Does p2pnet need a face-lift?
p2pnet news view P2P:- Hi all:
I said in 2010, I was going to change p2pnet’s look — that it maybe needed a face-lift. But I’m having second thoughts
I’ve several emails asking why.
One person said s/he liked its current ‘minimalist’ approach. Another reader, who’s been coming here almost since Day One, pointed out p2pnet has had pretty the same basic appearance since it started, “so why fix something that ain’t broke”?
Well, to keep going I must bring in some advertising $ — and fast — and I thought a new look might be more appealing to advertisers.
For another, I thought p2pnet as it is might be getting a bit old. The pic on the right shows what it looked like about five months after it started in 2002.
So what do you guys think? Change it? Or leave it more or less as it is?
Meanwhile …
… back in 2002, I said p2pnet would try to:
- Expose the entertainment industry in much the same way anti-cigarette sites exposed the tobacco industry;
- Provide technical help in detail for p2p users and developers;
- Gather and re-distribute news and information on the p2p culture, computing and people — users and developers both; and,
- Drive it home that very soon indeed everyone, everywhere, will have an online and/or wireless Net connection, with all that implies for p2p.
IMO, the only thing I haven’t managed is #2, and that was because sites dedicated to doing exactly that were springing up all over the place. Anyway, I felt more comfortable providing news and views, and I still feel that way.
So with that in mind, even though I’ve almost decided to leave things pretty much as they are visually, as I said before Christmas, I still plan to introduce three new sections:
- Celebrities. (Yeh, I know, but if you don’t like it, don’t go there
) - Emma – This’ll be run by my daughter, Emma, 13, who’ll be posting stuff of interest to kids in and around her generation.
- Reviews. I, and others, will be checking out new and/or particularly interesting hardware and software
If anyone has any thoughts on that, or giving p2pnet a new look, please leave a comment, or email me at p2pnet @ shaw dot ca.
Cheers! And thanks. And all the best …
Jon
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
change p2pnet’s look – p2pnet not for sale: update III, December 9, 2009
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January 3rd, 2010 at 12:49 pm
Just don’t spread yourself too thin Jon.
And since when did advertisers care what a site looks like? They care about the hits & the demographics. I assume you are running into the same problem I did back when my site was in its prime – few advertisers want to have anything to do with a site that they think, on the surface, promotes illegal activity. That’s not likely to change anytime soon.
Joe – aka tinfoil
January 3rd, 2010 at 1:31 pm
The current style is functional and I’m comfortable with it. However, I can’t say whether to change it or not, as I don’t know what you want to change it to.
Perhaps if you could post a preview, similar to the one on this article, but slightly bigger, myself and others can give you an informed opinion?
I would say though, that a style with more ‘wow’ factor might well be more appealing to advertisers – they’re people too of course and can be swayed by the same things.
Hope this helps!
January 3rd, 2010 at 1:56 pm
I wouldn’t change. KISS.
But, I would make a couple of additions….
January 3rd, 2010 at 2:50 pm
I come here for the news. I block most flashy animations and most scripts because they are usually ads or toxic stuff. I really don’t like sites that have page after page of stuff that could be all on one page. You know, “click here for comments”, “click here for the REST of the comment” and so on. I don’t think tarting the page up with clutter will make me more likely to read it. There is a certain trust in familiar things.
January 3rd, 2010 at 4:52 pm
@ Astroboy:
Tarting it up, eh? heh.
Up until now Bob has been doing all the actual code stuff but now I’m on my own, so to speak, I’ve been trying to figure it out. So far, not too bad, considering I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. But I’ve somehow managed to get the footer stuff into the sidebar, or something, which is why it’s now under the ad on the right.
Stay tuned
Cheers!
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:05 pm
^^ Not any more. Found the problem. The footer stuff is now where it should be. At the foot.
I’m proud of myself. heh
Cheers!
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:08 pm
My 2 cents:
I like the “minimalist” style too, I block flash and other stuff too when I browse, and your site loads faster than some others do. It is faster to read as there is not an awful lot of extra stuff. A person can only spend so many hours on the Internet each day, you know.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:10 pm
@ Jon (your last post):
Pat yourself on the back for fixing it, and tell yourself you are an anomaly. I told somebody a few months back that I started using Linux when I was almost 44 and that I knew almost nothing about computers before then. He called me an anomaly due to my age and willingness to learn strange things like Linux. As you are older than myself, you must be an even bigger anomaly than I am!
From one anomaly to another, heh.
January 3rd, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Thanks, Dorothy.
I think I’m going to leave p2pnet the way it is. After all, I’ve just spent five hours driving myself insane trying to figure how to change things with only one major (thank God I saved the original code) screw-up and one balls-up (see above
).
“A person can only spend so many hours on the Internet each day, you know.”
Would you mind telling that to my daughter? heh
Cheers!
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:13 pm
@ Dorothy:
Thanks again — I think.
Cheers!
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:23 pm
I like the simplistic design. Easy navigation, easy searches, easy to tell where you left off reading. Don’t change it up too much.
January 3rd, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Like several of the others here, I block the flash crap and anything extra that pulls on the net load. I’ve been coming here, pretty much since you left the other site, way back when.
I too, like the minimalist approach that p2p has. When I look at some of the garbage that passes for news sites today, I’m very glad I found this site when I did. Seems everytime I turn around, I’m back in the flash section of my computer deleting LWOs and I don’t even have flash installed. Webpage spying tees me off, to be honest. Yeah, I know they can provide the webmaster with where to fine tune his pages but no webmaster needs 4 or more web bugs.
A simple page such as what is at P2P is a far more reassuring page than a cluttered one where web bugs, scripts, and datamine run rampant under images and other means.
Navigating on a confusing web site puts me off. Here pages open fast, searches turn up relevant results, navigation is easy, and you can even get an idea of what is in the article by the byline under the topic.
All these are nothing but pluses for the site in my book.
January 3rd, 2010 at 7:02 pm
Minimalism is generally cheaper. I would rather you decide on matters of practicality than wield the Power Cosmetic.
January 3rd, 2010 at 8:30 pm
I like the current layout. It’s user friendly and it looks good. Although a different type of layout might let you place more targeted ads (I think I suggested this a few months ago) there are other ways to attract advertisers, if you’re willing to do things a little differently.
In addition to the current ad spots, I think you should offer advertisers the option of placing ads on your story page. For example, for X amount of dollars, you will place an advertisers banner (or small ad) on 5 different stories on 5 different days and it will be the only ad that will appear for that story, aside from your regular ads on the sides of each page. This is appealing because it will be the only featured ad on the page and some of your articles get a lot of traffic so it might be worth their while. It will also allow them to buy ads without a long-term commitment.
January 3rd, 2010 at 9:55 pm
I think google and bell canada should be writing you a check since their highly paid consultants and execs are obvious fools that have been pointed out time and time again.
So Email them and tell them so.
January 3rd, 2010 at 10:32 pm
I agree, I like the simplistic design. I use noscript to block scripts/annoying ads etc..
January 4th, 2010 at 1:07 am
Joe McGuire is right. It’s all about how much web traffic you generate, as well as demographics. Google has a VERY minimalist appearance yet they generate a huge ad revenue.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:45 am
The only problem I have with the site is that I still only have a 17 inch crt monitor, not widescreen and the ads on the right never show unless I scroll over. NOt really a big deal cause Im probably the only person still using IE6 and using a CRT monitor. I like how the layout it being simple. This site and Slyck are the main sites I goto for p2p type news. And I prefer this layout to Slyck. Keep up the good work.
January 4th, 2010 at 2:46 am
Just leave it the way it is. it is fine.
January 4th, 2010 at 4:58 am
I like P2Pnet the way it is, it’s simple and straightforward. There’s no need for flashy graphics and crap that just slows everything down.
January 4th, 2010 at 6:04 am
I too like the site the way it is, however the root of Jons wish to change things is the desire to maximise revenue creation to pay some bills so we can ensure the sites left how we want it by making sure we report on and link to Jons stories here, this will gain him a bigger web prescence and thus ensure the advertising space here is worth something to advertisers, lets not ask Jon to change lets help him stay the way we like : )
January 4th, 2010 at 12:19 pm
As Long time reader mate … What i would love to see if a ADHD summery of the story’s, like 3 lines saying the general gist .
As i must admit that you include a lot of info sometimes and being generation X i tend to only get though 3 of 4 lines before having bit of a mind wounder and skipping to the next story wishing i new what happined ..
Anyway thats what i would really like 3 or 4 lines at the top of a big story outlining what the go is and then go into as much detail as u like ..
besides that i don’t mind the layout seems fine to me ..
cheers mate Gym_
January 4th, 2010 at 12:38 pm
Good idea, Gym_
Being of generation Z, my problem will be to try to remember. heh
Cheers!