Web content arms race

 – posted May 26th, 2008 by Shane Diffily     No comments

The superpowers of the web are constantly coming up with new formats for online content. Over the past year we have seen Air from Adobe and Silverlight - the touted “Flash-killer” - from Microsoft.

In addition, widgets, mashups, RSS feeds, AJAX, podcasts, wikis and more continue to gain ground.

We gave come a long way from the plain text and spinning GIFs of the 1990s.

Adopt or not?

And in many ways we are better for it.

Although text and hyperlinks remain core to the web, its power to facilitate tasks and entertain has been greatly enhanced by more complex formats.

But, just cause they are new and cool - does that mean you need them?

When should you say YES and - more importantly - when should you say NO to a new format?

Web content decision factors

To make a decision, it can be useful to refer to the following factors. These set the scene for a sensible discussion when a Senior Exec demands the latest fancy gizmo for her site:

  • Goals: Would the new format makes it easier for you to achieve your online goals? For example, online training can probably be delivered better through a visual medium like Flash than through long textual descriptions.
  • Audience: Is it suitable for your audience? For example, video may be less suitable for an audience with a dial-up connection than those on broadband, due to long download times.
  • Budget: Can you afford to buy and maintain the technology? If not, forget it.
  • Production & maintenance issues: Do you have the necessary skills on your team, or will you have to hire new people? For example, video production can require special expertise.
  • Experience of peers & industry: Is it being used successfully by your peers? For example, are podcasts or blogs successfully attracting voters to the policy agenda of a rival political party?
  • Emerging trends, the law, policies: Is it more risky to adopt or to ignore a new format? For example, what are the privacy implications of User Generated Content?

Then wait a while

Even if the new format meets all these requirements, sometimes it is better to wait a while. Despite a lot of initial enthusiasm, not all new formats succeed (remember WAP?)

The industry research firm Gartner recommends a good model for when to embrace new technologies and ideas. According to their ‘Hype Cycle‘ the best time to adopt is at the ‘Slope of Enlightenment‘ or the ‘Plateau of Productivity‘.

At this stage, the new content format is well on its way to becoming generally accepted. Furthermore, the experience of early adopters will become available in the form of advice and support.

Categories Design

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