realm of blogging, and it performs this role well, but it does not function as a particularly good platform for advanced website creation. WordPress is an alternative platform that lets users create more complex and creative websites, but access to this platform is restricted by monetary and proficiency barriers. Some users who wish to invest time and effort into creating and maintaining a blog or website will not be able to do so because they will not, or cannot, invest the necessary amount of money to successfully run a website; other users may be able and willing to invest money into maintaining a website, but they may not have the requisite skills, for example coding experience, to fulfill their creative vision. Both of these barriers can be problematic gatekeepers, potentially dictating whose voice gets heard online, but the monetary barrier that WordPress employs is more restrictive than the knowledge barrier. Users can become proficient enough with the tools WordPress offers by viewing one of many tutorials available online, but there is no tutorial that lets users bypass a paywall. 

    One area where Blogger and WordPress fall short is content discoverability. Neither Blogger nor WordPress has features that let users navigate the myriad blogs hosted on the site. Users must turn to other social media platforms to publicize their blog content or hope that their blog appears at the top of relevant google searches. Flickr, however, has a good content discovery system. Flickr features a series of explore options that let users browse other Flickr creators or creations. Users can search for other users, photos, or groups, and because Flickr lets users add metadata to their uploaded images, the search feature is useful for finding specific content a user is interested in. Furthermore, Flickr has additional content discoverability features the users can access by purchasing Flickr pro, but this monetization system, like WordPress poses its own problems. Upgrading to Flickr pro gives users more storage, removes ads, lets users post 6k resolution images and longer videos, and grants users more exposure on Flickr’s explore feature. The first several features are not relevant to anyone but the most prolific Flickr users; a free Flickr account lets users store up to 1000 photos on their cloud, and only serious hobbyists or professional photographers will be able to take photographs in 6k. Content discoverability, however, is important to all Flickr users, and  linking discoverability to monetization significantly affects whose content will or will not be seen. This monetization scheme makes content exposure on Flickr “pay-to-win”, where those who pay are privileged above those who do not. 

    Omeka is unlike the other three platforms when it comes to content discovery because the circulation and discoverability of content is not one of this platform’s foci. Instead of focusing on content discoverability on a macro sense, Omeka focuses on discoverability at a micro level. The site emphasizes the organization and navigation of individual items or collections. Omeka also differs from Flickr and WordPress in that its monetization plan doesn't greatly affect individual users or content creators. The Omeka software is free to use; it is site hosting and cloud storage that Omeka charges users for, and users can host their sites on third-party platforms if they choose.  Omeka’s paywall is targeted at groups of content creators (e.g. academic institutions like the CDRH) rather than individual users, meaning individuals will not have invest large sums to use Omeka’s services.

    In conclusion, these websites have their own specialties, and while they may excel in one area, they are very limited in others. If you want a well-rounded digital experience for both creators and audiences, you should use some combination of these platforms, depending on the size and complexity of your projects.