Can the Internet persuade?
There was much talk in class this week about the Internet's ability to persuade - Mike D makes some good points about how reinforcement can also serve to persuade when properly designed.
However, while I do firmly believe that the Internet can persuade voters, we should bear in mind some of the challenges the Internet will have to overcome if it is to compete with that great persuasion tool, Television.
The interactive nature of the Internet means it is far harder to get and keep a viewer's attention for long enough to make an impact. It is surely unrealistic to think that I will stop mid-surfing to watch a 30 second political advert; I may, however, leave the adverts playing on TV while doing something else and thereby get some exposure to an advert.
Also, an obvious place to place political adverts online is news sites - recent studies have shown that print media is increasingly losing out to readers who prefer to get their news online. But I would argue that many people viewing these sites are doing so from work where watching rich media adverts will either be blocked, or will, at the very least, prevent them hearing any of the soundtrack so important in creating the emotional context that is required for an advert to be persuasive.
This doesn't in any way mean I belive online political advertising can't persuade - but I do believe it will need think differently in order to be effective.
However, while I do firmly believe that the Internet can persuade voters, we should bear in mind some of the challenges the Internet will have to overcome if it is to compete with that great persuasion tool, Television.
The interactive nature of the Internet means it is far harder to get and keep a viewer's attention for long enough to make an impact. It is surely unrealistic to think that I will stop mid-surfing to watch a 30 second political advert; I may, however, leave the adverts playing on TV while doing something else and thereby get some exposure to an advert.
Also, an obvious place to place political adverts online is news sites - recent studies have shown that print media is increasingly losing out to readers who prefer to get their news online. But I would argue that many people viewing these sites are doing so from work where watching rich media adverts will either be blocked, or will, at the very least, prevent them hearing any of the soundtrack so important in creating the emotional context that is required for an advert to be persuasive.
This doesn't in any way mean I belive online political advertising can't persuade - but I do believe it will need think differently in order to be effective.
4 Comments:
I think the way the Internet persuades is by allowing the user to find updated information and interact with the host at their leisure, without having to leave their home or sit on hold with customer service. We can’t control internet users that surf quickly or don’t have the ability to fully experience an ad. We can, as web designers, put the best message possible on our site to keep people interested and give them the means to interact with our campaigns.
I agree with Peter that online advertising may have to think differently, but it must build on the fundamental power of the internet to be successful. Flash technology, Quicktime movies, and audio accompaniment are fantastic, but as long as the website maintains its credibility and provides updated information and/or breaking news, it can always persuade.
Maybe we're looking in the wrong place — maybe the persuasive power of the Internet is not in advertisements, but something else.
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The internet can persuade; however, a true critical thinker should use the net as one component of their final process of decision making.
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