Re: Flash in the pan

From: Keith Gillespie <keith_at_clienthelpdesk.com>
Date: Wed 03 May 2000 09:43:52 -0400

SCOTT KNOWLES WROTE:
> I think the last thing web users want is stale toast.
> I mean, come on let's be human here. Stodgy is out.
> Corporate is out. It's the web, loosen up!

I disagree completely with what Scott says here, given
its context of Flash/Shockwave being what livens up the
Web for the general population (gamers of course pretty
much live for these technologies).

First, "stodgy" and "corporate" have never been in, so
I sort of have a problem with the basic premise that
they're now out.

Second, Flash can be as stodgy and corporate as a JPEG,
a GIF, or, heck--even a noun, verb or hackneyed phrase.

That's because all these visual and verbal devices are
merely what human beings use to express ideas. Stodgy,
corporate idea = stodgy, corporate expression of that
idea, whatever technology you use to express it.

I'm in the camp that a whirling, spinning,
soundtrack-backed appearance of a logo is stodgy,
corporate and clueless. Why? Because it says, "Hey! Our
time's more important than yours! Our logo is the most
important thing we could be showing you right now!
We've got the time and money to develop something that
says nothing that couldn't be said much faster another
way!"

Imagine meeting someone in a social or business
situation, and the first thing he did was tap dance,
make wide-eyed facial expressions and flailing arm
gestures, rip open his shirt, revealing a t-shirt
underneath with his name on it, and shout "Huzzahh!
It's me!" Then get back to me on Flash-logo welcome
pages.

Now, go to
<http://www.exploratorium.edu/baseball/reactiontime.htm
l>. Do you _really_ know what it's like to try to hit a
90-mile-per-hour fastball? You can't really experience
it watching TV, reading about it, or any other way
short of standing at the plate in front of Randy
Johnson. But you _can_ experience the reaction time
required online, thanks to Shockwave--and an excellent
use of technology to bring an idea...showing how
quickly you need to react to hit a pro fastball...to
life. Useful content...the simplest technology to
deliver the content meaningfully. That's what is "in"
on the Web, and always has been.

Your average human being on the Web could give a spit
about technology. If all they cared about was motion,
they'd be watching TV, which expresses motion much
better.

Keith

-------------------------------------------------------
Keith Gillespie
CEO (Client Enthusiasm Officer)
Client Help Desk, A Division of QLM Marketing
http://www.clienthelpdesk.com
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Received on Wed May 03 2000 - 08:43:52 CDT