Periodically I’ll read a blog entry or article on the use of multimedia in websites and how great it is. admittedly, the opportunities are endless — among those many possible uses are Flash or video for advertising or teaching purposes. As a web professional, I see the benefits.

But personally…I hate multimedia. A friend of mine just sent me an invitation to Dropbox. Now, I’ve read about Dropbox and I didn’t run out and sign up. But I think my friends wants my referral, so I figured I’d take another look. I don’t want to sign up for something I have absolutely no need for (I’ve got too many accounts scattered around the internet as it is). So I glanced around the invitation page for a “More about Dropbox” link. What I saw was this, “Want to learn more? Check out our screencast.”

Screenshot of a portion of the Dropbox sign-up page, showing an overview of their product and links (a screencast link is emphasized

My reaction to this was to sigh and close the window. As I did it, I realized what I was doing and I thought, “I’m always hearing that video presentations are a better way to convey information…but I hate them!” I also noticed that I never, ever watch them, even when I really want the information. Unless I have no other choice. And sometimes not even then. For example, I read two blogs that often include videos. I’ve starred some of them in Google Reader for later consumption, but I have never gone back to them, even though the blogger is smart and the topics interest me.

You see, I browse with my computer sound off. If the sound is on, it’s because I’m listening to music. But mostly the sound stays off because, as sad it is, I still come across websites with songs and other irritating sound effects embedded in them. Not often (unless you count MySpace), but one 2am audio surprise a month is far too many.

So when videos are substituted for text and screenshots, I know I am going to have to turn on my speakers (or dig out my headphones), turn off my music, check the volume levels, and do nothing but watch and listen for several minutes. I hate having to interrupt my “groove” to watch a video. I hate watching a video skip because of inadequate buffering. And perhaps my attention span is bad, but when I am looking up a tutorial I tend to skim until I find the part I need — I normally don’t need to read all of it — and I can read much faster than the presenter can talk. If a video doesn’t have the tidbit of information I need,  it’s a huge waste of my time.

I can think of only two situations in which I will watch multimedia presentations or videos online. One of those is for the sake of a laugh (Man in the Box, anyone?). The other is utilize a series of video tutorials on software I don’t know anything about. But even for those two reasons, I will normally put off watching multimedia and I often fail to come back to watch at all.

I’m just one person, but it’s got me wondering what the stats are on how multimedia is consumed. What if a significant minority of visitors feel the same way I do? Well, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use video…it’s just another reason to provide accessible alternatives. Accessibility guidelines state that accessible alternatives should be provided for presentations and video. I suspect that may be a good idea for more than just accessibility: also for usability.

Offering transcripts of your videos is a good idea for several reasons!