Comments on: Robert Scoble Did A Redesign. Who Cares!

By: Dave Sohigian

Dave Sohigian — Tue, 06 May 2008 15:51:46 +0000

I have been using the “Next>” bookmarklet from Google Reader for the past year. Although I do sometimes scan titles and content in Google Reader I actually prefer to read the posts in context of their site. Design does matter to me and I enjoy the visual diversity of moving from one blog to another with a single click. If it all turned into just a big information feed it would not be as interesting for me.

By: doug

doug — Mon, 05 May 2008 17:32:17 +0000

I have decided to start serving png’s so you have to come to my site.

By: Jared Goralnick

Jared Goralnick — Mon, 05 May 2008 16:16:30 +0000

Here’s why I completely disagree: though I read the vast majority of the sites I’m interested in via RSS, I don’t discover any of them that way. Design plays a HUGE role in whether or not I add a new site to my RSS reader. Part of it is the social proof and part of it is the “yeah, they’re legitimate” and part of it is that I just really appreciate and respect good design.

So: for maintenance of reader relationships, it’s about content. But for starting one, looks matter. Kinda like real life, eh?

By: Greg Robleto

Greg Robleto — Fri, 02 May 2008 17:42:34 +0000

Google Reader is ideal of getting the overview, but typically I’ll need to rest the rest of the article on the site itself. I also need to visit the real site to leave comments, like this.

But overall, I agree, the value in personal site design is diminishing, since it’s the personal site content (first found in my RSS reader) that is driving me to come visit.

By: Samantha

Samantha — Fri, 02 May 2008 16:03:44 +0000

In response to:
“I care about the content and functionality that your site provides me. I experience the Web through feeds in Google Reader and widgets in NetVibes. I do 90% of my enjoying of content in those worlds. I typically don’t notice your fancy designs or user interfaces.”

I also view 90% of the content I enjoy on a day to day basis via netvibes, but I would venture to guess that most of the world does not. While RSS is picking up in popularity it is still definitely not mainstream. I would be interested if there are any statistics on the % of people who do experience the web mostly through feed readers.

While content is king, the user experience for a is still greatly facilitated by a design ( whether it be on a personal site, or through the interface of netvibes, which was designed.. very well actualy). I just don’t see why there isn’t room in this world for both. While I certainly do not care about Scoble’s redesign… I DO CARE about a lot of them

By: Jason Wishard

Jason Wishard — Fri, 02 May 2008 11:55:31 +0000

I use Google Reader for all of my content, of course, depending on the feed, I still have to go to the site to read the rest of the content (CNN loves their titles only feed on some things). Other than that, I agree, keep a site clean and simple for first time visitors, after that, they usually only come back via RSS.

By: Jason Garber

Jason Garber — Fri, 02 May 2008 02:56:40 +0000

I have to admit my first thought upon reading the title of this article was, “I agree, who cares what Robert Scoble says?”

By: Charlie Park

Charlie Park — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:48:31 +0000

I think for the people who have already bought in to your message that the site doesn’t matter so much. But for people who haven’t yet discovered / accepted your brilliance, design absolutely matters. A good site design (even a well-chosen template) goes a long way to establishing credibility in my book.

By: Ross M Karchner

Ross M Karchner — Fri, 02 May 2008 01:30:43 +0000

I keep meaning to tell you how full of it you were in your “Widgets fulfill the promise of RSS” post, but the fact that you use Reader means _you_already_know_*

By: Victoria Pickering

Victoria Pickering — Thu, 01 May 2008 22:48:38 +0000

I read everything through Google Reader. But when I go to a site to comment or look for other information, sometimes I see that I’ve really missed something in not experiencing the look and feel of the site or seeing the words in a larger graphic context. I’ve love it if Google Reader added a feature where there were screenshots of the sites optionally accessible along with the feed.