Wow, Poynter wasn’t kidding about being responsive to feedback
Yesterday, I suggested that it might be the worst idea ever for Poynter to open up its beta site to feedback before it had gone live. Today, I’m starting to rethink that position thanks to an email from Poynter Online Director Julie Moos.
Hi, Jake. Thanks for tumbling about Poynter’s redesign. It’s possible this will prove to be one of the worst ideas I’ve ever had, but our readers feel so strongly about the site that the sooner I can involve them in the changes we’re about to make, the better. (I learned this from our last two redesigns, which we sprung on users in 2002 and 2008, to much mutual misery, especially related to reading Romenesko.)
So far, the feedback has been positive, and since we’re actually pretty far along in the process (we know where the content is going, we just want to know whether our taxonomy makes sense to users), I think there’s more harm in getting too far ahead of them than in risking exposure too early.
So, I’m hoping your “good idea” tag is the one that predicts the future, but if I’m wrong, it won’t be the first or last time ;)Julie
In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been treated to two very different approaches to unveiling a redesign where a site’s audience is especially opinionated. Gawker (and Hard Candy Shell) chose to “leak” their beta site, but they’re benefiting from the early exposure just the same as Poynter. It will be interesting to see how different the launched products are from their beta versions.
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jaketbrooks posted this
