Get Rich Quick with Fast-Loading Media on the Web

When I say rich media, I’m not talking about just for people on high-end networks. I’m talking about folks on dial-up modem access and browsers without plug-ins, experiencing everything from virtual tours to streaming audio to scrolling panoramas.

I’m talking about HotMedia from IBM. Simply put, HotMedia is a technology that makes use of Java applets-small applications-in order to put interactive media on a web surfer’s desktop. The use of Java applets is beneficial for a number of reasons. First, it eliminates the need for end-viewers to have to download players and plug-ins. Second, HotMedia files sense what the download will need for the presentation and only downloads those applets. Third, the players and plug-ins are being downloaded and cached as the presentation itself is downloading, thereby reducing bandwidth usage and download times.

A number of sites are using HotMedia for conducting virtual tours. Panoramas showcase a house or piece of property with streaming narrative audio on what is being featured. One click on a hot-linked section of the panorama and the tour continues into the next room or another part of the property. Retailers are also using HotMedia to show off three-dimensional objects online and give virtual demonstrations of products.

HotMedia utilizes some of the tricks found in higher end multimedia applications, such as transitions, to make it even easier to add a professional look and feel to what’s being developed.

HotMedia meets insurance
Now HotMedia could be used to create a more personal look at your office hard-at-work, but I’ll be honest, most people don’t want to see that. However, think of the educational and community/customer service possibilities that could be opened from HotMedia presentations.

For example, why not consider a virtual quiz for young drivers? A question could be asked about safe driving technique in which a driver must identify an item or something wrong in a panorama or in a streaming movie. Each question would have a different panorama associated with each question.

Or, what about homeowners? A Quicktime VR of rooms of a “typical house” could be hot-linked so that when someone clicks on a computer seen in the panorama, a web page opens up describing how people often do not have enough coverage for their computer systems or other electronics. Each room in this “house” could be part of the presentation detailing how people tend to underinsure their property. Here you are not only educating, but opening the door (no pun intended) to some potential extra business.

Fast, cheap & easy
Download times are important for reaching dial-up users, where the wait for a simple HTML page to load is already slow. Since HotMedia utilizes multiple applets that are served up dynamically, or as they call it “just in time,” users on smaller bandwidth connections don’t have to wait for a huge Java application and the necessary data to load completely.

The best part about HotMedia-besides the fact that it’s been developed and is backed by IBM-is that the toolkit and Java applets are free. There are even free downloads for using HotMedia in programs like Macromedia Dreamweaver and NetObjects Fusion. So download it and try it out for yourself at www.ibm.com/hotmedia.

If you are looking for a way to get your message across and need something to visually add emphasis, then I’d take a look at HotMedia. With it, you’ll be able to provide customers and prospects with information highlighted with rich media, from home or office, on PCs or Macintoshes, on networks or dial-ups.

That personal touch
If you think about it, HotMedia allows you to begin building a more personal experience with these visitors. Is it easier to feel like you know someone from reading a piece of text or from seeing their picture? Do you feel like you’ve been given good customer service when you are given a checklist of what to do, or when someone walks you through the checklist showing you examples of each point? In both cases, the more personal, the better.

The problem is that we usually only get one shot at website visitors. To virtually project our image and our desire to meet their needs, we need the tools to do that. But since web page load times affect a person’s perception of service in the same way we gauge a waiter’s tip by the length of time it takes for them to bring us our ordered meal, we need the tools to serve up stunning visuals and applications.

That’s where the HotMedias of the world are needed.

Tech Talk is a regular column designed to examine and explain new technology and how it applies to the insurance industry.