Disclaimer: The following article is merely an examination of the way these sites engage their users, and not an endorsement of the content or viewpoints advanced by these sites.
I’m a news junkie, My phone can’t refresh the page fast enough. I read the news at stoplights and during long restaurant waits. I have to know the current levels of the Icelandic stock exchange. I just have to. Long gone are the days of my childhood, when I would put my feet on the screen to cover Peter Jenning’s face in the hope that my father would switch over to Nickelodeon. Now I read Huffington, Kos, Limbaugh, Ron Paul, and Politico. I read ’em all, because I want to know what’s on everybody’s mind.
These are all interesting members of the New Media (or at least Old Media in sheep’s clothing), but there are only a few who excel in terms of usability and a real understanding of their users. The traditional news networks have attempted this, but have failed miserably in their attempts at engagement (the latest debacle with Apple and CNN’s iReport service springs to mind). Many moons ago, someone made a credibility vs. popularity graph and charted blogs and news sites on it (I wish I could find it). The sites covered here fall all along the chart, but have one thing in common: they know what the user wants, and they provide it. Whether it’s fresh content, accessibility, or just great design, it’s all served up in a linkworthy manner.
1. Drudge. That’s all you have to say. It’s the original portal of the New Media. If a story hits Drudge for a single day, it will influence the news cycle for the next week. He has millions of devoted readers. If you’re like me (and I don’t presume you are), you leave the page up in the background all day long.
How does he engage his users? Well, for one, he’s constantly updating the page with fresh material. Secondly, he links to every influential pundit, blog, and news service available on the internet. He’s unwilling to alienate you by eliminating your favorite voice from the argument.
Thirdly, and here’s the kicker…he makes things easy on the user. You unconsciously learn how to use the site. Top left is upcoming important news, lower right is world news, the huge link and pic in the center is the important issue of the moment, and news sources and blogs are arranged in alphabetical order. He has resisted the urge to separate content into categories. By doing so, he is unconsciously sending the signal, “This is all important news, pay attention.” I don’t even have to bother hitting F5 for a refresh, as a script does this every few minutes.
From an SEO’s perspective, what does he do right? As the Drudge Report is only 1 page, he has the flattest site architecture of any portal on the web. If you’re linking to Drudge, you are linking to the front page only, and possibly his “NewsFlash Page.” That’s it.
Drudge is past the point of even needing search engines due to the love (and hate) that the blogerati show him and the ever-relevant content he provides. The script, in a slightly gray-hat move, inflates his number of visits due to the automatic refresh. This a smooth move, as it allows him to charge advertisers more and makes sure his ads get rotated on a regular basis.
2. Infowars. This site will make your raise both eyebrows and check your tin-foil hat to see that it is properly adjusted. Most of the things Alex Jones says are way out there on the razor’s edge of sanity. Other things are…umm, at least thought provoking. My main reason for picking this site is how well it caters to the user and integrates its message throughout.
I first heard about Infowars over on Reddit due to the fact that one of Mr. Jones’ documentaries had gone viral. He’s an interesting case, as he attacks Republican and Democrats alike, offending both. He’s a pretty hard-core libertarian and a supporter of Ron Paul. Lately, his credibility has improved because he predicted the subprime mess ages ago. I give you this background so I can show you how the message is so cohesive.
Mr. Jones, is a huge proponent of free speech. As such, he has admirably harnessed the power of the internet and used it to his full advantage. It starts with landing on his home page. Immediately, you are confronted with a slideshow condensation of what he considers important news. This isn’t just a 3 or 4 photo slideshow. These are 15-20 slides, and they must update it with a completely different slideshow at least once per hour. That’s pretty much the reason I go to the site in the first place. Each of the photos is carefully picked to support the story. The selection of these pictures is brilliant, as they portray a narrative that makes you want to click through to read the actual story.
Infowars has a podcast, like most other information networks. What makes it different is the crazy amount of formats that their show streams in: lo/hi bandwidth, Real Media, Windows Media, streaming MP3, and a video feed with a document projector. His documentaries are all available on Google Video for free. If his message falls on deaf ears, it won’t be for lack of effort.
The most brilliant part is how well his advertising is blended in with his actual content. It doesn’t even seem intrusive. If you subscribed to his worldview, it would come across as surprisingly helpful. Fluoride free toothpaste, Gold Bullion, freeze dried food….the entire site is one big call to action. I would be willing to bet that his conversion rate is absolutely enormous.
Alex Jones knows fresh, relevant content makes for loyal users, and he does his best to provide it. Even if I can’t agree with him, I can applaud the way he leverages every type of medium possible for the benefit of his users’ overall experience.
3. The Times Online. I have to hand it to The Times. They are the most engaging of all the current papers available in an online edition. Their layout is a pleasure to browse through and the color scheme is fresh without being gimmicky.
The landing page has a quote from a columnist or person of interest (at least, they are of interest to people living in the UK), and you are compelled to read and think about it. The recommended article section is celebrity free and relevant to my interests. For a CMS-based site, the URLs are surprisingly short. Their design and implementation is far better than, say, the New York Times. I cringe any time I get a link to the NYTOnline because regardless of how good the article may be, the layout makes sure I won’t stick around to read another one.
The Times Online has made the transition into usability by anticipating what readers desire to see, and making sure their design doesn’t fatigue the reader in the process. As a bonus, their content also happens to be quite good. For that, they are to be lauded. I hope other publications will follow their excellent example in the near future. For all the money they have, MSNBC, FoxNews, and CNN are woefully cumbersome sites. The only engagement they offer is the fact that comments might be enabled on the articles. Evidently, that is supposed to make up for everything else they are doing wrong.
With print media rapidly dying due to lack of advertising and web advertising gaining ground, it would behoove them to take a look at these three sites and learn from their success. It’s time they reallocated talent to the web and made a serious run at determining what their users actually want. It doesn’t have to be radical, just give people what they’re asking for:
Simple navigation, readability, fresh content, and the ability to consume that content in any format they so please.
(P.S. On a side note: Somebody might want to tell news organizations that enabling comments does little more than give people WHO TPYE LYKE THI an ability to express their genius views. It removes credibility, and makes me return from whence I came to begin with. )
