The "Cult" of Encarta

Microsoft Encarta is quite the hit these days. Once school breaks, kids file in to the centre, and one by one the launching of Encarta is heard until just about every laptop has a group of kids huddled over flicking through the pages and watching multimedia clips - for hours.

Robina perusing the Kenya page on Microsoft Encarta.

We hadn't done anything to promote Encarta more than the other offline content that was available, which included:

• wikipedia (both a condensed version as well as the entire volume)
  
• podcasts and vodcasts downloaded from the web
  
• CDs/DVDs containing documentaries, movies, music videos and so on.
  

Ugandan music videos are perennially popular and we had to regulate when and how they could be played (only with earphones!) given their popularity. Rivaling this is the Encarta phenomenon, especially amongst school going children. It started with a few who discovered it on the laptops and spread fast.

We have some theories as to why it might have won over the other choices:

• Interactive: unlike watching movies/documentaries, they get to interact with the program, choosing for themselves what they want to read/watch. And if something doesn't capture their attention, they can move on to the next topic.
  

• Multimedia: many of the articles come with a multimedia collection. The video and sound clips are short and cover a range of topics. Listening to national anthems (especially the Ugandan one) is hugely popular.
  

• Language: Wikipedia articles, for example, can be quite technical and dry. Encarta by comparison is perhaps a bit easier to follow.
  

• Look and Feel: It's slick and allows for easy navigation of topics.
  

• Mutufu is on the map! Mutufu is the nearest trading centre, about 15 minute walk from the computer centre. You load up the world, zoom all the way in, and there it is. How much more relevant can it get? (For comparison, Google Maps, for example, doesn't go that deep.)
  

Some lessons to all of us who are trying to make content available offline where there is no/limited/slow connectivity - in short: make it easily navigable, relevant and interactive.

A special thanks to Oliver for adding Encarta to the mix.