Fwd: Dumbing Down Article

>Subject: Fwd: Dumbing Down Article
>
>Had not heard of graceful transformation referred to as "dumbing down" 
>before. Kind of  a scary article if this is how other web designers are 
>approaching the topic.
>
>-Ben
>
>
>
>>DUMBING DOWN
>><file:///C:/My%20Documents/corp_who.htm#jeff>Jeffrey Allan
>>I was recently reading an article about broadband Internet access and how 
>>many consumers balk at utilizing these services that currently exist due 
>>to the fact that the content which is currently on the Internet really 
>>doesn't require much more than the standard 56.6K modem that the normal 
>>home PC comes equipped with.
>>
>>This article actually brought something else to light for me that was in 
>>contrast with the actual topic of it, which was the "dumbing down" of 
>>content so that it can be accessed easier by mobile professionals over 
>>WAP enabled devices such as PDA's and cell phones. Dumbing down of course 
>>is the process of making Internet sites that are as compatible as 
>>possible across all devices, whether they be standard PC's, PDA's, or 
>>services like WebTV. It was also especially relevant given the fact that 
>>our South East Asia edition recently ran a review on Nokia's new 7110 
>>model cell phone which allows users to surf the Web using just the 
>>standard display on the phone itself. This is different than previously 
>>models of cell phones, like Nokia's 9110, which could only retrieve 
>>e-mail and used a pseudo PDA type interface contained inside of the 
>>phone's casing.
>>
>>As a Web developer, when I'm developing a site, I most often think about 
>>how I can incorporate the most cutting-edge and latest technologies, such 
>>as dHTML and assorted plug-ins, but have never really stopped to consider 
>>the large group of users who may wish to access one of my sites using 
>>something other than MSIE 5.0 or the latest offering out of Netscape. 
>>What will these people see? How many of my users come from this 
>>demographic and how will incorporating good design techniques that allow 
>>all-around access affect my site's traffic? Maybe the most basic question 
>>I could pose would be "Should we be developing the most innovative 
>>technology or sites that are accessible by the largest potential audience?".
>>
>>When it comes down to it, this is quite a controversial issue. On the one 
>>side, you've got users who invest a lot of money in software and hardware 
>>that is able to utilize the very latest and greatest in Web technologies, 
>>and want to see their money put to good use. Should we punish them by 
>>developing very basic sites that in effect bring us back to the days of 
>>the pre-1996 Internet? On the other hand, should be exclude users who 
>>either choose not to, or cannot for practical reasons use a full-featured 
>>PC to view the sites we create? There's a very fine line between catering 
>>to loyal users and alienating potential new users, so we must stride it 
>>carefully.
>>
>>One of the first things we must take into account when making these 
>>primary design decisions is what exactly the function of our site is. Do 
>>we serve up mainly written content, or are we a site that is focused on 
>>rich multimedia technologies? In the case of the latter, it is probably 
>>advisable to utilize a more text-based approach, keeping graphics and 
>>multimedia to a minimum (for example Cyber Aspect's own format). The 
>>visitors who are coming to sites of this type are here mainly for 
>>informational purposes and not a lot of bells and whistles in design. To 
>>go overboard in the visuals is only going to serve to slow them down, and 
>>also limit the amount of content you can effectively place into a single 
>>page of the site. Now, on the flip-side, if you have a site that is 
>>mainly geared towards delivering examples of vector graphics animation, 
>>it goes without saying that a text-based approach isn't going to work too 
>>successfully. Trying to describe a multimedia concept without actually 
>>showing one is like to trying to describe a sunset to a person who's 
>>never seen one. A picture is worth a thousand words as the adage goes, 
>>but the key is in deciding when a picture is the right tool for the job.
>>
>>When you have this decided, then you're already 90% ready to create a 
>>site which best suites the needs of your potential audience. The main 
>>after thoughts that you need to deal with at this point are going to be 
>>with what alternatives you can offer to users who are not using the 
>>expected delivery platform. When reaching the largest possible audience 
>>is your ultimate goal, then the only real alternative is to create a 
>>multi-version site that allows users to choose what version best fits 
>>their needs. Just how far you go in creating multiple versions will again 
>>depend on the content you are presenting. If you again for example are 
>>dealing mainly with presenting multimedia technologies, then you can 
>>probably safely assume that many users who utilize WAP enable systems are 
>>not going to have much interest in a site of this type. Why? Well, the 
>>fact that they're using a WAP system in itself goes to show that they are 
>>not from the design or multimedia crowd, but more likely from the 
>>business and mobile exec crowd. Their orientation is more likely to be 
>>towards checking stock quotes or news headlines, not downloading MP3 
>>files for immediate playback.
>>
>>In short, your greatest asset when deciding whether to go high-tech or 
>>dumbed down when creating an Internet presence is common sense. When 
>>you've put this into the light of your likely user demographic, then you 
>>can basically see how much effort you're going to need to put in, as well 
>>as what basic approach best suites the site overall.
>>
>>----------
>><http://www.cyber-aspect.com/>5a6bba.jpg
>>>Cyber Aspect - 
>>><http://www.cyber-aspect.com/>http://www.cyber-aspect.com/ , to help 
>>>generate even more traffic and to encourage us in our efforts to be one 
>>>of the best online publishing groups, we ask every web site owner out 
>>>there, to link to the Cyber Aspect web site.
>>>
>>>