Scribd switches to HTML5. Another Flash fail? Not this time ...

Filed under: Web services, web 2.0

TechCrunch has an interview with the CEO of Web-based document repository Scribd, and he has some interesting things to say about the company's recent switch from Flash to an HTML5-based viewer. Apparently, ditching Flash has led to a huge increase in Scribd's user engagement; we're talking about the same number of users, but they're spending three times as much time on the site as they used to.

TechCrunch plays this up as a loss for Flash, but I think it's more likely a win for the new design of Scribd's reader. As commenters on the TechCrunch post point out, there's a lot more to the new Scribd than HTML5. The new social networking aspects, like "Readcasting," which lets you share what you're reading with your social networks, have been particularly successful.

It seems strange to mention all of these updates in the same post and then attribute all the benefits to ditching Flash. I'm sure HTML5 hasn't hurt -- especially when it comes to iPhone and iPad users -- but I doubt it's helped as much as TC seems to think.

Scribd switches to HTML5. Another Flash fail? Not this time ... originally appeared on Download Squad on Mon, 21 Jun 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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