Next Wave of the Web - Streaming Media in Web Sites - Page 14

In this series of columns, we've explored the technology required to broadcast audio and video on the Internet. We've also discussed some of the legal aspects, and opined about an ideal user-programmable interface. This month we'll turn our attention to the "front end," as we discuss building a Web site that incorporates streaming media.

Two trends are contributing to the current explosion of streaming media-enabled sites. Traditional radio stations are getting on the Web, and they need both to get their existing programming online and to establish an informational Web site to serve their listeners and business associates, just like any other business. At the same time, all kinds of businesses, even those that have nothing to do with music or audio, are starting to use streaming media for things like employee training, intra-company news and communication, and so on. They need to broadcast-enable their existing sites.

Different Web sites exist for different purposes, and so they need to follow somewhat different design philosophies. For a radio station, streaming media will be the centerpiece of their Internet strategy. Those who are using streaming merely as a corporate communication tool will take a different approach. In either case, however, streaming media must be smoothly integrated into a Web site, and it should be optimized to take advantage of all the capabilities of the medium.

Shall we go through all the steps involved in building, promoting and maintaining an effective business Web site? Very tempting, but we've covered those topics at great length elsewhere, so this month we'll restrain ourselves, and discuss just those aspects of Web site design that relate specifically to streaming media- oriented sites.

Contents:

DIY, or Purchase a Turnkey Solution?
Different Strokes for Different Sites

Next Wave of the Web
DIY, or Purchase a Turnkey Solution? - Page 15