BROADBAND DEVELOPMENTS
We now know the data on the speeds of various connections to the Internet and user demographics subscribing to these services. So what? How does this change the perspective of a web designer? So far the data provided proves that in the near future more and more users will connect to the internet with fast broadband net connections using high speed access and will be always on the net. This implies that it is a good time to start planning a site that can take full advantage of the available bandwidth.
Forrester Research Analyst Patrick Callinan in a recent ChannelSeven.com interview says "..most Web users cannot fully experience [this] content. That said, I think any company that is not at least thinking about offering broadband content will be in trouble."
So what constitutes a broadband site? Some sites simply stream audio and video at high rates and serve up graphics-heavy pages and interactive games. It is necessary to invest extra servers, plenty of bandwidth and sophisticated compression software to encode video and audio files for speedier transmission over the Net for broadband service. Additional cost is required to produce the audio and video content on the site.
Infrastructure
On May 18, 2000, a very special event took place over the web. Victoria Secret broadcasted a complete 22-minute fashion show over the internet from Cannes, France. The event was well publicized by including advertisement during Super Bowl this year. Last year the same event brought down the Victoria Secrets servers. Check out the archive at Victoria's Secret Glamour Lounge.This year the infrastructure is using the latest technologies in streaming media especially from Akamai which helps by setting redundant systems all over the world.
Akamai's massive global server deployment is important to customers for two reasons. First, a diverse, multi-carrier network presence gives Akamai many options for routing content when individual networks are overloaded or out of service. Second, Akamai's broad reach ensures servers are always physically close to end users, so Web requests don't travel long distances to be served.
The other company that provides similar infrastructure is Digital Island. Digital Island is partnering with Microsoft, Compaq and Intel to help provide streaming audio and video to its users.
Broadband Designers
All this talk about broadband has created a new job for some young and creative people. This rebellious group of individuals is building reputation in creating websites that use complete bandwidth effectively. Several of them have created new paradigms from user interface point of view. Companies such as Kioken.com and One9ine specialize in these design activities. For more information on these design firms refer to the references.
Broadband Applications
The broadband abilities create new interactive marketing possibilities. One of the more attractive solutions available mixes "content and commerce." Viewers of such ads will see them in the context of a site they are on. An example of this can be seen on a site like MXGTV.com – a special interest site for teen girls. While exploring the site, which contains content about fashion, sports, and music, users can view a TV-like ad where they can purchase items that they see in the ad while never having to leave the site.SPIN Magazine’s website is giving visitors a Macromedia and MP3-powered audio and video tour of the past decade and a half in music. Esquire Magazine’s website will have a streaming video documentary of a writer’s two-month bicycle journey through Cuba. It is clear that special interest magazines are fast discovering what TV networks, production studios, and radio stations have already tapped into: the power streaming media and broadband Internet access adds to their content and their brand.
A Simon Property subsidiary, www.clixnmortar.com, is currently presenting two hi-tech shopping alternatives. The first leap, aimed directly at the adolescent market, is called FastFrog.com. Teens check out hand-held scanner/PDAs, which can be utilized to shop at any store in the mall. Items that they’d like to have added to their wish list are scanned, and added to a personal website that can be later viewed by friends when selecting gifts, or by parents who can then purchase the approved items via credit card.
YourSherpa.com works much the same way for adults, but is billed as a time saving device. The shopper scans items they wish to purchase throughout the mall. They then return to the PDA after providing credit card information for billing purposes, and the selections are delivered directly to the customer’s home.
In the near future, Simon Properties stores will be able to entice customers who use the PDA’s into stores by broadcasting sale ads (along with an audible notification) to the device as the shopper approaches the store, according to a Simon Properties spokesperson.
According to Patrice Selleck, MD, International Council of Shopping Centers, during December 1999 holiday season, 60% of sales were researched online and then purchased in the store. Now some malls are utilizing a vendor product service known as Centerlink. A kiosk that utilizes broadband Internet access links customers, who may not have a computer or wireless device, to the Web, allowing them to research purchases while at the mall.
Delivering the right message to the right people in real time! Innovative companies like Global Digital Madia (GDM) and CAIS are now using broadband to their advantage by providing broadband for business travelers on the go. GDM has Kiosks at airports, hotels and convention centers featuring 42 inch screen with target advertising as well as high speed connection to the web. Users can also experience geographically targeted, rich media ads while accessing any stock quotes, headline news, or Web-based information. The hubs, or kiosks, will initially be found at Logan Airport in Boston and at Philadelphia International. At least 15 hubs will be located throughout high traffic areas of the airports Similarly CAIS has been in the scence since three years.
