Loomio
Tue 27 Jan 2015 3:44AM

Reduce the blog to just blog, expand and improve mm.cc homepage into one pager, and add 'offerings' and 'open value network' pages on mm.cc

CT Connor Turland Public Seen by 7

This may sound harsh, but if you look at the components of the homepage of the blog, it's basically a waste of space. It doesn't convey almost any of the important aspects that a homepage should, and the same seems to go for the rest of the blog pages. They aren't set up for a person reading a website in 2015.

I propose the blog goes more into the style of our old friends, the elepath blog http://elepath.tumblr.com/.
blog

The 'offerings' page and 'open value network' page are outside of the scope of this proposal, other than the meaningfulness of their existence, details to be worked out as a separate proposal.

I propose the homepage includes the following components, in roughly the order listed.
-promo video in big format
- 'what is metamaps' section: 'make sense with metamaps', followed by a more in depth blurb
- a section explaining that metamaps.cc is a version of an open technology (this is a big thing missing from blog currently it feels like)
- built by an open and peer-to-peer network. don't use the term 'open value network' here, it requires too much explanation. use accessible language. follow with pictures of a bunch of our faces in bubbles. screw the fact that we don't have a name for the network, just leave it at that. rock the namelessness. we are a network. link to bigger, independent OVN page
- a small section dedicated to the fact that we have paid offerings, link to a dedicated page where they can explore this
- a few testimonials like this one from George Por "The work you guys are doing and the way you go about it makes my heart sing and makes me more optimisitic about the future of scalable collective intelligence and wisdom."
- Partners-ish section, like currently on mm.cc homepage
- Another Call-To-Action like, Request Invite, Sign In
- footer
Image of homepage

As a scope for this decision, I suggest that myself, Devin, Ishan, Robert, Marija, Raymon, and Ben should at a minimum weigh in on this, and that it take 5 'yes' votes to a proposal to move ahead.

As a process, I propose that Ishan design a very simple layout for the blog. I would volunteer to implement it, which would mostly involving removal of styling and pages, not addition, so that's easy.

This could happen in parallel with a design for the homepage done by Ishan, which I would also volunteer to implement. Implementation would be extremely easy, with a design in hand.

If people are enthusiastic about this idea, I expect that the list of components for the homepage will evolve with the discussion, until we reach a resolution, at which point homepage design could start in full.

CT

Connor Turland Mon 9 Feb 2015 6:59PM

@ishanshapiro it sounds for what the scope of this proposal actually is, you could have just agreed? I know that I made a suggestion in the initial description that you and I would be executers of the action, but I tried to leave that part out of what the actual decision was. This is just trying to narrow this down, as opposed to alternatives, as a desirable course of action, not necessarily to begin right away, or assume specific people. Also, voicing the other things that are being held as high pressing priority would be nice to have seen those show up in the question to the DevCom about priority? I would love to hear more about what 'making a better experience for the users we have' means and involves from your perspective

CT

Connor Turland Mon 9 Feb 2015 7:12PM

@benjaminbrownell your disagreement also held two aspects, one of whether this is "priority" and another one that hinted that you disagreed with the actual idea. Maybe we experiment with limiting the scope of this convo thread to how this is a good idea or not? That way, we can know that your 'disagree' is actually a block to the very idea of doing this.

I know that asking you further questions here is an implicit ask for you to dedicate more of your time to this thread, which sounds like that is the fundamental thing that you're not digging. It leaves us with an interesting question of whether doing that, intentionally, is a 'block' of its own. What it feels that I can do, is also show interest and curiosity and dedicate some time to that which you are emphasizing as priority, which I will attempt to do more of.

Back to content, the loomio homepage is another good example of a strong communication of what they do and what the platform is. Can you think of a style that you've seen that can convey all of that better?

BB

Benjamin Brownell Mon 9 Feb 2015 7:23PM

Sure. Couple of things - and by the way I don't resent being called back to this conversation, there are several interesting and illuminating aspects to it.

My overriding sense is that this isn't an initiative that is set to move ahead very swiftly or smoothly right at the moment - maybe that's because I can't see more of the 'sensemaking' map around what's involved. But it also has to do with the fact that I'm basically "OK" with homepage and blog as they are now, and have no problem waiting till another significant update push in a month or three to deal with updates there.

Second, I'm just not feeling that the increasingly ubiquitous scrolling homepage is actually a good choice for us, stylistically or UX, or content wise. I think it's significant to note that maps are a very different and unique UI / UX to almost anything else out there on the web right now with the degree of design sensibility that we have invested in it, and i'd want the homepage to really follow that trend and stand out in some ways, not just head towards convention or convenience.

Perhaps the blog site could change around to be more like that, and re-integrate some of the content that you are pointing to above. I don't know. I'd want to get more of this thinking out on a map where we can work with it, and frankly this doesn't feel like the time for me to invest much in that process. Glad to follow along and input here and there, if you / others want to take it further.

And finally, please don't feel like i'm coming across with resentfulness that you (connor) aren't doing other more important code work, it's not that tone of feeling in my mind, just a more practical desire to rank what I am seeing as priorities so that you are aware of that and can factor it into your decision making about spending time. Interests and enthusiasm are of course another factor there. Steer as you willl...we can all help set course!

DH

Devin H Mon 9 Feb 2015 7:37PM

The idea of making the metamaps.cc homepage in the style of a map is intriguing!

I think the blog currently doesn't draw me in. It works informationally but I agreed to this proposal because I think it is a priority.

My initial attempt to imagine a map based homepage would be awful UX. I think at the very least if it were map based we'd want all topic cards expanded by default to show more information.

Sure. Couple of things - and by the way I don’t resent being called back to this conversation, there are several interesting and illuminating aspects to it.

My overriding sense is that this isn’t an initiative that is set to move ahead very swiftly or smoothly right at the moment - maybe that’s because I can’t see more of the ‘sensemaking’ map around what’s involved. But it also has to do with the fact that I’m basically “OK” with homepage and blog as they are now, and have no problem waiting till another significant update push in a month or three to deal with updates there.

Second, I’m just not feeling that the increasingly ubiquitous scrolling homepage is actually a good choice for us, stylistically or UX, or content wise. I think it’s significant to note that maps are a very different and unique UI / UX to almost anything else out there on the web right now with the degree of design sensibility that we have invested in it, and i’d want the homepage to really follow that trend and stand out in some ways, not just head towards convention or convenience.

Perhaps the blog site could change around to be more like that, and re-integrate some of the content that you are pointing to above. I don’t know. I’d want to get more of this thinking out on a map where we can work with it, and frankly this doesn’t feel like the time for me to invest much in that process. Glad to follow along and input here and there, if you / others want to take it further.

And finally, please don’t feel like i’m coming across with resentfulness that you (connor) aren’t doing other more important code work, it’s not that tone of feeling in my mind, just a more practical desire to rank what I am seeing as priorities so that you are aware of that and can factor it into your decision making about spending time. Interests and enthusiasm are of course another factor there. Steer as you willl…we can all help set course!

Reply to this email directly or view it on Loomio ( http://www.loomio.org/d/DG0i5bZM/reduce-the-blog-to-just-blog-expand-and-improve-mm-cc-homepage-into-one-pager-and-add-offerings-and-open-value-network-pages-on-mm-cc?utm_campaign=thread_mailer&utm_medium=email&utm_source=new_comment#comment-495597 ).

Unfollow ( http://www.loomio.org/email_actions/unfollow_discussion/66828/BSyfqb9bws8P16u8BXZk ) to stop emails about this discussion.

Change your email preferences ( http://www.loomio.org/email_preferences?unsubscribe_token=BSyfqb9bws8P16u8BXZk&utm_campaign=thread_mailer&utm_medium=email&utm_source=new_comment ) to unsubscribe from Loomio emails.

BB

Benjamin Brownell Mon 9 Feb 2015 7:47PM

Well, what starts to come to mind for me isn't exactly a 'map based' home page, but some other kind of creative solution that somehow matches the kind of spatial, navigational feel of the canvas. Even if it was something with basically the same content that's laid out here, but you scroll through it by going IN TO the page along a Z axis instead of the Y axis regular scroll...or something that brought in some cool new famo.us ( http://famo.us ) flow elements...i don't really know what's possible within time, scope, energy, skill here.

CT

Connor Turland Mon 9 Feb 2015 9:04PM

Ok, I say we let this proposal close, and don't take it as a 'let's go forward with X' thing. It seems like there might be consensus about the blog side of things, which I will create another decision for here, but that exploration of the options for the homepage could be pursued a little bit more! I'm digging the alt. ideas that are surfacing for it, and think that we can refine the 'homepage' aspect of the proposal, with further collaborative thinking and dialogue.

RB

Robert Best Mon 9 Feb 2015 9:07PM

One thought I would add is... We are already asking our users to stretch cognitively and think differently (Thinking in terms of maps/nodes/networks etc..) So maybe it would be best if when they look at something like our blog or our homepage that there are many familiar aspects... vs doing these things differently too.

"Oh! This is their homepage... I know how to get the information I want from here!"

or

"Ok this is their blog... I know how to use this! I can click here and subscribe, I can see the most recent post.." etc...

CT

Connor Turland Mon 9 Feb 2015 9:09PM

I agree with that as well Rob, that it's an important aspect for us to consider. Mark from San Fran also made this point when we spoke with him