seemless web: this simple / that good ?

How would I respond to the question: Who actually sees the internet or this world wide web anymore ? What I specifically mean by that is, are users/viewers/surfers actually conscious of the technologies employed in delivering the on-line experience ? Now I could go off to forester or IDC, MS research, Nielsen, etc, but staying put and offering some observations from my experiences I would have to say ...yes... maybe.... em... ..no.. ok then.. yes ! (maybe I should make that trip after all).

When people have to click buttons, input data, upload, download, unzip stuff they are acutely aware of the technologies they must use ... Yes ! whether or not they understand what jpeg compression represents, know the history of the gif or can tell one codec from another isn't paramount but this still represents a yes in terms of knowing that these technologies are in use to enable their on-line experience.

When the grey or sandwich surfers, joe soap, the suburbanites or casual net users (exclude ebay auctioneers, bloggers and podcasters) encounter some 'download this' or 'input here' pop up or alert do they know exactly what is going on, has their disbelief already been suspended ? Does the traditional media's insecurity agenda dominate and result in immediate closure of the offending interruption? Has previous conditioning ensured that an ' I don't need to know' attitude prevails and ignorance is indeed bliss. Has it all become automatic or can each tell the difference between dynamic and static, interactive or passive, determine quality by ease of use, clarity of information, engagement, if it's this simple - is that good ?

Become a paying customer who wants a cool on-line presence created. Cool means nothing without functionality. If I see the technology at work, does that mean there must be cracks or flaws inherent ? If I can't see it, does that mean it isn't there and the potential value of the on-line experience somehow seems less ? Any clown with a library of manuals can trot out back end or marketing mumbo jumbo if they want to. If it doesn't do what it says in the brief (or on the tin) then no amount of research, metrics, statistics or third party analysis will convince me it's any good. I may not always be right but I’m seldom wrong if I’m a customer and whatever my ‘correctness’ I fully deserve to receive what I’m paying for.

But do we fully understand that ?..... Maybe not..... although today most kids leaving school in developed countries have at least a passing understanding of html and are perhaps therefore much better equipped to begin understanding third level languages like xml and currently in vogue internet tech tools. A whole generation is out there cutting a swath through PHP, Java, AS2, etc in the name of amusement and participation. My own 12 year old son and his on-line mates from around the world build their own clan websites that can rival commercial examples delivered by top UK agencies only seven to ten years ago.

Value in Digital Media ?....tell me about it !

The emerging rites and wrongs of spring

With the day that's in it, being not only st brigids day but also the beginning of spring, (for some of us any way) A sense of renewal has dominated. Lots going on in the world, Google down, credit still going up, and we're busy organizing ourselves while getting the work done for our clients.

I read today about the 5 media lab physicists who have set up a new company and how they are about to receive $35mio for their RFID stuff...interesting figure. The whole media lab Europe thing here in Dublin was a bit of a disappointment, I became involved a little with a couple of the researchers there when I was working for Microsoft and I honestly thought some of the stuff they were doing in the mindgames group around biometric feedback and alpha waves was absolutely amazing, I believed it had tremendous commercial potential, however there wasn't a mechanism to commercialize their research, like doah !!!! who should get a design slap for that one.

So some folks over at MIT are now also talking about the development of a $100 laptop for children from....and get this.....emerging economies...oh ok...where there is poor people in a country we'll call it an economy and in ireland...well...their research might not add up to much in any instance.... they're partners.... until the fan gets hit. Yes I did once share a page in the Irish times with Mr. Negroponte back in 1999, he upright receiving £25,000,000 grant assistance from the Irish Government towards media lab Europe and I prostrate begging for £2.3 mio VC money for the first ever officially licensed game development company in Ireland.....6 years later....only one of us is contributing to the Irish and European economy.

But enough of that backward looking whining, spring is surely about looking forward and after the day I've had I'm really looking forward to my bed......
Amarach.............

what a difference a weekend makes

If anyone ever bothered to read this blog, or even the bits before this bit, you'd know the company spent a couple of days last week looking for a gig to do some work for an pretty excellent and very successfull local company, well we did the pitch and won the business, what else is there to say, apart from: we are now going to move offices soon also. More than likely happen quite quickly so we'll need to get extra furniture and all sorts of stuff like maybe one of those watercoolers on the right or similar for the hardworking staff ....and visitors...and ... who knows.....

Tomorrow......