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First off, this isn’t a “this vs that” post (It’s not about flash vs html/javascript, it’s about flash with html/javascript). If you’re looking for a flame war you might as well stop reading here.

At DigitalOctane we primarily build flash sites. It’s something we’re good at. At one point it was really the only thing we built. Over the past year we have been making a transition towards  more html sites and html/flash hybrids. This is a good thing! Flash peeps stay with me! How did we get here?

Short History Lesson

It’s a pretty amazing thing if you think about it. For those of us who have been in this business for a while (I’ve been doing this since 1999ish). We went from iframes, nested tables and “spacer.gif. Not to mention the MAJOR browser compatibility issues, with browser dependent versions of websites based on the users browser.

All these factors pushed more designers, ui devs and, agencies towards Flash (not to mention the relatively low learning curve).  Which worked across every browser and OS relatively the same way. Suddenly we had a web with an overwhelming amount of Flash. Too much even. I for one was guilty of “let’s make this crazy flash interface because we can”, not because we should.

Half the problem

One of the great things about flash is also it’s worst problem. A very low barrier of entry. This has allows years upon years of bad practice. From poor development fundamentals to poor usage of the tools in general. I for one blame sites / communities back in the day (I’m looking at you flashkit!) for allowing everyone to share code with out actually teaching correct implementation or usage. I cannot count the number of times I have interviewed potential hires and asked where they go for inspiration and tutorials etc to be told “Oh I just went to flashkit”.  The snatch and grab implementation attitude has created a sour taste in the mouth of many a web user.

The times they are a change’n

Our team has a large amount of experience in the automotive industry. I find that the auto industry is a good barometer regarding future trends within our own industry. This is mainly due to the competitive nature of the automotive space. Requirements for SEO, Seach engine maketing, paid placement and “Social Media” integration are huge factors for this switch. Mobile versions of sites are another majors

Now we’re seeing the trend go the other way. We’re utilizing flash and html/js to create a better user experience for the end user; but not necessarily a full browser window flash experience. Not to say that there isn’t still room for that. Especially with product marketing sites, Movie & Videogame promotional websites that benefit from the features Flash has to offer.

The other Extreme

There are some extreme scenarios happening though. I see another round of “Just because we can” happening with Javascript. The specs for javascript haven’t really changed over the years. There have just been some really talented teams that have created a lot of frameworks which have become quite popular jQuery, Moo Tools, YUI, prototype, etc you name it. Without these frame works making things easier. I don’t think we would honestly be seeing the amount of javascript being done today.

html5, Flash and the future of the business

I’m not going to make some half hearted guess to the future of the web. But the short and long term vision for DO hasn’t really changed only the technology. We will continue to suggest the best implementation for our clients. As long as they aren’t requesting Real Player support I think we’ll be just fine.

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The idea for this blog came about when Mack and I went to Flash Foward San Fran back in 2008 with some other colleages. The over all experience was great; We were able to catch up with an old friend we hadn”t seen in a while and make some new friends within our Industry.

While I originally felt let down by the experience. I took some time before writing this post to reflect on this summers conference and to give Mack and I some time to get our act together. 2008”s conference was presented by Metaliq and there were some major differences between Flash Foward San Fran and other conferences like FF Boston. The location did afford some great speakers from the west coast and a very memorable performance from Zoe Keating. One of the major differences was the way the event was organized. Instead of pseudo workshops around an hour+ long with a great deal of overlap, the event was changed to shorter monologues about inspiration and what drives each speaker to do what they do. I feel this is a topic you discuss after the conference finished for the day and you head to the bar. There wasn”t enough time for some speakers to get into the nitty gritty let alone opening up Flash or writing a line of code.

Instead the conference was riddled with Infomercials in the guise of “lessons”, a few professional speakers that do not really care or have any involvement in our industry and a pretty big hole in the pocket of a small boutique design firm from the East Coast. I don”t want to portray the event as all doom and gloom. I give Metaliq and Beau a lot of credit for putting the event together and some of the speakers were truly inspiring including Grant Skinner, David Carson, Keith Peters, Erik Natzke and Stacey Mulcahy (who gave one of the best presentations of the entire event) to name a few. I think this was a great first step for Metaliq to help make Flash Foward even better in the years to come. I really put a majority of the disappointment I felt after the conference on myself for not really being an active part of the community.

Now that I think about it, in a way Flash Forward San Fran was a success. It was inspirational for me after all; it inspired me to create this blog and to put up or shut up.\r\n\r\nHopefully in 09 you will see Mack and I posting a lot more about the techniques that we utilize within some of our projects as well as some of the tricks of the trade we have created/developed or outright stolen to get the job done. So fly with me! FLY!

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