PhIxDA Automagically

Motorola has created a new website which is aimed at government and some civil services. The idea behind the website is to demonstrate how technology can be seamlessly woven into life on the job for the better of the public good. All Big Brother and Minority Report jokes aside, this is an issue that we will be talking about in the coming years. Life seems to be growing exponentially in the technological sense. Science Fiction of 50 years ago is the technology in your pocket today and it makes me a little excited to see where we will be in another 50 years.

I used to be a technology junkie. I needed that latest and greatest gadget that no one else had, just to have it. Over the years I have changed, I think a lot about the technology around me and how it affects me. You know its bad when you can not remember your fiancé’s telephone number because you depend on your cell phone for it. And its those little things that make me think. But that is a different article for a different time.

Motorola has taken to the slowly building trend in my opinion. It has created a 3D environment that delivers information and at the same time engages the user to make them want to explore more. The sites navigation seems pretty well thought out and I do like the layering effect the pseudo 3D causes. They have also accomplished something, lowering the transition time from one section to the next. Interesting to see that a simple fade to black can cure an issue that kills most sites of this style.

The animatics are good and the development team behind this one really did some user research into how people would respond to using such a site. The site however does not lend itself well to multiple views. This to me means it is more of an interactive advertisement, a really flashy in your face, dare I say it, power point. One run through the website and you are really not given a reason to come back, maybe just to show your friends the cool navigation and cuts but thats about it. There is no promise of more information tomorrow, no updates and when Motorola deems it will pull the plug on this website. Which makes me somewhat sad to see talent like this just pushed aside later due to its lack of adaptable content.

So this brings me to a few questions I wish to ask you. As easy of an advertising medium as the web is, were do we draw line so normal people know the difference advertisements and real information? How do we explain to John and Jane Doe that their website does not need to be cutting edge and pure eye candy? How do you convince the world around you that something like this is the worst possible direction to go when you wish to deliver information? After all, in 8 months when some marketing exec at Motorola decides they need a new campaign this website and its information will cease to exist. Then again we might be able to soon travel back in time to prevent such misdeeds from occurring, stop the crime before it happens.