How content containers can dramatically affect user experience

I’m a big believer in the notion that content containers are slowly going away in the digital world. Those things we think of in the physical world as books, newspapers and magazines are being redefined digitally. It’s a slow evolution but one that is definitely taking place.

In the years ahead we’ll see more blurred lines here. One format will bleed into others and the edges around them will become less rigid. We’ll also encounter new ways of discovering and consuming content. For example, maybe you won’t have to actually buy an “ebook” to obtain full access to its contents.

The lenses through which we read content are going to change dramatically in the future as well. Wikiwand is a good example of this. It’s described as “Wikipedia Reimagined” and “a beautiful new interface to the world’s knowledge.” In short, it’s a Chrome plug-in that completely changes your Wikipedia experience.

Over the years the Wikipedia has started to look rather dated, almost as quaint as the old print encyclopedias it replaced. Compare a typical Wikipedia page to a more dynamic page from The Guardian or ESPN, for example, and you’ll see what I mean. Both The Guardian and ESPN are rendering the same type of content they presented 10 years ago but with a much more modern user experience. It sounds superficial but sometimes that’s all it takes to make content more engaging. 

Wikiwand is simply rearranging the objects on a Wikipedia page and presenting them in a more attractive and logical manner. I’ve always wondered why the table of contents for a complex Wikipedia page is buried below the introduction. Take a look at the World War II Wikipedia page, for example. You won’t see the outline for that page till you scroll down a bit and once you scroll further it’s no longer on the screen.

Now look at the same page in Wikiwand. The outline for the page is conveniently placed in a panel on the left. And notice that it always remains on the screen no matter how far you scroll down the main page.

Search is another area where Wikiwand offers a superior experience to the original Wikipedia. If you type in a search phrase in Wikipedia you’ll see a dynamic list of potential matches. It’s a user experience that’s been around for quite a few years now.

Type the same search phrase in Wikiwand and that dynamic list of potential matches comes to life. You can hover over any of them and a small pop-up window is displayed featuring a quick summary of that particular page. All of this happens without leaving the original page where your search began.

I’m just scratching the Wikiwand surface. Install the plug-in, try it out and you too will quickly discover this is a much better Wikipedia content experience.

As I’ve said before, we’re stuck in a “print under glass” era where publishers are taking the easy way out by offering quick-and-dirty digital editions that look just like the print format. We spend all our time consuming dumb content on smart devices.

I realize the cost of creating a true “born digital” approach for most content is too expensive and doesn’t offer an attractive ROI. At the same time, I believe innovative approaches like Wikiwand, where the same content is presented in a new and more engaging manner, can inspire new thinking and help publishers take baby steps beyond the print under glass stage where the industry is currently stuck.

Comments

[Howard Cornett]

Another great post, Joe. I am looking forward to the day when even the digital interfaces blur a little and I can consume and collect and annotate search all my digital content (web pages, ebooks, blog posts, etc.) in one tool.

[ASterling]

I love it! I was somewhat hostile to Wikipedia and always instructed students not to use it for their papers. It's fine to use for information, but not "research." But I love this, it's so tempting!!

[@Alex_Abaz]

You're so right Joe :) There are some containers that keep the same shape forever and don't invest in upgrades. Eventually they loose their rank and newer containers become in vogue. So much is possible these days that blending is bound to happen. Thank goodness because the user experience should always be optimized. Thanks for the post. Nice.

[Calliope Woods]

Thank you so much for letting me know about WikiWand! It looks so useful and streamlined.