Can Web Entertainment Be Passive?

This paper investigates the use of streaming multimedia narratives in web entertainment. Based on the experience gained during the user centered design process of a website for art and culture, we provide evidence that users want and like "less clicking, more watching" web experiences where the point of view of experts, artists, or celebrities is presented in a narrative form. Our results were obtained in a study where users evaluated two prototypes of cultural tours which stream continuously for several minutes unless the user chooses to exercise control over the flow or to explore hot links that lead to extra information. Those tours were positively evaluated as both entertaining and engaging. By measuring mouse activity, we determined that users who interacted more tended to report less entertainment and engagement. We also found that such "watchable" experiences are not necessarily a solitary experience and can be enjoyed by groups of people. Further studies also suggested that there are limits on the maximum duration of "watchable" experiences.