There are no more websites – just content
I saw this great website today that wasn’t even a website. Instead of creating the standard company website that we’ve all grown to know and love, the agency BooneOakley created their entire website out of a series of connected YouTube videos. Check it out:
This is a pretty ingenious idea that’s more than just an agency gimmick. With over 78 million unique visitors in June of 09, YouTube gets a ton of traffic. There’s plenty of eyeballs there. The content stands on it’s own, but being video you also get the added benefit of not just sight, but sound and motion too.
I’ve seen other approaches like this. Boston area agency Modernista once redesigned their entire website to be a series of Delicious links. Now’s it a collection of links to content sites like Flickr, Wikipedia, and social media sites like Facebook. A small frame-like overlay instructs you:
Do not be alarmed.
You are viewing Modernista! through the eyes of the Web.
The menu on the left is our homepage. The blog is ours. Everything else is beyond our control.
At the end of the day, people are visiting your company or product website to get information – pure and simple. Who says your company or product website needs to be hand-crafted, self-hosted, unique combination of art, utility, and technology? As digital marketers, we should be focused, instead, on creating the content that visitors find useful and create conversion paths that engage visitors and get them to raise their hand in interest.
Tell me what YOU think. Leave a comment below – will the traditional online home evolve into a situation where there are no more websites – just content?
Finally, some agency content that stands out. It’s cheeky, funny, and awesomely informative. I cant stop clicking around! I also think their vision is the most insightful and intelligent that any agency could ever have. –> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FGsJHZ_p2ck
Greg ´s last blog ..I’ve rediscovered YouTube
Greg – Thanks for your comment and I agree – there are a lot of agencies saying how creative they are, but this one does it better by showing how creative they are. Any other examples you’ve come across of a “site” that is built from a collection of content from other portals like this or Modernista?
It’s kitsch but the buck stops there. I couldn’t even watch the entire video; but then again, a Youtube-driven website doesn’t appeal to the writer in me. I like words. I like reading.
Ari Herzog´s last blog ..Is Twitter Stupid?
Great idea if you want to get over the idea of being cheeky, creative and fun (i.e. extremely niche). But if I’m visiting a website for information, I want to get it quickly, and video limits the speed at which I can get what I want. So I find video, by and large, annoying and I avoid it if possible. Like Ari, I want words and reading, so I can absorb the bits I want, at the speed I want.
Are we setting up a paradox, here? Social Media are killing people’s attention span, and there are several examples of places using social media such as video to get a message across. But in my social media ADHD way, I can’t be bothered to wait for the video, so the the message doesn’t get across to me. So are social media ultimately self-defeating?
Steve Walker´s last blog ..Oracle® Enterprise Performance Management and Business Intelligence Selected by Customers Seeking Greater Business Insight and Performance
Informative article about internet marketing, thanks for sharing with us. Internet is the best media to enlarge your business if we use it in a proper way.