| Sep. 08 2008 at 3:13 AM |
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Here it goes! After two months of headaches and frustrations... Last week being the worst! I'm ready to be critiqued. Mind you, I already know the song doesn't load well. Tried to work with someone who just annoyed me, and the website and online community are all templates, but they work with my budget! Cheapest out there for what I get.
When I have money (in a year) I will start from scratch and make it mine. But I think it does the job for a startup and the press release in October will be the launch, followed by two launch parties!! The website is to be informative to newcomers and the online community for connecting those that have met or would like to meet for a specific trip or cause.
If you're in Chicago or Detroit let me know if you want to attend the launch party! : )
It will be Oct 22 & 23, respectively.
Cindy
Cindy
FANtastic Designs LLC
www.FANtastic-Designs.com
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| Sep. 08 2008 at 10:50 AM |
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Cool idea! I spent 5 years volunteering with a Search and Rescue team in Tahoe... It was a wonderful experience. I have often noticed how there are so many people with time and talent that they would gladly give to their communities, but don't how how or who to talk to, etc.
My only suggestion is to consider your user... will people who visit your site know what your mission is or not.
Not knowing anythign about your site, it took me about three to four clicks to get oriented. I would keep distilling the mission statement to it's simplist form and place that very early in your flash intro.
Good luck with this!
Mike Barlow
Sacramento, CA
Website
Trailmix.Net
The Trailmix.Net Store
My Newest Squid Lens
Geocaching 101: Caching with Kids
Vote for Trailmix.Net in the Home Based 100!
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| Sep. 08 2008 at 12:42 PM |
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Slow loading aside, I am not a big fan of flash based websites. I think the "flashiness" detracts from your message and its presentation. I think you would have been better served by an open source content management solution that would have been easier to update, navigate, and would load faster.
I think your idea is a great idea, and it would be nice to see it expand into other geographical areas. It would be nice to see a community area where you can have a forum or a blog to get feedback built into the content of your site, as it seems to be a community idea.
Best regards,
Shane Eloe
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| Sep. 08 2008 at 1:32 PM |
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Like Mike, I too couldn't figure out what you were selling or offering on the site without a bit of digging. You need a simple Statement of Purpose on the home page.
Also, dump the music. It's annoying to those who go to your web page in an office or browse after everyone else in the house is asleep.
Steve Mann
Internet Videographer
MannMade Digital Video
My Email
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| Sep. 08 2008 at 5:08 PM |
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We've had a number of discussions about audio on Web sites, from
avatars and animated sales figures to music. At least here, the
consensus seems to be to make the default as having no audio, with a
"play the music," or "play the video" button readily visible. If you
must have the music, you should also have an "off" button immediately
visible.
I didn't see anything about the product and its function on the landing
page, but was willing (for critique sake) to put up with the noise to
look around. I couldn't make a lot of sense of the many-colored
navigation boxes, so randomly clicked on Home. That didn't tell me
anything either, and by then, the music was so annoying I just blew it
off.
I'd suggest having something in a tagline, 1 paragraph, or mission
statement that immediately tells the visitor what you're selling and
where to go next.
Craig Landes
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Defining the undefinable. "There are 10 kinds of people in the world---those who understand binary numbers and those who don't." - Unknown
International Society of Curmudgeons
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