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site design posts

Filed under: Internet, Video, Web services, Social Software

Digg launches new look

Digg all pageThere's still no images section, but Digg has launched a new front page design that includes both videos and text articles.

Up until now, the videos were hidden off in their own section, so you'd only find funny/weird/interesting movies if you went looking for them. And really, where's the fun in that?

Now videos have a chance of showing up on the front page just like every other article submitted to Digg. Last time we checked, there was only one video on the front page, although there were plenty of other videos with a higher number of diggs. So it's not clear how it's determined whether a video will make the front page.

If you'd rather not see videos, you can click on the "News" tab. To switch back to the combined views, just click "All."

There are a few other subtle tweaks including a one-click "bury" command that makes it easier to vote against a story. Given that Reddit, StumbleUpon, and other services have a simple thumbs up or down system, it was getting a bit silly that it took two clicks to bury a Digg story.

Filed under: Internet, News, Web services, AOL

AOL launches new blog-like news site

AOL NewsAOL has relaunched AOL News. And it looks like Download Squad's parent company has taken a cue from blogs.

The new design lays out news in an blog-like fashion, with excerpts of all the day's main stories laid out chronologically from top to bottom.

Breaking news from wire services shows up in a box on the right column. Popular stories, comments, and a blog tag are on the left column. Each story also has Reddit-like thumbs up and down buttons, letting readers vote on stories. Presumably the top ranked articles wind up in the popular stories box.

AOL's sports page will unveil a new design with a similar look later this week.

This raise an interesting question though. The simple layout of most blogs works because blogs are dedicated to a relatively small number of topics, such as software (Download Squad) or gadgets (Engadget). Does it make sense to present mainstream news on hundreds of diverse topics in this fashion?

Filed under: Business, Design, Developer, Productivity

RobotReplay - Someone may be watching

Robot Replay is one of those apps that may make website owners go "Oooo" and website visitors a little uncomfortable.

The free service allows you to watch every move users on your site make by inserting a small Java script file into your websites code. After inserting the code you can watch a video of each and every users visit to your site. You can see where vistors click, what pages they go to, how they fill out forms, literally everything they do while their on your webpage. The idea behind the service is that website owners can see first hand how people are using their site or where they're getting lost while visiting their site and optimize the site users experience.

While the concept is good from a web designers point of view how many users really want every move they make on a site tracked and watched later on? Probably not many, if any. Users are not aware they're being recorded unless the site owner decides to disclose that information to them.

What do you all think about Robot Replay? While the service doesn't really give you much more information about a users experience than your traditional run of the mill site stats do you think it invades your privacy more as a user by recording video?

[Via EmilyChang]

Filed under: Business, Design, Internet, Features

10 rules for your small business home page

How does your small business home page measure up?If you're in business and reading this article, chances are your company has a Web site. Before we all go to Web 2.0, does your site measure up to Web 1.0? Let's check how your site stands up to Web pages that "suck."

Read on to learn how you might be sending your potential customers fleeing in terror.

Read more →

Featured Time Waster

Graveyard Shift - zombie-busting Time Waster

With Halloween fast approaching, it's a great time to get in some practice defending your territory against zombies. In Graveyard Shift, you take aim at zombies and other creepy-crawlies, blasting them into splatters of cartoony green guts. It's a casual first-person shooter, and it's very easy to get the hang of - use the mouse to aim, click to fire. Graveyard Shift has at least 15 levels, and it might even have some secret stages I haven't unlocked yet. They key to getting good at Graveyard Shift is learning to use ...

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