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Websites offer direct access to information, creating an environment of self-service information gathering. As the public has increasingly turned to online sources, this has changed the demand on organizations to enhance their communication strategies.
Originally, online information began as a cost saving strategy, reducing distribution costs and asking constituents to spend their time and energy to gather information. Websites at this stage were linear and text based, much like printed brochures. Today, Web users are looking for added online services that go beyond mere mass messages.
To remain current and competitive, organizations must incorporate enhanced, user-focused, and interactive features into websites. Factors that have been found to affect the success or failure of new online media include content appealing to the audience, use of short-term novelty features, presence of original and unique content, incorporation of preferred user-to-user communication flows, and a sense of user control over content.
One of the most often examined significant advantages of online media is interactivity. The interactive features of online media are well aligned with the missions and purposes of nonprofit organizations because they create a model of equitable, communal, and democratic communication. This article aims to outline the key qualities of online interactive media so that your organization can begin to develop and benefit from an interactive website.
The main goal of online interactivity is to facilitate the feeling of interpersonal human communication and increase user autonomy by shifting control away from the media and to the audience. At the most basic level, websites can feel interactive if they simply allow users to click hyperlinks and control active navigation of content in a non-linear format. This describes the concept of user perceived interactivity– where the individuals feel a heightened sense of self-efficacy or autonomy in having control over content navigation when using the media.
Your organization can incorporate this form of basic interactivity by making sure to have links on each webpage – such as links back to the homepage, hyperlinks on key words, and hyperlinks suggesting additional information – which can allow users to navigate content based on their own needs.
More complex online interactive media can be measured by the level at which users are able to exert influence over media content and whether the content facilitates feedback or responsive dialogues. Unlike traditional interpersonal communication, interactive new media communication can be set around individual users’ time demands and it allows participants to be aware of and make reference to previous messages – such as in an email thread, discussion board posts, etc.
Interactivity also refers to the ability and ease at which users can supply content as a co-creator by adding, modifying, or manipulating information, and the potential for controlling content personalization – for example, think of blogs’ feedback comments, personalized news outlets, and retailers that capture buyer patterns and suggest similar products.
Article written by Elizabeth Marlow, Media Graduate Student & Volunteer |
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