I just read someone’s notes on Bill Scott’s “Designing for Mice and Men” – a pod-cast about multi-platform design and UX (http://thepam.blogspot.com/2011/05/my-notes-on-bill-scotts-designing-from.html).
About half way through the notes is a bullet point that simply says: “The evolution of the scrollbar – it’s now an indicator more than a controller.”
This made me think about another blog I’d read (http://www.businessinsider.com/100-things-you-should-know-about-people-2010-11) that divided web users into three groups: “Boomers” (born 1943 – 1961), “Gen X’ers” (1961 – 1981) and “Millennials” (1981 – 2002) and said that:
“Boomers don’t like things that move and scroll on a page – it’s a reason why they would abandon a site. Gen X’ers are fine with these moving parts and Millennials get bored without them.”
This, combined with the idea that the scrollbar has now become an “indicator” (showing that there is more content on the page beyond what is first displayed) surely means that the fold is definitely dying if not already dead – especially for the majority of web users.
The idea that “Millennials get bored without them” is even more intriguing – should we actively make sure that our pages scroll in order to keep them entertained? And, if so, how do we ensure that we maintain value in that content?
Finally, what does this mean for ad placement? If the fold no longer exists then where is the most effective place to put advertising?
Loop 13 