So what makes for a cool website?

[helen]

While reading this post (http://www.hawaiithreads.com/showpost.php?p=72275&postcount=12) the author of it said this:

Yeeah that's what I did, I told my story of I found a cool website

So this begs the question what makes for a cool website?

[manoasurfer123]

http://www.webbyawards.com/

I would say this might help...

Manoa

[pzarquon]

The Webby's are at worst a sham, and at best a mildly amusing exercise in self-congratulation. You used to have to pay to be nominated, and even today the results are largely a popularity contest. Never mind merit, if you've got a devoted following, you'll be voted into the stratosphere.

Which isn't to say it's not fun stuff (the award ceremony limits acceptance speeches to five words), and many of the winners are remarkable sites (http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,70850-0.html?tw=rss.index). But it's not much of a measure of what's "cool."

And what "cool" means is hardly clear. Useful? Educational? Funny? Provocative? Or just popular? I figure, once a site is declared "cool," it's probably passed into "uncool" territory. A site that calls itself "cool" is definitely automatically not.

Community bookmarking sites like Digg or Del.icio.us or link trackers like Technorati or Popdex are good ways to track what's hot at a given moment. But as you'd expect, the results change pretty quickly.

[manoasurfer123]

I forgot to mention...

Your looking at a cool website now!

[craigwatanabe]

I forgot to mention...

Your looking at a cool website now!

Oh yes very cool, this website! And for Maddie...SB's editorial site is impeccable! Maddie Rocks :D And yes The Buzz too. Hiya Erika!

Oh darn my nose got a bit brown :)

[shaveice]

The Webby's are at worst a sham, and at best a mildly amusing exercise in self-congratulation. You used to have to pay to be nominated, and even today the results are largely a popularity contest. Never mind merit, if you've got a devoted following, you'll be voted into the stratosphere.

Which isn't to say it's not fun stuff (the award ceremony limits acceptance speeches to five words), and many of the winners are remarkable sites (http://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,70850-0.html?tw=rss.index). But it's not much of a measure of what's "cool."

And what "cool" means is hardly clear. Useful? Educational? Funny? Provocative? Or just popular? I figure, once a site is declared "cool," it's probably passed into "uncool" territory. A site that calls itself "cool" is definitely automatically not.

Community bookmarking sites like Digg or Del.icio.us or link trackers like Technorati or Popdex are good ways to track what's hot at a given moment. But as you'd expect, the results change pretty quickly.
. . . . . . . . .

pzarquon, thanks for the thoughtful comments. i was wondering if there's a site or sites that have links to sites that are well designed (not necessarily popular) that you'd recommend?

[Glen Miyashiro]

i was wondering if there's a site or sites that have links to sites that are well designed (not necessarily popular) that you'd recommend?If you want to read some professional advice to web designers, I like Jakob Nielsen's Useit.com (http://www.useit.com).

[shaveice]

If you want to read some professional advice to web designers, I like Jakob Nielsen's Useit.com (http://www.useit.com).
. . . . . .

yeah, jakob's made a name for himself with all his usuability writings but i must say that his own site looks very bland and uninviting. i know that he could argue that he's only interested in function but i think what makes a website outstanding is that it is equally beautiful (read created in harmony with design principles) and functional.

gatta run but just wanted to throw in my two cents. thanks.

[Glen Miyashiro]

i know that he could argue that he's only interested in function but i think what makes a website outstanding is that it is equally beautiful (read created in harmony with design principles) and functional.What annoys me are the arty web sites, usually from fashion or fine art types, that sacrifice function in favor of Flash. Dammit, is it asking too much to make a site that loads in less than a minute? I want hyperlinks that actually look like hyperlinks. And don't mess with their colors either. And if I wanted a background soundtrack, then I would be playing one on my own desktop, thank you very much. :rolleyes:

[Leo Lakio]

And if I wanted a background soundtrack, then I would be playing one on my own desktop, thank you very much. :rolleyes:AMEN! AMEN!! AMEN!!!

Considering that I am working with music at my desktop all day, it drives me insane* if I open up a webpage (say, to research something about the music or artist or company whose project I'm working on), and I get hit with some piece of music, blasting out over the music I'm working with. Worst yet are the ones that have no option for turning the audio off!





(* = short trip, I know)

[alohabear]

AMEN! AMEN!! AMEN!!!

Considering that I am working with music at my desktop all day, it drives me insane* if I open up a webpage (say, to research something about the music or artist or company whose project I'm working on), and I get hit with some piece of music, blasting out over the music I'm working with. Worst yet are the ones that have no option for turning the audio off!





(* = short trip, I know)I'll second that! What worse is if that music is a poorly made MIDI :eek:

[shaveice]

What annoys me are the arty web sites, usually from fashion or fine art types, that sacrifice function in favor of Flash. Dammit, is it asking too much to make a site that loads in less than a minute? I want hyperlinks that actually look like hyperlinks. And don't mess with their colors either. And if I wanted a background soundtrack, then I would be playing one on my own desktop, thank you very much. :rolleyes:
. . . . . . . . . . . . .

yup, i think it's very safe to say that we can agree on certain characteristics that we all dislike. i've only browsed through the book myself, but the general idea is obvious: "web pages that suck"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/078212187X/sr=8-1/qid=1147905927/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8343750-4209406?%5Fencoding=UTF8

and (very predictable but still funny title) "son of web pages that suck"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0782140203/sr=8-2/qid=1147905927/ref=pd_bbs_2/103-8343750-4209406?%5Fencoding=UTF8

one thing i will say is that since flash (used to be macromedia, now adobe) has been around for a while, it's not as crazy as it used to be. time was when you couldn't turn around without tripping over a flash page that took forever to load with no "skip intro" button!

i guess it's for another thread but someone mentioned midis. there are some that are hilarious (and they weren't meant to be)!

so getting back to the main idea, there are two obvious "errors": web pages where it's functional but has an interface that violates many graphic design principles (one extreme) and web pages where form totally overwhelmes function (the other extreme). what i'd be interested in is finding a site that lists web pages that exemplify and balance excellent design AND function.

[Pua'i Mana'o]

I want to add the MOST annoying website tactic: when tinkerbell's funky dust chases around my cursor. Drives me fah-reak-ing bezerk.

[mel]

I don't like flash ads. And the ads that defeat the pop up features in Firefox and Safari. I suspect some of these pop up ads are flash generated instead of javascript.

[Cameron]

All this new Ajax stuff is cool [this site (http://www.maxkiesler.com/index.php) has a wealth of information and links on the subject](man i wish I had more time on my hands to learn javascript).

Speaking of javascript it's come along way from being gimmicky to now on occasion being awe inspiring take lightbox [Link (http://www.huddletogether.com/2006/03/29/lightbox-v20/)]for example. I just integrated it into 808blogs, and I still can't get over it( look at Uncle1277's gallery for example (http://808blogs.com/albums/Uncle1277/)). and thats just the tip of the iceberg.

I could go on for days, but I'm doing some php coding myself at the moment so I'll cut it short by saying

Scripting languages are evolving and so is the web, just wait it will only get better.

[mel]

Scripting languages are evolving and so is the web, just wait it will only get better.

So does this mean we will get more intrusive pop up, pop under, drop down, spill over, follow our curser, more animated ads interfering with the content we actually want to see on a website?

What may be someone's scripting fun is another person's intrusive annoyance on the receiving end.

[shaveice]

Speaking of javascript it's come along way from being gimmicky to now on occasion being awe inspiring take lightbox [Link (http://www.huddletogether.com/2006/03/29/lightbox-v20/)]for example. I just integrated it into 808blogs, and I still can't get over it( look at Uncle1277's gallery for example (http://808blogs.com/albums/Uncle1277/)). and thats just the tip of the iceberg.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

thanks for the lightbox links. pretty cool :)

[Cameron]

So does this mean we will get more intrusive pop up, pop under, drop down, spill over, follow our curser, more animated ads interfering with the content we actually want to see on a website?

What may be someone's scripting fun is another person's intrusive annoyance on the receiving end.

As long as they continue making money in this fashion then yes. My theory is in time users will learn to ignore and the ads in turn will stop making money, and eventually die, being replaced by more reasonable method of solicitation, of course this is just probably wishful thinking.

I wonder if theres in reseach into the effectiveness of these irratating methods, if there is is the effectiveness increasing or increasing?

I'm much to tired to go google it at the moment

[mel]

As long as they continue making money in this fashion then yes. My theory is in time users will learn to ignore and the ads in turn will stop making money, and eventually die, being replaced by more reasonable method of solicitation, of course this is just probably wishful thinking.

Yep, you're right on this. It's always the money. And as long as this kind of stuff continues to be intrusive, there will always be end users who will despise these practices and continue to pursue technical and non-technical ways of ignoring or blocking these things.

[adrian]

A website should be kept clean with no fancy graphics nor colors. And most of all, it should be viewable on the four major browsers (IE, FF, Opera and Safari). When in doubt, go with basic HTML or if you must CSS.

[anapuni808]

I don't know if my 4 websites would be considered "cool" but they are pleasing to the eye, easy to navigate & provide information to the specific "communities" they were designed for. I think in the end, that is what makes for a good website.

and while most of the awards to sites are pretty lame, its still kind of fun to get one (even if you nominate yourself) since its coming from outsiders not involved with the sites. 3 of my sites have gotten an award that I am very pleased to display. I also display a logo that connects to a site that helps fund free mammograms to underserved women.

[manoasurfer123]

I just found this website...

I think it was well put together and has some really nice pictures and what not.

www.kokaneebeer.com

You must at least be of drinking age to enter... but I won't tell anyone if your under 21 and you visit the site :D

KIMO -

Think you gonna like this one a lot!

[craigwatanabe]

You know with cool websites like youtube.com, is there a site devoted to sharing audio only? And I'm not talking about Limewire or anything like that. I'd love to share my audio clips of vintage KKUA broadcasts that I've been wanting to give to Mel for a couple of years now. :rolleyes: Mel you there?

[manoasurfer123]

You know with cool websites like youtube.com, is there a site devoted to sharing audio only? And I'm not talking about Limewire or anything like that. I'd love to share my audio clips of vintage KKUA broadcasts that I've been wanting to give to Mel for a couple of years now. :rolleyes: Mel you there?
putfile.com

I posted an example in the Fathers day thread a few seconds ago

[craigwatanabe]

putfile.com

I posted an example in the Fathers day thread a few seconds ago


Thanks I'll try that later today.

But back OT...What's a cool website? The Starbulletin's website because it features our own Scrivener!!!! :D :) :D http://starbulletin.com/2006/06/18/features/sudoku.html

Thanks for the link. I managed to upload a short audio file from back in 1977 of Steven B. Williams doing a live remote at the then Toyo Theater for a joint broadcast/laser display on KKUA with Laserium. Kamasami Kong was at the mic. Here's the link if you don't want to go to HT's Hawaii Media: Click here to watch KKUA-Laserium-Steven-B-Williams (http://media.putfile.com/KKUA-Laserium-Steven-B-Williams)

[pzarquon]

You know with cool websites like youtube.com, is there a site devoted to sharing audio only? And I'm not talking about Limewire or anything like that. I'd love to share my audio clips of vintage KKUA broadcasts that I've been wanting to give to Mel for a couple of years now. There are several sites like Putfile that let you share any file - audio, video, image, application - via special links, invites, and the like, but most are quite limited (in downloads, access, or prevalence of advertising). To send a specific file to a specific set of people, though, they're a decent option.

If you're interested in posting media files specifically, and for access by the public, there are free, non-commercial options like Ourmedia.org (which is just a front-end to the Internet Archive). The only issue will be copyright. Unless the stuff is owned outright by you or old enough to be in the public domain! Technically, of course, copyright is an issue even for sites like Putfile.

Anyway. What makes for a cool site? One that features Scrivener, I agree!