The Four Word Film Review Fourum - Long time coming (or "The new FWFR")...

Username:	Password:
Save Password
Forgot your Password?

All Forums

FWFR Related

Site Features

Long time coming (or "The new FWFR")...

New Topic

Reply to Topic

Send Topic to a Friend

Printer Friendly

Previous Page | Next Page

Author

Topic

Page: of 24

benj clews
"...."

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 10:14:20

quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady

Don't forget to add the "consideration" button on our reviews. We'll need that! But I'm sure you have that on your list already.

It's there, just a little more subtle now. Assuming you've logged in, anywhere you see one of your reviews, look in the top right corner for a little ... symbol. Clicking this will pop up your currently considered reviews. Click any of your currently considered reviews to swap it with the one you just clicked near.

benj clews
"...."

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 10:18:53

BTW, thanks to those with the positive feedback- it's much appreciated

Obviously, I'll not have everything right straight off the bat however so please do let me know if anything irks, confuses, is lacking or whatever.

ChocolateLady
"500 Chocolate Delights"

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 10:27:27

Ahh... I see. Very sexy!

But you know, it might be a touch easier to work if we have remove buttons on the reviews that are for consideration.

(And as for colours - I'm not crazy about the khaki greens, but that's probably just me.)

benj clews
"...."

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 10:32:08

quote:
Originally posted by ChocolateLady

But you know, it might be a touch easier to work if we have remove buttons on the reviews that are for consideration.

Do you mean it would be easier as in clearer or easier as in simpler to do? (If it's the latter, I'm a little confuddled as surely clicking a big review is easier than clicking a little X graphic beside the review?)

quote:

(And as for colours - I'm not crazy about the khaki greens, but that's probably just me.)

As far as I'm aware, it's the exact same colour as before! Or is this your roundabout way of saying you don't like the current site's colour either

randall
"I like to watch."

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 12:15:31

Very nice work, benj! It's gorgeous, and much more inviting.

P.S. I *like* total reviews being featured...

benj clews
"...."

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 12:33:46

quote:
Originally posted by Salopian

I almost never look at the What film? bubble, but I tried to click on it in the new site now and it just kept renewing it with a different review.

Are you still navigating the site on your iPhone? If so, could you please prefix your feedback with 'iPhone issue' so I know this is a lower priority problem/ non-issue once the mobile site is done?

BiggerBoat
"Pass me the harpoon"

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 12:51:48

Sorry Benj, it was pretty late when I looked at this last night and made some comments without saying FUCKING WELL DONE MATE. I can't begin to think about all the time you must have put into this. It looks great.

I've managed to have a good look through now and have digested the new layout and structure. I'm doing my own usability testing so that I can raise any potential issues. Let's start with the homepage:

Let's say that the general aims of the homepage are to:

a) Support current users
b) Encourage new users

Let's look at current users first. To a degree you can assume that many users will have specific pages favourited so that they can enter the site on the page of their choosing. I myself tend to go to 'my page' first.

The only reason I go to the current homepage is to see the top 10 box office charts (to see if I'm inspired to write a review for any of them) and to click on 'More' at the bottom of the page so I can see the last 500 reviews. I tend to view these by votes so that can see the most voted for reviews. I do this because I'm not a frequent visitor and I like to look for good reviews I may have missed.

Looking at the new homepage, I will still be able to do these same things but there are a couple more options available now. Can you confirm what will be shown in 'The Latest' ticker? Just votes or will there be forum updates, for instance? I don't know whether I will find this useful but I think probably not. Can you explain how you see it being used?

Next to this on the main real estate of the page are the book and twitter ads. I've bought the book, so I don't need that, and I won't be following the Twitter account, as the 'what film' function never really appealed to me.

Below is the new review section as before, so I will be able to use this as I do currently. On the left you have your two lists. The first, 'Top 10' shows ten films. I have to assume that this is the box office top ten, either in the UK or the USA. If it is, you need to state that otherwise it is confusing.

Under this is the list of top ten reviewers. I'll never make it into this list and it will rarely change, so I'll never look at it. Incidentally, I think I'm an okay reviewer but I will never be a 'top reviewer' - in fact I'll probably never make it into the top 100 list of 'top reviewers'. I think you need to make it clear that this is a list of reviewers with the most reviews, otherwise you'll make me feel a bit shitty about my own contributions.

So, in conclusion, as a regular user, the only reason I'll go to the homepage is to peruse latest reviews, as I do now.

Now let's look at it from a new user's perspective. You've arrived on the page not knowing anything about the site. The standout text is 'your favourite movies in four words or less'. Fine, but that doesn't make it clear that this is a site you contribute to. In fact, nowhere on the page is there a call to action for new users to sign up and start writing reviews and voting.

They can see 'the latest' ticker, but of course unless they hover over each one (which they may not be able to do at all if there is a lot of activity?) they won't know which film the review is for, making it somewhat unintelligible. This is also the case for the icons next to user names - they'll mean nothing to new users, especially as they aren't duplicated in the top reviewers list bottom left.

They may click the Twitter link, but upon seeing it, they may think that this is a quiz site, rather than a 2.0 user generated content site. They won't be buying the book at all unless they start to understand the concept.

The top ten films they may realise is the box office list, but again, there is confusion due to a lack of signposting.

Now, let's imagine that it just takes a few examples for users to get the concept. The only reviews available on the homepage are the new reviews. On my screen, you can see the first five reviews, but the film titles are below the fold. You can scroll down and see 12 in total, but these are just the newest reviews. They may not be any good. New users may look at these and lose interest before just leaving the site altogether.

They may look at one of the reviewers in the 'top reviewers' list and maybe then get a flavour of decent reviews, but it's a bit casual to assume this.

As I mentioned earlier, there is no way to link through to the top reviews of the day. I think this page serves two purposes - it allows current users to see how frikkin great their reviews are, but it also acts as a promotional tool for the site, a showcase of what can be expected or aimed for if one should join. To be honest, i think there's a case for this list being on the homepage instead of new reviews.

If you want to be attracting new users, I really do think you'll need to address this.

One final thing. The double click to vote for a review is fine and dandy, but only if there are instructions telling us this. I really don't think you can assume that everyone will work this out.

I'm going to have a look at some of the other sections and will come back with some more feedback later.

BB

benj clews
"...."

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 13:18:43

Cheers BiggerBoat. That sure is a lot to take in! I've made some notes on things I could do to hopefully improve the homepage.

quote:
Originally posted by BiggerBoat

Can you confirm what will be shown in 'The Latest' ticker? Just votes or will there be forum updates, for instance? I don't know whether I will find this useful but I think probably not. Can you explain how you see it being used?

The Latest ticker can be anything. I admit I hadn't thought to include fourum posts in there, but they could be. I was thinking more along the lines of updates on accolades being created/ earned/ lost, films added, new ranks reached and of course votes earned. It's not perhaps intended as something highly useful- more an indicator that things are currently going on around the site, much like FourSquare's homepage ticker.

Incidentally, you'll also be alerted with the same things when you're not on the homepage (unless you specify not to have them) via small pop-up boxes in the top right corner of the screen.

BiggerBoat
"Pass me the harpoon"

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 17:28:03

quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
The Latest ticker can be anything. I admit I hadn't thought to include fourum posts in there, but they could be. I was thinking more along the lines of updates on accolades being created/ earned/ lost, films added, new ranks reached and of course votes earned. It's not perhaps intended as something highly useful- more an indicator that things are currently going on around the site, much like FourSquare's homepage ticker.

Incidentally, you'll also be alerted with the same things when you're not on the homepage (unless you specify not to have them) via small pop-up boxes in the top right corner of the screen.

I can see why they use it on FourSquare but my worry is what benefit it will add to users here. I don't think that learning that a particular review has just been voted on will be of much particular interest. If you are going to use it then I think it can only be for 'prestige' awards.

FourSquare have been smart in jumping on this new trend of 'gamifying'. I know that it's an example of language rape, but the concept is interesting. Their original concept of letting your friends know where you are using your phone was fine, but to ensure that people continued using it, they had to give a bit more back. Now, whenever you signal your location, that goes towards earning points or awards. Some of these can be exchanged back in the real world for discounts at stores/cafes etc that you visit regularly. This is gamifying.

I think that if you're going to go down this route Benj, you have to identify and then promote targets for users. Considering the set up of this site, it shouldn't be too hard to do. A vote for one review? Boring. Ten votes for one review in a day? Flaming hot review! Other targets could include:

Completing an accolade
Reaching 20/30/40/50 etc votes for a review
Review of the week/month/year
Receiving a new icon
100/200/1000 votes made today/this week
Getting a review into the top 1000 (getting into the top 500 is too difficult)
Winner of FWTO/FWPT

As I say, it should be a prestige board, something to aim for. Then you'll have your regular users coming back to see what's happening, what's hot and whether they're on it.

Ideally, you need to ask yourself what you want the users to be doing here and then go about rewarding them for doing those things.

benj clews
"...."

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 18:06:09

quote:
Originally posted by BiggerBoat

quote:
Originally posted by benj clews
The Latest ticker can be anything. I admit I hadn't thought to include fourum posts in there, but they could be. I was thinking more along the lines of updates on accolades being created/ earned/ lost, films added, new ranks reached and of course votes earned. It's not perhaps intended as something highly useful- more an indicator that things are currently going on around the site, much like FourSquare's homepage ticker.

Incidentally, you'll also be alerted with the same things when you're not on the homepage (unless you specify not to have them) via small pop-up boxes in the top right corner of the screen.

I can see why they use it on FourSquare but my worry is what benefit it will add to users here. I don't think that learning that a particular review has just been voted on will be of much particular interest. If you are going to use it then I think it can only be for 'prestige' awards.

Fair point. My feeling was to put in everything in there I could think of initially, see how busy (or not) it became and then to strip out anything that watered it down (which, in retrospect, I can now see votes most likely would).

quote:

FourSquare have been smart in jumping on this new trend of 'gamifying'. I know that it's an example of language rape, but the concept is interesting. Their original concept of letting your friends know where you are using your phone was fine, but to ensure that people continued using it, they had to give a bit more back. Now, whenever you signal your location, that goes towards earning points or awards. Some of these can be exchanged back in the real world for discounts at stores/cafes etc that you visit regularly. This is gamifying.

Gotta' admit I've never heard it called that before. I like to think of it more as just plain old game theory. And like it or not, game theory has in a small way been part of fwfr for some years now. Yes, I'm talking accolades folks. And total reviews. And total/ average votes. It just depends on which particular game is your preference. Until now though, accolades and total reviews have been the only two of these games that had any kind of 'reward' associated with them (accolade trophy and ranking icon accordingly). I'd like to change that and pretty much right from the start of this new iteration of fwfr I've been coding with this in mind.

I've noted your targets and added them to the list I already have

demonic
"Cinemaniac"

Posted - 01/24/2011 : 22:50:03

I love it. It's an awesome job. It's got so many great little details. Being able to search by review, and by actor/director.. amazing! Being able to personalise MyFWFR.... and my favourite is being able to click and throw the page to access a previous or next page. What would you call that - "swiping" a page? It's not obvious that that is a function to start with, but it's great.

And it looks wonderful - the background colour really makes it zing. I'd have to spend some time digging around and really using the site properly to see anything I'd consider a worthwhile criticism but at the moment all I can say is... I love it. Bravo.

p.s. one point following on from the game theory conversation - I think I mentioned this before - it would be great to have a rosette or similar to signify a currently top voted review for a film. That is a particular game I like to indulge in, and would make it easier to see where it's been achieved and where it's been lost without accessing each individual film page. I think [matt] for one might like that too...