Josh Sager Media: Creative Technologies Blog

I have a knack for certain things like being late to parties, telling awful jokes, knowing a good thing when I see it, and the ever deadly but popular finding out about something awesome that has been around for much longer than I should admit.

Jeffrey Zeldman’s Designing with Web Standards falls in the later.  First off I was not paid by New Riders or Jeff, I’m just an independent guy that has been told repeatedly about the kool-aid but just recently had my first sip.

If you do ANYTHING web related from sales, to design, to development, to support or anything in between go and get this book NOW.

What’s in the Kool-Aid?

Okay what’s the big deal? It’s just another tech book right.  Nope.  It’s more of a philosophy book.  A book about ideas and approaches to a better internet that you and I want and kind of knew about but didn’t really think about before.  It was as if Jeff unlocked perspectives in my brain that made everything I do make sense and everything I want to do within reach.  The best part is he offers practical solutions to every day type problems without making the book about code.  As a result it’s a quick read and one of the few tech oriented books I’ve read from cover to cover.

Does It Solve All Of My Problems?

No, nor does is claim to.  It offers ideas towards creating a more maintainable website/workload and my favorite thing about the book is it shines the light of craftsmanship into my job.  Jeff has made me feel proud to be a Web Designer.  It’s not just a skill I picked up so I could repay my student loans, it’s a hybrid career of architecture, communication, and art that takes skill.  Anyone can use a pencil but not everyone can draw just as anyone can create an h1 tag but not everyone can design web sites.  At least not the kind of web sites the internet needs.  Accessible content to solve problems, entertain, and inform.

Knocked Me On My Arse

There are moments in my life when I become aware.  These moments are when I think I’ve mastered something, or at least I think I’m pretty good at them and then my doors get blown off.  Humbling moments that remind me I’ve got a lot to learn.  I cherish these moments because on the other side of them I come out a better person with a greater understanding of the skill in question as well as my capabilities. This book exposed all of the errors I’ve made over the last decade like a dramatic zoom from my body to outer space when every web site I’ve ever developer reveals every one of my errors. It’s quite an awakening. Almost like the Matrix.  I get it now. Thank you Jeff for making me a better Designer and Developer and to the hopes that the next web site I create will be one step closer to the promise land. I’ve got a lot of things to fix so I better get to it.

Last week I participated in panel discussion ( Refresh Pittsburgh and Flash User Group crossover ) about the use of Flash and it’s future. Is it doomed? Will it be replaced? Does anyone care?

Round One… Fight

As with many talks like this, the conversation eventually takes a turn towards a Moral Kombat blood bath over Flash vs HTML. Which is really a debate of ActionScript vs JavaScript. Although I do enjoy the debate it’s a shame that it gets boiled down to only two options. Which, in my opinion, is very “anti-web”. The web, in my eyes is very much a democracy allowing the developer to chose the technologies they believe will achieve their specific results in any combination they see fit. Good, bad, or indifferent.

Now I think we can all agree that there is a time and place for specific technologies and no matter our selections they should be centered around the desired outcome. So the Flash vs HTML debate is a kind of a waste, but I do enjoy revisiting some of the time tested stereotypes. Such as:

Flash content is not searchable…

Not so true. Adobe and google have made large gains this area. it still has a long way to go but it is searchable. And there are interesting projects going on helping to solve this problem. (http://www.flashnseo.com/)

Not everyone has the flash plugin

Although this is true, everyone should be further defined. Everyone seems to be broken up into a two categories. Desktop/laptop and mobile/other devices.

Most desktop, laptops, etc have flash player and currently 98.9% of the global market have adopted Flash Player 9 with 86.7% using Flash Player 10. (http://adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/version_penetration.html) It’s a pretty safe bet to deploy a web solution viewed on most desktops and laptops in Flash Player if you have a need for what Flash content provides. Now this doesn’t mean I’m saying an ENTIRE website should be made as a .swf. I’m merely suggesting that .swf’s have a large user base.

The desktop / laptop screen is no longer the final destination for what we are creating these day. Many mobile devices as well as speciality devices do not support flash player. Despite Flash-Lite being a huge force in Japan, the US has been slow in adopting flash based content on their phones. If you’re looking for a unilateral solution from desktop to mobile, flash isn’t the right answer. However, HTML and JavaScript have their problems too. With no real set standard for screen size, mobile browser, or methodologies it appears the browser wars from the late 90’s have re-emurged to our cell phones. Using anything is a mixed bag and will produce varied results.

Once again knowing your customers and expectations are key. We no longer live in an era were we can reach 100% of internet users. Even when we that 100% didn’t include all of the actual customers. It was a focused group of customers that used the internet.

HTML 5 will play audio and video therefore killing flash video and making it no longer necessary.

At first I got a little scared about this one, but after more thought I’m not too worried. Yes HTML 5 is supposed to make playing other media in the browser more accessible, but consider this. HTML 5 will have to be adopted by not just the developing community but the users that have the browsers. I know I know Firefox 3.5 has some of the HTML5 and CSS 3 things, but the real benchmark is the death of IE in 2014 (http://www.sitepoint.com/blogs/2009/08/18/microsoft-support-ie6-2014/).

Until the user base is using the NEW and IMPROVED browsers, HTML 5 will have a low impact until it reaches critical mass. The other thing that doesn’t scare me about HTML 5 being a Flash Video killer is the need for streaming media. I do realize there are a lot of standalone flv files on the web. Heck I use them myself, but once your 5 or 6 videos grow to about 20 or 30 and your monthly bandwidth is getting chewed up, a media server becomes a critical piece in delivering video over the web. Unless HTML 5 can deliver and manage extremely small file sizes Flash Video still serves a need that many people have.

JavaScript can do drag and drop as well as animation. Take that Flash

True. It can, but do you ever have to tweak your code base so IE 6 allows for the animation? What about Opera or Safari? The great thing about Flash is right out of the box basic animation just works across all desktop platforms

I know that JavaScript has a timer and Please don’t get me wrong I LOVE JavaScript, but it’s a nightmare with temporal design. Communicating over time is what makes Flash well… Flash. That’s what draws us in. It’s not that things move, but meaningful information is presented over time and tells a story.

Storytelling vs Presentation

The best way I can describe it is like this. JavaScript at best is a key-note or power point. It can help you change states, transition you from point A to point B and heck it even looks nice if you take the time, but it’s not and never will be a Movie. Flash is a movie… no no a story that unfolds over time. A presentation is something that informs you a story is something that captures you. Now just as all stories are not good, not all uses of flash are good, but the potential is there and when used well it’s an experience like none other. That’s when information transforms into a story. It’s engaging, entertaining, and we love it.

Flash gives the developer, designer, and artist a nice and clean way to design over time. Temporal decisions beyond on and off. That one key element is what separates the two technologies. Just about all functionalities in one way or another can be achieved via JavaScript or Actionscript. But until I see a JavaScript cartoon I won’t be convinced that it’s they way I want to tell the story of some of my most engaging content.

I am sick and tired of reading web related articles and seeing opinions offered to young designers and developers that tell them to avoid flash. What the hell is that all about? I understand there is a movement towards purist web design and with that no third part plugins or leprechaun magic should be used, but come on. Live in the reality that is all around us. We shouldn’t narrow our view to a certain set of technologies, instead we should strive for a balance of the benefits that each technology might provide. Then the next step which seems to be a lost art, think about your approach and match the best technologies to achieve your goals.

I’m tired of seeing “magic pill” books and articles about creating better websites in 10 easy steps. It’s bull! Design is a craft despite the media that has only one rule. Thought. After that it can go in any direction.

Don’t get me wrong, I think its great that we have web standards and I do my best to follow them when its appropriate. But sometimes it just doesn’t make sense to force all ideas and concepts down a narrow set of parameters. That’s what makes the web so great. We have a plethora of options. If we used the internet the way it was “intended” there would be no e-commerce and well would all still be playing zork through a command line.

I understand there is a lot of bad content and horrible web experiences out there. Both HTML/CSS as well as flash. But why as “opinoin-ists” do so many people feel the need to cast Flash aside? It’s obviously popular. People have been using it for over a decade and the development community has been growing in droves year after year.

Instead of fighting over the proper technology lest instead put our passions towards a better experience and continue to push the bounds of what the technologies were “intended”. Thats when something truly great happens and the world is changed.