For the "virtual walkabout," my group was assigned the SLUG Magazine and Craft Sabbath websites. Both sites presented a different side of Salt Lake City, an underground current that is not usually picked up on by outsiders considering the city. Salt Lake is usually associated with Mormons and skiing, but a visit0r (or even a resident of the suburbs) might not know about the counterculture within the city.
SLUG (Salt Lake Underground) Magazine is a publication devoted to spotlighting that counterculture, from indie rock concerts at Kilby Court to a recent "Pray for Snow" party (where skiers and snowboarders alike gathered and consumed large amounts of booze while supplicating the snow gods for some good powder this year). It didn't seem as if this website was necessarily trying to portray Salt Lake in any particular light, it simply presented a different point of view. Many residents of Salt Lake are already familiar with these aspects of the city, and the type of person who is going to read SLUG Magazine is already aware that Salt Lake City does not consist of Temple Square only.
The Craft Sabbath website was very minimal. It presented the visitor with the least amount of information required, and then redirected the visitor to the Craft Sabbath Facebook or Twitter page. Craft Sabbath is a gathering of artists who sell their art, jewelry, clothes, etc; the website makes a point, however, of specifying that Craft Sabbath is not your conventional craft show. It is clear that the merchandise sold at these events is unconventional and perhaps a little edgy. When the visitor clicks on the "featured artist" link, he or she finds that the highlighted art is indeed not what you would find at your average craft fair. Again, the Craft Sabbath website does not seem to be intentionally trying to show the city in a particular light, but its existence attests to the presence of a different, more urban side of Salt Lake.


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