Request to bloggers: Minimize the use of embedded Flash
(This is a guest author article.)
Of late, I've noticed the increasing trend among bloggers to post embedded Flash on their blogs (mostly YouTube or Google videos). I don't mind seeing an odd video or two, but Flash is by no means a 100% supported/standards compliant web technology (even though it has become very popular) and there are many versions of browsers that simply don't support Flash (64-bit Firefox on Linux comes to mind). Embedding Flash content regularly simply reduces the accessibility of your blog for a section of your readers. Apart from the problem of browser support, do consider the bandwidth requirements of watching even a 1-minute video. It's hard for some of us to remember that a large part of the world still lives on dial-up connectivity. I know that video blogging is a popular option these days, but even so, I would prefer a link to the original video URL so that it is easier to share or download.
I am a strong advocate of open technologies and web standards compliance, so you might think that I am biased. But I still think that the point needs to be made.
I'll make it clear that I don't mind seeing videos occasionally (and even enjoy some of the more humourous ones) but I like to read original content on blogs, not watch third-party video clips. On some blogs, I find that almost all the content is made up of embedded Youtube or Google videos. It seriously reduces the personalization of your blog (unless you created the video yourself – which is a rare, but possible situation). Videos are a nice enhancement but shouldn't replace original content. Nothing annoys me more than a blog post with just embedded clips and no textual explanation for browsers without a Flash player plugin.
So the next time you have an interesting video to share, please link instead of embedding. Also please add a few words of explanation below it ("if you cannot see this video, this is about … …"). It improves accessibility and allows your blog to remain free of proprietary technology which might or might not work for the end-user.
I know that RT embeds video trailers for his movie reviews, but in his case, the content comes first and the video is an added extra, not part of the main content. Even so, I feel that linking to the original clip would be a better idea.
Update and Clarification: I just want to point out that even linking to videos will require the end user to have Flash installed to view it in the case of sites like Google Video or YouTube. My point was that *if* at all you wanted to share streaming videos which rely on proprietary technologies, the better option would be to link rather than embed because at least your site will not throw up an ugly "Plugin not Found" error message. In any case, the main point of the post was that it is better to reduce your reliance on unreliable proprietary tools/software until there is a standardization to render video and audio content on the web (just like HTML and XHTML for text and images).
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Just like in my feeds, if the browser doesn't support flash, the reader gets just the link. I don't use the same plugin that most bloggers use, which doesn't work like that.
At the moment, I can't remember the name of it.
@Hari,
I totally agree with you. For, the most of the broadband-ised parts of India are fraudband-ised! Even if one likes to watch a video, there's no option ,but, to wait for a few minutes to see if loads. And leave if it doesn't; Leave! . Blogger homepage had once linked to a tutorial (on a vblog) about how to use POLLS on Blogger,when they were just released and the vBlog had no textual description about anything. Just a lots of embedded videos, that my fraudband(which often downloads/uploads at FLARING speeds of .. ummmm about 30kbps or less!) didnt simply permit me to watch !
Great point. I use YouTube videos sometimes on my site and never thought about putting a direct link in case a browser doesn't support embedding.
Thanks for being so informative and helpful!
RT, I noticed that and realized that you had a backup option. That's a great idea.
Abhinav, you're talking about the lucky ones. What about villages and semi-urban towns where broadband (or even fraudband) is still a distant dream?
Gerri, no problem. We often take things for granted with technology. It's not *that* long ago that I was still suffering from low connectivity speeds and broken internet connections so I could remember fairly well. I just want to point out that even if you put a link to Youtube or similar sites, the end user still need Flash enabled to view the video. But at least your own website will not throw up an ugly "Plugin not found" error message in that case and possibly lead to a broken layout… I'm afraid as long as people continue using Youtube or Google, which rely on FLash to share videos it's not going to work either way. The point of this post is to say that it's better to minimize the use of the technology itself till we find that the world adopts a standardized technology to render video and audio content.
Edit: I've added the clarification in the main post regarding linking vs. embedding.
I agree, since I am still using dial up until broadband becomes available in my neck of the woods, (this fall I hope) I find many blogs and sites irritating because they take so long to load. I tend to ignore them and move on.
I also agree with the comment that too many bloggers rely on videos etc. instead of content, but there is nothing saying why the particular item is meaningful to them and why they decided to share it.