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KQED.org has a new look and new features! Tell us what you think!
KQED.org has a new look and new features! Tell us what you think!
You may have noticed we've made a few changes around here...
We've increased our online news, science, arts, and food content. We've widened the layout and streamlined the navigation. We've also added an events calendar, and new, easy-to-use audio and video players.
But our work isn't done until we're sure you like it as much as we do!
Tell us why you come to KQED.org, and what you think of the new site. What works? What doesn't? What's missing?
Explore the new digs and make yourself at home! Then join the discussion below and help us continue the evolution of KQED.org.
I'm Eric Westby, Senior Producer at KQED Interactive and the visual designer responsible for much of the site's new look. I'll be happy to answer any questions visitors have about the site -- and if I can't provide an answer, I'll nudge some of my colleagues and get the scoop from them.
We'll try our best to circulate this discussion's URL throughout the site, and participants are also encouraged to post it on their blogs and email it to other fans of public broadcasting.
Looking forward to the first of many stimulating discussions!
Regards,
Eric Westby
Senior Producer
KQED Interactive
I manage and design communities at Cisco/WebEx in the South bay. Yours is pretty nice. Looks like it will become vibrant in the next couple of quarters.
I would like to request a forum topic dedicated to discussing your program lineup choices. Since this is listener-sponsored, it makes sense to get our input into programming. Eg: Where is Thistle and Shamrock? Where is Piano Jazz:? These are NPR mainstays, no? Jazz is big in the Bay Area. What about Echoes from John Diliberto? (APR). The SF-Bay Area is a mecca for Electronica -Trance music so why don't you have at least one show on this?
Also, with the serious money you raise every year, why is there so little NPR programming per hour in prime time? Do local shows take precedence? KCRW has much more NPR per prime-time hour.
Also, why don't you have an 'I already contributed during the subscription drive, give me access to a stream online with no interruptions". That would lower frustration and keep us from going to the net for out-of-town NPR stations in the same timezone to get our NPR news. (works on iPhone too - drive to work....)
These are the types of posts you would want to see in the topic I propose. With it, you can get real input from your real users, rather than secret-internal committee-based programming decisions. Yes, I guess that you use some fund-raiser data to determine your programming decisions. What about potential contributors who are waiting for you to represent their tastes?
I know this is a lot of stuff but hey, that's what social networking is for.
Good questions all. As you point out, we haven't yet scratched the surface in terms of using our discussion forums for general feedback, but we hope to change that in the coming months.
As for the format questions, we definitely understand that there are many listeners who would like to hear music on KQED Public Radio in addition to news, talk, and public affairs. I am curious, though, about your reference to "so little NPR programming per hour in prime time" on KQED. As you probably know, radio's prime time is "drive time," and during that period our programming consists almost entirely of NPR programming such as Morning Edition, Marketplace, and All Things Considered. Did I misunderstand your question?
We're very interested in providing members with an Internet stream uninterrupted by pledge breaks. The devil's in the details, chief among them how to handle the attendant user registration and authentication issues. But it's very much on our minds -- particularly when September rolls around and our stalwart contributors have to grit their teeth and endure the same pitch everyone else hears.
"I would like to request a forum topic dedicated to discussing your program lineup choices."
I second this opinion. I joined just to be able to recommend a program I saw KCSM so it would air here as well. It could be a great resource for KQED to find out what people enjoy and for ideas.
I tried to find any link on this website but could not. Even google had very few links to this program. I found it to be very informative and well done.
It is:
Clearwater: One Woman's Dream
PROGRAM / SERIES DESCRIPTION:
Houston resident Beth Miller, whose backyard wetlands experiments received recognition from the Royal Horticultural Society, is profiled.
I'd like to add my voice to the request for an online stream that would not bypass the membership drive for those of us who are already contributing. I recognize both the technical and logistical complexity of this request and would happily accept this feature only for a higher-level of commitment (e.g. $30/mo minimum).
Love it, great redesign! More engaging, cleaner, and and draws my eye to the news headlines. I would say you are likely to see a nice CTR increase with this page! I know I will certainly be clicking more...
Thanks for the kind words! The site has so much content, and we wanted a design that reflected that. The previous design, while meticulously crafted and very attractive, functioned more as a companion to the TV and Radio platforms, and not a content destination in its own right.
I, too, am having trouble locating the audio archives of various shows. Used to be able to get to any show in about three clicks.
I think that the audio archive feature used to be more self explanitory than it is now, based on the fact that I have not completely figured it out yet. It was pretty easy to use the way it was before.
Hi there -- thanks for the feedback. The audio archives can still be found on the site, and they are now more easily searchable.
Here's how:
1) Select the "Radio" tab at the top of the KQED.org home page
2) Click on the program you want in the "Browse Radio Programs" box to go directly to the show's archives
-OR-
2) Scroll down the radio page slightly and you'll see the "Archive" box on the left
3) Select the program you want from the drop-down menu and click search, then enter the search information
In creating your own personal profile for this community, the list of possible favorite radio programs does not include KQED-FM productions -- Forum, CA Report, Health Dialogues, etc., while it does include some programs I think are no longer distributed, at least not on public radio stations, certainly not on KQED-FM.
Hi Jerry -- this is a great point, and we have plans to address it. The list was created by the discussion board developer, not by KQED. We will be adding the other shows to the list, but in the meantime, users can type their favorites in when registering. Thanks!
er... i thought there might be a discussion board for some of the local programs? For example, this morning's "Perspectives" was particularly wonderful, and I wanted to see if others love Mary Wang as much as i do. But the boards are pretty sparse. Any plans to expand them?
Thanks for your note. We absolutely intend to expand them, and/or add comments sections to each individual episode's page. You've caught us right in between our old site and the rollout of the new.
Our focus this fall will be on increasing the feature set and community integration of each of our radio and TV properties. I'm not sure when Perspectives will get some attention, but I hope it's soon.
Regards,
Eric Westby
Senior Producer
P.S. This morning's Perspective was good, wasn't it? I love the ones that are intensely personal, yet effortlessly make a broader point about society.
Now that KQED and KTEH are "One", so to speak, how about putting KTEH's program Guide into the KQED Guide and on the KQED website. So much handier than keeping them separate. Otherwise, I find the new KQED.org site a wonderful improvement.
Thanks for your kind words, and for your suggestion, which I'll pass along to my colleagues on the interactive team. We've heard from many KTEH viewers, though, that they want each station to retain its separate identity, so it may be some time before we attempt further integration -- even simple ones like this -- of the two web sites.
Was the usability tested?
The top part of the homepage is dominated by 3 items.
The highlights takes up a lot of real estate and it jumps around from tv content to Internet features to KQED-specific items. Get user reactions to this feature. It seems a bit big.
The default is the radio tab for What's on now? Find room for TV. It's expected by your TV audience. At least list the prime time features.
Consider editing the video highlight to create trailers. Post on your on-demand channel minisite on YouTube. Link other on-demand PBS content (Frontlines).
Are you trying to get a younger audience? I ask since everyone seems to be doing that. Not kids, per se, but 13-35? If so, this won't work. The site may look cleaner, but it requires too much clicking around. Visually, it's OK.
Thanks for your thoughtful and detailed comments. I agree particularly with your comment about how, frankly, BIG everything appears compared to the old site. This decision was a straightforward response to the volume of complaints we regularly received that the old site was difficult to read because the typefaces were too small and the elements packed in too tightly.
We feel it's imperative to listen to our visitors, so we tried to strike a balance, finding a size for type and modules that was easy to read yet still attractive. Of course a professor once told me that the mark of a good compromise is that it pleases nobody....
I'll pass along your other usability suggestions to the producer in charge of UI. And note that we plan eventually to set a cookie so that a visitor's choice of TV or Radio on the homepage's "What's on now" module is respected between visits. Your note also helped us find an embarrassing bug on our TV page:
I congratulate the designers and thinkers behind this new site. I love it! And that is just from the Home Page, not yet had time to explore much. But this look is spectacularly appealing. Well done!
Thanks for the kind words -- it's comments like this that keep us going. And we know there are still bugs to be squashed, so the post-launch clean up work continues.
Many people are getting iphones in Bay Area and more and more are taking public transportations. It would be great if we KQED can add iphone support on the "Listen Live" page. Thanks in advance!
Good point, and actually, I had been led to believe that "Listen Live" did work with certain mobile devices if you choose the proper stream for your device. I'll check with some of my iPhone-equipped colleagues and get back to you.
*** Edit, 6 Jan 2009: In case someone stumbles upon this discussion, we wanted everyone to know that there's now an official Public Radio application for the iPhone. It works beautifully, lets you listen live to KQED and hundreds of other stations across the country, and it's completely free. Enjoy!
---------------------
Original post:
Further to my earlier reply, it turns out that our streaming partner offers iPhone compatibility -- but only as part of a larger package that is, sadly, beyond our budget at this time. Now if you or someone you know feels like making a targeted major gift for this purpose ... well, you can see where I'm going with this. :)
Just wanted to mention the very simple very useful app that Minnesota Public Radio provides for the Iphone. http://min.../#MPRradio It dose 1 thing...allows you to listen to MPR. I have not seen a huge outcry for KQED print updates as is now offered. I have seen a HUGE outcry for a simple way to get KQED stream on the iphone. It seems to me that providing a stream to a device whos owners obviously have extra cash to blow would be a no brainer. Well off to flycast thanks for your time.
In case someone stumbles upon this discussion, we wanted everyone to know that there's now an official Public Radio application for the iPhone. It works beautifully, lets you listen live to KQED and hundreds of other stations across the country, and it's completely free. Enjoy!
First, I think the fact that the Exec. Dir. is open to ideas and created this forum is fantastic. So, here's my foremost idea for KTEH: A weekly program on KTEH about Wellness and Prevention (just a working title) to address anti-stigma and mental health/recovery issues for all ages and ethnicities would be an effective way to reach and develop wide audiences.
Thanks for writing! FYI, you've posted this message in the KQED website redesign forum, not the KTEH-TV forum, so Becca won't see it. I wish I could move it by hand, but our admin tools don't have such an option.
On my computer, the Asia Foundation announcement almost completely covers the "Listen Live" area. Thus, I am unable to hook up to any radio connection. Help!
Thank you so much for your note, and I'm sorry to hear of the problem you're seeing.
What I'll need to troubleshoot the problem is:
1. The browser type (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, Opera, etc.) and exact version number you're using (often available somewhere in a "Help" or "Options" menu).
2. The operating system and exact version you're running.
3. Whether you have any unusual ad blocking software running, or have any site-specific CSS disabled.
We support recent versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, and Safari, so as long as you're running one of those, we should be able to get it sorted out. Until then, a quick and dirty method of using the "Listen Live" links would be to go into your browser's settings and turn off images, which will of course temporarily remove the ad. You can then bookmark the audio link you want to use.
I'll look forward to hearing back with your browser info!
Great to meet you! We hope you enjoy the site. If you have any suggestions or questions that aren't covered in our FAQ section, feel free to post them here.
Thanks for the note. Could you be more specific about your concerns regarding the live radio stream? We know there have been some reliability issues over the past six months, but since the relaunch (knock on wood) our streaming partner hasn't had any significant outages.
Hey,
I am a web designer and I find the the website overall to be much more readable. I seemed to be able to immediately visually find the navigation I need.
BUT!
I could not find what I needed after five minutes hunting. I will outline my problem for your benefit and hopefully in return, someone can email me an answer to the question I failed to answer.
Please help me find more on this. I was listening to the BBC on your station today (saturday 10-18-08) between approximately 3:15-3:30PM to a segment or story by somebody(forget name) from the BBC on a sunken 9th century middle eastern ship carrying a treasure load from china which was recently found. Not only was the value stupendous in terms of gold and artifacts but history has been changed because it set a very early date for a high level of trade between the two regions by arab traders. Please help me find more on this.
I go to kqed.org > radio tab > schedulules sub-menu > my time > BBC World Service > Visit the program's official website...
nothing
Search KQED.org
nothing
go to the forums, click on post
nothing (the signup message is below "the fold") on my 1280x800 display
signup and get message on my laptop and confirm (now logged in on my laptop)
signin on my desktop
error message
but I am actually logged in
look for a way to confirm I will or won't recive an email when this post is answered
nothing
look for a way to subscribe to rss for this thread
nothing
except rss for the whole forum which I do not want since I do not know how active the forum is and and don't want to spend the time to find out.
I hope that helps. KEEP OF THE GOOD WORK ON THE WEBSITE!
Thanks for your note -- you were on the right track when you clicked "Visit the program's official website" to go to the official BBC World Service site. While we run their program, we of course don't produce the content ourselves, so your best bet is to search the BBC World Service site for more.
I visited their site just now, and in the search box atop their homepage, I typed:
07/28/2008 8:41:12 PM
