You should be watching the news.
All posts by Ben
mouseover != interactive
Some people think the only thing required to deem a web site as “interactive” is to have mouseovers. While I agree that there is a facet of interaction design regarding visual elements changing over time or by user interaction (or by both), stopping at such a minute point sounds so limiting to me. Either way, in my mind mouseovers are a visual design element, not an interaction design element. To truly be “interactive” requires so much more than having a strong visual aesthetic and/or just showing the user where their mouse is. What about taking advantage of the digital medium, metaphors, rhythm, pace, order, time, space, narrative, depth of field, dynamics, or a more direct communication? Does anyone truly accomplish any of these well (or at all?) in a corporate environment? Is it really limited to places like experimental web sites and the Codex Series?
Rich CEOs in commercials
Doesn’t anyone else find it oddly disturbing about commercials starring CEOs of small-yet-still-bastardly-large corporations pandering to the general consumer and thanking them for choosing the “underdog”, yet somewhat underhandedly thanking them for making that person amazingly rich?
Free beer
“Selling music today at traditional prices is like trying to sell lemonade
when the guy down the street is giving away free beer.” -Nicholas Butterworth, CEO, MTVi Group
The Propaganda Game
This weekend I scored an original unopened 1970 edition of “The Propaganda Game” from WFF ‘N PROOF! It’s spectacular. And it’s got the sponsorship of the infamous Lorne Greene! For the unfamiliar, it’s a game where you learn the intriguing techniques used by professionals to mold public opinion. Players learn to recognize “bandwagon” appeals, faulty analogy, out-of-context quotes, rationalization, technical jargon, emotional appeals and many more. In playing this game learners develop deeper insight about the underlying premises in TV ads, newspaper editorials, and political speeches.
“In a democratic society such as ours, it is the role of every citizen to make decisions after evaluating many ideas. It is specially important that a citizen be able to analyze and distinguish between the emotional aura surrounding an idea and the actual content of that idea. It is this goal of clear thinking that The Propaganda Game addresses.” —
Commander AdamaLorne Greene