Audio QuickStart: Why Use Sound?

ound adds a whole other dimension to a Web site. It can add mood, meaning, tone, and understanding. Until recently, sound has been perceived as too "high bandwidth" for most people to consider using, but that is beginning to change.

Why Use Sound?
Why indeed? Sound, say its detractors, adds lots of bandwidth and little value.

Of course, the same can be said for almost any technology or content that you add to a Web site—using it "because you can" doesn't add anything, but used with thought and care, sound can add a great deal to your site. The real answer to "why should I use sound" lies in your own site, your own content, and your own audience.

Sound is about much more than a clip of your garage band playing yet another cover of "Gloria" or "Crazy." Think of sound as a design element ... and explore the possibilities.

Audio Logos: Use Sound as Branding Element
Think of almost any product and you'll probably hear a jingle dancing through your head.

• Nobody Doesn't Like Sara Lee!

• New Fab, we're glad, they put new lemon-freshioned borax in you.

• Hold the pickles, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us ...

• My bologna has a first name, it's O-S-C-A-R ...

• N-B-C

• Chime! Mac OS

Find yourself bursting into song? Or at least humming along? Then you've experienced the power of sound as a branding element. The notion of an audio logo on the Web is fairly new, but it can add the same branding power that the jingle, theme song, or unique sound does for radio, television, and computer programs.