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Thank You, #highered

December 22nd, 2011 | Posted in Analysis

2011 has been a year of major transition for me and my family.

As I said goodbye to friends and colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis, I looked forward to taking a new perspective in higher education web and digital communications. My family set out for a new adventure.

I thank my contacts at WUSTL for their continued confidence in my services and support to the university. It was difficult for me to say goodbye and leave during such an amazing time in your growth, but I have no doubt that you will continue on the path we started together with great dedication, talent, and commitment to WUSTL. I look forward to working together in 2012.

Also, I thank the community of higher education web and marketing communications. I am inspired by your desire to convey your institutional missions to others. I hope that you have found my writing valuable to you and your organizations. It has been a pleasure partnering with several of you. Thank you to the 75+ universities that have frequented my site, and please know that your clicks and comments motivate me to continue sharing.

With great happiness, I have renewed relationships with former colleagues from the University of Notre Dame. I am so proud to see how well many of my former staff are doing in their professions. It means so much to me to see them succeed and advance.

Finally, thank you to Northwestern University for challenging my wife, Erin, in new and profound ways as she begins her doctoral program in Media, Technology, and Society. Her intellectual experiences at NU have already enriched her life and have contributed to fascinating conversations at home. We’re pleased to be raising our daughter Zoe in such a welcoming city and community.

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Matt Klawitter is a higher education and non-profit marketing consultant based out of Chicago. He is the former Executive Director of Digital Communications Marketing at Washington University in St. Louis and also the former Director of the Notre Dame Web Group.
More about Matt Klawitter.

Scroll is the new Flash

December 7th, 2011 | Posted in Tactics

I have noticed a very interesting design trend emerging in higher education as influenced by other industries. I believe it is based on the decline (or demise) of Adobe Flash on websites. A direct result of institutions backing away from Flash and trying to be more “adaptive” or “mobile” or “standardized” has caused a new trend: scroll is the new Flash.

“Scroll is the new Flash” means the development of super-tall pages with massive images and lots of multimedia content. Instead of using Flash animation and its in-page transitions, the layouts use vertical space. Additionally, effects and interactivity give the user a sense of layering or depth.

Examples in Higher Education

I am not attempting an in-depth analysis at this point, just sharing an observation. Without more data, it is too early to determine if these approaches are effective. But they sure look amazing and are intense and overwhelming at the same time. Regardless of their impact on the user, this trend is a clear testimony to the approaching end of Flash-based development in higher ed.

More Examples?

We will have to watch and see how aggressively digital teams will pursue retaining the effect of Flash-based interactivity. What are other examples of the trend “scroll is the new Flash,” and why do you believe it’s occurring? Please share your comments on Google+.

Be sure and read the great response article published by Chas Grundy: Do Long Scrolling Pages Work?. Thanks, Chas.

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Matt Klawitter is a higher education and non-profit marketing consultant based out of Chicago. He is the former Executive Director of Digital Communications Marketing at Washington University in St. Louis and also the former Director of the Notre Dame Web Group.
More about Matt Klawitter.

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