Richard MacManus has posted a response to the launch of Netscape from Digg’s CEO, Jay Adelson. In it Jay questions the scalability of Netscape and the level that users will actually be involved in it (both as a result of the editing processes that are built into Netscape).
Read the full post at Digg CEO Jay Adelson responds to Netscape challenge
PS: I’ve now been able to sign up as a member of Netscape an in addition to my earlier first impressions I have to say that I’m not that impressed.
Sure it’s nicely designed and there are a few interesting features – but the internal links really bug me as do the ‘visit this site’ links which take you to the source of the news but with an annoying netscape frame on the side and still with a netscape URL. I’m not a fan of this type of strategy to keep users on a site and doubt I’ll be a regular at Netscape as a result.
I think both sites need to do some personalization work so that I won’t be lost in the tons of information.
With the hidden “visit the site” link and the Netscape frame, it really seems like they’re desperate to keep you on the site. It reminds me of about.com a bit too much.
Netscape: tone down the branding, and make it easy for users to find cool stuff using your site. Trust me, they’ll still remember where they linked from. It worked for Digg.
Also, the algorithm needs work. Looking at the homepage today, I see the same stories I saw 24 hours ago. That would never fly at Digg…
… an annoying netscape frame on the side and still with a netscape URL. I’m not a fan of this type of strategy.
That’s what seems so odd to me. If the service is good, I’ll be back! You shouldn’t need to play tricks to keep me on your site.
I totally agree about the frames and the internal links. I want to jump to the ssource directly!
You guys probably don’t care for reddit.com, then. Frankly, I don’t much like the frame either, but reddit is certainly useful. Even stories that don’t generate a lot of “points” still get visited by a fair number of people, and it is easy to click the “remove this frame” link.
I use reddit for my original submissions for other reasons as well. While reddit is fairly new, it does have a PageRank of 7, and links from sites with high PR certainly help, especially when you’re just starting out and would like the search engines to take you more seriously.
So, more traffic (not oceans’ worth, though) and a decent PR = better for newbie bloggers…
In my opinion they should have launched this under a new domain name. The press would have picked it up just as much and they wouldn’t have the Netscape baggage.
Thanks for the link. I went to the website and I did not like the idea of staying in Netscape frame. However, Netscape has done a smart act by allowing links of many types- not just technology.
Yes Darrren, I agreen with you. That frame on the side sucks.