Re: Graceful Degradation (Was Re: Frames vs. Tables)

At , Mihai Jalobeanu wrote:
>The web was about sharing content. Now is about entertainment, 
>commerce, communication, things that cannot be (easily) presented 
>in all the browsers, things that are based on the *look* not only on 
>the content.

The Web _was_ about sharing of content, the Web currently _is_ about
sharing of content, and we can expect the Web to continue to be about
sharing of content for the foreseeable future.

The audience on the Web has certainly changed, expanding in directions,
defying one's imagination.

There are surely far more folks interested in the behavior and mathematical
properties of elementary particles today than there were in the early days.

At the same time, there are vastly more people interested in the
mathematical properties (and other aspects) of stocks and investments and
businesses.

At the same time, there are also vastly more people interested in sports
activities. At the same time, ... ... ...

To illustrate the relevance of content, consider this announcement (of
Tuesday of this week):


  * * * CMPnet's Double Debut * * *

  The week's not even half over, and already CMPnet has a new
  addition to its family: TechCompanies. TechCompanies is the 
  definitive A-to-Z resource for news and profiles on more than 
  45,000 technology companies. You'll also find product reviews,
  financial data, and contact information -- including hotlinks -- for
  each company as well.

  http://www.techweb.com/companies

That is content!

Go to any of the major sports league Web sites, and you'll find lots of
content. Articles, statistics, pictures, multimedia... all content.
Contrast for example the amount of content, with what was provided say 25
years ago, in the deluxe souvenir booklets one could buy at the ball park
for more than the price of an admission ticket. For example, see
http://www.nba.com (National Basketball Association).

That is content!

Presentation is an important part of the delivery of information. One might
go so far as to say that it _is_ the delivery of information. Presentation
is not easy, and the underlying technology is far from easy. The Web is
growing, evolving, and addressing these needs.

Contrast, if you will, the number of years with which one had to endure
"green-bar" computer reports, in clumsy sizes, with monospaced and monocase
type fonts (or I should probably say "type font" (singular). Despite
technology challenges which are far greater, the Web is responding to these
requirements at a remarkably rapid pace.

The Web does not _require_ content, nor does it require quality of content.
That is up to its viewers. Ultimately it is content which meets viewers'
interests and needs, best presented in a useful and satisfying manner.

I've serious doubts that C|Net put up such a massive amount of content
about businesses, just because they found it ~fun~ to do. Nor for the
professional sports leagues. Rather, they do it because they have
identified and responded to interests, and strive to satisfy (and in a
sense also cultivate) such interests.

I lead two Internet Special Interest Groups for the Chicago Computer
Society. I can assure you that these folks are interested in the content of
the net. The gee-gosh-wow is fun to discuss and view, but it quickly turns
to the 'great, but what can it do for me' questions.

I just got back from a relatively large family reunion (disguised as a
cousin's wedding). Very much the same thing... some are on the Internet
because of ... and others are planning to because they can get ... Split
about half/half between email first and Web content first.

A closing example... a lot of folks want stock and investment information.
Having several choices, presentation becomes particularly important... but
that is in a sense because the presentation becomes part of the content...
having to do with the usability of the information.... as well as the
~comfort level~ of its use.

One might describe the full-time job of an infant as learning to
distinguish between noise and signal in its personal universe. Having
become proficient at that (each in one's own way), people continue to spend
the rest of their life striving for signal over noise.

/Harold
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Harold A. Driscoll                       mailto:harold(at)driscoll.chi.il.us
#include <std/disclaimer>      http://homepage.interaccess.com/~driscoll/

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