Adobe’s Flash vs. Right-Clicking
Some force at Adobe doesn’t speak the language of human beings. It’s the year 2009, and you still can’t right-click within a Flash app in a browser (well, you can, but only if you like looking at the inconceivably useless Settings panel).
Why, exactly? Nobody outside of the Adobe building will be able to answer that question… because, while Flash was created for the consumption of everyone out here in the real-world – you know, people who use computers… surf the net, maybe… perhaps even boot up a flash game once in a while – Adobe seems to have forgotten that things that rub those people the wrong way do nothing for moolah. And other things…
I’ve thought about this on many an occasion (probably almost every time I’ve used Flash), and while it has been, shamefully, difficult to even come up with one logical explanation about what they’re trying to accomplish here, I do believe, since it’s the only thing that makes an ounce of sense, that it has something to do with this arcane and corporate thing called “branding”.
A quick introduction to branding:
Branding is the (true) belief that burning a brand-name into the brains of uneducated consumers will make them think of that brand first next time they need to make an uninformed purchase. Consequently, it also means that people will also consider other brands LESS, because the first ones that come to mind are the ones that get all the consideration.
Example: someone says, “We need an anti-virus program. Let’s get McAfee.” Now, is that the highest rated anti-virus program? Is it even in the top ten? No… but still, for reasons that shouldn’t be, oceans of people buy it… never quite realizing that 5 minutes of research will get them a cheaper, better program (and less infuriating, when you realize McAfee wants you to re-buy the program every year – like a subscription thing – just to keep using it).
Branding 1, consumers 0. In the world of “consumer whores” (uneducated buyers who choose impulsively) the companies with the most hear-say or advertising power win… and the people who buy from them often end up with depressingly inferior stuff.
Officially, at least, I have no idea why Adobe doesn’t allow right-clicking in Flash (except to view settings). It’s so hard to come up with an explanation for something that seems THAT simple, that branding is the best I can do, without actually being part of the Adobe board of directors. (I doubt they tell their employees honest answers to anything)
For those who don’t understand why Adobe would see branding in Flash as important (the word “important” being interchangeable with “profitable”), let’s look at how Flash apps are presented: First, you visit a webpage. If there’s a Flash game on that page, it loads… then the game begins. You play (probably involving an ungodly quantity of left-clicking), then, when you’re done, you leave the page. Number of times you saw the Flash or Adobe logo: 0.
Now, as far as people care, awesome: you managed to play a game without being bombarded with any type of corporate anything… (a comfort that EA Games has been trying furiously to battle; pushing to get ads in games, and just about anything else excruciatingly annoying that gamers have no choice about facing if they want to play). But, to the dismay of people, Adobe is a publicly held corporation, with investors to please. It’s possible that if Adobe isn’t taking measures to ensure that their investors make a profit (measures like having their brand on a platform of theirs), board members could have their socks sued off (yes, this can happen in some corporations. I’m not sure how much that applies to Adobe). So, when your bottom-line is dough, what’s the obvious thing to do here? Of course, completely hijack the ability to right-click, so that you can only really use it to inform yourself that you are viewing something a person made with a program called Flash, by a company called Adobe.
And thus comes the error: never put your logo on an object of grief (such as a right-click menu that makes people say, “Awwww, this stinks… Here I am playing a neat game, or using a cool-looking website, and when I right-click, all that happens is that THIS useless thing pops up. How disappointing. Oh, it says Adobe here. –2 Adobe.”
A few companies here and there already understand this; the ones that make no-name-brand appliances, and anything else with no brand… (ever wondered why many cheap things don’t have brand-names on them? One of the reasons is that, since lots of people are going to end up hating these products, the companies don’t want to have their images tarnished, as word spreads of their inferiority. (in a sense, however, no-name-brands are a brand in themselves, and people mistrust them regardless) Instead, businesses have the hope that worthless appliances/products can just continue to be thought of as a brandless collection of things you buy if you don’t have any money, leaving your impression of companies out of it.
Casinos do a similar, but slightly different thing with their slot machines: when you win something on a slot machine, it makes these loud, happy sounds… but then, when you lose – which may happen on occasion – everything drops to dead silence. Not a THING happens… which can be very confusing to new players (everyone looks around, trying to figure out what they’re supposed to do next). See, they don’t want an addicted (or former addicted) slot machine player walking through the casino, hearing the familiar sound of losing all around… nor do they want them to see images that bring back upsetting memories (GAME OVER), reminding their brains that there are parts of this experience they really don’t like.
And how does this apply to Flash and Adobe? If my theory is correct, they’re essentially denying website and game-makers (and all their users) the ability to right-click, just so that they can put their brand on what is the equivalent of a slot-machine’s “GAME OVER” screen. And the reason that changing this is important is because everyone uses Flash, and this is a platform that SCREAMS for the ability to right-click. (it’s sad that the App Store for the iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad is much more known for casual gaming than THE INTERNET, and I think it’s Flash’s inability to right-click that has been the greatest limiter)
And would losing the ability to “brand” here be such a loss? Aside from the huge flaw I mentioned above, you’ll notice that NONE of the underlying elements in ANY webpages have their brands shown anywhere. On rare occasion, I see the “JAVA” logo pop up, and I’ve consequently learned to despise it (especially seeing it in my system tray. MAN, I can’t stand that. The system tray is where company logos go to die. It’s a slaughterhouse for unwelcome branding, and putting unwelcome things there is a huge mistake).
So, that’s my take on this.
And while I’m at it, a reminder to Symantec (makers of Norton): you darn well better hide your logos, and pretty much make your entire yellow-color-branded interface DISAPPEAR when you show that “renew your anti-virus year’s subscription” window, because I get furious just seeing it on someone else’s screen.
Any company that wants you to re-buy what you already bought – again and again – just so you can continue using it, rapidly joins the part of my brain where I think about telemarketers, spyware-makers, and services that auto-renew after the trial period, if you don’t cancel. (like Apple’s MobileMe service. The trial is free… Forgetting to cancel costs $100. Just makes you so happy when you forget! (which is why they do that: to prey on the “forget” element))
It’s all unfortunate, but I know that these issues can be mopped up once people realize their solutions (and WHY to apply them).
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