May 8th, 2007
Expanding Web 2.0 to the masses with Rich Internet Applications
There is a report today that details a survey by Pew and covers how Americans see themselves in the tech infrastructure. The finding is that while Web 2.0 gets a ton of buzz, Only 8% of people in America really do a range of Web 2.0 activities. Only 31% of American adults are "Elite Tech Users" which means they follow technology, are frequent users of cell phones and the web, and generally think positively about technology. The big question on the web today is now that since only a small number of people are really engaging in Web 2.0, what does that mean. Is that number going to increase? Are we capped out?
It may seem silly, but I think Rich Internet Applications are one way to grow that number. James Governor had a post last week about how richness wasn't really exciting to him. He loved things like del.ico.us and Twitter, two sites that pride themselves on being simple. RIAs can be simple as well, but it's true that once you go rich, you add a layer of "fluff". But fluff, when used appropriately, can be good, and for end users, fluff can be the difference between engaging a site and not engaging one. Just take a look at movie and video game sites. They're high on fluff, yet they're quite popular. They give the users a great experience on the web and immerse them for a bit. What needs to happen is that actual web applications find that balance between fluff and usability so they can engage users and still give them a simple, straightforward experience.
So much of Web 2.0 focuses on the technology rather than the experience. We get excited about what Ajax can do and how we can push it to the limits that we forget Ajax may not be the best end user experience. Most open? Sure. Most standards based? Yup. But is it the best technology for building web applications? Debatable, but I fall on the side of no. And with Silverlight, I think (like Dare) that we're finally going to see Ajax fall by the wayside for full applications. With RIAs, we just have a more powerful toolset. Like any tool, RIAs can be abused, but when you add a great deal of craft to your application, you come out with something that will really engage users and has the potential to bring the middle of the road tech users to the Web 2.0 fold.
Another thing the survey highlighted was that we're dealing with different kind of users. For instance 10% of tech users are considered 'mobile centrics' which means they fully embrace the advanced features of their cell phones. But they're considered middle of the road tech users. With RIA technologies, web properties can take existing skills and development models and apply them to the mobile world. That means you can reach those users and bring them into the Web 2.0 fold just by giving them a customized experience on their phone. That's more difficult to do with Ajax than it is with Flash.
Are Rich Internet Application technologies the answer to everything? Absolutely not. But we can give users a very rich, ubiquitous desktop like experience in the browser. In order to grow the people that are voraciously consuming Web 2.0 content, you have to reach them with a better solution, not just a better technology. RIAs give you a big creative head start which can be turned into a growing user base.
Ryan Stewart, a Rich Internet Application developer and industry analyst, recently joined Adobe's Platform Team as a Rich Internet Application Evangelist. full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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