Exciting launch news
Posted by Simon Harper on August 10, 2008
It’s finally time to let the eyeballs of the world gaze upon Cul-de-Sac. For the past month, this blog has charted the progress of the site in its development, and issues around the business of online journalism, and now we get to the exciting bit. You can find the Cul-de-Sac website here, in all its glory.
But first, some more details about the project. Cul-de-Sac is intended to operate as an online music magazine covering music activity in the West Midlands. Content on the site will include news stories, general features, interviews (with local bands, acts signed to local labels, and also artists due to perform live in the region), reviews of local live music events and a general slew of record reviews, as well as a host of other stuff of interest. I am launching the website as part of a project for my MA course, which explores Media Enterprise.
Now, when the site becomes fully operational I would like to cover as many forms of music as possible. However, this is also contingent on sourcing quality writing about music which exists outside of my own expertise. So, once a team of contributors is in place you can expect to find all manner of musical exploits being discussed within those very webpages. The content at present is a bit sketchy, and some of it has been taken from articles I have written for other publications of late, but you should be able to get an idea of what the site will be about.
This is the bit where you come in. The Cul-de-Sac website is still at the test stage and I’d love to hear what people think about it. If you like what you see, then that’s great. But I also want to hear from you about what you would want to see on the website – what would make you want to read regularly or subscribe to feeds, what do you think could be done better, and what do you think I should be covering? In order to learn more about where to take this project, I need to hear from you and by posting your comments at the bottom of this blog post you will be helping me enormously. So please take a look around and let me know your thoughts – all constructive criticism and abuse (and, dare I say it, praise if you think it’s worth it) will be gratefully received, so that I can properly evaluate the site and where to go next.
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank several people who have been instrumental in the formation of the Cul-de-Sac website, and their input has been very much appreciated. Special thanks go to Geoff Dolman, Rob Strong, Andrew Cowen, Ben Javens, Lisa Meyer and Jenny Moore, Paul Bradshaw, Gareth Main, Stephen King, Dave Allen, Susi O’Neill, Kerry Thomas, David Hendley, Vanessa Myers, Zara Parekh, Annette Naudin and any other people I’ve absent-mindedly neglected to mention.
So, what do you think? I’m looking forward to hearing your comments!
Rich Batsford said
Hi Simon
the sites looking good, I look foward to being a regular reader
my only feedback is as that I would suggest putting at least a whole paragraph, or better yet, the whole post into the RSS feed.
I realise you may get fewer clicks right thought to the site that way, but I think the material may get read a lot more often.
cheers
Rich
Xx
Claire Statham said
Hi Simon,
I’m liking the cul-de-sac. Good name by the way. Good loading time, for one thing, I like alot of people rely on various sources for internet including work, some sites just don’t load quickly enough, and the fact that you don’t need to download flash etc I think will get you alot more hits. I’m not sure if your aware but itunes, the ipod music download site recently released their download charts, and the age group that uses internet mostly for music downloads etc is 40 – 50. Now I for one was shocked at this, but the fact that your website is very accessible and doesn’t need endless clicking and scrolling and countless pop ups i’d say is a huge plus. I will be reading regurlarly if your looking for feedback but obviously not coming from the target area I won’t be too up to date on the topic choices being local. Unlike Rich above here I liked the way you’ve laid out the home page, with abit of writing to get their attention and what else is on underneath. I think you’ve got a good amount of photographs on there, as some people go over the top.
Are you going to be keeping the record reviews as local also?
How often are you looking to update, weekly, monthly, or will you be changing things daily?
Hope this helps, if you need any more let me know
Claire x
Susi O'Neill said
Hello simon,
Wow! Exciting to see Cul-de-Sac is on air and great that you got it all together with the content and design so quickly!
Couple of pointers:
- You mention here you wish to ‘widen the gene pool’ metaphorically – I guess the question is how far and how realistic is that – the design, approach and aesthetic lends itself more to the underground indie scene than say soul, reggae, bhangra which are big in the West Midlands! What are the parameters? Is it better to focus in on the other big niche of indie/metal which is quite big in the West Midlands I here!
- Secondly, personality! The about us, contact us page could inject some more personality about you, your vision, what you want to achieve. The reviews are all great quality, but they are a little bit ‘typical journalist’ that maybe a fanzine approach. I guess because you wrote them as a contracted journalist! But I think for people to really engage in a web 2.0 site, they want to have a vested interest and a two-way dialogue with the people that run it. More of an editorial voice, passion about the music and a feel of ‘diarising’ the mood right here right now in the W. Midlands! Maybe using the blog format to post weekly updates on latest releases/gigs, which could also be avilable as a weekly e-newsletter would work well?
geoff static said
So far so sweet.
Could do with some profiles, labels, promoters and important money shakers.
Maybe a community , especially if its to get local buzz going.
I always think web sites need to be as upto speed as possible, so news on shellac in brum, the closer of the flapper, The Bearos Post Rock Ceilidh etc.
Still its mighty fine to see it here and something that we can bookmark in confidence that we will find information and good journalism.
Simon Harper said
From Catherine Bray by email:
Hello. A few feedback-y thoughts on the site:
1. I like the layout, feels like I know where everything is.
2. Pedant’s corner: maybe you could alt-tag your pictures differently – it’s helpful for vision-impaired people using software to tell them what pics are on the site, and also helps your Google page ranking if you’re using keywords e.g. “math-rockers Battles at Supersonic 2008″ is much better on both fronts than “battles-11″.
3. I think what I would want above all else from a specifically regional site is to know what gigs and events are coming up in the area. Is there an easy way to add a calendar, listings, or previews/highlights section, or is this not within the site’s remit? Even a link onsite to a Google calendar you maintained separately could be useful.
4. Like the interviews and Q&As.
David Hendley said
Hi Simon,
Well I’m just going to be boring here, I enjoyed reding the articles on the site and really like the logo and branding, I want to buy a T-Shirt so let me know if one hits the stands.
Nice piccies too and I look forward to receiving the updates by RSS.
Tracy said
Really glad to see Cul-de-Sac up and running.
Some great reviews to get the site started. How about a gigs/events section detailing live gigs in the West Midlands? That way you could start to create a loyal following of live music enthusiasts who will use use the site as a first port of call. So people looking for something to do on a Friday/Saturday night can check out the website to get their information.
keisha4 said
Hi Simon it’s great news about this online music magazine, sounds fab! Well as an singer songwriter I’d love to see a range of interviews with music industry experts and the artists themselves. That would keep me reading anyway! I think your enthusiasm for the project really comes out and because you’re excited about it, I’m excited about it.
Keep it up!
Keisha