New Ideas for Interference... but not the forum.

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

(Read the first post) How often to you read www.interference.com (not just the forum)

  • On a regular basis

    Votes: 22 22.7%
  • Once in awhile

    Votes: 39 40.2%
  • Never / I dont recall the last time

    Votes: 36 37.1%

  • Total voters
    97

Elvis

Rock n' Roll Doggie Band-aid
Joined
May 22, 2000
Messages
4,007
Location
Orange County, CA
In regards to our home page (www.interference.com), and the articles and content on it...

What topics would you like to see on Interference.com, aside from U2, that you think other Interference readers would be also interested in seeing?


Joel
 
Haha, not everything. Although, perhaps so. The elitism fad seems to thankfully have run it's course. And it seems all U2 fans are big general music fans anyway. A good place/genre to start would be rock, if that is even a genre anymore - but I digress. There's so many ways you could divide this up. In eras, for instance. Weekly columns on artists which shared chart spaces with U2 on X/Y/date. New news, 6 degrees of seperation if you want to keep a U2 link strong.
Your possibilities are endless.

:up:
 
I agree with Angela above. Most U2 fans are big music fans and I would enjoy reading more generalized music news on Interference especially when U2's in the studio and things are fairly sedate as far as their news goes. Perhaps music news broken down into various eras or genres. Great ideas, thanks Joel! Good Luck.
 
Putting my regular asshole persona aside for a minute, here's my genuine opinion on the homepage.

It's hard on the eyes. It's not condusive to reading. It's really 'Internet 1999". If the typeface were something nicer like Verdana or Georgia, some nice understated CSS were added, and all the here-and-there links sorted into a better navagation system, I'd be inclined to hang around and read more articles.

EDIT: As far as other topics, a guitar section relating to getting different sounds, with guest columnists would be nice, perhaps some general music news (Stones / Madonna / blah blah), and more editorials.

EDIT 2: And let's face it, giving everything a cleaner, less-cluttered look would allow you to drop in all sorts of Google Adsense goodness :wink:
 
I basically just look for new U2 news. Don't read every article, but those that interest me. Other than that, I usually go straight to the User CP. Though I might read other music news if it were posted (again, if it was of interest)
 
I do the same as Lila. I don't always click on every article to read the entire thing, but I do glance at it, and read it if it's interesting.

I like Angela & Carek's suggestions.

I don't think I'd be interested in anything besides music related articles. This is a site for a rock band, so I can get other news, etc. elsewhere.

Thanks for bringing this topic up.
 
Elvis said:
What topics would you like to see on Interference.com, aside from U2

May I ask why you want to know?
Why you're considering adding other content to the homepage?

and

What your own answer to the question would be?

This is not meant to be offensive by the way.
I am just interested to know what's behind it (the ideas / plans / motives).

Do you feel that the homepage doesn't get visited enough?
That the featured content/articles don't get enough recognition?
That the homepage gets snowed under by the forum?

Are you of the opinion that since the forum has quite a lot of non u2 subforums that the homepage should feature non u2 content as well?

I always visit the homepage first before I go to the forum.
Check to see if there's NEW u2 news.
Then look if there's new featured content/articles.
If it interests me, I read.
(Basicly the same as Lila and Thora do)

I don't go any lower than the active forum threads-thingie.
I really like that by the way.

All the things under that, could just as well not be there.

I agree with Canadiens1160, that the homepage could use an update.
There's so many different things on there and the letter size is so tiny.
It looks very cluttered.

Keep it simple.

For me it would be enough to keep the following on the homepage:

- u2 news (only showing the news of that day + the link to the news forum, where you can read the news of the previous days in case you missed it)
- featured content (which can include the interviews section) (maybe only the 3 (5 at the most) recent ones + link to the content forum)
- active forum threads

I was under the impression that interference is a u2 fan website.
And I come here for info about u2.

I can get general music info and other content elsewhere.

I understand that it would be very convenient if you could get that other content on here on the site as well.
As you won't have to go to another website.

But personally I see no need to add other topis.
Just u2 and u2related stuff on the home page.
As far as I'm concerned.

I might be alone in this standpoint.
I don't know.
Just thought I'd give my 2 cents.
 
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Miringeltje said:

But personally I see no need to add other topis.
Just u2 and u2related stuff on the home page.
As far as I'm concerned.

I might be alone in this standpoint.
I don't know.
Just thought I'd give my 2 cents.

I' m sort of with Miringeltje on this one for the U2 focus.
I think some additional links would be helpful to the first time visitor - e.g. Biography, Discography, Photos, Albums/Songs, Tours, etc. (maybe in a vertical column?)
 
for me this has always been a U2 site and I know TONS iof other music sites. Please do not promote artists like Madonna here like someone suggested. It would piss me off. In the forum we have a general music forum anyway.

I don´t read anything but the forum, however, I don´t see any sense in redesigning the site or adding some content if it´s not pure GOLD. Be careful, so many pages are so full of shit content.

If you DON´T KNOW what to do, just open some of the features for non-premium-members. I have been advocating a search function for YEARS for non-premiums, but Elvis, you just ignore it. you also ignored to put the african well fund back on. and now you´re asking ME for content ideas?

lol.
 

If you DON´T KNOW what to do, just open some of the features for non-premium-members. I have been advocating a search function for YEARS for non-premiums, but Elvis, you just ignore it. you also ignored to put the african well fund back on. and now you´re asking ME for content ideas?

lol. [/B]



While I truly appreciate your comments, they've never been ignored. You must understand and realize that I have addressed pretty much any and all 'premium' topics in the past. I'm not going to keep rehasing them. Just because you suggest something doesnt mean it's going to happen. Unfortunately this site costs $ to run, and atleast at this point everything can't be 'free'.

Also, you may want to not take things so personally. This is a general question posted by me in the open forum. The question was not spefically asked you 'YOU'. The question was asked of the community at large about content available via the homepage, _not_ forum features. I believe I made this very clear in the question and the poll.

If you wish to make forum suggestions, there is a forum dedicated to that which I'm sure you're well aware of ;)
 
Miringeltje said:


May I ask why you want to know?

Because I'm interested in what our members/readers think in regards to the site.


Why you're considering adding other content to the homepage?


Well, simply because I think that a majority of audience is interested in things well beyond U2, however I do see many common themes in other interests... which is evident if you just look around the forums.


What your own answer to the question would be?

I'd like to see more music news, reviews, possibly bits about movies or tv shows, or even the latest odd dvd that came out. Some special interest/worldly topics, aside from the U2 related ones, would be nice to see covered. While by no means to I think our audience fits in the 'Indie' demographic, I think it'd be nice to hear about smaller/newer artists. At the same time while I dont think our audience fits the purely 'mainstream' POPpy crowd, it wouldnt hurt to hear about a better cross section of various music genres/artists. Personally, I have an interest in a wide varieties of music, movies, tv, world news, politics, and social causes... and I have a feeling I'm not alone.


Do you feel that the homepage doesn't get visited enough?


Lol. I'm not going to get into specific stats here, but I wouldnt say it "doesn't get visited enough". It gets visited A LOT, of course it doesn't carry the numbers that the forum does, and I wouldn't ever expect it to. In reality the forum and the main site are two different entities, one a community with people clicking constantly loading pages and interacting, and the other is a content/article portal.



That the featured content/articles don't get enough recognition?

Not really sure how to answer this question. That all depends on who you ask, I suppose.



That the homepage gets snowed under by the forum?

Well, so far from the results in this poll it's evident that more than 50% of the people who have responded do check the home page. And I think I mostly answered this two questions ago.



Are you of the opinion that since the forum has quite a lot of non u2 subforums that the homepage should feature non u2 content as well?

.... answered this in the 2nd question.
 
ThoraSEB said:
This is a site for a rock band, so I can get other news, etc. elsewhere.

I'd like to make an important correction to your statement.

On the top of each and every page on this site it says the following:

INTERFERENCE.COM
U2 Fans, 'Zine, and More



This site is a community of people brought together by a similar interest, U2. But it is not a site just for 'a rock band'.

It started out as site strictly dedicated to a rock band, and with the community the site has grown, matured, and evolved. Yes, it still has a core foundation of 'U2', and I believe it always will. But U2 fans are interested in so many things other than U2. The forum represents extreme diversity.

One thing that has always attracted to me about U2 was the other things I discoverd 'because of U2' and of course other fans; other musicians, other artists, authors, movies/tv, world issues, technology, travel, politics, social issues, friends, etc.
 
Can I add too, that I didn't want to suggest promoting of other bands, as someone said. I dont know if they directed that at my suggestion or not. Your last sentence was kind of what I thought of, Elvis.
 
Elvis said:



If you wish to make forum suggestions, there is a forum dedicated to that which I'm sure you're well aware of ;)

laaaa deee dah :)

one day we have to talk about tech stuff
how do you forecast the traffic and attract ppl and get the cheapest servers and all that

also if there are very many new members, the forum still rocks.
 
Miringeltje said:

I was under the impression that interference is a u2 fan website.
And I come here for info about u2.

I can get general music info and other content elsewhere.

I understand that it would be very convenient if you could get that other content on here on the site as well.
As you won't have to go to another website.

But personally I see no need to add other topis.
Just u2 and u2related stuff on the home page.
As far as I'm concerned.

I might be alone in this standpoint.
I don't know.
Just thought I'd give my 2 cents.

I agree.
 
First off : Thanks for answering, Elvis.

Elvis said:
I think that a majority of audience is interested in things well beyond U2.

Saying that I only wanna see u2 and u2 related stuff on the interference homepage, isn't the same as only being interested in u2 (and nothing else).

There's a lot of other things I am interested in.
But that doesn't automatically mean/imply/garantuee that I wanna see those other things on the interference homepage.

Elvis said:
I'd like to see more music news, reviews, possibly bits about movies or tv shows, or even the latest odd dvd that came out. Some special interest/worldly topics, aside from the U2 related ones, would be nice to see covered. While by no means do I think our audience fits in the 'Indie' demographic, I think it'd be nice to hear about smaller/newer artists. At the same time while I dont think our audience fits the purely 'mainstream' POPpy crowd, it wouldnt hurt to hear about a better cross section of various music genres/artists.

WOW!
I can't help but think that's going to be a lot of work (to keep up).
 
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Miringeltje said:

WOW!
I can't help but think that's going to be a lot of work (to keep up).

You asked what I'd like to see. Some of that may happen, some of it may not.
 
i don't really go look at the main page much.
i have the forum has my home page and i check the news section there.
 
Miringeltje said:



I always visit the homepage first before I go to the forum.
Check to see if there's NEW u2 news.
Then look if there's new featured content/articles.
If it interests me, I read.
(Basicly the same as Lila and Thora do)

I don't go any lower than the active forum threads-thingie.
I really like that by the way.

All the things under that, could just as well not be there.

I agree with Canadiens1160, that the homepage could use an update.
There's so many different things on there and the letter size is so tiny.
It looks very cluttered.

Keep it simple.

For me it would be enough to keep the following on the homepage:

- u2 news (only showing the news of that day + the link to the news forum, where you can read the news of the previous days in case you missed it)
- featured content (which can include the interviews section) (maybe only the 3 (5 at the most) recent ones + link to the content forum)
- active forum threads

I was under the impression that interference is a u2 fan website.
And I come here for info about u2.

I can get general music info and other content elsewhere.

I understand that it would be very convenient if you could get that other content on here on the site as well.
As you won't have to go to another website.

But personally I see no need to add other topis.
Just u2 and u2related stuff on the home page.
As far as I'm concerned.

I might be alone in this standpoint.
I don't know.
Just thought I'd give my 2 cents.


My thoughts exactly. :)

I think some additional links would be helpful to the first time visitor - e.g. Biography, Discography, Photos, Albums/Songs, Tours, etc. (maybe in a vertical column?)

:yes: great idea.
 
The one thing the homepage does NOT need is more links. The existing ones need to be categorized, and with a better layout, and then some new stuff could be added.
 
This is just my opinion, but...


You can't click a mouse without running into fabulous websites with plenty of news about plenty of other stuff besides U2. The number of excellent music news sites and music blogs alone is staggering. I'm sure the same would be true for movies, politics, travel, and the other types of information you're considering adding to interference.

It's nice to have interference focus on U2 alone. That's what interference is famous for, and that's why we're all here. It's great that fans can connect about various other topics in the forums, but that doesn't mean the whole site needs to open itself up to providing information on everything U2 fans could possibly be interested in.

If you absolutely want to create a site like that, I'd make it a sister site to, and not a part of, interference.com.
 
If I were going to re-do the homepage:

1) Content - I like it the way it is. This is, after all, a U2 site. I don't care to come hear to read articles about other bands, because I'm sure those bands have their own sites with the same, or better, articles and whatnot. I like that there is a balance between basic U2 news, interviews and more "exclusive" materials from people/companies close to the band, and articles that focus on fans or certain aspects of being a fan.

2) Design -

- I HATE the ads on the top of the page. I hate ads on any page, but as a fellow webmaster I understand the need to recoup some of the costs. However, I strictly believe that on the VERY top of the VERY FIRST page, you should never have someone else's material or logo. Tsk tsk. If the ads need to be on the homepage, they need to be moved and the Interference logo/banner should be the FIRST thing the user sees.

- speaking of the Interference logo/banner, there needs to be one. When I quickly run my eyes across the homepage, I'm noticing the ads and the other logos like the Vertigo tour one, PayPal - the graphics we all have come to recognize unconsciously. Interference needs something a little bit more than just "INTERFERENCE.COM" in bold, black, plain text.

- I don't mind the white background, black text. There's something to be said about being able to read the "news" in a way that doesn't make you strain your eyes or give you a headache from sorting through endless colors and flash animations. However, like I said above, the banner ads and graphics for other sites/etc are outdoing Interference so they need to be made less prominent, or Interference needs to be a bit more visually engaging.

- The has always looked fine to me, except right now I'm on my in-law's laptop set at 1280x800 and the smaller text appears blurred and hard to read. However, I'm not sure how easy it is to find a font that looks crisp at every single resolution available.

- I've never been a fan of red text so I'd choose a different color for the hyperlinks.

- I like how the content is laid out - in the boxes with the simple border.
 
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