News touts Web redesign as if it’s the Second Coming

Of course, since you’ve previously waxed visionary about your move to a web-based publishing/information company, I guess you’re in whole hog now.

And, you’re in so whole hog that Bob Mong has to again hit the “fluff” button on his computer for a new site roll-out piece.

That said, let’s take a more critical, more skeptical look at the redo.

One, Mong himself admitted they had to bump the font size from the original version because too many people were complaining about having too much trouble reading it. Oops.

Two, on dial-up Internet, it’s a LOT slower to load than the old version.

Three, new sections on the home page, such as “most popular stories”? That’s old hat. It’s been a couple of years since a paper like the New York Times has been doing that.

Four, I’m not sure that I would have an “offbeat” section there. It seems to put one more nail in the coffin of the News’ old claims to greatness.

Five, the top center area does look “cleaner” than before, as though the Web equivalent of using white space has been better applied.

Overall, it is something decent, I think. But, no, Bob, it isn’t the Second Coming. Of anything.

The online-focused Snooze still isn't so online user-friendly

I was recently looking for the online version of the Oct. 19 Business section story about D.R. Horton pulling out of its agreement to buy Hank Haney’s McKinney golf ranch.

It’s said when I can’t find this story on the Morning News website after doing not one but two keyword searches and Google News spits it up immediately. The firsr search was “Hank Haney” + “Horton” the second was “Haney” + “Horton.” Zero matches both times. Score another for the Snooze, even with its vaunted move to a more online-based newspaper.