Official site looks towards the future

While we were gone, StarWars.com got a bit of a facelift. The front of the site is now driven by Flash, no doubt with an eye towards a that less news-driven site that Pablo has been mentioning lately. And from a designer’s standpoint, it sure is shiny… Like last time, the redesign process will be gradual, and for now most everything beyond the front is pretty familiar.

The biggest change, however, is the brand-new video section, which gathers all the site’s video content together in a slick Youtube-inspired interface. Or is that two brand-new video sections? Mashups features actual clips you can edit, remix, and upload right on the site, a huge step for any official site to make.

Overall I feel pretty positive towards the changes, and while I’ll miss the news-focus, I look forward to seeing what upgrades the rest of the site will get. It can’t all be Flash…

From the Blogside

The Infinite Force on how to write a ‘popular’ blog on starwars.com. I don’t think there’s really a set formula, but you might as well give it a try. Early morning rambles and very snarky things about Courtship of Princess Leia or the YJK series (inexplicably beloved by the young’ens) have also been known to work. Or just hope everyone else sucks that day.

For all your high-minded analysis needs – Lord Noctifer on Apollonian Jedi and Dionysian Sith. Meanwhile, Master Ki-Aaron-Mundi considers the Force.

Nardasarmy introduces the fandom buddy system.

Dan Wallace lists the top eight B-List Marvel characters. Aren’t all Marvel characters B-list until proven otherwise?