re: Geaux.com...Check out phase 1 of our new concept

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Oh and I thought the Asian women ad was a step in this direction...

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Well, she's back again right now not fully clothed as usual. I think she's looking for her sandles in the Geaux.com Dining Guide ad. I think she left them there when she started stripping before she got in the back seat of that car. She's got crooked toes.

chicken,
thanks, I just checked geaux.com out. great concept. I think this was my idea, but, geaux ahead! good job.

I used it today to find the manziel headlines.. just what I wanted. also, great to see other board headlines.

thanks,
j

Employment/Jobs board would be nice.

Looks good. I'm interested in what new technologies, if any, you guys are using to build on, though. Don't be afraid to check out stuff like Bootstrap 3.0, Node.js, and whatnot to evolve instead of just a facelift.

My (obviously unimportant) opinion is that while it does look great and fits the design that this network of sites is known for, it looks a little dated. Use the tools that are becoming available to give it a real update. Divshot, for example, is a great way to at the very least prototype these things. I do like the design direction and the use of the blue. Very easy on the eyes. Like I said, I like what you guys have done and know firsthand how much these concepts and prototypes change throughout the development process. That being said, I'd like to point out a few things I noticed.

First,the wall-of-text layout has been proven to be off-putting and wasteful. Less is more in most cases. Remember, you're building a brand (which is already quite impressive considering where it started), and that starts with the homepage. You want people there, and therefore, you want your homepage to be extremely pleasant to look at. There are a lot of new techniques like the carousels with mouseover previews that can be added with some jQuery without much effort. For example, I like the evolution of the TD homepage, but on my monitor, it's a bit wasteful. It packs everything into the middle of the monitor with very little whitespace. You guys took a huge step with the responsive design. The next step is making the content delivery a little less grating.

The choice that needs to be made is how you want people to find content. The sidebar contains links to all of the news in a very Reddit-esque fashion. The main content area, though, contains links to the recent news. It's a bit confusing. Why not make the container ("LNav1", "LNav2", etc) present the chosen latest news category in the main area on-click/mouseover with a default latest news category that shows latest news sitewide upon landing. If directing is a problem, allow the link itself to continue to function as it does. That way, you can use the same exact presentation space for all of the latest news for whatever people would like to see. It exposes them to all of your content while still allowing them to see their preferred content. It also reduces the amount you have to show. Someone wants the recent LSU/Saints news, show the schedule. Otherwise, it's hidden to anyone who couldn't care any less about either. I have no idea what's in the pipeline so don't take any of this as negative. It's all opinion. After all, I'm not an authority of any kind. I assume you guys are really just mulling over how you want to do it given the early state of things.

Lastly, don't be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and try to use something ambitious to get the job done. You guys have done a hell of a job and built something great. It's obvious that you want to continue that and expand. People know the market's out there for what you provide, and I've seen several attempts to emulate this place come and go. That shows that you guys do things right running the site so take that knowledge of your users and think outside the box. What I'm trying to say is that "If it ain't broken, don't fix it" doesn't cut it on the web. You have what most people kill for in a devoted, diverse userbase. Expand your skill set and work piece by piece. Perfect the features you really want first, show people those, and test the reaction.

As I said before, you guys are in the right direction, and none of what I said should be taken as negativity or have any weight put into it. At the end of the day, you guys got this far, and I respect that you have a vision you like for any number of reasons. I'm interested to see where it goes. Just remember, growth comes best organically. If you build something that people enjoy seeing, they will start their experience there every time. Allow the user to decide what they want to see while starting them off with an overview.

I wish all working on this the best of luck!

TL;DR: Use some jQuery or whatever you prefer to allow people to choose which specific recent news is shown or to even allow them to stack two or more sets by showing/hiding as they browse. It saves space, allows you to start without a wall of text, and gives the user a sense of control. The people want to see it!