JEFF WHATCOTTCMO @ BRIGHTCOVE

HTML5 or Apps: Which Will it Be?

Who’s here?

Mobile is forecasted to become the dominant audience

Screens, Platforms, and Pain

HTML5 vs App: An Epic Battle(?)

Corner #1: Native Apps

Source:148Apps.biz App Count http://bit.ly/appcount as of June 25, 2012.

470,069654,712

Stuff Technologists Say

“the Web will never be the dominant platform”

“The arrogance of Web evangelists is staggering.”

September 22, 2011

Joe Hewitt

Co-creator of Firefox

Creator of Facebook for iPhone

Stuff Technologists Say

“the Web will be replaced”

“the App Internet is the best contender”

“the web huggers…do not want the web to end.”

December 8, 2011

George Colony

CEO of Forrester Research

Corner #2: The HTML5 Touch Web

Stuff Technologists Say

“I hated every moment of our experiment with apps, because it tried to impose something closed, old, and print-like on something open, new, and digital.”

June 16, 2012

Jason Pontin

Editor-in-Chief, MIT Technology Review

Stuff Technologists Say

“App is Crap (why Apple is bad for your health)”

“[Apps are] a step backward for our industry… a waste for most brands… a channel disguised in business clothing..”

February 17, 2010

Mark Suster

GP @ GRP Partners

vigorish |ˈvigəriSH|noun informal1 [ in sing. ] an excessive rate of interest on a loan, typically one from an illegal moneylender.

2 the percentage deducted from a gambler's winnings by the organizers of a game.

The “Vig” on Subscription Content in Apple iOS Apps

“Our philosophy is simple—when Apple brings a new subscriber to the app, Apple earns a 30 percent share; when the publisher brings an existing or new subscriber to the app, the publisher keeps 100 percent and Apple earns nothing.”

Responsive/Adaptive Design is Hard

“Adaptive web design is an elegant solution to the thorny technical problem of having to deliver a content experience on multiple devices. And engineers love more than anything to apply the same hammer to multiple nails.

Unfortunately, users do not agree. Desktop web browsers, tablets, and mobile devices are fundamentally different and are used in very different ways. Across our properties at CBS Interactive, we have experimented with a variety of adaptive and direct designs and are learning the hard way that a one-size-fits-all solution delivers a subpar user experience.”

Peter YaredCTO of CBS Interactive

Consumers spend equal time in mobile apps and mobile browsers

Apps are from Mars.The Touch Web is from Venus.

The Audience/Customer Journey

DISCOVERY TRIAL COMMITMENT LOYALTY ADVOCACY

TOUCH WEB APPS

Touch Web and Apps: Together Forever

A Potentially Helpful Continuum

Applications(Behavior-centric)

Adapted from Figure 9.12 in Aral Balkan’s Smashing Book #3

Touch Web Sites Native Apps

Hybrid Apps

Documents(Content-centric)

Hybrid Apps: All the cool kids are doing it

In Summary

It’s not either/or, it’s both/and.

Use the Touch Web to find and convert new customers.

Use Native Apps to engage and delight existing customers.

Use Hybrid Apps to build Native Apps more sustainably.

HTML5 is your best technology/skills investment.