MOVE THE GOOGLE BAR!!!
If you have spent much time on the Startlike comment boards you have likely seen this suggestion pop up (perhaps you have even made it yourself).To directly address this suggestion, we have no plans to move the Google bar in the short-term. The rational for this decision boils down to two reasons combined with time constraints and testing required to find an equally acceptable alternative (which we discussed in an earlier post here).
So, here are those two primary reasons:
#1 - Startlike is intended to be a browser start page. It is not a photo site and the daily photos are intended to be relevant backgrounds for the page elements while stimulating discussions and general user satisfaction. That said, the overwhelmingly most utilized element of a start page is its search engine and that's why Google is given the most prominent placement on Startlike. Just like the background on your computer desktop, the primary Startlike elements are intended to rest on the image.
#2 - We hope to form a deeper strategic relationship with Google to help provide more relevant content and monetize the project long-term. In order to make this happen we must first demonstrate our ability to create a lot of monthly searches for Google (1 million plus as a starting point). If we move the Google bar to a less prominent position it will cut heavily into the search volume and make a deeper partnership with Google much more difficult to achieve.
Please understand it is our intention to listen carefully to user feedback but in areas where the feedback points away from Startlike's strategic focus we must note it and press on.
Only time will tell if our decision not to move the Google bar at this early stage in Startlike's development is right or wrong. We hope you understand our vision (to be a start page but not a photo page) and our need to form a deeper relationship with Google. Even if you don't agree with the decision at least you can appreciate it was thought out and based on a broader strategic focus.
Here is another harsh reality. If users leave Startlike in mass because of the Google bar placement then our core belief, that many people want a dead simple and relevant start page, would be proven horribly flawed. If that happens, we'll have to iterate again...PhotoLike maybe?
Post by: JT
17 comments:
Re: Moving the google bar..
I actually find I don't use it in it's current location. I have a google search bar built into my browser and have the habit of using it there. It's located in the upper right hand corner of the window. Though I want to support the startup, I'm not in the habit of doing so.
It would be really interesting and useful if users could drag and drop the bar where you wanted it (with restrictions of course). For me, I'd pull it into the upper right hand corner. If it had some kind of cookie or user memory on that, it would be awesome.
Another piece of data.
I agree with the idea of a movable google bar, that'd be cool if possible
Allowing the google bar to be moved around freely by the user does not conflict with the two reasons shown above.
Customization in this context makes for a much nicer experience in my opinion. And like Lovey, with search bars being fully integrated into web browsers, it seems that the need for this in the first place is losing relevancy.
Yeah...long term a transparency option would be nice too. I mean, I like the picture a day but i rarely load google in order to search...and a picture isn't likely to change that. Added features might, a pretty interface for all that i might do on the web, Gcal/mail, an rss reader that could be useful.
Another option that would be cool would be a sort of "Chameleon" effect option for the google bar. So that when you first load up the page, the bar is white and visible, but then after a few seconds, (when the user starts to really look at the picture) the white colors in the google bar fade to a color that is an average of the pixels of the image they are covering. If you plan on adding things such as an rss reader, or email inbox checking capability, then customization would be key. The ability to move these items around is important here.
I do appreciate the google bar in the page, but I myself have been using SearchKindly.org as my search engine browser for a long period of time, because the clicks they generate also generate money to small causes and such. I may start using this google search bar to help you all further your purpose, but I think the amount of searching I do will end up being split. Hopefully you all can understand that. Thanks for all you do in helping us outdoors people find a common ground!
Gotta agree, I use the google bar in Safari. I posted a long comment today on the main page, which for some reason didn't post- maybe due to length. I basically said that if you expect people who randomly signed up to beta test, to be trying out all of the features, when really all I care about is seeing the neat picture, maybe learning something, and then moving on to my google search or to wherever. I think the links to all sorts of stuff, like facebook, email, etc are useless- I will use my bookmarks every time. If you are looking for a new thing to make a lot of money, I think you are deluding yourselves to think that anyone would want to use it for these nominal features. I will use it to search, if that is the first thing I plan to do when I open up my browser, no matter where it is on the page. and even though I don't want to admidt it, I probably will keep it as my search page even if you don't move the bar away from being annoying (i.e. in the middle of the picture). On the other hand, if you post pictures like today's picture and the one with the horses, I may stop using it, because those pictures looked fake. I think the best thing you could do for yourselves is to allow people to rate pictures, and then the next one for them would be one that they might like better (sort of like Netflix rating of movies). I know this is complicated, but probably the only thing that I, as a regular old web user, email checker, and facebook user, would appreciate. One thing I have always liked about google search page is the lack of crap- that is why I stopped using yahoo, msn or any of those pages. Too much crap, pop ups, flashing ads, and annoying shit like that. Your page could end up like that if you are not careful, and then I think you would loose me, and a lot of others who don't want to be annoyed by that.
Transparency would be nice, have it pop up more on roll over. The ability to adjust where the bar was, would be really nice, as well. Could move it, anywhere, to get the full view. Either way, the bar isn't very big, and doesn't take up a lot of space, on the page. Which makes it kind of nit picky to whine about.
Another suggestion: Most people probably open Google in a separate tab, if not in a current tab, or page. If I'm on the huntrush page, I want to be there and not end up on Google.
What about at least modifying the bar to give us the option to open the Google search in a separate tab?
I don't mind the google bar. But could you get a link on the google bar to gmail so we could get straight to our mail from here. Other then that I really enjoy it as my homepage.
Gmail is ran by Google. Having my gmail inbox available on the huntrush homepage would keep me on your page alot longer.
I would use the Google search a lot more if it opened my search to a new tab. I like using the multiple tabs option in Firefox and always have many tabs open. I also like the transparency idea stated earlier, sorta like Vista does with overlaid windows. I too am in the habit of using the browser embedded Google search bar as well as my bookmarks but I'd be more apt to use this Google search bar if it opened into a new tab. I just enjoy having the Startlike/Huntrush page open in its own tab so I can go back to it and read comments.
I agree, I think that a movable search bar would work out better. I find that, like other users, I use the searchbar at the top of the Safari window....I like the other links, etc, but I think that the Google searchbar either should be movable or at least off to the side of the window. The image is what will attract new users...not the fact that you can search the web from there. Look at the Google search function almost as an added bonus to the page - otherwise, you are trying to be the next iGoogle, in which case why not just use that?
I like the idea of some sort of memory built into the bar. Or however they have it set up on google where relevant searches come up when you type something close to them. This makes fast browsing even faster.
How about moving the Google Bar above the photo, center of the page. There's room there. We all love the photos!
I don't have a problem with the Google bar where it is but you should change the title of this post. It looks (to me, anyway) like this is going to be INSTRUCTIONS on HOW to move the bar.
Regardless of where that bar is, a feature I feel would improve the google search would be auto-fill. I find myself going directly to google at times because I enjoy that feature; I would not even need to use google directly however if startlike used auto-fill. Just throwing it out there.
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