Posted on by Dunc

A few thoughts on the StarWars.com survey…

StarWars.com has a user survey running right now: Your chance to let Lucas Online know what you want to see (or not) on the site. There are items that they’re asking input on that we may or may not see on the site. My comments under the cut.

  • Classic Star Wars Movie Scenes. Seriously? I’ve seen the movies enough times that I really don’t need straight scenes on the internet, and I suspect you guys have too. Now, if they had some exclusive commentary or something, maybe.
  • User-Generated Star Wars videos. Ehh. Leave it to the Youtubes of the world.
  • Videos highlighting ILM visual effects work on other non-Star Wars movies. I might watch them, but overall I feel this kind of thing is better suited to ILM.com, though that would probably just mean more work for them.
  • Interactive video that features ILM Star Wars visual effects. Sure.
  • Star Wars graphic novels or comics. Actual comics? Only if they get a better viewer. The Clone Wars one is downright painful. More comics coverage? Sure.
  • Deleted scenes and animatics from the movies, Deleted scenes and behind-the-scenes footage from the original trilogy. Certainly. Need I remind you?
  • New original short fiction. Yes! Alas, not many of the recent ones have been all that interesting to me, but I do support the concept in general.
  • New original flash-based mini-games. Ugh. No.
  • Trivia games, where you compete head-to-head with other fans and keep score. I’m not a huge trivia fan outside of Celebrations, but this could be interesting… And probably very popular.
  • Panoramic “VR-style” photography of Star Wars and Lucasfilm environments. Haven’t seen those since… ROTS? But sure.
  • Podcasts of news and interviews. I’m not really a huge fan of podcasts – I don’t have the time or inclination to listen without a serious reason. But I’d be okay with it as long as transcripts (or at least a time stamp guide) provided.
  • Original Online Star Wars Mini Series’ Documentaries and behind-the-scenes things, yes. Fiction or mini-movies… Not so much. I don’t even watch fan films unless they’re funny, and as much as I loved BSG I had no interest in their webisodes.

I also voted heavily for social networking, though mostly because none of the other options for those questions really intrigued me. What are your thoughts? (Play nice! Remember that running a website is not all fun and games, and we’re lucky that StarWars.com is as extensive as it is.)

9 Replies to “A few thoughts on the StarWars.com survey…”

  1. I forget the exact phrasing, but I was most puzzled by the “Make it kids-only” option on the “What would make you want to join Hyperspace?” question.

    While I love the idea of the Databank, I didn’t vote for it much because we already have Wookieepedia (and various print encyclopedias and such). And I’m not sure about user-generated videos when we have, as you said, YouTube and such. (What happened to the Mashups mini-site?)

    And while a certain amount of social networking is all well and good, there’s so much social networking already out there that I’m not left with much of an appetite. (Does my memory deceive me, or do I remember a dating/personals option???)

    In lieu of Flash games, maybe they ought to try their hand at some viral/social Facebook application or something… I can’t say I’m typically a big fan of those, but there are interesting possibilities. E.g., utilize Facebook Connect to engage the wider internet beyond sw.com in a trivia contest or whatever.

    But, bottom line: to Lucas Online–thanks for everything & keep it up. :)

  2. The “personals” option made me giggle, but really. It’s a possibility, though. Star Wars eHarmony. :)

    I actually enjoy the content when others (like Club Jade) link me directly there. I’m just so befuddled by the current design it’s unreal.

    Does this mean I’m getting old?

  3. I also noted that the current comics viewer bugs me. Still, it’s very encouraging that they even do surveys like this every now and then!

  4. I would imagine the current site design is getting slammed, hopefully we can either rollback or get another redesign quick. As Paula site navigating the site currently is damn near impossible.

  5. Toph: I’m okay with the Databank, because I think if you’re just looking for the most basic info, it’s a way better bet than the Wook. I would never link a casual fan wanting to know who some minor character is to the Wook: It’s just too overwhelming, particularity if all they care about is movie info. Some of those Wook entries are ridiculously huge.

    What bugs me about the databank is stuff like Ben Skywalker not having an entry, not even an outdated one. Even Yahoo at least has something.

    Paula: Archive page! That’s my bookmark; I almost never look at the actual front. Not because I find it confusing, but because all that Flash just annoys me. Plus, if I miss something it’s much clearer in that format.

    Broox: I doubt you’re going to get an actual rollback or another complete redesign, but they may tweak things.

  8. I will say this for the OS front page: it has a good collection of links to outside articles, which can’t be found on the archives page. It’s worth hitting every now and then just for that.

  9. Dunc: of course! But then you might need variants like “care, and care whether others care,” “care, but don’t care if others care,” and “don’t care, but care if others care too much.”

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