The Next Wave of Format

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•Introduction

•The nature of formats

•How new formats come to be

•The state of creative formats on the web today

The next wave of formats

  Key to Links:
 * Green links link to other sites used as examples
 * Red links link to parenthetical points by this author
 * Yellow links link to general reference
 * Orange links link to documents on other websites

The next wave of formats

What new formats, then, are waiting to be adopted across the web?

The following six categories represent the qualities of formats on the Web in the future, that seem most likely and intriguing to me. These are probably skewed to in-depth non-fiction journalism, which is the venue that I personally know best, as both a creator and a consumer. I would like to think, however, that the forms and formats of nonfiction, fiction, and semi-fiction will continue to influence each other, as they have since the beginning of language.

•Conclusion

1. Formats for coherence:

Integrating text, image, sound, and motion.

2. Formats for diversity:

Laying out a variety of perspectives and attitudes.

3. Formats for navigation:

Indicating the range and focus of a link before it is taken.

4. Formats for flux:

Distinguishing among changeable, unchangeable, and semi-changeable documents.

5. Formats for ubiquity:

Establishing a coherent look and feel across multiple devices and windows.

6. Formats for identifying origins:

Articulating and preserving sponsorship, ownership, and authorship.

 

 

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