Joni Evans | 09/04/2009 9:00 am

wOw's Had a Face-Lift (Well, Only Some Botox)

After listening to your continued helpful feedback, I’m delighted to say that wOw is presenting a newer, cleaner design today that we hope you will enjoy. We’ve added forums, in which we know many of you have asked to participate. In addition, we’ve highlighted certain sections that we think will make navigation easier for you.

Take a look and tell us what you think.

Read more about: Makeover, New Design, Technology

66 Reader Comments (so far…) Sign In or Register to comment

Joanie, I think the left-side navigation looks great: much easier to read. The previous design was incredibly, incredibly cluttered. The right navigation is too wide, though. I’d narrow the right side a bit, and widen the left side.

Here’s an idea that can be accomplished in just a few minutes, and it doesn’t take a tekkie. Wouldn’t it be great if you downloaded free voice-recording software - such as Audacity - onto a couple of computers in the wOw headquarters? Then, connect a telephone interface such as the Konexx model-100 ($56), which is compatible for digital or analog phones, between the sound-card input jack on the computer tower and the telephone handset.

Don’t be scared by the language. It’s simply snapping a little tiny Konexx device: you unplug the coiled cable on the phone handset and snap it into one end of the tiny Konexx box. Then you snap the modular plug on the Konexx into that handset jack. The other end of the Konexx has a cable with a tiny mini-jack that you simply plug into the tiny sound input hole on the back of the computer tower. It takes perhaps 20 seconds.

Next, have any star, guest, or combination of stars do a telephone call or conference call to that phone number. Simply click the red Record dot on the Audacity software you’ve downloaded on the computer to record the entire conversation. When done, click the Stop button.

Once you have the recording, it’ll be easy to edit and save the audio wave as any type of file (such as mP3) to upload to the audio queue on the wowOwow.com website. That way, interviews could be done daily, including with sources for breaking news, entertainment, whatever. If you make the site audio-friendly and more interactive, you’ll need a wheelbarrel to deal with the resulting money. Cheers.

-James

By James the Game on 09/03/2009 11:28 pm

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James,

I copied and saved your post, great idea!

By Linda Myers on 09/04/2009 2:16 am

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Thanks, Linda. Are you on the wOw staff?

By James the Game on 09/05/2009 1:04 am

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No sir. I just keep my eyes open for ideas that can be used, that I am not aware of. :-) From what you posted, it could be used to fill a gap in what I do in my own space.

By Linda Myers on 09/05/2009 1:14 am

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Absolutely. You can use that software to play/download mP3 audio clips, too. For example, you can point the cursor at a clip, right-click the mouse, then click the Save Target As. Once the file is saved somewhere in your computer (such as the Audio envelope), you can then import it into the Audacity software (for editing, playback, whatever). To do that, on the Audacity window click File, then Open. Click Export File As (whatever type of file you prefer, such as .WAV or mP3).

Once you have the audio in the Audacity window, the audio appears as a wavy pattern, obviously. You can click and drag certain portions that you want to highlight or delete. To save, say, a certain part of the interview, just click and drag the mouse to highlight the portion you want to save. Then, click Edit, then Copy or Cut. Next, click File, then New to create a "new" window. With the cursor arrow inside the audio box, simply click Edit then Paste to drop it into that new window. Now you have just the exact portion of audio you want. Now you can save it, if you want. Click File, then Save As. Give the audio file a name.

It sounds complicated, but is extremely simple. If you know how to cut and paste, you’re already 99% home free.

By James the Game on 09/05/2009 1:34 am

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I added this section to my file I already copied. Thank you! Another hat I can spin on my finger, and decide if I want to hang it with the rest! I have wanted to do some interviews related to my own site, but really didn’t feel getting into the internet radio genre was necessary. This could provide for now an answer and see how it grows!

By Linda Myers on 09/05/2009 1:41 am

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Are you free to disclose which site that is?

I think the value of audio is that it is much more interactive and personal than the mere written word. You can have a better back-and-forth with a ton more information condensed into a couple minutes of easy listening. Also, multiple people can converse at once, if it’s a conference or party call on the phone. Written and visual elements have their strengths, too, obviously. It’s just good to have the audio option available for when it’s desirable.

By James the Game on 09/05/2009 1:51 am

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I listed it early in the thread after the link for the widget for WOW. Audio connects the picture/voice making the image more identifiable for others. The site does really well in numbers, but more interaction would be nice. :-)

By Linda Myers on 09/05/2009 2:09 am

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Definitely an improvement… sleeker, cleaner, easy to navigate.

Thank you for this enjoyable online magazine.

By Marjorie C. on 09/04/2009 5:47 am

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A great retort Marjorie C. - You have “clarified” the scene for me because James Gimmell had me confused with his reply to you. That’s the second time to-day he has caused me to scratch my weary head. Did you read his dissertation on “going audio”?

I would love to support him and agree that his suggestion is just what this WOW site needs, but I get a little more than “just shy” when anyone brings up terms like - play/download, or audacity software, or click file, or save and target or mP3 etc. etc.

I don’t mind admitting to you that I know almost zero about this stuff, but I wouldn’t want him to find out what a dud I am about it. Talk about being buzzed; clicking on the mouse is about the extent of my expertise in this department.

By Lauriate Roly on 09/06/2009 6:16 pm