As USA Today counts down to the full launch of its new beta website, check out the prime real estate on its homepage. Today, long after the close of major stock markets Friday afternoon, the site continues to devote mucho space to three stock indexes on the far-left side of the page. News-wise, it's stale. (See screenshot, above.)
Even the bible of financial news -- The Wall Street Journal -- drops the Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 from its weekend homepage. Ditto for the other national daily, The New York Times.
Indeed, everyday, USAT's non-beta homepage wisely relegates those stock indexes to a far, far smaller spot on the right-hand side. For that matter, one wonders why the beta site gives such prominent play to stock market figures even when markets are open.
Given all the resources devoted to sports, wouldn't it make more sense to devote that beta site space to, for example, current game scores? Or -- shudder -- maybe a paid advertisement could go there?
How could USAT make better use of this beta space? Please post your replies in the comments section, below. To e-mail confidentially, write jimhopkins[at]gmail[dot-com]; see Tipsters Anonymous Policy in the rail, upper right.
As has been stated, this is a beta launch and lots of things still don't work or are known issues. Having something other than stocks is one of those known issues.
ReplyDeleteThanks for helping to underscore the point.
Thank you for reading this in the spirit it was offered.
ReplyDeleteWhere os the beta testing of common sense?
ReplyDeleteBeta schmetta. Sorry 'bout USAT's bad luck, but my local Gannett paper's site still looks like (and is as useful) as if it's still in beta. It's only been... oh, say... TEN YEARS. It's a question of competence and commitment, two items Gannett has been successful at eliminating.
ReplyDelete3:02 A redesign is in the works for all the community newspapers and TV stations. I suspect the new look, which will be uniform across all those sites, will be modeled after USA Today's. I don't know the timetable for launch, however.
ReplyDeleteI don't think we're talking about brain surgery. During business hours M-F you run stocks and economic info, with ads from Schwab or Vanguard or Virgin Air or FedEx.
ReplyDeleteLater in the day you migrate to sports content, with ads from Bud or Home Depot or Ford or Southwest.
You know what's funny? Usa Today has awful coverage of Wall Street.
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