A year of living dangerously
From here at least, it's hard to believe a full year has already passed since the official launch of Whitewater's new, cutting-edge, bloggy website. The statistics package on our webhost page show that people are finding more of interest here than they ever did on the old site, but what we really need to know is not how many people visit at what time of day and how many pages they view - but what you think of what you see when you get here.
Is there anything you think we do well and would like to see more of?
Is there anything you think we do less well and would like to see less of?
Do you read our site through newsfeed/RSS software (ie NetNewsWire, FeedDemon, Bloglines, etc), when prompted by an email notification, or by checking your bookmarks regularly?
Leave your feedback in the comments (if for any reason you don't want to go public, just write the magic words 'Do not publish' at the top of your comment - your message will still be read, it just won't appear here on the site), and as a little incentive we're going to offer our usual prize: Everyone who gives feedback will be entered in a prize draw on the last working day of September (28th). The first name out of the electronic hat will win a £50 Amazon voucher, and a £100 donation to the charity of their choice. So be sure to leave a valid email address so we can contact you.
I shouldn't sign off without thanking and congratulating all my colleagues here for coming up with the content that kept this site alive. They have been almost universally patient and accommodating to their demanding and haranguing blog-mistress (that would be me). Well done Whitewater!
Anna Crofton
Comments
Happy birthday to the new Whitewater site.
I find it very useful in that it helps me to keep up to date with the agency, and the issues it faces. I often use quotes from posts here on UK Fundraising, and in public talks on online fundraising.
The style is good too - I suppose I shouldn't be surprised given Whitewater's experience in writing. It's appropriately informal of course, and doesn't consist of a string of trumpetings about awards won and new clients signed up.
I view it in a news reader, get an email alert, and another from a subscription via FeedBlitz. It's the email alert though that drives me to each post, for what that's worth.
What could be improved? In terms of layout, I think half the space is wasted - the left-hand column could surely be shrunk to a third of its width or less?
In terms of content, I'm always keen to read actual results. Who did what, how much did it cost, and how much did it raise. Now, I can understand that clients aren't always keen for agencies to release that data, but I can still ask...
Well done for embracing blogging as one of Whitewater's main promotional tools, and for publishing in RSS. Your feed is already being aggregated/pulled in to a new version of UK Fundraising due out in a bit. There are other fundraising sector agencies publishing in RSS (Fisk Brett comes to mind), but I look forward to other agencies following your approach.
Posted by: Howard Lake | September 13, 2007 11:47 AM
Thanks for your encouragement Howard and the great feedback!
If you're lucky, no one else will feedback and you'll have a 100% chance of winning our prize!
Posted by: Steve Andrews | September 13, 2007 11:59 AM
ooooh. Here's my wishlist:
- more stuff about the focus group work you've done
- 'most popular posts' category on the right nav bar
- the right justified look is a bit weird, but that might just be me
- I read through netvibes
- more Steve posts please
Thanks!
Posted by: Simon | September 13, 2007 12:20 PM
Hey Whitewater,
Happy Blogging Birthday! It sounds rude but it's meant with the best of intentions.
Not much feedback to give. I originally clicked the link at the end of an email to get here and then signed up for email alerts just to be aware of exciting things going on in the world of Whitewater.
I really like the "who's who" interviews that pop up from time to time, it's good to put a face to some of the names I speak to and the cheeky questions make me chuckle!
Keep up the good work. I look forward to getting more alerts and promise to not let them distract me from doing prices for you.
Posted by: Fiona | September 13, 2007 09:22 PM
Mostly interesting, often funny, sometimes useful, but always up to date!
Well done on one year of wonderful content and stuff.
Posted by: Sharon | September 20, 2007 05:45 PM
I do read the email alerts, and guess I click through two times out of three. Content is good, but like Howard I sometimes feel a little frustrated at the lack of results or even indicators, but ...
Well done
Ian
Posted by: Ian | September 21, 2007 03:38 PM