Designing
a Better Multimedia Mouse Trap
Article by Don
Herion
"Internet
Multimedia! What's it good for? Absolutely nothing!"
If you think
you know who coined this phrase, it's not Bruce Springsteen. I actually read this
rant on some obscure multimedia forum. But after meditating for several hours,
okay minutes, on this Webmaster's rage against Internet multimedia I can see his
point. The rapid spread of broadband services like DSL and cable have begun to
unleash a monsoon of multimedia content that threatens to overwhelm our senses.
Let's be honest. When it comes to multimedia creativity/ability, there a hundred
Ed Woods to every Martin Scorcese. Most of what we loosely call rich media deserves
a showing on Mystery Science Theater 3000, not Masterpiece Theater. As I consider
the future of Internet multimedia, I'm reminded of a famous quote.
"No,
be afraid. Be very afraid."
Like Geena Davis in 'The Fly', I'm
giving this warning because what you've been seeing over the past few years is
a drop in the bucket to what's coming to a computer monitor near you. With the
spread of inexpensive Flash style animation programs, every Tom, Dick and Harriet
are hard at work creating multimedia applications that will in all likelihood
end up looking like Jeff Goldblum in that classic movie.
