I recently stumbled across an article discussing the view
that a flash / splash page is a poor idea. The argument made some decent
points. Then I came to this:
Hang on… that exists, doesn’t it?

All grocery stores around me have one. It’s where they keep
the carts. I have yet to encounter a person who walked in, saw carts, and
assumed that there was no store beyond the next door.
“Hmm… it says food is sold here, but there’s nothing
other than these metal partial cages on wheels…”
According to the article, 25% of people leave if they encounter a “double
entrance,” such as a flash intro or a vestibule.
Why do we have them if a quarter of people can’t figure them
out?
“The Greeks and Romans both used vestibules in their
temples and public buildings. The vestibule often had religious or ceremonial
significance, marking a point of
departure from the mundane world, and it allowed builders to make
structures feel more formal.”
I put one on my site for that purpose- departure from the
mundane world. I wanted those who were interested enough to search for
information on my book series to have one minute to think. The various fonts
represent different voices, each proposing an answer as to what they think my
characters might be. The backdrop is outer space. My characters, for all that
they are, happen to be here. As my character Heath puts it, “That’s what
separates Earth from other worlds- it has us.”
For some reason, about 1% of
the people who visit my site can’t get the intro video to play without
refreshing. I’ve paid two teams of web experts to look into this. Both came up
with the always intelligent result of, “Huh, that’s weird.” Neither
was able to replicate the result of the video failing to play, despite using
several different browsers on various computers, phones, and tablets ranging in
age from so-new-it-is-only-in-Japan to a Packard Bell from 1995 with a dial-up
56K connection.
As a point of curiosity, I would like to know YOUR thoughts
on this matter. To make it more interesting, I’ve created a survey in a
contest. I’m looking for honest feedback. Your chances of winning are the same
if you like the video, don’t like the video, or are among the 1% who fail to
see it despite trying.
Update April 5, 2014= Thanks to the help here, I managed to get the intro video into a YouTube video!
14 comments
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I like your perspective. My blog used to have a headline: “Welcome to my mind – please wipe your feet before entering.”
Transition is a beautiful.
I tend to use my iphone or tablet for a lot of searches. Flash does not work on either of those, so maybe that is part of this issue. I also believe that we, as a society, are in such a constant state of “hurry” that if something is not immediate we move on to something else. My niece does window design and from watching her, I have realized how much we can be “controlled” by what seems to be idle, unnecessary clutter.
OMG I love that headline.
On the phones that I’ve tried it on, it goes to the mobile version of the site, which doesn’t have the video.
I really hate intro screens and I’d much rather read words than see a video clip. That’s the way I learn and remember. My time is precious and if I’ve clicked on your link, I want the answer right now. Unless the subject is very important to me, I won’t even click on “see more” for those blogs that only show the first sentence or so of the post.
Oh, and people suggest that you disable captcha for A to Z because some people won’t comment with it turned on. Another time burner if we’re trying to visit many blogs.
Thank you for your feedback.
Interesting side note… the video is all words. Where does that put it?
There are programs that will let you download flash to your computer and you can then upload it to youtube.
Really? Interesting… Know any searchable names?
Please keep in mind that my responses is from a deaf perspective. Many of your readers are most likely hearing.
Interesting.
Search for “download flash video”. There are a number of programs out there.
Sometimes the intros are useful
Ah ha! Thank you ever so much.
I agree.