Oct 30, 2020
Web Analysis #3
For my final web analysis I have interviewed and received feedback about my portfolio website from two professionals in the area. Upon reviewing their email responses I have also taken a look at other website examples and done some personal reflection.
The first person I interviewed was Bailey Ketcham. I’m fortunate enough to have had Bailey as a teammate my first year at Missouri Western, and also as a mentor of sorts as we have similar areas of study. Bailey is at News Press Now and knows the ins and outs of the journalism side of communication.
In her email in response to my website she gave me some kind words and also a few things that I can do to improve my site.
She said that my website, “Is very clean and put together really well.” I’m glad she said that because I was trying to get that sense of ease and sleekness in my color scheme of dark blue, light gray, and white. She also mentioned that my pictures are very pretty and neat to look at.
There were also some things she said I could tweak. On my home page she said that some of the pictures, though cool, were out of place so I should switch them out and put them somewhere else.
She also said that the link to my Medium blog could not be found, I understand that Medium went through a bit of a change a week or two ago so I need to go in and fix that still.
One idea she mentioned was that I should add an entirely new page just for my photos, writing, and other work instead of putting it on the education and experience page. With a new page I could showcase my work without it getting lost amongst my information.
The biggest thing Bailey emphasized was that I should just continue to update my work on the website. I agree and plan on doing that as the semester draws to a close.
The second person I interviewed was Max Bode. He is the head of sports communication for Griffon Athletics and is also soccer’s graduate assistant this year. He has a degree in Sports Communication and is earning his masters here for Sports Management.
Max also gave me some good information that will aid me in creating a more complete online portfolio.
Like Bailey, he also commended my color scheme and font choices. He said that the pictures I chose are very representative of who I am and will help those that visit the site see that.
He also said that the site was easy to navigate and liked that I embedded my work for easy access. There was a great point made about the fact that it would be easy to tailor my showcased work for the job I want.
There are two changes he wants me to make. He said that sometime down the road I should replace my profile picture with something a little more professional. I don’t necessarily agree with him on that, but he made the point that the rest of my portfolio showcases my times as a Griffon so I don’t need my soccer picture as the first photo you see.
The other thing he said is that I should focus on word placement. I see what he’s saying because I repeated certain things on multiple pages at times.
Though I love sports and I’m hoping to get an internship with Mustangs Baseball this upcoming summer, I also really love tourism. I could see myself going either way when it comes to what path I want to pursue.
If I go the sports route, taking the Mustangs internship would be a great start. It also helps that I showcase sports as such a big part in my life. My dream job in this field would be working for a smaller team in a smaller town or a youth club somewhere. Bigger dreams would take me to Ballparks of America in Branson MO, or a smaller college, much like MWSU.
If I go the tourism route I should look into internships at an amusement park or a museum. I plan on applying for them at Worlds of Fun and the WWI Museum, both in Kansas City. My dream job here would absolutely be working for Herschend Family Entertainment at one of their locations.
Either way, both of these paths require me to start small and build my way up.
Through this exercise I now have a better understanding of how to enter my field and how I will continuously better myself in order to land my dream job someday.
