Why the hype?

Super Bock, a portuguese beer brand launches a new search engine for movies and cinema sessions. And does it using Silverlight, probably “sold” to them as “the new, oh so cool technology for the web. Better than flash.”

According to Rich Internet Application Statistics, 30% of the browsers they analyze have Silverlight, which is oh so little when compared to the 98% of Flash.

There’s definitely an “asshole in charge” situation over here. Probably, nobody in the agency said “only 30% of the web will see this a-lot-of-thousand-euros-website you’re paying for” to the manager at Super Bock, so there’s our asshole. If they did, the asshole is obviously working at Super Bock.

That’s like selling their beer only to people born between January and April. Yes, that dumb. That’s just one of the problems with Web agencies forgetting about Strategy and doing just Development and Design; they forget about 70% of the people browsing the web.

That’s also the problem with companies that still don’t get the Web. For them, it is a playground where they can run a couple of experiences and choose to have a cool website, instead of a functional one that can reach to more clients.

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EDIT:
Some made me realize I was being too harsh with my third paragraph. Yes, I am. It isn’t intended to insult no one, it’s just one of the ways I have to explain my opinion.
If it is too hard to read, skip it or read this version instead:

Someone’s made a mistake here. If the guys over Super Bock specifically asked for a Silverlight website, probably they weren’t aware that they were preventing 70% of the users visiting the site. The mission of the agency is alerting the client about these problems and not only accepting the work and getting paid for it.

Again, sorry if someone felt insulted by my words.