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July 26, 2007
Does the Internet have a rhythm of it's own?
I posted the following comment on the article 'Rhythm in online environments' on FreedomLab:
... [ ]I think a lot of online presences lack engagement. Somehow though (social) networks seem to know how to keep a story going. Maybe it's because the message flow starts as soon as something extraordinary happens. Put otherwise: people can't wait to tell about something and want to involve others (well before the conclusion of e.g. Idols is reached). Also the good habit of referencing allows you to 'reconstruct' a story afterwards reasonably well. So maybe the Internet does have a rhythm of it's own...
Posted by Almar at 01:25 PM | Comments (0)
Feeding the network by playing tag
The power of the network is derived from the messages that flow over it (see Message from Stowe Boyd). The easiest way to keep the flow going (apart from feeding it new messages) is tagging existing content through social bookmarking. Lot's of sites/blogs support this by providing the links for the different social bookmarking sites (like del.icio.us and furl) which results in a very colorful byproduct:
Technorati Tags: tags, flow, socialbookmarking
Posted by Almar at 08:56 AM
July 24, 2007
Plain view: embrace your limitations
I've been witness to more than one 'homepage war', where everybody wants their piece of the valuable 'online real estate'. It's usually a fruitless battle and in the end everybody - and especially the visitor - looses.
The problem is, there is always lack of horizontal space. We gained a little with widescreen monitors, but that's it. In vertical space there is the perceived barrier of the 'fold' (see Blasting the Myth of the Fold). But these are both limitations that should be embraced; reserve the top 60-70% of the page (full width) for an image - remember: one image says more than a thousand words - and design for people to delve deeper into the page. For examples on how to do this, look at mobile phones and PDA's; you can even think of zooming like on the iPhone. This practice shouldn't stop at the homepage, but be continued consistently through all pages.
And if you're looking for inspiration on what to do with the new found space, take a look at Birdseye aerial kyte photography and 'Plain Pictures; images of the American prairie' by Joni L. Kinsey.
Technorati Tags: webdesign, fold, screensize
Posted by Almar at 02:38 PM
July 23, 2007
Spam is like Rain
There are a lot of similarities between spam e-mail and rain. For one both can be very annoying. Also, in both cases 'when it rains, it poors'. But surprisingly spam, like rain, can bring to life new ideas; for example on how to attract attention. Sadly though, the ugly ideas come first and tend to stick around for a long time; like weeds.
Posted by Almar at 02:57 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2007
The Next Wave is Cultural after being Social
I posted the following comment on the article Digital Life vs Life Digital: Our Inevitable Digital Future on Read/WriteWeb:
I couldn't agree more! For what you call 'Life Digital' I introduced the term 'VIRREAL' (see www.almarvanderkrogt.nl/blog).
There is a strong momentum building, especially with tools like Twitter.com (with microformats for location) and Plazes.com, which will virally tag the world.
My goal is to actually channel some of these forces to create 'WEBMARKS'; entities on top of the real world that gain importance through their existence.
This could mean that, in addition to the features you mentioned (like providing historical information when you point your phone to a building) virtual elements are added: e.g. artwork, visual information streams or additional visual context.
So maybe the next wave is cultural after being social.
Technorati Tags: virreal, life digital
Posted by Almar at 06:57 PM