Comments on: Prezi: presentation junk 2.0 http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/ Wed, 19 May 2010 16:19:46 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Bruce http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/comment-page-1/#comment-11485 Bruce Wed, 19 May 2010 16:19:46 +0000 http://jasonpriem.com/?p=214#comment-11485 Let's face it, guys. It's a moot point. The reason everyone uses PowerPoint is NOT that it's a better package. Persuasion, now defunct, was decades ahead of PowerPoint in allowing the user to design multiple layouts; Harvard Graphics was way ahead in classy graphics and charts. People use PowerPoint because Bill Gates figured out a way to get it on every business machine sold, long enough to fool the non-designer business person into thinking it was the next best thing since sliced bread. You gotta have more than zoom-in/-out to overcome that! Let’s face it, guys. It’s a moot point. The reason everyone uses PowerPoint is NOT that it’s a better package. Persuasion, now defunct, was decades ahead of PowerPoint in allowing the user to design multiple layouts; Harvard Graphics was way ahead in classy graphics and charts. People use PowerPoint because Bill Gates figured out a way to get it on every business machine sold, long enough to fool the non-designer business person into thinking it was the next best thing since sliced bread. You gotta have more than zoom-in/-out to overcome that!

]]> By: Henrik Kryger Pallesen http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/comment-page-1/#comment-6603 Henrik Kryger Pallesen Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:37:23 +0000 http://jasonpriem.com/?p=214#comment-6603 I'm partner in the Prezi competitor Ahead www.ahead.com, and would like to argue why the online zooming approach has it's advantages apart from being stunning. 1) It's online, hence you can share and embed your presentations anywhere on the web. Try that with a PPT 2) PPT is essentially built for text-based communication. Ahead (and Prezi) are built for communicating visually (which has proven to be the most effective way to comunicate) 3) You can present your information in a wider spatial context. Zoom out to get an overview, zoom in on to look at a detail. Ahead is mostly used by architects, designers and photographers and neither Keynote nor Powerpoint give them an adequate way of presenting visual content in the detail and richness that they require. That said, I totally agree that for the left-brained business world PPT is still the best and safest bet, and probably will be for quite some time. But for right-brainers the spatial approach Ahead & Prezi offers is far superior. I’m partner in the Prezi competitor Ahead http://www.ahead.com, and would like to argue why the online zooming approach has it’s advantages apart from being stunning.

1) It’s online, hence you can share and embed your presentations anywhere on the web. Try that with a PPT
2) PPT is essentially built for text-based communication. Ahead (and Prezi) are built for communicating visually (which has proven to be the most effective way to comunicate)
3) You can present your information in a wider spatial context. Zoom out to get an overview, zoom in on to look at a detail. Ahead is mostly used by architects, designers and photographers and neither Keynote nor Powerpoint give them an adequate way of presenting visual content in the detail and richness that they require.

That said, I totally agree that for the left-brained business world PPT is still the best and safest bet, and probably will be for quite some time. But for right-brainers the spatial approach Ahead & Prezi offers is far superior.

]]> By: Ryan Reeves http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/comment-page-1/#comment-6050 Ryan Reeves Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:23:01 +0000 http://jasonpriem.com/?p=214#comment-6050 Let's face it, guys. It's a moot point. The reason everyone uses PowerPoint is NOT that it's a better package. Persuasion, now defunct, was decades ahead of PowerPoint in allowing the user to design multiple layouts; Harvard Graphics was way ahead in classy graphics and charts. People use PowerPoint because Bill Gates figured out a way to get it on every business machine sold, long enough to fool the non-designer business person into thinking it was the next best thing since sliced bread. You gotta have more than zoom-in/-out to overcome that! Let’s face it, guys. It’s a moot point. The reason everyone uses PowerPoint is NOT that it’s a better package. Persuasion, now defunct, was decades ahead of PowerPoint in allowing the user to design multiple layouts; Harvard Graphics was way ahead in classy graphics and charts. People use PowerPoint because Bill Gates figured out a way to get it on every business machine sold, long enough to fool the non-designer business person into thinking it was the next best thing since sliced bread. You gotta have more than zoom-in/-out to overcome that!

]]> By: jason http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/comment-page-1/#comment-4646 jason Mon, 04 May 2009 17:32:26 +0000 http://jasonpriem.com/?p=214#comment-4646 AndyEd, of course you're right that Prezi isn't the first do to this; in fact, I understand that MS is working on adding this to Powerpoint right now. My point, though, isn't that Prezi has a bad goal. My contention, rather, is that Prezi's secret sauce--zoom 'n' pan--doesn't really do anything to meaningfully enhance communication. In fact, by distracting the audience with (barely) cool effects, it works against the clear expression of ideas. I think we agree that focus-context is a Good Thing. But Prezi (at least in the examples I saw on their site) isn't really showing me <em>meaningful</em> context--just a really small picture of the slide. I can see the heading, but not the text. How is that more context than a hyperlinked outline? Maybe there are some examples I didn't see where the presentations was wholly visual; I suppose that might be more useful. All that said, my Prezi criticism has nothing beyond the dubious authority of "what I think" to back it up. I'd be more than happy to eat my words if I could see some of the "solid data" you mention. AndyEd, of course you’re right that Prezi isn’t the first do to this; in fact, I understand that MS is working on adding this to Powerpoint right now. My point, though, isn’t that Prezi has a bad goal. My contention, rather, is that Prezi’s secret sauce–zoom ‘n’ pan–doesn’t really do anything to meaningfully enhance communication. In fact, by distracting the audience with (barely) cool effects, it works against the clear expression of ideas.

I think we agree that focus-context is a Good Thing. But Prezi (at least in the examples I saw on their site) isn’t really showing me meaningful context–just a really small picture of the slide. I can see the heading, but not the text. How is that more context than a hyperlinked outline? Maybe there are some examples I didn’t see where the presentations was wholly visual; I suppose that might be more useful.

All that said, my Prezi criticism has nothing beyond the dubious authority of “what I think” to back it up. I’d be more than happy to eat my words if I could see some of the “solid data” you mention.

]]> By: AndyEd http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/comment-page-1/#comment-4639 AndyEd Mon, 04 May 2009 12:25:22 +0000 http://jasonpriem.com/?p=214#comment-4639 Prezi follows along in a number of systems that have attempted to show the context of the current slide in the larger collection of slides. This is a standard visualization technique, called focus-context, and has some value. The points here are all good, but I believe there's solid data showing some value in exposing contextual placement in the course of a presentation of slides. Prezi follows along in a number of systems that have attempted to show the context of the current slide in the larger collection of slides.

This is a standard visualization technique, called focus-context, and has some value.

The points here are all good, but I believe there’s solid data showing some value in exposing contextual placement in the course of a presentation of slides.

]]> By: jason http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/comment-page-1/#comment-4507 jason Fri, 01 May 2009 15:12:55 +0000 http://jasonpriem.com/?p=214#comment-4507 Scott, I'm with you on the value of "different narrative frames" to help you "dig into the story." I just can't help thinking that this is a problem that's already been solved--and solved more elegantly--by hyperlinked HTML. I can get an outline like 1. point one 2. point two 3. point three and click to see more on the point that interests me. If page refreshes are the problem, 20 lines of Javascript gives me show/hide for links. I admit that this may not look as pretty to some, but it also has significant advantages:<ol> <li>It's accessible to users with screen readers</li> <li>It doesn't require a proprietary plugin (Flash), so it runs everywhere (Prezi wouldn't work on the iPhone, for instance).</li> <li>It's easy to create and edit</li> <li>It's lightweight (my machine was having trouble rendering the bigger Prezi presentations in real-time)</li> <li>It's machine-indexable, and can include metadata</li> <li>Like with Prezi, you can explore it sequentially or randomly</li> <li>The artifact that remains after the presentation is based on an open, widely adopted standard that's not going anywhere. </li> </ol> In return for giving up all this, Prezi gives you: cool zooming effects. I just don't think that's a fair trade; if your ideas are good, they'll look good with out any whiz-bang special effects. Believe me: as a one-time graphic designer, I have a keen love for beautifully-presented ideas, and I think that (despite what Semantic Web devotees might like to think), presentation is often inseparable from content. Prezi, though, seems less to beautify ideas than tart them up. It's likely that Prezi will find an enthusiastic audience, just as Powerpoint has, in boardrooms across the world. But I don't share your hope that a lot of people are going to learn more because of it. Scott, I’m with you on the value of “different narrative frames” to help you “dig into the story.” I just can’t help thinking that this is a problem that’s already been solved–and solved more elegantly–by hyperlinked HTML. I can get an outline like
1. point one
2. point two
3. point three
and click to see more on the point that interests me. If page refreshes are the problem, 20 lines of Javascript gives me show/hide for links.

I admit that this may not look as pretty to some, but it also has significant advantages:

  1. It’s accessible to users with screen readers
  2. It doesn’t require a proprietary plugin (Flash), so it runs everywhere (Prezi wouldn’t work on the iPhone, for instance).
  3. It’s easy to create and edit
  4. It’s lightweight (my machine was having trouble rendering the bigger Prezi presentations in real-time)
  5. It’s machine-indexable, and can include metadata
  6. Like with Prezi, you can explore it sequentially or randomly
  7. The artifact that remains after the presentation is based on an open, widely adopted standard that’s not going anywhere.

In return for giving up all this, Prezi gives you: cool zooming effects. I just don’t think that’s a fair trade; if your ideas are good, they’ll look good with out any whiz-bang special effects.

Believe me: as a one-time graphic designer, I have a keen love for beautifully-presented ideas, and I think that (despite what Semantic Web devotees might like to think), presentation is often inseparable from content. Prezi, though, seems less to beautify ideas than tart them up.

It’s likely that Prezi will find an enthusiastic audience, just as Powerpoint has, in boardrooms across the world. But I don’t share your hope that a lot of people are going to learn more because of it.

]]> By: Scott Leslie http://jasonpriem.com/2009/04/prezi-presentation-junk-20/comment-page-1/#comment-4491 Scott Leslie Fri, 01 May 2009 01:20:14 +0000 http://jasonpriem.com/?p=214#comment-4491 well, personally I think you *are* missing something - I think the power here is to use the different levels of magnification as different narrative frames, so that the more you zoom in, the more you dig into the story. Add to that the ability to explore it both sequentially, via a path, and non-sequentially, by zomming and panning, and what you have here is a presentation tool *that is also* a decent multimedia authoring environment, so that the artifact you leave is usable in more than just a sequential, slidedeck way. But then that'd just my $0.02 well, personally I think you *are* missing something – I think the power here is to use the different levels of magnification as different narrative frames, so that the more you zoom in, the more you dig into the story. Add to that the ability to explore it both sequentially, via a path, and non-sequentially, by zomming and panning, and what you have here is a presentation tool *that is also* a decent multimedia authoring environment, so that the artifact you leave is usable in more than just a sequential, slidedeck way. But then that’d just my $0.02

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