Home Page Overhaul
Submitted by jim on Mon, 12/08/2003 - 03:19
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Howdy folks, I'm considering changing the Listology home page. Instead of being a "team weblog" of sorts it would just be an introduction to the site and how it works. Obviously, I'd leave everybody's individual weblogs alone, and those would still be accessible via your profile links (or if somebody comes to your-login.listology.com instead of www.listology.com). Also, all the news and teasers and stuff would continue to appear in the "Recent Activity" screen (see link in "Highlights" box to the left). I thought this might make the site a bit more accessible to newcomers, and I could do stuff like include links to sample lists or series of lists, that sort of thing. Thoughts?
Jim, I prefer the Listology front page as a group weblog. That makes it an easy place for existing users to post the cool items they come across, bring notice to particular interesting topics or lists and also gives new users a feel for what Listology is about, just by reading the front page. I think the front page should be welcoming and until the recent unintentional (I hope) misuse of the front page it most definitely was.
I think the problem is that when people start to use Listology they don't understand how some features work or what the intent of some feature is. What I think needs to be done is to educate people on what the Listology front page is for and how to correctly use it. The education period could correspond to the same length of time during which you will be modertating new users. During this education period you could somehow push people towards resources which inform them on how things are supposed to work on Listology. There could also be a moratorium on front page posting during this time period.
I think people are doing with Listology what they do with any online resource, exploring its limits. Unfortunately because of the open nature of Listology some exploration ends up defiling the beautiful scenery. I especially would like to see an end to the posting of whole lists in the Teaser fields. That's just annoying.
What it really comes down to IMHO is that the new breed of online user does not try and get a feel for an online community before diving headlong into it. I've always been the type of person who lurks around the edges to get a feel for something, to learn the ins and outs unobtrusively, and then becoming a full-fledged participant.
You still feel this way?
:-)
I'm leaning toward a hybrid approach at the moment, where the home page would have more introductory stuff on it, and the weblog portion would be a bit shorter, with a link to a longer version of the weblog. Actually, I'm really getting in deep on a complete overhaul of the site. I haven't done much actual work, but I've been spending lots of time prototyping a design that is much less cluttered, loads faster, and emphasizes the content more. It's downright Spartan. :-) Don't worry though, I'll throw up a mockup soon and see if everybody hates it...
Of course I do. :-)
Obviously front page abuse or misuse could fall into two categories, intentional or unintentional. Intentional abuse should probably be dealt with in the same manner as any other sort of abuse, front page or not. I think unintentional misuse could really be solved by going the educational route.
I look forward to seeing the new ideas you have for Listology.
Hmmm. Instead of doing that, how about an intro page that contains two links: "First time visiting Listology" and "Just take me to the lists, Jim" or something like that? Then the former link takes you to an introduction to how the site works, and the latter link takes you to what is the current Listology home page.
Can you add a link for the news posts in the recent updates box on the left, with the more recent updates in movies, books, music, etc. links, in case we miss it while it's on the recent activity list? I don't think it's a bad idea to change the front page, I just want to make sure there's an easy way to find the recent news posts if we missed them while they were on the recent activity page.
I think that's a very good call. I was actually a little embarassed when I posted my weblog announcement trumpeting my online reviews and it ended up on the front page. I think it's better to have a nice explanational front page with the recent updates near the top, and then everyone else's page being their own thing.