symmetry Web site: Progress and thoughts for the future

Kevin Munday, Xeno Media

August 18, 2006 2

Approach – Home page

• Home page changes to reflect cover/TOC/color scheme of each new issue

• Limited TOC on home page

• Patterned on arts/literary journal sites rather than typical science mags

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Approach - Articles

• Include as many graphic elements as possible

• Integrate as much as practical while maintainingHTML indexing

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Approach – Email announcement

• Issue’s template• Three features• Entire TOC

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Archives

All past issues retained, with:• Unique issue template

• Full PDFs and story-by-story PDFs

• 60 seconds archive

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Search

Keyword search with optional highlighted matches

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Subscription

Features seamless tie-in with database vendor

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Approach - RSS

Every issue’s TOC is fed via RSS • “Subscribe” via RSS reader• Firefox Live Bookmarks• Safari

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Production Process

• Xeno Media receives preview cover or for template creation (~2 weeks from rollout)

• Xeno Media presents template layouts/color schemes (~1.5 weeks from rollout)

• Xeno Media receives final files (~1.5 – 2 weeks from rollout)

• Xeno Media produces issue in beta and posts for review (~2 days prior to rollout)

• Rollout, email distribution, RSS update on Wednesday of delivery

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Usage

• 45,663 visits in July

• High of 70,053 in October, 2005 (/.)

• Steadily increasing

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Where do our visitors come from?

In July…

• Stumbleupon (over 55,000 “hits”)

• Various Google searches (over 4,000 hits)

• Fermilab home page (2,788 “hits”)

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Where from here?

At this point, the symmetry Web site:

• Publishes all symmetry content

• Creates a searchable archive

• Publishes all PDFs for printing

• Adds symmetry to the Web’s collective memory

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Where from here?

The symmetry Web site does not:

• Provide much supplemental content

• Provide any other timely content (doesn’t require return or random trips)

• Use many of the media available for Web delivery

• Create many opportunities for dialogue with readership

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Possibilities – Supplemental content

• What would help the story, but can’t be featured in the magazine?

• Are there supplemental images that we could use on the Web, but can’t get in the magazine?

• Is there an opportunity for audio?

• Is there an opportunity for video?

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Possibilities - Utility

• Create archives of stories with a taxonomy useful to lobbyists, staffers etc. (tag by category)

• Archive more images in a “talk-ready” format (w/interactions.org?)

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Possibilities - Timeliness

• Running commentary on PP news/events?

• Celebrity blogger?

• Supplemental content added/highlighted at random (or any other non-issue) interval?

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Possibilities - Dialogue

• Blogs (allow feedback/discussion)

• Feedback forms vs. email address

• Soliciting/publishing of reader feedback related to specific article.

• Forums

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Possibilities – Fun/Viral

• Digital video contests

• Digital audio contests

• Brainteasers/challenges

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Possibilities - Process

• Specifically ask authors to consider and note Web-specific ideas for their stories

• Have one Web centric symmetry meeting per issue to discuss possibilities

• Bring Web design earlier in the process and allow more time (design rather than production)

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Questions

• How important is symmetry’s Web site to its overall mission?

• Are any additional resources available to consider Web projects/additions?

• Can the Web site take risks that the magazine cannot?

• What improvements would you like to see?