thirtyonethree

What makes a good online experience?

I can think of a handful of sites that I have seen that I really liked the use of Flash to give a good experience. I came across the Labyrinth last fall while I was on a trip to Atlanta. The Labyrinth is a prayer experience. I had done something similar at our World Headquarters in Orlando. The idea behind it is that you have different stations in which you do something tactile that relates to a deeper spiritual experience. Like make a “yourself” in playdoh and then reflect on God’s creation of you. Or experience the fragrance of sweet smelling water. It is an experience that engages the senses and the spirit.

What impressed me about the Labyrinth is how someone used Flash to create an online experience that was very powerful. Take a look at the second station. You drop a stone into water. You hear the water splash and see the splash. The use of music, narration and animation create an incredible experience online. God meant me in a very powerful way as I worked my way through the Labyrinth. It excites me to think that you can create these type of experiences online.

Last weekend I got to attend a Royals game while visiting my parents in Kansas City. I got chills when I caught the first glimpse of the field. It brought back a lot of memories of my childhood. I think I saw over 200 games at the stadium including several playoff games against the Yankees and a World Series game against the Phillies in 1980.

The highlight of the day was the chance to run the bases after the game.

I started using a new blogging software yesterday, w.bloggar. You can use in conjunction with an online blogging account such as Blogger. You can save posts on your desktop which is a nice feaure because then I don’t have to be online to do an entry.

found this blog entry from TotalSite.com interesting. It is called the Homepage Gauge. The author did a study of large corporations and what they are communicating on their homepage. It found it interesting how he categorized the sites based on how “focused” they were on company objectives. I found the article interesting in light of other things I am reading about content and the role of the homepage to get your readers to the content. I have been thinking through how to better do that. I like this perspective of thinking about how focused you are on your objectives. I think it is important to know why your site exists and what the goals are for it so you can measure how well you are accomplishing that goal.

I came across a thought provoking Flash presentation this morning. It is an 8 minute presentation and it predicts the next 10 years on the Internet by looking back at the previous 10 years. My friend Keith Seabourn blogged in response to the implication for the future. I think it is important for the church to consider where our culture is heading and make sure we are ready to jump in. Some of what Keith says reminds me of what the apostle Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.” Will personalized content become increasingly more important than accurate content? I already see it today and I believe it will only increase.