The key to a winning Internet appeal is pretty simple—it has to grab the reader or viewer quickly.
The Web is what Jakob Nielsen, a prominent Web design experts, calls a “lean-forward” medium.
People lean forward when content hooks them. They do not relax. And if you fail to grab them with your video or words, they’ll move on to something else.
That is why the most popular videos on YouTube are short and why Twitter succeeds despite its 140-character limit.
Apple’s new iPad changes that dynamic.
Jeremy Rue, the author of a blog about the use of multimedia by journalists, writes that the iPad and other computer tablets provide a different online experience.
Just a month after the release of the iPad more than 1 million people are using them—and it’s clear the device is using in ways more akin to watching television or reading a book than to using a desktop computer.
The iPad is a “lean-back” medium.
“It aims to bring the Web into the living room where it could become a lean-back media device,” Mr. Rue writes. “I think this is why so many magazines are excited about delivering their content to the iPad. With tablets, people might actually spend time consuming media rather than frantically searching.”
Because the experience is so different, the premium will no longer be speed. Instead it’s about quality.
Granted, you still need to grab someone’s attention quickly. But you have more time to build upon your opening pitch.
What does this mean for nonprofit groups?
This much seems clear: Organizations that think about how they can build an experience that truly captures their missions will have an advantage in attracting people who use tablets.
While mobile devices are pushing groups to customize their messages to fit the medium, devices like the iPad will cause a similar re-thinking of how to best deliver the message.
I’ve yet to see an announcement about a nonprofit group that has developed a customized application for the iPad—or about the organization that has created an online campaign based solely on a tablet.
But I expect that some of the nonprofit technorati are already thinking about how they can take advantage of this new tool.
If you are part of that group, we’d love to hear from you.
How can nonprofit groups take full advantage of tablets? Will this device give groups a new way to reach people in their advocacy and fund-raising efforts? If so, what will these campaigns look like?
Post a comment to share your ideas.
8 Responses to Will iPads Prompt New Form of Online Appeals?
deborah_peeples - May 10, 2010 at 3:21 pm
John, thought you might enjoy this. Deborah
rdeveau - May 10, 2010 at 4:45 pm
I’m not so sure the web has been this exclusively a lean-forward medium, particularly with the advent of laptops. I’d say the web has been a bit of both.Given the extreme size constraints of cell phones and iPhones, it makes absolute sense that this medium required very specific content adaptations. But as the iPad is not all that much smaller than some of the smallest laptops that have been available for a while now, I don’t believe that the approach to its content, from either a business or nonprofit perspective, will be all that different from the way it is treated and delivered for the web.Additionally, the rules of “lean-forward” and “lean-back” media are identical when it comes to capturing attention and delivering messages that are considered “intrusive.” No one is looking for your ads or messages while enjoying their entertainment or searching for specific content. You still need to cut through the clutter and give something back to your audience in order for them to spend time with you. Otherwise they will still move onto to something else if you don’t capture them, no matter which way they are leaning. Whether you are trying to reach those who are leaning forward or leaning back, you still must deliver intrusive content that quickly and powerfully captures and holds eyes, minds and hearts, regardless of the medium. -Richard DeVeau
peter_panepento - May 11, 2010 at 10:37 am
Richard:I agree that the content has to be immediately engaging, regardless of how you’re viewing it.That said, a touch-pad tablet is a different type of experience and it opens the door to a richer type of engagement once you make that initial connection. I suspect that we’ll see some groups figure out how to create interactive experiences that will reach iPad users in really powerful ways.
mollyblock - May 11, 2010 at 2:01 pm
I read a few weeks ago on Facebook that the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art released a customized iPad app (an interactive tour of its rooftop garden). Another nonprofit organization’s iPad app I’ve run across is NPR’s which features more obvious options for users to provide financial support.In the coming months, it will be interesting to see which nonprofit organizations develop iPad apps and what purposes they’ll serve (e.g., gallery guides for museums, guides to performers and music for orchestras and dance companies, etc.) and how they’ll help broaden and deepen relationships with constituents.–Molly@mollyblock
peter_panepento - May 11, 2010 at 2:13 pm
Thank you, MollyI’ll make an effort to check these out and report back in some future posts.
geri_stengel - May 11, 2010 at 6:03 pm
Yes, yes, yes! The iPad can be a move forward in technology for nonprofits. As a sector, nonprofits have been slow to adopt technology, which has meant a great loss of opportunities. Anything that inspires nonprofits to use technology and go online should be applauded. We’re at a wonderful moment in time in which online marketing is free, requiring only people’s time. More importantly the costs of technology have become affordable and easy to use: the two things nonprofits require. So as this article says, it’s time to collaborate in the cloud and socialize online. http://ventureneer.com/vblog/non-profit-leaders-need-be-nimble-and-careful-2010
rdeveau - May 11, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Peter, I couldn’t agree more. In fact, I wrote this last week for Nonprofit Technology News, “And we’ve yet to see what new applications and user experiences will emerge in the near future as businesses and nonprofits begin to explore how to incorporate the interactive touch technologies, such as Wii and Windows 7, into the Cloud for their branding and fundraising communications.”I lost sight of the fact that the iPad is a touch technology and got a bit sidetracked by what I believe is a weak distinction on Nielsen’s part between “lean-forward” and “lean-back” mediums, at least as far as the need for advertisers and fundraisers to capture eyeballs, which in both cases will always be about both speed and quality, not either/or.I appreciate your posting this piece, Peter, because it certainly helps to move the nonprofit technology conversation forward.And I appreciate your graciousness!-Richard DeVeau
peter_panepento - May 11, 2010 at 8:57 pm
Richard,You make a great point about the touch aspect — it’s a point that didn’t make it into the initial post. But I’m glad it’s getting discussed here in the comments.I look forward to continuing this discussion and to seeing what the nonprofit world does with this technology. As someone who both covers the nonprofit world and who is also managing our efforts to engage our audience online, I’m excited about touch technologies for two very big reasons.