Web multimedia strategies

Simply because we can digitize hours' worth of analog video and stream it out over the Web doesn't mean that we should. The value of having the text of Paradise Lost on computer is not in making it available for reading — most people prefer to read the work in print. We digitize texts in order to use the strengths of computing, such as searching and linking, to enhance our understanding of the material. This holds true for multimedia, too: we need to consider how best to use the computer and not simply translate analog video and audio content to the computer screen. Networked multimedia requires scaling and compression, which means that much of the content created for analog delivery does not work well on the Web. The key to successful Web multimedia is to tailor your content for Web delivery.