I learned about the redesign of NYTimes.com via Anil Dash’s post on SixApart: The New York Times Redesigns, Influenced by Blogs. I don’t visit the site often enough, obviously, though if pressured I would guess that I visit at least weekly. My previous visit to an article page wasthe day before the redesign rolled out.
I will have to poke around some more.
I do appreciate the “Most Popular” page. Much simpler presentation than the CNET News.com “Readers’ Choice” page, and probably a simpler (better?!) name, as it’s crystal clear what you are getting.
The Times Topics pages feel like an answer to Wikipedia. In some areas, like New York Yankees (enjoyed watching them pummel the A’s opening night), this approach should be very effective, and a magnet for “research” links which, however, stay fresh with current information. Certainly, a good place for individual articles published by the Times to link to. I wonder if the content management system needed a lot of work to make the front-end presentation work.
I’ll be curious to learn how their transition to a wide page goes. It’s not without its bumps.
I doubt I’ll find time for more evocative, profound thoughts, but always worth watching.