Interface

It’s always been breadth versus depth.

Engagement vs. Reach.

Asynchronous vs. Real-time.

This is the breadth, reach, asynchronous era. The interfaces reflect that. Our interaction with it breaks down the real-time depth of engagement continually.

So our interfaces are horizontal. The menu items short. The animations slide. The response gives you time.

Remember when IM was all the rage? Remember when bidding on something required on-time all the time? Remember when simultaneous multiplayer ruled?

Remember when everyone was afraid of pressure filled information overload?

Now everyone talks about short attention spans. But the truth is? We’re more patient than ever. Twitter conversations, retweets. Facebook posts and social games. We’ve down shifted into a time where lag is welcome. Where lag IS not a glitch but a feature.

But things shift left and right. We are rapidly approaching the swing back to the real. The time limited. The simultaneous multi-tasked now.

Groupon. Foursquare. FaceTime. Cloud.

So our interfaces will grow vertical again. tabbed. time limited share. No push or pull but ported. Where data leaks are a feature not a glitch.

The quiet mouths will start chattering again.

 

 

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