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What's wrong with WBUR's Web site?
By adamg on Wed, 06/18/2008 - 9:45pm
Tell their Web guy what's wrong with wbur.org. And don't hold back: One critic wins a Car Talk mug. But you'll need to go full-bore kvetch by the end of the week.
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Comments
And no link? Did UH get
And no link? Did UH get bought by the Globe? :)
Touche
I've added a direct link to www.wbur.org to the post.
I guess I was so fixated on the cool idea of somebody asking people to bash where he works that I initially only linked to his blog post without linking to the station site.
So, no, I haven't suddenly become a subsidiary of the New York Times Co. :-).
cool contest, cruddy prize
I like that WBUR is doing that, but who wants a Car Talk mug? I would much rather have my choice of:
Also, it would be cool if my complaints were matched by the complaints of other generous listeners ;-D.
P.S. - anon's comment made me chuckle!
I believe this is part of the "work for free!" movement
Remember a few months ago when Boston mag crept onto Flickr to solicit photos from Boston Photo Mob? Offering nothing but photo credit in return?
'BUR actually called a friend of mine in a short time ago--under the guise of a job interview--and got a free site consult out of him too. He didn't get a mug.
...
A key difference
WBUR is a non-profit that seems to be trying to reach out to its listeners in a different way, whereas Boston Magazine is, well, Boston Magazine (although wbur.org sure does seem ad-heavy).
With that out of the way, my free (and worth every penny) advice: Do something about the home page: It's way too crowded. Decide if you really think people are going there for breaking news or if it's going to be a place to learn more about the station and its programs; right now, you're trying to do both and not doing it very well. If want to go all Web 2.0ish, you could try to fit both in via tabs that stay on the page when you click on them. Ditch the weather button - unless Channel 5 is giving you a ton of money for it or you really have people going "I wonder what the weather will be like this weekend? I know, I'll go check on wbur.org!"
And for goodness sake, get somebody in there with a color wheel and pick out a palette and stick with it!
...
sigh.
Aw
Telling somebody what's wrong with his site is the easy part. Actually doing something about it is the hard part.
I think the crowded web page
I think the crowded web page reveals a bigger problem with the station at large.
WBUR tries to be all things to all people, tries to do everything, and they end up doing nothing very well.
I disagree...
And for a number of reasons, one of which is that I work for a media company, too, and value when people tell us what they think of our site. (It'sNECN.com. Currently I have no prizes, but that is not the point. Just trying to fully disclose.)
Ken is a good guy. He is being upfront about what he is asking for, and what the rate for feedback is. And he's trying to say, "hey, we're open to hearing what you'd like to see." You don't have to design. You don't have to fix. You just get to critique. And if you don't want to, you don't have to.
It's actually one of the things that I like about the newer media.
TV and radio don't tend to ask what you as a user might like. Instead, they used occasional focus groups. And look at how that's turned out.
cool contest, cruddy prize
Looks like I am going to have to sweeten the pot to solicit the trenchant web criticism I am after.
I can't promise chocolates, flowers or crackers, but may be able to score some more highly-prized public radio schwag.
Give me a few days.
WBUR ante upping
Even more enticement to complain about its Web site: Ken George at 'BUR writes a random complainer will now get, in addition to that mug:
I hope they get good feedback
I don't mind so much when a non-profit asks for free help. In fact, when I do help one of them, I don't feel quite so guilty when they're, say, doing some kind of pledge drive :-). It's like volunteering. Maybe you can write it off as a charitable contribution on your taxes!
I love that they added even more schwag to the prize - hooray for U-Hub comments!
all i ever do
... is hit the 'listen live' button. If I want old shows, I hit NPR directly. If I want weather, well, I generally get that from the listen live, or Vista. And even the listen live button, I downloaded the link so all I have to do is double-click on my desktop.
Heck, I don't think I'd ever even scrolled down the homepage until just now, nevermind ever clicked a tab button.
Yeah, deffinately needs a focused pairing down.