Jun 4, 2008
RANT: Gawds I hate web 2.0 comic book websites!
I know this will get me in trouble with certain people considering I work in web development but GAWDS I hate it when websites become “beta” with the stupid sunburst behind the logo, stripes, the HUGE widescreen look. Now hey Comic Book Resources looks like Newsarama which looks like Pop Culture Shock. First it was Chud.com which did the revamp, then along came CBR and now Newsarama followed suit.
Personally I like sites like Panels of Awesome which have a format but its not a BETA website which gives that “label” (excuse in my mind) that if things change, hey, it’s Beta and you should be expecting that. Blah. Think if the comic book store you went to kept changing the layout, structure at a whim — would you want to go back? How is that a good user experience?
I know I sound like a pain-in-the-ass about this ’cause I just revamped my own blog but I didn’t call it BETA nor did I change things on a whole. I just updated bits and pieces but the same look & feel remained.
Newsarama was one of my favorite websites to visit and now I groan when I see it. It looks so bloody corporate now, it makes me just want to gloss through it — I want the pre – dot/beta version of the site back for old curmudgeons like me. *le sigh*
I personally believe Newarama was LONG overdue for an upgrade from the old 1997-ish look they were sporting before – have you ever tried finding an older article on that thing? You’re better off trying to find the Ark of the Covenant.
I’ve always disliked the “Beta” status on sites. For whatever reason, it just feels like you’re not getting all of the site and that what you’re seeing is more of a demo. I’m weird like that though.
Thanks for the mention Robert!
“Now CBR looks like Newsarama which looks like PCS…” Somehow I don’t think that’s a compliment ^_^;
I think CBR’s revamp was okay because it still feels like CBR but it cleaned things up — not just aesthetically, but I would imagine it added some much-needed 2.0 type features. Can’t say for sure as don’t go there. Nor do I visit Newsarama, but thanks to your post I saw their revamp…
I have been saying to people for years that I wouldn’t change anything if I was Newsarama. The way I see it they really don’t have anything to gain — except some ad space? (And quite honestly Midtown Comics doesn’t even advertise there anymore…)
So it’s cleaner and hipper, maybe they gain a little more traction with casual visitors. But more likely than anything their core audience will just feel disoriented and have something to bitch about. Sure, it was just a big glorified message board? But they were/are #1 easily.
Anyways. Yeah, rather not be lumped in with CBR & Newsarama. Unless I could somehow sell out and become a big glorified press outlet and make those kinds of bucks heheh.
On a side note, I was sad to see your review format change because now I can’t include BTS reviews in ComicRankings anymore
Lastly, I too dig me some POA
To me Newsarama may have needed an upgrade but it did not need to start looking so “homiginzed” like other sites. I did not mind the hunt & peck for articles on Newsarama but I do not think that the new format helps that in any real way. I LOVED the idea that they took a message board and made it into a comic news website. Now they are just like every other media news website. Joy.
So maybe I went a touch far on saying that Newsarama looks like CBR which looks like PCS as PCS did a great deal to keep its own unique look and feel when it came out. Now it just seems that all such media websites need either have a “blogy” look and feel or a similar feel to what PCS started with. If anything it was a compliment to PCS which I thought had a unique feel until everyone started to follow suit.
I also agree that CBR did clean the site up but I am still not fond of the general web 2.0ish look and feel of the site.
Re: Best Bang reviews. Yeah it sucks BtS aint in the Comic Rankings anymore but for me, the Best Bang became too much like work. On a set day and also being posted on the Z2H site — at one point, I felt I was reading my comics for review and not for fun anymore. The hobby started to slip away and the WORK of doing the reviews started to be overwhelming to the point I was doing my Best Bang posts before any other paying/paid work. As I mentioned on the last Best Bang, it is not gone for good. I may be coming back with something a little less glitzy (maybe no more heads) and simple. I want to keep the hobby feel for the review, the quick & dirty appeal that I thought it had.
I really think I just needed a break from doing the reviews.
Oh and if POA, For the Love of Comics and Comics Continuum go and get all web 2.0ish — that’s it, I won’t have any place to go anymore.
Thanks for the clarifications Robert. I understand all your points, especially the part about fun (non-paying!) stuff feeling like work. Just so you know, I wasn’t mad, and I actually did kind of get that what you were saying was more of a compliment. Keep up the good work — and definitely keep the fun part alive.
Oh wait. I just have to comment on one more thing. Unless ComicsContinuum also revamped since I last went there, that has got to be a site that needs some cleaning up because the number of ads and popups is nuts! Granted I can block most of them out but still…