Jun
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“World Without Oil” - a new definition of “Rich”
June 6, 2007 |
 ”World Without Oil” gets mentioned in various context recently - here’s interesting opinion I came upon today:
Ujay writes “rich has become the de facto buzzword…â€. I’ve actually been pleased to see that the use of that word seems to be on the decline recently. Compared to other experiences – like the example of a dinner with friends – even the richest experiences on the web still seem pretty impoverished.
Michael makes a great point in his comment here: thinking of “rich†as basically a synonym for “enhanced marketing†feels like a very limited definition of the idea. Ujay suggests on his blog that we “re-imagine the design as a speech to the user, convincing the user this product is best for meeting specific goals…†I do think that this rhetorical approach to certain interactions is appropriate, but truly “rich†online experiences do not do this. Who wants to “make speeches to users†anymore?
There are some truly rich experiences on the web that are totally different from the ones listed above. I’m thinking of alternate-reality games like those that sprang up around List (http://www.thelostexperience.com/) or the new Nine Inch Nails album (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Year_Zero_(alternate_reality_game) ), or World Without Oil (http://www.worldwithoutoil.org/default.aspx).
Those experiences are actually rich and fit Ujay’s definition above really well: they appeal to reason and emotion, they involve mental effort, real human interaction, and (gasp!) offline activities. But the technology and design around these experiences are about as Web 1.0 as you can imagine, basic HTML, email lists, maybe some phone calls. Often the design around them is ugly and clunky. They rarely if ever include what Adobe/Macromedia has tried to claim as “rich mediaâ€: a lot of snazzy drop-down menus and drag-and-drop. “Rich†doesn’t mean being compelled to click on a zooming, fading UI widget.
Also: Neopets videos