One of the things I love about twitter is the very thing that so many point to as its great weakness, namely, that everything gets boiled down to something so short it can’t help be lack for content. When people say this, they imagine that we always talk about something for which the content is available, that we reduce in order to make fit. But there is another way of using twitter, and another way of speaking. To use it in this second way is to drop an idea onto the surface and then watch it move out and change.
I had this latter experience today as I read something David Ascher wrote. He made a simple observation, and it struck me as worth reflecting on, even now at the end of my day. Others felt the same, and it bounced around twitter before landing in Laurian Gridinoc’s blog, where he writes some quite interesting things about it.
And what was this idea?
Given how important headphones are to the modern workplace, it’s weird that more apps don’t have soundtracks.
I spent 2010 playing with sound, especially in the context of the web. I gave many talks and demos about web audio. One of the most important changes that occurred in me as a result of this was the realization that I don’t pay enough attention to sound as way of extending my ability to communicate ideas. Every time I gave a talk that included sound and music, the effect on the crowd, and on me, was remarkable. Only because my subject matter was sound itself was I brave enough to do this. I’m working on becoming brave enough to do it even when it isn’t.
I’m also influenced by my interest in birds and birding, and the desire to map my experience of nature onto the experience of technology. When I go out looking for birds, I can cope with many overlapping sounds at once, some near, some far, and they provide clues and cues as opposed to content. I imagine something not unlike Brian Eno’s ambient music (cf. Music for Airports), where sound is meant to be something you don’t concentrate on, but part of the experience of the space.
I’ve wondered if there is a place for sound on the web that is different from music or sound effects. As Laurian discusses, a way to get more information about the content of a page before you encounter it, much as you gain information about a field or woods by the sounds you hear (and those you don’t). Especially as we use mobile devices more, and have less access to the entirety of a page. What do I need to know about the rest of the page beneath my current position? Is it worth scrolling down? Is the page filled with comments (the sound of a crowd in the distance), for example.
One of the things I liked most about playing Machinarium over the Christmas break was the music, the ambient sounds, and the sound effects. They cared about it so much that they made the soundtrack available as a separate download. It’s also why I like OmnWritter. I hope more apps get soundtracks. I hope the web does, too.
4 Comments
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, too. Without reaching any kind of a conclusion, really, it confuses me. I imagine people would like the content more rich, however how to achieve this without it being annoying or cheesy.
Maybe browser settings should include an option to filter out background sound content and that option should be visible to the sites, so that the visitor would not need to take an action to enable or disable the feature on every site, depending on their preferences.
I thought I had more to say, but I practically just woke up, so maybe later.
Thanks Dave, great post!
“Given how important headphones are to the modern workplace [...]”
Maybe it’s just me – but in the modern software development offices I’ve frequented I’m the only one who uses headphones. Is there any evidence for this assertion? It should also be considered that those who do use headphones are generally doing so because they want to listen to their own sound – not whatever gets thrown at them.
I find sound to largely detract from the browsing experience I’m actually aiming for and I refuse to visit sites that enable sound without explicit consent. I’m often in a room with people reading on my laptop, sitting quietly – perhaps listening to radio. I do not need sound effects harassing everyone in that room. It’s like bringing a boombox into a library!
An important thing to remember about web browsing is visiting _your_ site is rarely the only thing I’m doing. When one site plays sound, it interrupts my workflow/playflow. When multiple sites want sound, it’s like walking smack-bang into a nightclub.
Sound enriches many, many experiences. I’m not yet convinced browsing will ever be one of them.
s/Grindinoc/Gridinoc/
Wow, do I not like sound on websites. I don’t routinely wear headphones in my workplace either (nor do most of my colleagues, as far as I’ve seen), and I get frustrated and a bit embarrassed when a website unexpectedly starts playing music for the whole area to hear. (It’s often one of those over-flashed restaurant sites at fault: “I just want your hours, not your blasted soundtrack!”)
I don’t just mute my computer, because (infrequent) system sounds can be helpful. But as long as browsers don’t provide a simple way to globally say, “Don’t allow any site or plugin to make the slightest noise,” I’d much rather have my web stay quiet until asked. This may be partly a difference of personality, of course: I’m much less able to tune out background music than my wife or sister, for example.
So while I see your point about the value of sound in enriching a wide range of experiences, I hope that those creating applications and websites will make sure it’s not intrusive. I’d also second the comment about multiple sites with sound being a horrible experience, but maybe if everyone does end up with headphones down the road then browsers and/or OS vendors will come up with some clever way of assigning spatial positions to various sites and apps and mixing their soundtracks appropriately. (“Hey, it sounds like I still have Gmail open a few tabs to the left.”)