By Charlie (who?) Morey
THE DREAM
When I left a 22-year career in newspaper/magazine publishing, I had
one thing in mind: I wanted to create interactive, multimedia websites!
As an editor, I'd communicated with an audience of readers via traditional
print media: written words and still photographs or illustrations. And
while I am somewhat of a minimalist, the lure of video, animation,
voice-over audio, sound effects and background music dispensed through an
interactive environment proved too tempting to resist. I envision website
as environment (rather than page), and imagine inviting people "into" an
immersive experience enriched by sound, color and motion. That's right...put
on your audio-visual headset, and come on in! I've been waiting ever since
for technology to deliver that promise, hopefully in a convenient
"drag-and-drop" interface that a creative person can use comfortably.
We're not there, yet, but the dream is in sight.
In the meantime, we can have loads of fun applying technologies as they emerge
and become practical for people like you and me to use. Part of that "practical"
issue involves having your audience equipped with a browser/plug-in combination
required to experience the new media.
In many cases, you'll have to make the tough choice between cool media and the
practical purpose of your website. For example, when I originally created my
"Résumé Thing" site, I made the decision to take some risk. While I certainly
want every potential employer to view my résumé, I also want to demonstrate my
abilities to present current web technology. That means that if a potential
employer shows up with an early, "no-Java/Javascript" web browser, s/he won't
get it. (I've since expanded my options by offering both Java and no-Java versions.)
My rationale for that early no-compromise decision? I want to work for a company
that excels in state-of-the-art media, and the person who reviews my résumé will
surely be equipped to view my site. However, if your site must be viewable by
literally anyone who shows up, regardless of browser type, you will need either
to limit your indulgence in media or provide two copies of your site, one "loaded"
with multimedia applications and one with basic HTML and graphics. (You don't want
to lose customers just for the fun of having cool features on your site...or, as
in my case, prospective employers who aren't using cutting-edge equipment themselves.)
The issues we'll discuss in this article are based upon my "Résumé Thing"
site, so you'll probably want to
have a look
at it before we continue.
Our host, the Web Developer's Virtual Library, has stockpiled an amazing
array of resources which we'll highlight throughout this article for your
convenience. For example, there's an excellent section on
multimedia.
