Hyperlinks, striking pictures, and matching movies. What we generally assume to be one of the biggest trump cards of a lot of informatory internet sites should probably be handled with a little bit of skepticism.
A senior thesis, recently upheld at the University of Leuven, states that news sites with innovatory applications don't always have the desired effect. When reading complicated articles, inexperienced internet users often get distracted by the decorations and the possibilities to make your own comments, instead of being stimulated by them. Whereas this digital gaudery can be a mnemonic device when added to rather simple texts, their presence can make experienced users get bored quickly.
These findings make it rather difficult for journalistic sites or news blogs to orientate themselves towards a certain readership. It appears that students between 18 and 25 for instance, fall short on expectations; in any case they are not the hoped-for fans of RSS-feeds, blogs and news sites. So where should we look for these fans and how can we make a distinction between different users and their needs? When does a popular eye-catcher become an unwanted attention-getter?
This is definitely something to take into consideration when creating an informatory website. It seems to me that the target audience should be defined properly before deciding to add all kinds of electronical extras. If a news site wants to attract different types of people, maybe the amount of additional pictures and movies can be modified in accordance with the content of a certain article. Less is more?
Source: www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/cultuur%2Ben%2Bmedia/media/090923Online_extra
A senior thesis, recently upheld at the University of Leuven, states that news sites with innovatory applications don't always have the desired effect. When reading complicated articles, inexperienced internet users often get distracted by the decorations and the possibilities to make your own comments, instead of being stimulated by them. Whereas this digital gaudery can be a mnemonic device when added to rather simple texts, their presence can make experienced users get bored quickly.
These findings make it rather difficult for journalistic sites or news blogs to orientate themselves towards a certain readership. It appears that students between 18 and 25 for instance, fall short on expectations; in any case they are not the hoped-for fans of RSS-feeds, blogs and news sites. So where should we look for these fans and how can we make a distinction between different users and their needs? When does a popular eye-catcher become an unwanted attention-getter?
This is definitely something to take into consideration when creating an informatory website. It seems to me that the target audience should be defined properly before deciding to add all kinds of electronical extras. If a news site wants to attract different types of people, maybe the amount of additional pictures and movies can be modified in accordance with the content of a certain article. Less is more?
Source: www.deredactie.be/cm/vrtnieuws/cultuur%2Ben%2Bmedia/media/090923Online_extra
Actually this is why we keep this blog's lay out simple and standard ;)
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact, I am currently working on a blogpost about some people who hate the distracting embellishments on Facebook.
I'll post it soon!