Anyone with a design eye have a suggestion for what I should do with this section?
on Jun 2, 2009 - 7:14 PM PST
The issue
What do you think Pallian Creative should put in the right margin of the site?
Pallian Creative is the company that remade Mixergy.com and got this site respect from designers and friends. It’s hurting that company’s founder to see me neglect a section of the site.
What’s your suggestion?
What do you think we should put in that section? I’d like it to be useful for you. Adarsh, Pallian Creative’s founder, wants it to also look good.
Would you rather design it yourself?
If you’re a designer, Adarsh and I would love to see what you’d create for that section.
And if you’re creative and are looking for an internship, maybe you can help Adarsh take on some of design work his firm is turning away.
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June 2nd, 2009 at 7:44 pm
How about a “Suggestion Box” type of area – where visitors can post the top questions/topics/guests they would like to see you cover in upcoming interviews, then you can sort by topic/area of interest, etc and have a 'Top 3 User Requests” or some sort of list that updates as users add input
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Andrew,
I like the Most Popular/Recent Comments: you could combine these and make it a tabbed selection.
I would add a twitter feed for Mixergy
Then add a section(s) for Sponsors, Partners, and/or Ad space—all three or one, or two.
Add a general poll or promotion graphic that links to a page that you poll or a submit suggestion form page on anything from guest suggestions to tip suggestions.
Not necessarily in that order.
I hope this helps.
Rob
June 2nd, 2009 at 7:57 pm
I like that.
1) I'm obsessed with hearing people's suggestions.
2) I'm sure we can find a good suggestion box image on iStock.
Thanks for the suggestion Damon!
Looking forward to hearing what others think too.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:00 pm
A chat box, enhancing the sense of community.
Or, the interviews categorized by theme: Affiliate marketing, self-help, technical. design, …
Or, a giant divided ad space… But I know that's not what you want haha
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:02 pm
I thought uservoice had that covered with the floating tab…
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I think interviews categorized by theme is a great idea.
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:41 pm
One additional point: Where is the newsletter sign-up? If it's the Free Start-up Report, you should incorrporate that offer into letting users know that by joining the email list, you receive a Free Start-up Report, or keep them seperate, what ever you prefer.
Don't get away from email newsletters by announcing your new posts and live interview time, because most people are on email every second of the day. I know that if you continued with even an automated email update to your audience, you would increase your traffic 1000%.
Peace,
Rob
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:42 pm
Andrew,
Create a question and answer section, where you have a top 10 questions entrepreneurs ask and a link to an interview that answers the question – perhaps with a time hack.
Tommy
June 2nd, 2009 at 8:48 pm
I really like the new Google latitude widget that lets people see where I am. Not sure how much you travel, but there is something entertaining about tracking someone. If you don't want to make the blog too personal you might be able to mash something up with the latitude API that tracks 30-40+ entrepreneurs and shows where they are, that would be really cool and I volunteer to be one.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
I agree. I find my self revisiting interviews.
Digging through the archives is only going
to get less and less practical as interviews are
added.
June 2nd, 2009 at 9:32 pm
What font is the Mixergy logo in?
June 2nd, 2009 at 10:56 pm
I agree, the floating tab serves this purpose well.
I sort of like the “Most Popular”, but I enjoy that on the NYT and WSJ as a quick place to skim for good reads so maybe I'm biased. The “Recent Comments” is less helpful, especially when you launch a topic like this and suddenly all 5 posts in that box are about the same thing.
Maybe that's a good spot for quick polls to gauge interest in topics, current events, etc? Quick yes/no or thumbs up/thumbs down questions could be especially useful for those of us who are too lazy to go to the feedback forum (and/or who resent that the two comment sections are run by two different applications and so require two different accounts).
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:02 am
I'm not a fan of the new design to be honest. I think the most popular widget in the sidebar is a must. It'll give new visitors a way to guage whether your site is right for them or not. The recent comment widget is just filler/noise. I'd get rid of it.
I would put in a schedule of events or live shows or even a “Top 5 Startup Resources Tools” .
Just my .02.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:53 am
I probably went a bit to far and posted an entire blog entry and a mockup on this ;):
http://fizzbuzz.net/mixing-within-the-margins-r...
Just the mockup:
http://fizzbuzz.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/...
Also I was cruising istock for silhouette of a teacher or a “learning image” but couldn't really find time to work it into what I created. However I did find this image: http://www.istockphoto.com/stock-illustration-9... and thought it felt very “upstartish”, maybe its useful for something different.
June 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 am
hmmm it's true. that part completely destroys the aesthetics of your website
I recommend replacing them with a picture of a bunch of unicorns. that will totally make the page look cool
hahah kidding
June 3rd, 2009 at 4:10 am
With all due respect, forget Pallian Creative. That portion of the site is fine really. Don't do anything. Really.
BTW while the site is a bit sexier, very much in line with whatever they are calling this look.
A few cognates here:
http://www.marksdailyapple.com/
http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/
It was absolutely fine before. People came for your content, most don't care that much about the look.
BTW what the eff is a free startup report?
Keep up the good work.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:10 am
Hi Andrew,
You can place a friendfeed widget. I'm using a thing like that 2 offer visitors a glimpse of what my social activity is.
Thanks,
@TomaBonciu
June 3rd, 2009 at 11:52 am
I like the chat box idea and recent comments.
June 3rd, 2009 at 12:35 pm
1) Assign Most Popular and Recent Comments as Tabs
2) Add a section about relevant popular Web 2.0 Tools (SaaS or otherwise) with simple description via tooltips to keep it clean.
2a) Make it community votable with simple [+] icon. Similar to digg.
3) Books! Books! Books! I love them. You love them. They are on your shelves. They should be on Mixergy too. Add a section about books written by your interviewees and other popular must reads.
3a) Tab these too. Books by Interviewees | Must Reads
3b) I wouldn't mind if you list them as an affiliate. ;)
4) Very few very relevant ads. Special discounts to entrepreneurs who come to Mixergy to learn a few things. Would like to test the waters of some Web Tools and saving money wouldn't hurt. Specially for Start-Ups and up-and-coming entrepreneurs.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:22 pm
Thanks Rob!
1. Combining most popular and recent etc should be easy. I think disqus
makes a good plugin for that.
2. After all the tweeting I do, I figured you'd want me to shut down my
account, not promote it. ;-)
3. There are no ads here yet, but I think I have my first revenue I idea.
I'll post it soon.
4. I like finding more ways to get user feedback. I can never get enough of
it.
Thanks for your help Rob. You have one of the best design eyes I've ever
seen.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
- Hmmm. A big ad for acai berries! I'll make a fortune. Thanks!
- Interviews by category is becoming one of the top requested features here.
- I'd love to have a message board here at some point. Chat box might be a
good way to start.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:23 pm
Thanks Sameer. That's becoming a hot request here.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:25 pm
I'm really bad about using the email newsletter I have on Mixergy.
I think I'm overly concerned with burdening people with more messages. I
need to get a good schedule and go with it. Like you said, it's a great way
to grow the audience.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:27 pm
Hmm. I like that. A “what entrepreneur question would you want answered?”
box, right? That would also help me figure out what subjects to do
interviews on.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:29 pm
So that's how you have that box on your site. Looks like you're in Boston
today.
I'll see if I can find other entrepreneurs who are on latitude. I could see
how people would want to know if their favorite entrepreneur is in the same
city they're in or the same conference.
I'll do some research.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:30 pm
Yeah. I really need to fix this.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:32 pm
Actually, I picked the font for the logo (from a site Adarsh recommended).
It's aachen
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Thanks Christel.
I'm seeing you on the site a whole lot more since the redesign. Looks like
Adarsh is bringing together old friends.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:36 pm
I put the recent comments up as a filler–like you said. Wish I had a better
way to highlight readers.
Top 5 resources is a great idea. Thanks.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:38 pm
I'll ask Adarsh about what font he used on the Mixergy logo and let you
know.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:41 pm
Wow! Thanks. I see what you mean. Faces + magnetic quotes. That does draw my
attention and highlights the site's content.
Thank you!
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:42 pm
I wouldn't have given that section a second thought, but it really seems to
hurt Adarsh to see some aspect of this site ignored. And he's been right on
the money before about his suggestions.
Thanks.
So one more vote for unicorns. '-)
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 pm
What the F indeed.
A free startup report is a placeholder that we put in when we designed the
site.
I forgot to get rid of it, so now I need to create some kind of report. What
the F did I get into?
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:44 pm
Thanks.
I remember when Robert Scoble added that to his site. It was so helpful.
Thanks for the suggestion. I'll go check out my FriendFeed feed and see if
it's useful.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
You mean so you could talk to others on this site, right? I like that too.
Thanks.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:45 pm
You could even implement a sort of internal twitter-like system
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:46 pm
I'll put together a list of books for you this weekend. I'm excited about
going through my shelves.
Do you know how to add a digg-like voting system on a wordpress blog? I'd
love to add that!
I would add it for interview subjects and let people vote on what kind of
interviews I should do.
June 3rd, 2009 at 5:59 pm
When is the next time you are in OC? I'd love to meet up briefly, chat and update you on our progress.
Beers on me.
(We met at an event in Tustin — WunderMarx, I think maybe….)
Have learned a ton since then and actually split our projects into two separate ones. One of which we have signed up 3 clients for a pilot before we wrote a line of code.
Anyhow, your interviews are solid and I am sure they fire up a lot of people as they do me.
PS Ambitious upstart — (wordplay on startup) = genius. Seriously. I first noticed it in one of your interviews and it has a great “hook” to it.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:35 pm
Yeah even a scheduler… I promise it's not burdening people who opt-in to your email list or any opt-in touch point. It's the best way for you to tap me on the shoulder to announce new content or a live interview. Keep in mind too, that there is a lot of noise on twitter at this time, so a user may miss your tweet about an update. Re: the email scheduler you can have it send daily, or weekly or as content posts—the frequency can also be driven by the user, example: email me 1) as content posts, 2) weekly, 3) alert me 1 day before a live interview—that way I can calendar it in. You have set up a great content syndication platform posting to twitter, fb, ff, etc…don't miss email please. I would have logged into more of your live interviews had I just known. Great job on the site!
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:38 pm
Yes make it the newsletter.
June 3rd, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Voting system: Vote It Up: http://www.tevine.com/projects/voteitup/
Surveys: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/surveys/
Polls: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-polls/
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
Apologies if this is already suggested here. You could do something as simple as adjusting the order in which the 5 sections in the right hand column appear.
I happen to use the Most Popular section, but think that the Recent Comments section would be for a community with a higher activity level.
June 4th, 2009 at 12:03 am
I don't really know what's better than the “most popular” box but I'll say they've done a hell of a job with the site. Very enjoyable to visit.
June 4th, 2009 at 2:31 am
Plus see Vote-the-Post http://www.1800blogger.com/word-press-voting-pl...
June 4th, 2009 at 2:58 am
I like the idea of tabbed section of recent posts/most popular/ recent comments
another thing that'd be is a calendar with upcoming interviews & events
June 5th, 2009 at 2:47 pm
As you might have seen I am delayed in writing back as I have been traveling the last few days, after Boston I was in San Fran yesterday. I know of a few entrepreneurs that are on it now and I am sure that there are others that would turn it on. It would be cool if you had ones that you have interviewed so that if you click on them you could learn more about them.
Tell me if you need any help building the widget as it will have to be somewhat custom I think. Though it can be done for sure.
June 5th, 2009 at 7:14 pm
Andrew- I cant tell if the Free Start Up report is an Ad or what? Turns out it appears it is for invitations etc. I would guess I am not the only one avoiding this area but by making it a bit clearer you might be able to capture more etc. It also seems like it could be trimmed down a bit.
June 8th, 2009 at 5:04 pm
Im surprised Im the first one to comment here…
Honestly, I think those sections are fine. Thats pretty much dead space with this design IMO, but I do occasionally look there and see something you or someone else commented on and click on it.
Something you could use, on your front page at least, might be a “site map” for all the interviews. Just a list of them. Are there more than 30 yet? I wouldnt mind a single line item list of all of them so I could peruse quickly. Going over the pages and seeing dupes and the non-interviews takes time.
Ive actually watched almost all of your interviews now, but Ive wanted some kind of interview list a few times. Your “top 20″ or whatever list of must-see was good, and I used that as a launching place for some, but Id rather decide for myself based on the subject whether its what I want right now.
I find myself re-watching some of your interviews for background while doing things, and this interview list might help me more in the future.
I definitely care more about the interviews than the recent comments or a most popular list (and can always put all of them in their order of popularity to compromise on that section).
June 14th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Quick test of my comments. Please ignore.
June 22nd, 2009 at 5:46 am
As it's a scrolling section that keeps growing with the number of comments on the left-hand side, why not make it a 10-Second Wisdom section that you can use to either post hot quotes from great interviews yourself or get readers to tweet in their own versions. Makes it added value and inter-active. What more could you want?
July 5th, 2009 at 6:43 am
Andrew what about having a rating system under your videos and the box in the side bar would be the community's favorites (Top 7 Interviews). I can picture it having little thumbnails to the left and the titles to the right. Under the titles a category link (for related videos).
September 20th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Hi Andrew,
What did you finally decide to do with this section or did you decide to leave it alone?
I too revisit interviews and I find it easier to access when the Search is in the header.
I think monocat mentioned Books? You could use allconsuming.net to list the books you're currently reading and add it to your site (people can also check your allconsuming profile to see what you have read), in fact they have another site called Lists of Bests where you could create a list (or several) of required reading for entreprenuers and related. (On that note: the company behind these sites (43things.com etc.) Robot Co-op would make a good interview.)
Maybe logging popular searches or a search suggest that displays the titles of your posts when searching?
(You also need a favicon!)
September 21st, 2009 at 1:11 am
Hi Andrew,
What did you finally decide to do with this section or did you decide to leave it alone?
I too revisit interviews and I find it easier to access when the Search is in the header.
I think monocat mentioned Books? You could use allconsuming.net to list the books you're currently reading and add it to your site (people can also check your allconsuming profile to see what you have read), in fact they have another site called Lists of Bests where you could create a list (or several) of required reading for entreprenuers and related. (On that note: the company behind these sites (43things.com etc.) Robot Co-op would make a good interview.)
Maybe logging popular searches or a search suggest that displays the titles of your posts when searching?
(You also need a favicon!)