UXD - User eXperience Design

“Webisodes” – Storytelling, Interaction and Business Strategy Converge

If you haven’t heard the term, it’s probably just what you would think. A webisode is simply a short video or cartoon clip delivered on the web. Generally there is a sequence of webisodes purposed to encourage return visits (an example of the Zeigarnik effect – see our prior blog article).

Because the content is delivered on the web, it’s easy to integrate interactivity to encourage consumers to stick around .

Take Unilever’s on-line soap opera pitch for its “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter!” product. The series of animated on-line “webisodes” challenged the viewer to put together clues and solve a mystery to have a chance to win a prize. Though the contest is over, you can still visit the content.

The Zeigarnik Effect in GUI Design

The Zeigarnik effect suggests people remember incomplete or interrupted things better than completed things. It’s human nature to want to complete a task or hear the end of a story, and when we don’t a psychological tension results until the item is completed.

The effect has an interesting implication for digital interfaces. When a user involved in a long task encounters an interruption or an opportunity to complete a quick task, there’s a good chance the interruption or new task will get acted on. This can leave a lineage of uncompleted tasks and non-linear navigation trails. 

One way to combat this that we have used in a variety of applications is to dynamically create a task queue. The queue stacks up incomplete tasks in one place so the user can get back to these tasks when he or she is ready. In a restricted domain, it’s usually possible to apply some intelligence as to how the queue is built so it reads fluidly and clearly.