Next Generation Social Networking Sites
Nov 30
I have a strong feeling that future social networking sites are increasingly going to have strong visual enhancements and a more playful touch and feel to them. An important role will be using vector graphics, which aren’t being used that often on the client side for functional reasons. The most obvious benefit of using vector graphics is the scalability of the graphic without loss of quality. It is mostly known in Flash games or Flash Ads, where it serves it’s purpose really well. But many web developers haven’t realized the power of vector graphics used in a functional manner that contributes directly to the application itself.
A nice example of this is what Geni.com implemented using ActionScript. Their usage of the scalability makes the whole web application actually interesting and is the core of their user experience. The basically same application was implemented in Flex by verwandt.de (or the English version itsourtree.com).
Unfortunately most browsers don’t support vector graphics without a plugin, like Flash Player or a Plugin for the SVG-Format. You also have to use some tricks if you are dependent on Search Engine Optimization (SEO). But sometimes it’s not necessary, too. Think about it.
