(Jeremiah: The following is a guest post by Mitch Canter who lead the web redesign for the version you’re reading. It’s been about two years since we’ve done a redesign and I’m due for a refresh (see how we involved you). But to be successful, I know I need to get inputs from the community, so I’d love to get your thoughts and feedback)
Good afternoon! My name is Mitch Canter – I guess you could say I’m the wrench that keeps the Web Strategist blog ticking behind the scenes with updates, changes, and new eye candy. It’s been two years since we launched the current version of the site, and Jeremiah and I are beginning talks to move this site into a new version. New features, a new design, and some new elements to keep you guys (the community) going.
That being said, we’re asking for your suggestions as to what you think the site needs. We’re looking for ideas that will 1) enhance the community, 2) provide new and exciting features, and 3) allow the easiest access to the main show here: the content and discussions.
We’ll be taking suggestions for right around a week, so leave your thoughts in the comments below. I’ll be monitoring things and discussing the various ideas with you, and once we’ve compiled our data (and Jeremiah’s thoughts on the site as well) we’ll give you a game plan.
This next month is going to be teeming with new ideas and cool features, so stick around!
~Mitch Canter
http://www.studionashvegas.com
(Jeremiah again: love to hear your comments below, how can we improve? I tell companies to listen to their customers, so I will follow suit. Your opinion is important to us, we’re listening!)
– Top ten posts, this month, this year. The question arises, though, would it be chosen by Twitter RT's, Facebook likes, or number of comments. . .
– Events calendar
– Aggregate content by topic (drop down menu?)
– An occasional picture of @GoodBoyRumba
Oh, and update your favicon
Suggestion…the best way to involve the community is to provide context for your feature requests that tie to the larger redesign strategy. What do you believe are the key user tasks of the readers? What insights from analytics have been gleened that instruct on what has worked well/could be improved in terms of building the community? Hopefully you can share so that we can help you build a better mousetrap.
For example, regarding the former, I would imagine that folks try to a) keep abreast of latest trends and b) are researching topics for projects or looking answers to current problems.
IMO the site is great for a) but could probably improve as it relates to b).
Better site search and content tagging would be great. I'd also like the ability to tag and favorite articles for future reference. I'd register for these features.
Hope this helps.
One other thing I'd like to see is “What Jeremiah is Reading/Following Right Now…” — I think J. consumes plenty of media, so if there was an area where he posted favs when he read them (either linked or where he read/saw/heard them) it would be great. Twitter works for this, but this would be a bookmark where we could find other great content!
Current design LIKES:
– LOVE the social media bar in the header – “Connect with Jeremiah”, “Subscribe via RSS”, Search box — I'd re-order them though, with the “Connect with Jeremiah” and the Search box switching spots (emphasizes how to connect/follow Jeremiah and on the right is a familiar spot for us to look for search on most websites). Oh and I like the suggestion of simply putting “Search” inside the search box instead of “To search, hit return” that another person made below.
– LOVE the “Tweet Bar” with your latest tweet. Simple, clean and timely!
– Simplicity of website – I can read articles one after the other, all on one page. Content is king as it should rightly be.
Areas of improvement:
– Menu bar – doesn't seem to match the design of the rest of the header. May be as simple as changing the font so that it matches better.
– Eliminate clutter – Flickr photos, Feedburner & Twitter counters aren't necessary.
– Group sharing elements & comments bubble – I like how the comment bubble hides the comments so we can just read your posts, but I REALLY dislike how it messes up the look of the title of the article. Could a “sharing bar” be created to put the re-tweet, Facebook share and # of comments under the title of each post? The Facebook Like button at the end of each post could probably be added to this too. All I want is a clean, consistent looking beginning to each post where the title and the time/date of the post can be seen easily.
– Too many font sizes – I think in trying to keep the blog simple, sticking to one font was great in the beginning. As the blog has evolved, trying to differentiate things by font size now makes it difficult to figure out where to look. Maybe it's as simple as coloring the background of the right-hand column a light grey or blue, so that we know that the posts are the main attraction. I think that might help.
Other random thoughts:
– Pictures are nice – perhaps if they're relevant, they can be posted with text streaming around them in the individual posts? Otherwise, I think I'd be content clicking on them when they happen on your twitter stream.
– Mobile site? – Thought I usually read the posts on my e-mail, once in a while I check the site on my phone when on the go – and due to all additonal little pieces, it loads quite slowly. While our phones should catch up soon (I'm on a Blackberry Tour), a simplified version of the site for mobile would be a nice extra.
Overall, I think that the original design of the site (as shown on your website under “Portfolio” – when there were less items in the menu bar, and less things on the sidebar, etc.) was great – it's just that now that there are more categories and widgets, the design is a bit overloaded with all the extras. I'm excited to see the next version come to life.
Hope that helped – please don't hesitate to contact me if anything isn't clear!
Take care!
I appreciate the opportunity to contribute. Not sure where you are at in the process … or what the scope is, given Jeremiah wears numerous other hats! But here goes.
1) Ways to enhance the community
– Create a member forum w/profiles to increase networking on and off line. There is that extensive list of Web Strategists, Community Managers, etc. but it is a bit overwhelming and hard to access…would be amazing to see the thought/expertise/energy behind all these names mobilize! An amazing knowledge community that is hard to harness via lists and comments alone.
– Provide opportunity for community to share experiences, ask each other for help on locating key info including research and get feedback/input — just as you have via this post. Include a product/book review section.
– Research topics: organize a library and also allow forum members to query and contribute, as there is a lot out there, both free and for purchase, but it is not always easy to find. If possible, allow review of paid research … I know I would appreciate seeing reviews before I plunk down the $.
– Would it be possible to allow members invest à la Groupon (maybe not the best reference) in specific research topics allowing cost share distribution and access to information that normally would be cost-prohibitive? Many of us who are self-employed can't afford fees like $499 a pop. And with no reviews available, it's hard to know if you will get what you need. Potential for Altimeter on many fronts.
– Allow community members to post a case study of their project with comment section.
– Why not engage a small number of this community in your blog redesign usability test phase? And if there are 2-3 designs to consider for the final decision, open to a vote on your blog? Extends a sense of ownership to the community.
– Like HuffPost, create badges to recognize frequent and/or valued contributors?
2) provide new and exciting features
– Allow ability to see what is trending in the forum discussions (like Twitter)
– Localize search, as per research library, and extend to posts, presentations, etc.
– Allow options for comment formatting and posting URLs to references
– Related posts widget
– Most recent posts widget
– Community favorites widget
– Any degree of customization possible? e.g. a newbie widget that could be disabled?
– Open up Web Strategist job/career section. Community could submit posts at minimal to no cost. Is the $199 fee limiting the number of jobs listed? Would be great to supplement with content related to role of strategist. For example, content like the Sept 30 article “What do Employers Want in a Corporate Social Media Strategist?” Also add a city state filter in searchable job posting tool. Having a central reliable location for Web strategy jobs would be great – especially if it could extend internationally. Maybe testimonials/data to support value of job bank, e.g. people who found their job via your site …
– Interviews done with industry, thought leaders re: Web Strategy and books or studies released. Fun to hear individual's speak about their work in a more informal setting and to learn about their motivations, experiences, e.g. Charlene Li and Open Leadership: Ask her the same questions posed to those interviewed for her book, e.g. when was the last time she really messed something up and what she did about it.
– Ask Jeremiah: Answers to questions from the community. (Not daily, for sure! But would be a nice touch to connect with community — community could also add comment and links in relation to question and Jeremiah's response.)
3) allow the easiest access to the main show here: the content and discussions.
– Yes, it really is hard to see the information … there is a lot of “noise,” both in the content post themselves and the site layout. You could do a lot with improved IA, UI and usability testing.
– Just a a short list to improve readability: redo your CSS (definitely change this font ;)) and use opportunity for using fonts, colors and style formatting (subheads, etc.) to draw attention to key elements and avoid competition (.e.g. the reader's eyes don't know what is primary, secondary, etc. in focus)
– Homepage: Maximize real estate with a new header – Use to promote Jeremy and take out “About” in sidebar. Sidebar can be a really strategic place for widgets, promotions, etc.
– Feature posts: use excerpts for feature posts vs. one long post, feature 1-3 at most, and in sidebar include 5 next most recent posts.
-Posts: Can you create content template layouts (3 at most) that allows more flexibility in the placement of graphics and embeds?
– Internal pages: Also do same for internal pages – use excerpts. And contextualize sidebar. Some features will and should remain constant – but if you had the most recent posts, related PPTs, etc. for internal pages, there is continuity. You might consider a different template for internal pages, depending on the context.
– Create two nav bars: One (in current location top right) that features Jeremiah Owyang profile, speaker, etc. The second or main nav would span the layout below header and list key sections of site.
– Make search more prominent and as mentioned allow for localized search within archives, forum discussions, etc.
– If possible revisit the categories (loonng list – wish I had that list!) and give archives its own landing page.
– More options on viewing articles and presentations – and sharing.
That being said, we™re asking for your suggestions as to what you think
the site needs. We™re looking for ideas that will 1) enhance the
community, 2) provide new and exciting features, and 3) allow the
easiest access to the main show here: the content and discussions.