I found this article to a fascinating look at the in-depth nuance of online marketing. Often when I think of the short-attention spans of the digital age, I often point the finger at online companies for fostering this phenomenon. And while this article revealed that for a while, the “click-web” did perpetuate this environment, it educated me that more recently companies are actually fighting against this short attention span to allow for more detailed, lengthy reads/views.
This is encouraging because I hope this means the “click-bait” world we seem to live in, with sensationalized titles and exaggerated images bombarding every corner of the internet, will begin to fall to the way-side. But it also opens up larger questions of marketing techniques and even humanity’s evolving thought process. Because of the growing emphasis on apprehension over simple clicks/skims, I would think that major aesthetic changes are likely to appear on the internet in the coming years. Instead of vomiting the most gaudy, shocking colors to immediately snag a readers attention, we may see a more balanced, even artistic effort to produce an aesthetically pleasing design for websites and ads.
In many ways, this change has bee foreshadowed in television. Whether it is fictional shows, news programs or even simple product advertisements for the Super Bowl, TV has become increasingly cinematic in its design and style, capturing the viewers imagination and not just capturing their eyes for a few seconds. This article seems to suggest a similar shift will happen in the digital sphere and I am curious and excited to see where it may lead.
Epic Explorations in Emerging Media 