That's Entertainment! Designing Streaming, Multimedia Web Experiences

Abstract

This article investigates the use of streaming multimedia narratives in Web entertainment. Based on experience gained during the user-centered design of a Web site for art and culture, evidence is provided that users want and like "less clicking, more watching" Web experiences where the point of view of experts, artists, or celebrities is presented in a narrative form. A study was conducted where users evaluated 2 prototypes of cultural tours that stream continuously for several minutes unless the user chooses to exercise control over the flow or to explore hotlinks that lead to extra information. Those tours were positively evaluated as both entertaining and engaging. By analyzing mouse activity, it was determined that users who interacted more tended to report less entertainment and engagement. It was also found that such "watchable" experiences are not necessarily a solitary experience and can be enjoyed by groups of people. Finally, users see the Web experiences as a highly enriching and accessible way to augment the cultural experiences and performances they enjoy in brick-and-mortar cultural institutions around the world, rather than as a substitute for them.

Modeling online consumer behavior: Preeminence of emotions and moderating influences of need for cognition and optimal stimulation level

“…People are entertained when an experience interests them and gives them some amount of pleasure or release (Karat et al, 2002). A website may score high on entertainment by being funny, using interesting themes, nice graphics, or appealing designs (Chakraborty et al, 2003;Chen et al, 2002).…”

Collectivist and Individualist Influences on Website Design in South Korea and the U.S.: A Cross-Cultural Content Analysis

“…Streaming video requires less clicking, less engagement, and more watching. Karat et al (2002) examined user response to streaming video/audio in company-sponsored websites. The material contained a short documentary within a browser, and the experimenters recorded all mouse movement on the screen as a measure of subjects' interactivity.…”

Perceived Service Quality in HRI: Applying the SERVBOT Framework

“…The relationship between entertainment and engagement has long been recognised as the key in the adoption of social robots (e.g. Karat et al, 2002;Coulter et al, 2012;Schodde et al, 2017;Liu et al, 2019). Further, studies in advertising have indicated that positive mood does not always generate positive evaluations (Yan et al, 2013).…”