Is it a trend? A somewhat slowly forming trend if it is.
Big name interactive shops are redesigning their previously Flash-based sites to be more blog based. Last week, Big Spaceship unveiled a new site that is completely blog-based and social media driven. Not so long ago, Barbarian group made a similar change to their site. And these two aren’t the only ones.
You’ll notice both sites have no Flash outside of their portfolio pages. Interesting.
This AdWeek article discusses how big name interactive shops are starting to build projects based on WordPress blogs instead of Flash micro sites for their clients. It seems they are moving in this direction with their own sites as well.
The big question is, of course, why? Why go with something that looks more like a blog when you’re known for building wicked cool Flash sites?
There’s a whole list of reasons, I’m sure. I think a big factor is the fact that web audiences have changed over the last few years.
Thanks to things like twitter, facebook and the like, people have started to think of the internet differently. These days, there is an expectation to be able to connect with people — real people, or “people” who seem convincingly real — online as opposed to just being wowed and entertained. That shift in expectations is a big factor that can make a Blog a better solution than a full-blown Flash site in some cases.
If you already got a strong reputation and portfolio to your name, why not make your site more about getting to know the people that make up your team? That’s definitely a different approach than trying to show off what you can do with your site. And it works.
Does this mean Flash is dead? Nope. I don’t think so. A blog is certainly not always better than a Flash site with all the bells and whistels. When it comes to the tools we use to do what we do, it’s never that black and white of a decision.
