Object oriented view of the Internet and the World Wide Web

Looking at the Internet and the World Wide Web in the abstract sense of object oriented thinking (OOT), you can visualize the structure of the Web in many different ways; from different view points; with different paradigms.

In this way, you will soon come to realize that the conventional view of the Internet and the World Wide Web is only one of many possible different ways in which the Internet and the Web can be considered.

The usual way of looking at the Web is from the view point of conventional media. It is the paradigm of the source broadcasting out to the recipients; the server Web site offering up its messages to clients; the server source creating packages which the recipient client observes and digests.

This is the normal way of seeing the operation of all conventional media, with the action and the creativity focused at the source of the information. From this particular view point, seeing the Web as consisting of platforms in the sky, beaming down images to the masses below, seems a reasonable analogy.

But is this the best way to view it?

Now, "morph" this vision of the Web to see it from the client side. The client side sees the Web through a portal in a client side computer. As far as the client side computer is concerned there is no great World Wide Web at all: there are only millions of files which are accessible through a telephone link from the desktop.

What gives the illusion, to the observer on the client side of the Web, that the Web is anything other than a collection of computer files is the client's browser application, which creates a fantasy on the screen as a direct result of programming prompts embedded within tags in HTML documents.

Web pages are all HTML text documents, which are brought to life by the coded instructions within their tags. In other words, what the client observer sees on the screen when he or she visits a Web site is not something which exists on the Web site, but, something that is created and packaged within their own computer by their browser application which is directed by minimalist prompts from the Web.

How many different ways can you visualize the working of the Web?

One paradigm might see the client computer as constructing images in an allocated memory space according to directions and templates supplied from the Web via a telephone link. You can visualize the whole of the World Wide Web as being on call to create these images.

A morph of the paradigm might visualize the whole of the World Wide Web as being effectively located on the client's hard disc. Millions upon millions of tagged HTML documents instantly and personally available at the client's request.

Now put yourself in the position of the client. How would you, as the client, decide which of those millions of documents to look at?

Can you see what happens to Web sites in this way of looking at things? They all become collections of individual text documents, immersed in a vast sea of similar documents, struggling to survive by trying to attract the client's attention and be called upon to prompt the same browser application. What can any of them possibly do to get the client's attention?

From this way of looking at things, you can easily see that the only certain strategy for any particular site owner to get a client's attention is to get the client to use a special custom browser - a custom browser which specifically targets their particular site or shows it in a favorable light.

If you belong to any of the Internet marketing groups you will have noticed how scornful experienced Internet marketeers are of the efforts made by many of the top marketing and advertising companies who are coming onto the Web.

These companies have developed their skills and experience in conventional media. Even some of the top names in marketing and advertising are using adaptations of material used in conventional media to advertise and promote their customer's products and services. They seem completely oblivious of the client side view and the part the client's computer can play in the viewing experience; they design their Web sites as if they were pages in a magazine.

Communicating using client side orientation is completely opposite to the way all other media are viewed as working, where the media systems are seen in terms of a central, information packaging organization broadcasting out packaged information to a receptive audience.

The view taken from analogies with a biological system would see the creation and packaging of the information occurring at the receiver end (client). The broadcaster would be seen as a triggering mechanism, sending messages to primed targets (as explained in HGMG - cells, as clients within the human body, receive molecular messages which are acted upon by the cell to produce products specified by the message).

Because this is such a radically different concept from the way all other media are viewed as working it may explain why the conventional marketing and advertising firms have had such poor results from the Web so far.

Client Oriented Intranet Systems (COISes)

On first thoughts, it would seem to be a silly strategy for a Web site owner to try to get a client to use a browser which is custom made only for their own particular Web pages. Why should a client want to bother with a browser that works only on one particular site? Surely, clients will prefer browsers that can get information from as many sites as possible?

But is this true? For general browsing maybe, but, supposing a client just wants a fast and efficient route to some specific data or info. Supposing the client wants a particular convenient and intelligent service, or, help in deciding between a range of products?

In these circumstances, wouldn't the client prefer a button on the screen that he or she just clicks upon to be able to be transported to exactly the scenario required - without having to do a lot of browser navigations?

If you sell widgets, you want to attract people to your site who are interested in widgets. People interested in widgets would probably be quite interested in having a button which they can click upon to find out all the up to date information about widgets.

How do people get hold of a button that takes them to the widget site? The same way they would find out about how to find a widget site in the first place because the browser button could be downloadable from a regular Web page at the widget site.

The initial reaction, might be to ask why a person should bother to download a button to take them to a Web site about widgets when they are already at a Web site about widgets? This in where a paradigm shift is required which illustrates the difference between traditional media and the Web.

The point of getting a client to download a special button is because that button is more than just a regular browser; it is an intelligent agent; it is a custom browser specially designed for people who are interested in widgets: it is a client oriented intranet system (COIS).

Such a button could include a multimedia shell, a Web buggy, which could present a product or service in the best possible way for both the client and the Web site owner.

If all the visiting clients are using such a particular custom browser, the Web site proprietor can design the Web site to fully utilize all the tricks and techniques available to that browser. If the browser happens to include a player for multimedia documents, all the facilities of multimedia will be available to the Web site designer.

A site need not have to be designed to cater for the lowest common denominator. There would be no need to be concerned with whether or not the client has this plug-in or that particular version of browser or helper application.

In other words, with clients using a custom browser, there will not be a need to design a Web site which will have to appeal to every browser which happens to stumble across the Web site.

And there is no need to worry about browsers recognizing programming instructions, the browser application can be utilized to the limit of its capabilities. If that browser is a Macromedia Director shell for instance, all the full power of multimedia will be available to display and present products or services in full multimedia.

In other words, what you are setting up if you get clients to use your browser, is an Intranet: a private section of Web space in which you can do wonderful things exclusively for the people to whom you have given (or sold) your browser to - your customers, clients, group, friends, colleagues, customers. Who else is there you would want to see your site anyway?

The choice is simple: either you design a Web site to appeal to the lowest common denominator of a mass market and compete against thousands of other sites for attention, or, you design your Web site to optimally please a specially selected group of people who will benefit from what you have to offer. For the first choice you must think "server oriented", for the second you must think "client oriented".

With server side orientation, multimedia can be used to a limited extent but must be confined to plug-in modules which work through general purpose browsers. This greatly restricts the full scope of full multimedia as it has to share control of the space with the browser and be subservient to it and its security specifications.

Once you focus upon a client side oriented intranet solution you have no restraints at all as to how you present your Web site to a client. You are free to use every trick available to the multimedia authoring package you choose to use.

The Intranet Browser

The essence of an Intranet system is that you create a custom browser. This browser must consist of two components:

1) An Internet protocol engine which will allow the browser to communicate with other computers on the Internet to be able to transfer documents.

2) A projector or player which will be able to translate the downloaded documents into full multimedia.

3) An interface between the client and the browser.

With these three components you can create either an optimally efficient browser, or, a browser which will take your clients into a world of entertainment or fantasy.

If you are using Director, the first consideration is what type of Internet protocol engine to bolt onto your browser. A protocol engine is, in effect, an interpreter which will accept simple command words from a Lingo script and translate those into the arcane language which computers use to speak to each other on the Internet.

There are several different variations of protocol engines available, either as helper applications or Xtras and soon Macromedia are likely to bring out their long awaited stand alone Shockwave player, which is effectively a Director movie player with a built in protocol engine.

For efficient browsers, the interface to the client need be just sufficient to allow the client to quickly get whatever information he or she needs. No need for any fancy graphics, music or advertising messages. What the client will want is speedy, direct access to the information required.

In most cases, a small palette or a desk top button will be all that is needed as an interface. The client will open the browser application and click on a palette, or a button, to get the information - presented in the context and scenery provided by the multimedia player.

As far as the client is concerned the Web is not being accessed at all: it should be made to appear that the client is just accessing a file on his or her hard disk. The provision of such a simple and efficient browser will suit the requirements of many Web site owners and their clients or customers.

Taking this COIS theme a little further. The custom browser can employ any kind of ingenious or magnificent interface to present to the client. Complete with sounds and extravagant visuals, the browser can be provided with all kinds of imaginative and illusionary interfaces.

More extravagantly still, the custom browser for a COIS can include all the object oriented features necessary for the browser to have the intelligence to be able to offer the client real help and assistance.

One step further and the client can be supplied with a browser and CD-ROM combination, which will allow the client browser to feature a vast range of sounds, scenes and graphics which Web site prompts will be able to pull off of the CD-ROM at will.

Whole shopping malls can be created on a CD-ROM complete with visuals of all products. The scenes can be triggered from Web side prompts which would also provide details of current pricing and availability.

For Web games, a CD-ROM and Web site combination could achieve any kind of fantasy and illusion.

COISes, together with CD-ROMs and full multimedia player applications are certainly the way to go.

More than one way to skin a cat

When you switch paradigms to view the Internet in terms of Intranets, remember this is only one of several possible mind sets. Sometimes it it far more convenient to see the Net in conventional terms and, as you will see later, Web sites can be turned into Web site objects which turn all what you have just read completely on its head.

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