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Convergence Media

Interactivity in Online News

Karen Rathe asked me to talk briefly to her design class about interactivity and online news.

The first thing we have to do, of course, is define what we mean by "interactivity." Is just merely clicking a link or triggering an action (a technologist view of interaction between humans and computers) or does it involve the possibility of one or both parties being changed as a result of the "dialog." Depending on which side of this divide you find yourself on … you will have a different concept of what constitutes good interaction.

Here are some examples of interaction today:

  • New York Times
    • What do you see as items of interaction? The most obvious, of course, are hyperlinks … but for the purpose of this exercise, we’ll ignore them.
    • What happens when you follow the "most popular" tab at the top of the home page? Is this information a form of interaction?
    • What happens when you follow the "video" tab at the top of the home page? Is this interaction? What about the, erh, auto-loading commercial?
    • Does the Times offer RSS feeds? Is this a form of interaction?
    • Let’s look at one story – on ex-CIA Director Goss. What are the interactive elements on this page? Is the NYT "push" ad a form of interaction? What about the related stories? What sorts of things can you do with this article? What does "save" mean? What about "Reader Opinions"? Can you comment directly on this article?
  • Washington Post
  • MSNBC

By Kathy E. Gill

Digital evangelist, speaker, writer, educator. Transplanted Southerner; teach newbies to ride motorcycles! @kegill

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