Did I get your attention? I hope so because we need to talk about SMIL and how its use can turn your streaming media presentations into television-like experiences for your web visitors.

SMIL (pronounced "smile") stands for Synchronized Multimedia Integration Language and was developed by the W3C Synchronized Multimedia (SYMM) Working Group to allow the synchronization of audio, video, text and graphics in web-based presentations. It was expressly developed to enhance the quality of streaming media and can support multiple types of data, compression algorithms, and bandwidth environments. It was designed so that anyone familiar with HTML and some XML commands could employ it to create television-like presentations.

Philipp Hoschka, Chairman of the W3C group and editor of the SMIL specifications says: "...the Web lacks a simple way to express synchronization over time, for example, 'play audio file A in parallel with video file B' or 'show image C after audio file A has finished playing.' SMIL enables this type of information to be expressed quite easily, allowing television-like content to be created..."*

I hear you asking yourselves "what does this technospeak have to do with me?" If you create web-based advertising and would like to offer your clients a compelling new way to deliver it, this has a lot to do with you. If you're a web site owner longing for a means to showcase your products and services with economical elegance, this has a lot to do with you, too.

Why? Because the Web is inherently interactive and visitors can follow the links imbedded in a SMIL presentation directly to your web site. There they can obtain additional information or, more importantly, be taken directly to an order form for the product or service described in that presentation. "Users can switch from 'couch potato' mode into interactive mode with a simple mouse click," says Mr. Hoschka.

Let's talk about how you can put SMIL to work for you.

In the entertainment industry? An entertainer wants his visitors to know where and when he'll be performing. Scroll the schedule of his club dates next to the window playing a video clip of his specialty. As he sets his performance schedule for future dates, the clip can be quickly updated to reflect this. Include some text ads from the clubs involved, give their "live" URLs, and let them help pay for the production!

Selling real estate? Photos or slides taken with a digital camera can be coordinated with an audio commentary and text. Tell your potential clients about the geographic area, the schools, recreational opportunities and transportation situation. Place commercial messages from merchants in the area, with live links to their web sites, into the presentation and generate additional revenue to defray some of the costs.

Are you in the training business? Courses can be devised which integrate voice and images. Live links can be introduced to take the students to other sites and information pertinent to the material being taught. Keep updated company policies online and couple them with news items and other materials relevant to the employees. Motivational trainers can use text, audio, and video to sell their training materials when their audience is most inclined to buy!

Doing e-commerce? Show photos of the product range with an audio track talking about each product as it appears. Use this in conjunction with text to take your visitors directly to the order form for the product while they're anxious and motivated to purchase. Work with other merchants of complementary products; generate revenue by placing ads for their goods throughout your presentation.

Offering a service? Slide presentations can be timed so that bullet points come up in sequence on the screen at specified time intervals. These could change color as the presenter moves from point to point. Testimonials could scroll as you discuss your customer satisfaction policies. Restaurants could show a clip of the chef preparing his "signature" meal while the recipe is read or scrolled for the visitor.

I've talked about Rich Media, of which streaming and SMIL are integral components, in many articles.
(See: http://www.wbcimaging.com/articlesbyexperts.htm)
Now Rich Media is in the spotlight as traditional advertisers, losing faith in the "tried and true" banner advertising campaign, start to hop aboard the streaming bandwagon.

As these advertisers shift their emphasis from banner click-thrus to ads that are specifically used for branding, greater emphasis will be placed on Rich Media. With Rich Media, there are numerous opportunities to present the complexities of branding that cannot be done with static banners - greater interactivity, sound, motion, and the ability to display creatives in a larger space. As this occurs, SMIL will become the key to making these ad campaigns an entertaining and "smooth as television" experience.

I'd like you to think about television news. It's pretty straightforward; information about the events of the day. But the sophisticated audiences of today demand more than just "talking heads" on their television screens. So the news is packaged as entertainment, with music and graphics to grab the eyes and ears of the viewer. When advertisers realize that web surfers are seeking this same experience, there will be a rush to duplicate this on the Internet.

Then, all you have to do is...SMIL.

Ronni Rhodes is the owner of WBC Imaging, an Internet company that specializes in web site enhancement utilizing streaming media technology. With her husband, Don, a broadcast engineer, they work with companies to incorporate streaming as part of successful and meaningful sales and marketing programs.

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