I was lucky enough to attend TEDxAustin this past weekend where I heard from a number of presenters in a variety of fields. While the theme of the event was Play Big, the speakers that focused on the little things stuck with me the longest.

Chris Shipley of Guidewire Group made a compelling argument for the agility and innovations of small business, noting that we are often the most creative when we are resource-constrained.

Doug Ulman of LIVESTRONG shared the story of his diagnosis and explained how important the little yellow wristband has been in reaching out and uniting cancer survivors.

Steven Tomlinson of the Acton School of Business took us through the unique career journey that has led him to a place of success and more importantly fulfillment. He explained that rather than worrying about our next big move, or chasing after a silver bullet, we should focus on our passions and commit to consistent incremental effort.

Carrie Contey, a prenatal and perinatal psychologist, shared some research about neurological development that highlighted the importance of pauses. She explained that as we learn and develop we not only need to have experiences, but also the downtime to process them. To that end as adults, we need to appreciate the value of being, not just doing.

When recited plainly, many of these observations may seem obvious, and indeed some of them are, but that doesn’t make them any less powerful. As a creative working in a technical and often fast-paced industry, it is all too easy to forget about the little things, to ignore the power of simple ideas, or to not value time spent just being. So my takeaway from TEDxAustin is to put more focus on the little stuff, because I got a great reminder of just how big that stuff can be.

 

It’s been a long time in the coming, but the internet may finally be making serious inroads to your living room. The appetite for smarter media options is nothing new, but greater at-home bandwidth, smarter compression technologies and the proliferation of internet-enabled devices may finally be making it possible. People have already incorporated the internet into all aspects of their lives (business, communications, shopping, etc.) and are eager to upgrade their dated and passive home entertainment experience, too. The internet has trained users to expect live, on-demand content that is highly interactive, bundled with the ability to customize and share. Only the internet can deliver that to our living rooms.

So far it is still the Wild West when it comes to internet media solutions, and there is no clear leader or standard in the space, just lots of folks trying to find the right solution. Let’s meet the players.

Content Sources

Content is king, and it’s the abundance of rich content that is encouraging people to want to consume it in their traditional entertainment environment. When it comes to viewing online content on your TV, there's a smorgasbord of digital sources. 

Home Network Content: Before we even talk about the internet, we need look at what we already have on our laptops, PCs and home servers. Our hard drives are busting at the seams with videos (downloaded, ripped, homemade), music and photos. As more homes become networked, this content can finally be freed from our computers and consumed in more comfortable and social surroundings.

Streaming Services: Arguably the most exciting content source is streaming video from services like Hulu, Netflix, Amazon Video on Demand (VoD), YouTube, Vimeo, MTV, and many more. These sites and services serve up on-demand video whenever and wherever we want it.

Download Services: Lots of players are vying for your download dollars, and unlike streaming services (at least for now), they can generally offer much higher quality and the joy of ownership. Services like iTunes, Amazon VoD, Starz Play and CinemaNow are slowly honing in on pricing, format and device support standards.
 
Photo Sites: But video isn’t the only star of the show, the digital photography craze has also netted gobs of photo content ready to enjoy with friends and family. While many users may simply want to view photos from their home computer on their TV, the vast majority of people have embraced online sharing sites like Flickr, Facebook, Kodak Image Gallery and PhotoBucket to house and share their photos.

Audio and Video Podcasts: While streaming sites are popular for their immediacy, users and media creators have also embraced downloadable content for its high quality and portability. The web is packed with audio and video podcasts that users would love to consume on their media centers.  

Internet Radio: In many ways Internet Radio has lead the charge in getting web content onto the home media center. The early availability of content, low bandwidth requirements, and relatively simple interface requirements made it a great starting point. For years now, devices like the Roku SoundBridge and Logitech Squeezebox have made it painless to wirelessly stream services likes Pandora, Shoutcast and Rhapsody, plus thousands of independent radio stations to your living room. 

Hardware

So we’ve established that there is a plethora of content available in a number of different formats, now how to get it onto the TV. As luck would have it, there are numerous hardware options available to bring online content to your living room. 

Video Game Consoles: The latest round of gaming systems from the major players all sport an advanced array of web-enabled media options. Both Microsoft’s Xbox and Sony’s PS3 offer video on-demand services and support full web browsers, which allow users the ability to access any number of streaming sites. The Xbox also features integrated Netflix streaming and PlayOn software, which enables a more TV friendly interface to access sites like YouTube and Hulu.

Dedicated Devices: More recently, devices already associated with TV consumption or new, dedicated web devices have begun to gain traction in the market. While devices like Roku and Vudu focus more on traditional content, devices like AppleTV and Tivo offer users more variety in the types of media they can access.

Embedded Devices: Why build a whole new device when web services can be bundled into existing form factors. Major television, DVD and Blu-ray manufacturers like Sony, LG, Samsung and Vizio are all rushing to bundle in streaming services like Netflix and Blockbuster On-Demand, as well as emerging internet-enabled platforms like Yahoo’s Connected TV.

Media PCs: Let’s not forget the device that already does it all, the PC. Prices have dropped to the point where a dedicated media PC is no longer just the territory of the super rich and media geeks. We are also seeing people completely replace their TV with all-in-one units like the Apple iMac or the Dell Studio One that were designed to be your media hub. 

Software Platforms

With tons of content available and plenty of devices that can access it, the problem comes down to interface and ease of use. While computer users are accustomed to dealing with complex data, navigational challenges and inconsistencies across sites, the living room media consumer demands ease of use and consistency. Here are the major trends:

Operating System as Media Hub: Both Apple and Microsoft would love to own this emerging market and are taking unique approaches to the problem. Apple’s base solution is Front Row, a remote-friendly interface baked into their OS that gives users a 10-ft. interface to interact with primarily pre-downloaded content. Users can also step up to the dedicated AppleTV that adds connections for services like YouTube, Flickr and internet radio. Both options are tied closely to Apple’s iTunes universe.

Microsoft’s Media Center was initially launched with Windows XP as a separate version of the OS and has continued to evolve into its latest Windows 7 version. In typical Microsoft form, they take more of a do-it-all approach, including DVR functionality, streaming video from major network sites, Netflix, internet radio and more.

Media Hub Software: One of the more exciting trends is the emergence of 10-ft. interfaces for both existing services such as Hulu Desktop and YouTube XL, along with all-new universal media hub software offerings such as XBMC and Joost. While the TV-friendly versions of existing services add little new functionality, services like Boxee hint at what the future of living rooms might hold, with integrated web, local media services and tied-in social features that let friends share content. Boxee is currently still in alpha but already runs on all major operating systems as well as the AppleTV and even has an iPhone remote app available.

Internet Widgets: Yahoo! Connected TV and Verizon FiOS are taking a slightly different angle by building internet-enabled widget platforms that augment traditional media delivery rather than replace it. These new layers of content allow users to get services like weather and stocks updates or access services like Twitter, Facebook and Flickr for updates and media. 

Thoughts and Conclusions

So far much of this puzzle is still unsolved, there is a ton of players and no one is rushing to develop standards or harmonize their approaches. With that in mind, there are several things that jump out at me: 

• More opportunity to engage. As someone dedicated to creating experiences that connect people and brands, I see a huge emerging opportunity to expand the ways in which I do that. 
• Interface design and usability, important as ever. Just when you thought that mobile platforms were the hardest thing you could design for, the 10-ft. interface presents a mammoth, new set of challenges.
• Balancing uniformity and individuality. When it comes to consuming media on a television, users are accustomed to a very simple and consistent experience. So as we begin to develop media and experiences for these new platforms, we need to be mindful of those expectations. Only then can we push toward the new and innovative. 

 

At this point, I think it's safe to say that netbooks are less of a fad and more of a trend. Netbooks have been enjoying exponential growth in both interest and sales since mid 2007, and show no signs of letting up. By the end of 2008, netbooks were making up 19% of laptop related queries on PriceGrabber, and are expected to sell over 35 million units this year.

So what does all this mean to web designers, content creators and developers? Like most emerging forms of computers and consumer electronics specifications and characteristics are still very much in flux, but there do seem to be a few common traits worth taking into consideration.

Screen size
The majority of netbooks currently on the market feature 9- or 10-inch (diagonal) widescreen format screens that have a resolution around 1024x600px with a web safe area around 1000x420px. Currently the majority of designers are targeting a minimum screen size of 1024x768px, which has a safe area of around 1000x590px. This not only reduces usable vertical space by 170px, it also changes the proportions of the display making them wider and narrower. In addition these screens are packing more pixels into a smaller physical package, making everything appear smaller.

So what can you do? First off, think about a layout that maximizes horizontal space like left-hand navigation controls instead of tabs, minimal or no site banner across the top of your page, and if you need to display ads look for vertical formats. You may also want to think about larger type, font size controls, or at least developing in a way that allows users to crank up font sizes on their end without completely destroying the layout.

Tiny trackpads
One of the main advantages to netbooks is their compact size which doesn’t leave much room for a trackpad. Most netbooks only have a tiny trackpad with left and right mouse buttons on the side.

So what can you do? Try to keep your navigation within a localized area to reduce mouse movement, or consider developing navigation system that takes advantage of the keyboard (for an example, check out Dropular).  

Processor and RAM
No one would argue that netbooks are the powerhouses of the computing world but they usually have enough to get the job done online. Most netbooks have around a 1.6ghz processor and about a 1gb of RAM, which is easily enough to support a browser and most plug-ins like flash and quicktime. That being said, they are only working with about half the power of your average laptop.

So what can you do? Test your site to make sure they don't tax the processor or require too much RAM.

Wrapping it all up
While netbooks currently only represent a small fraction of internet users, these devices seem to be setting a trend in terms of both form factor and internet usage. As Wi-Fi and cellular data become more and more ubiquitous and people move more and more of their digital lives online, we can expect to see the demand for portable lifestyle computers continue to rise.

Earlier this month, the Google Experience Research team reminded us just how important a high search ranking and a good site description really are. 

 The 34 study participants consistently demonstrated two things:

1. Users review search results extremely quickly.
2. They will generally choose one of the items near the top of the page or change their search criteria.

So, what can you do to maximize your search results? One, optimize your site for the search terms that matter most to your business. Two, make sure your title and description are clear, obvious and concise.

A few months ago, the AIMA invited me to join some folks from Coloring Book Studios, Eyewonder and Avenue A | Razorfish in a discussion about rich media and its value. Their question got me thinking: rich media is a term that means a lot of things to a lot of people, but what does it really mean in terms of accomplishing your objectives online? 

Tough question, but let's start with what we know. Life is short and so is the average attention span. Consumers don’t want to waste one minute on marketing. Still, they're spending their precious time (scarce as it may be) online. Rich media may be the key to the attraction.

Rich media isn’t a specific technology — the tools at our disposal are ever-evolving. Instead, it’s a set of techniques that leverage that “time flies when you’re having fun” phenomenon:

• Time-based content such as animation or video
• Interactive content that empowers the user to control and focus an experience
• Variable content that can adjust based on the situation
• 3D content that gives users a more tangible experience
  

Rich media’s capacity for built-in intelligence means knowing what site the user is on or coming from, or their weather conditions and time of day. Reflecting the user’s context makes your message more seductive.

Rich media can approximate or transcend real-world experiences. Online, users can pick up, spin and examine the texture of a product no matter how large. Products can come apart to reveal design details or to make abstract, technical ideas tangible and compelling. 

Rich media means being able to tell complex stories and paint a more exciting picture of how the product or service might impact consumer’s lives; Like letting users learn about, and even interact with, product creators to see how much thought went into the design.

We can make mundane things easy — even fun — with rich media. Smarter, more intuitive configuration and checkout processes can adapt themselves to the needs of the user, rather than the other way around.

Highly adaptive and distributable, rich media is extremely useful in maintaining brand experience. Picture consistent and engaging experiences across rich media banners, informational microsites, in-store kiosks and reseller websites.  

Your customers are out there, searching. They want immersive experiences that capture their attention, convince them they’ve found the answer, and allow them to convert, effortlessly.

Use rich media to give them what they want.