THE MESSAGE IS THE MEDIUM

We are exploring the use of visual imagery which simultaneously provid es the content and control of web-based interactive services, We descr ibe four unconventional web-based services we have implemented for: me ssaging, a bulletin board, broadcast messages, and browsing through a set of hyperlinked objects. We implement each service using a real-wor ld metaphor which serves as the basis for the visual presentation as w ell as the service itself; thus form and function are tightly coupled. The use of universal imagery eliminates the need for wordy explanatio ns and hence increases accessibility to an international audience. Dur ing the course of development, we devised techniques to enhance the sh ared experiences of the visitors to our sites, including automatically generated 2D animations, These approaches can be applied to a variety of web-sites and are also described. (C) 1997 Published by Elsevier S cience B.V.