The siteless site: inspired, lazy or just plain buzz?

By victoriak

Interesting to see that first Modernista! and now Skittles have launched “siteless” websites designed to embrace Web 2.0 to the max by doing away with the traditional website and instead pointing users to relevant social media networks and content.

Modernista! an advertising agency in Boston, launched their site a year ago with a simple navigation system. Click on “n3wz” and it takes you to Google News showing articles about all things Modernista. Click on “Work” and it takes you to their portfolios on YouTube, Flickr and delicious depending on whether you want to view their TV, Print or Web work. Click on “About” and it takes you to their entries on Wikipedia, Facebook and Netvibes.

Skittles new site has also embarked down the “siteless” route.  In place of the usual branded FMCG hyperbole, instead it has been converted to a Twitter search. Click on “Chatter” and you can see all recent Tweets about  “Skittles”. They also use point to Flickr, Wikipedia and Facebook.

What’s interesting for me (other than all the general buzz) is that for Modernista it’s like standing at the top of a mountain and shouting “we’re an agency that gets web 2.0″. And for Skittles it’s a brave move because it recognises that conversations (good and bad) are taking place out there on the social web, and that rather than bury their head in the sand with a sanitised website, instead become a hub for the conversation outside of your control.

Inspired, lazy or just plain buzz? What do you think?

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