I like flash. A lot. In fact, I think it was flash that first piqued my interest in interactive media. But it’s not without its criticisms, which is what I want to address in this post. This will be the start of many-a-flash posts on the power of ActionScript and why Flash-ing your audience can be a good thing.

Criticism: “It’s just Flash for the sake of Flash”

Sure, some of it can be eye candy, and a lot of stuff out there probably is just that. But there are indeed times when animating an element helps draw the user’s attention and provides a visual clue to what’s taking place or going to take place. It enhances usability, just as Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) enhance design and usability by defining and differentiating elements with the page, and creating a hierarchy of information. How often do you hear people complaining “Oh that’s just CSS for the sake of CSS”? If a little interactivity and flare is such a big deal, why don’t we skip everything and keep it raw html. You know, Times New Roman font and blue “hyperlinks?”

I agree that there is such a thing as overkill. But in my opinion, Flash practically defines interactive media. What do you think makes many of those touch-screen kiosks possible? It seems all that’s missing is ‘scratch-and-sniff touch screen kiosks’ for Pier 1 Imports’ wedding registries. Would that be overkill? I don’t think so. But I do think many would agree that ‘overkill’ needs to be defined in context. Let’s just say I don’t plan on using streaming video, audio and scripted tweens that cover all of Robert Penner’s easing equations in the ‘Happy Birthday’ e-card I send my Mom.

Criticism: “It has major accessibility issues”

If accessibility is brought into the argument, then JavaScript (which I also love) needs to be included. A big trend in web applications today is the use of AJAX technology (Asynchronous JavaScript and XML). Put simply, it’s a means of creating web applications that allow ‘behind the scenes’ processing. Applications employing AJAX can interact with a web server without reloading pages, making it more seamless, interactive and usable. The catch: it requires JavaScript’s XMLHttpRequest. THAT is an accessibility issue. No JavaScript? No Pier1 pillows online.

Let’s look at some statistics. A survey conducted in March 2007 revealed that Flash content reaches 98% of Internet viewers (Adobe – Flash Player Statistics). The survey fails to mention anything about Flash Player Versions, which accounts for the majority of accessibility concerns. But while this may be a biased source, it is undoubtedly a credible one.

Another survey, also conducted last March, showed that JavaScript had a 96% enabled rate (Browser News). Note that I’m not carping AJAX or JavaScript at all. My point is that 90% is pretty darn accessible if you ask me. Bill Cosby once said “I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody”. (If only I could please 90% of the people in my personal life). This does not mean ignore that other 10%. It means do your research, familiarize yourself with your target audience and objectives and know that you can’t please everybody:
“You gotta smell this touch screen!”…
“Uh, I can’t smell”.

…To be continuted. Flashbelt 2007 is right around the corner (see Jess Louwagie’s recent post)… Stay tuned!!

This entry was posted on Friday, May 25th, 2007 at 8:11 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.