In case you haven’t noticed it, it’s a kind of Digg/Fark inspired thing for local blogs and news, built in-house. You can look at it here: http://www.mountainx.com/blogwire/
I think the intentions are good, but there something lacking in the execution. Unless you take time to figure out what is going on, it seems like a circular ring of links to other MX pages/tweets/blogs/whatever, and is a bit confusing—even for someone familiar with the Diggs and Reddits of the Web. It took me a few minutes to realize there were links to the original articles after you click the headlines on the Blogwire home page.
I think the headlines should link directly to the original articles/sites. Put the squib from the article on the main Blogwire page rather than requiring people to take an extra step and see another MX page with the squib and link to the original article.
That is, unless your goal is to increase page views/ad views.
That is, unless your goal is to increase page views/ad views.
I don’t think that’s really the idea. I think the idea is more to give people a place to discuss other local news topics on the Xpress site, rather than going elsewhere.
I’d like to see user comments from the Xpress site display on the front-page feed. They appear on the BlogWire landing page feed, and it makes navigation a little easier, I think. Plus, I really don’t care what the AC-T’s readers think of an ACT story, I care what the Xpress’ readers think of it.
...and you click either on the article title OR the “Comment on this” link, you are taken to the same place. “Comment on this” should cause a comment box to appear in place.
That brings up another point:
The standard comment box across the site sticks out like a sore thumb and matches no other content, typography, or color on the site:
You are speaking too much to the negative, Shad. You won’t get elected to anything better than dogcatcher with that attitude.
Try this:
“While there are many positive aspects to the comment box on this site, there is always room for improvement. We must always strive to find ways to improve even those things we know are good and this is one of the reasons I feel energized about being mayor of this great city.”
“While there are many positive aspects to the comment box on this site, there is always room for improvement. We must always strive to find ways to improve even those things we know are good and this is one of the reasons I feel energized about being mayor of this great city.”
Holy speech out both sides of your ass..MatCat if you wrote Sarah Palins speeches she would be vice president..Why haven’t the puppet masters recruited you for their evil plan to turn us into zombie like consumer machines..Wait a second that’s already happened..
Fine writing there Mat Cat..when I become president ..you got a job..
“While there are many positive aspects to the comment box on this site, there is always room for improvement. We must always strive to find ways to improve even those things we know are good and this is one of the reasons I feel energized about being mayor of this great city.”
Holy speech out both sides of your ass..MatCat if you wrote Sarah Palins speeches she would be vice president..Why haven’t the puppet masters recruited you for their evil plan to turn us into zombie like consumer machines..Wait a second that’s already happened..
Fine writing there Mat Cat..when I become president ..you got a job..
And thanks willc for pointing out that the “Comment on this” link duplicated the functionality of the headline link. That’s been addressed now by having the comment on this link bump down to the actual comment form.
Having the headline link to the full piece on Xpress instead of the original link was a choice that I went back and forth on when designing this. I think the way it works now is pretty good, because not every Blogwire article has to be linked to an external site. In most cases I suppose they will be, but right now it isn’t a requirement. If there is an external link, we display a little green arrow that will take you to the original site without having to dive into the full article here. Although, that arrow may be too subtle, or just flat out confusing..
This is still a work in progress, and it will definitely evolve over the coming weeks. I know I’m excited about the idea and I look forward to where it’s going from here. In the meantime thanks again for the feedback, it is very helpful.
I noticed earlier today that if you’re not logged in, there’s no indication on the BlogWire landing page of what you’re supposed to do if you want to submit one. The “Post to the BlogWire” option doesn’t show up at all, or at least didn’t for me. Is there a way you could create a clickable button that only appears if you’re not logged on that says “You must be logged-in to post to the BlogWire. Click here to log in or register.” and which takes you to the login page?
Also, I think having some kind of clickable button linked to use instructions might help. I mean, I know what it is and how it’s supposed to work, but I’m not sure an average user would.
1)I’m posting this here because I can’t find anywhere else to post it. So how ‘bout a ‘suggestion box’ somewhere on the MX site? Maybe a small drop-down box under ‘Recent Forum Topics’?
2) I would love to be able to search the reviewed movie archive by rating and by reviewer. Say, by clicking on the 4 stars next to ‘Bright Star’, it would take me to a list of EVERY movie that was rated 4 stars.
As far as the Blogwire feature goes….
I like it. There’s more news than the MX is capable of reporting and this not only acknowledges that, but attempts to fill in the gaps by linking to other media sources. Smart.
One thing I would add to willc’s suggestions (with which I concur) would be to add a tab for Blogwire on the main menu bar. As it stands now, the only way to access that section appears to be from the front page. In the same vein, being able to access different sections of the MX website from the Forums would certainly be nice as well. Instead of having to go to the Home page to access a movie review a Boarder could simply click on a tab in a menu bar at the top of any forum page et voila….
Also, I’m logged in but not seeing the ‘Post to Blogwire’ option. Any ideas? In all honesty, I am using Ad Blocker and run the Forums in ‘stealth’ mode.
Mr. Fobes had to enable the “Post to Blogwire” feature for my account before I could log in and make a post. I think they are still rolling this out slowly so they can see how it goes. Either way, I made history by being the first non-MXer to post some news. Neener.
Mr. Fobes had to enable the “Post to Blogwire” feature for my account before I could log in and make a post. I think they are still rolling this out slowly so they can see how it goes. Either way, I made history by being the first non-MXer to post some news. Neener.
I think I just heard a rumble ... I think it was the dominant paradigm shifting.
