Multimodal Documents

source: www.myspace.com/lambofgod

source: www.friendster.com/25341091

What does multimodal mean?
MSN Encarta:
multi - more than one or two
modal - the form in which something exists

Hence, documents that contain more than one or two forms of materials. For example, Internet sites like the ones above (click on the image or link for a better view).

Advantages of Multimodal Documents
Maureen Walsh identifies multimodal documents as those that contain more than one type of mode and allow readers to read in a non-linear pathway. MySpace and Friendster are examples of online networking sites which make use of words, (static and moving) visuals and sounds.

MySpace vs. Friendster
MySpace has been a boon for musicians and artistes because you are allowed you to upload videos and songs (before Friendster allowed so). By messaging you to check out their profile page, they are inviting you to listen to their songs and watch their videos. They are indirectly saying they want you to be part of their community. Click on the Lamb of God MySpace link above and see for yourself.

Friendster is not that different. It's more like networking on a peer to peer level instead. As the name suggests, people want to forge online communities with one another.

Visitors to your profile page can click on a song to play, an image to view or a video to watch. They can read your likes and dislikes. They can visit the links you recommend. They have freedom to choose and not follow in a rigid sequence like a usual novel. The ability to engage was what Walsh deemed important.

But first, how to grab their attention?
If you noticed, Friendster and MySpace use profile templates with the display image appearing on the top left hand corner of the page. Diana Reep described this as the 'Sequence' or reading pathways that people always adopt. Items placed on the top left corner grab our attention first. Additionally, we tend to scan documents from left to right and up to down.

Try it out. Count the number of times you see a provocative headline or attention grabbing picture placed on the top left hand corner of a document.

From print to electronic
Interestingly, the first time I read Rebecca Blood's essay (which I mentioned in the post Much Ado About Blogs, Bloggers and Blogging) was in the book 'Living in the Information Age' edited by Erik P. Bucy. It's now available online and it includes links to the various sites and authors she mentioned. Information is just a click away. That is the much-lauded difference between print and electronic mediums. Interactivity.