I’m starting to see an upsurge of websites which are intentionally cluttered. And it isn’t because they’re badly designed either. This is the future of the digital universe, as clutter more accurately reflects the complexity of life. I predict we shall begin to see the gradual disintegration of plain, neat, and perfectly categorized digital content. The massive wealth of data constantly being uploaded onto the web now outlaws conventional systems of categorization. Webpages used to be just that: a system of categories. That system works insofar as the links on a page all point inward (as opposed to pointing to outside sources).
But construct a fenced-off site in this age and you’ll be in danger of being totally obsolete. A company must draw relevant content from the rest of the internet – there’s no getting around it.
For an extreme idea of what I mean by “clutter websites,” check out WeFeelFine. (hat-tip: Chris)
I have more thoughts on this but I’ll keep it for later. For example: how a user evolves with the tool. As for now, before we fully evolve into clutter-adept creatures, make use of RSS feeds, StumbleUpon, and Squidoo. They are examples of services already recognizing the impending need of web-users to simplify – and making a profit out of it.
