"Analysis of Web Content Delivered to a Mobile Computing Environment"

Anthony Perreault 

Anthony Perreault is a senior at New Mexico Tech, majoring in Technical Communication with an emphasis in computer science and web design. While taking classes, Anthony also works full-time at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory's Pete V. Domenici Science Operations Center as an operations specialist for the Very Long Baseline Array radio telescope where part of his duties include maintaining and upgrading operational documentation. Anthony worked with Dr. Julie Dyke Ford on his senior thesis project, Analysis of Web Content Delivered to a Mobile Computing Environment.

Contents

Abstract

Introduction

Background of Wireless Technology

Literature Review 

Survey of US Web Traffic

Selection of Sites for Analysis

Analysis of Sites

Google.com

Flickr.com

Walmart.com 

Wikipedia.org

Wordpress.com

NYTimes.com

Craigslist.com

IMDb.com

Conclusions

Suggestions for Further Research

Final Thoughts

Works Cited

Abstract

The purpose of my research was to analyze web content delivered to the mobile computing environment with two goals in mind: first, to determine if the content lost contextual relevance in the mobile environment and, second, to see if a set of effective design principles could be applied towards the mobile environment. My research combines a literature review in conjunction with a survey that encompasses both quantitative and qualitative methods to analyze top-rated web sites in the mobile environment. Results from my literature review suggested that in the technical communication field there has been no research into the mobile environment since 2000, while in the engineering field there has been current research into how best to display content on a mobile computing device. Findings from the survey showed that some content did lose contextual relevance in that it was unusable without magnification. Once a page is magnified beyond a certain point there is a loss of navigational awareness within the site visited. Content that was designed and optimized for the mobile environment, however, maintained this contextual relevance. Given that close to half of the 49 web sites that I surveyed were designed for the mobile computing environment, it is obvious that a set of guidelines either existed or could be derived and applied to websites targeted for the mobile environment. I present these guidelines in the conclusion of my research.