Why I don't like the CNN.com redesign
Here are my top reasons for not liking the redesign. Tell me if you agree.First and foremost, I'm still trying to figure out how I can comment on an article. Am I missing something or have they temporarily (I hope temporarily) removed what has fast become one of the most basic of features attached to every piece of content online? Come on folks, you're killing me.
If you have to do away with commenting at least replace it with something extra special. You're the team that brought Facebook Connect and live chatting into the mainstream. Remember the Obama inauguration live chat? That was powerful and it helped me convince my own company how important FB Connect was. Why isn't that type of social functionality integrated into the core redesign. This could have been a social product bottom up but it isn't.
Now I've played around with the News Pulse and I like it. It deserves to move out of beta rather quickly. But there's two problems still. First and foremost it is a separate tab. Who'd ever think of something as a pulse if they can't see it right away. This is a feature that begs to be on the home page in some fashion. Secondly, how does it relate to the Latest News? Shouldn't they be integrated?
Talking of Latest News, I'm the type of person who visits CNN.com for the headlines. I loved the last redesign (disclaimer I know the team that worked on it) especially because Latest News got quality real estate. It is now in the lower left corner just barely above the fold and lost near the eye popping imagery of the main headline. It needs better real estate.
And lastly, the web is about real people with real voices engaging with audiences that interact and respond. I've got a chapter on that in my Dummies book - it is all about social voices (Chapter 5). CNN has some of the most talented personalities on television. Why don't I see them in more places on the website? Why can't I quickly tell what's happening in the studio as I browse CNN.com? And why can't I feel I'm engaging in a two way conversation with the anchors, with the journalists and the other readers?
I'm a big fan of CNN and have been for decades but I do feel with this redesign you haven't done enough. It is just a baby step forward.
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