Users drive the Web with 'mashups'

A mashup is a Web site or application that allows users to combine content from different applications into a format that appears seamless to the user. An example is any one of the many applications that seemlessly mesh with mapping applications provided by Google Maps.

Given the increasingly participatory culture of the 'net, it should come as no surprise that mashups are garnering a great deal of attention from internet users. CNET has produced a special report that identifies and discusses different aspects of mashups. This is a trend that is certainly relevant to cultural institutions, as it is a means to further connect with and engage the public. Mapping applications are the obvious candidates for use by institutions to connect with potential visitors, while wikis are another potential tool. The CNET report is definitely worth a peruse as it not only introduces the theory and practice of mashups, but provides many excellent examples of mashup implementations.

If you implement a mashup at a cultural institution, please contact us and we will be sure to cover your application in a future blog posting.

The CSS Solution

Accessibility versus experience – the plight of the designer. Online accessibility standards have developed a great deal over the past few years and can no longer be ignored by most organizations, private and governmental. As standards have become more strict many designers have had the problem of expressing their creativity through accessible technologies. Gone are the image heavy and/or Flash only web pages which could be visually rich but which also didn’t work for many web surfers (disabled, low bandwidth, old software/hardware, etc).

Enter CSS. Cascading Style Sheets are not really a new solution, however they have become incredibly popular over the past few years due to the ease of their implementation, the balance they can offer between accessibility and visual richness, and the personalization they can offer to the end user. No better example exists than CSS Zen Garden. In fact, Dave Shea (the creator of CSS Zen Garden) has had such success that last February he published a book describing how standards-compliant design didn’t have to be synonymous with boring design.

I highly recommend checking out CSS Zen Garden to see this technology solution in action (click on the various designs to see the same page loaded with alternate CSS).

Providing rich AND accessible designs, while offering the power of personalization to users, CSS is a tecnological solution all can embrace, in the cultural domain and beyond.