Webtagr - Technology News Summarizer

The 90s Web Design Trinity: Zeldman, Siegel, and Nielsen

2025-05-29

The rise of Flash and CSS in 1997 birthed three distinct web design philosophies. David Siegel championed 'hacks,' Jakob Nielsen prioritized simplicity, and Jeffrey Zeldman blended flair with usability. This article explores their approaches and careers. Siegel focused on aesthetics, Nielsen on usability, while Zeldman found a middle ground, his pragmatic approach proving dominant. Today, Nielsen delves into AI, Siegel pursues diverse interests, but Zeldman remains a web design force, soon to relaunch his personal website with a fresh design. The article offers a nostalgic look at the formative years of web design.

Bowie's 1996 Online Single Experiment: A Disruptive Attempt at Music Distribution

2025-05-07

In 1996, online music retail was booming, but digital downloads and streaming faced challenges. David Bowie's single, "Telling Lies," became a pivotal experiment. Bowie partnered with N2K to release the single on his website, offering various download formats, including low-quality RealAudio and Shockwave audio streams, and higher-quality but lengthy (45-minute download) Liquid Audio versions. Despite low bandwidth, slow download speeds, and server errors, the single achieved 450,000 downloads within a week, becoming a successful marketing event that foreshadowed the future of digital music distribution and demonstrated Bowie's adventurous spirit.

GeoCities 1995: Democratizing the Web

2025-03-08

In 1995, creating a personal webpage required technical expertise. GeoCities (initially Beverly Hills Internet) changed that. It offered a user-friendly page generator, enabling non-coders to easily build homepages and fostered a sense of community through its virtual neighborhoods. While its design was rudimentary, GeoCities was a crucial stepping stone, empowering widespread participation in online creative expression and leaving a lasting mark on the early internet.