With the continuing trend toward PCs as multimedia devices, you would think Flash and other tricks would be making major inroads in making a web site visit more of a multimedia experience.
Surprise! Most people still hate Flash, and don't like having their computer hijacked by an audiovisual presentation from your company.
There is definitely a place for multimedia as we move forward. In fact, I love being able to access video and audio over the Web.
But I want the audio-video experience on my terms, not as a surprise served up by some webmaster trying to win an industry award.
Gizmodo offered its readers an apology, explaining that user complaints led them to remove a talking ad from the site.
When planning your next web project, remember that many users are in cubicles with co-workers all around them. Others are browsing the Internet at 3 a.m. while their family is sound asleep. Is that the optimum time for them to hear your latest pitch, accompanied with dancing penguins talking with funny accents. NO!
Like the permission marketing approach to e-mail, any audio or video on your web site should be optional and clearly labelled, so the people you are trying to communicate with can listen to the audio compenent only when they want to, not when you want to force it on them.
Marketing Profs' Jason O'Connor rates animation as the Number One thing he hates on web sites:
1. Animation
Seven-year-olds like watching animated cartoons on Saturday morning. Business people, professionals and most other adults don't. Sites that include showy Flash animations as an introduction, animated gifs on every page, or words that fly around are really annoying. They take away from the content and distract the visitors from achieving their goals.
Unless your site is an entertainment site, try to avoid maddening motion. However, if your product or service can be better demonstrated using Flash, Quick Time or other multimedia, offer your visitors the chance to click a link to view it. But don't force them.
Marketing Sherpa: 80% hate flash in 2003 survey
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