[thelist] RE: News.com gets a facelift

[Madhu Menon]

Seth wondered out loud:

> Anyone else notice the, uh, unusual URL of the home page?
> 
> http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-4562916-0.html?tag=goto+hell
> 
> Am I reading the "go to hell" part right, or is that some kind of web
> developer parameter standard that I'm out of the loop on?

ROFL.

No, Seth. That was my, er, "enhancement". While the actual URL *did* have a
tag, it was something different. CNET uses a very complex tracking system
tracks exactly what link was clicked from where. For example, they'll be
able to track whether you clicked the "Next" link on a multi-page story or
actually used the navigational links on the right. Like I said, the system
is VERY complex, but it allows them to track exactly how effective each
design element is. Whether that ultimately results in something more useful
is another question :)

How many times did I use the word "track" in the last paragraph? ;)

Ahem, so... the tag variable is what keeps track of which link was clicked.
I like to throw off their tracking once in a while, so I change the tag
variable to something silly like "Gimme+more+stock+options" or
"Go+easy+on+the+yellow" or "Give+the+India+guys+a+break". 

OK, I need to get a life... :)



And Bruce opined:

> http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-201-4562916-0.html
> 
> works just fine also. I kind of question that the url variables are real
at all,
> or were appended later as some kind of joke (it is kind of funny).

Like I said, there's usually some variable at the end of a link. But it's
just used for logging. Omitting it just means CNET can't track which link
you followed to get to that story, but you'll still see the article just
fine.

Incidentally, when I was Webmaster at India.CNET.com, I created a
rudimentary tracking system as well. While it doesn't track every *link*, it
can be used if you're promoting it online, in newsletters, etc. My URLs
would look like this:

http://India.CNET.com/r.asp?URL=/news/2001/01/22/20010122e.html&SRC=nlnd2001
0122

All r.asp would do is redirect people to the correct URL, and log the URL,
time, date, IP, and SRC to a db.
In this particular example, the SRC variable tells me that it was the
newsletter (nl), daily version (nd), dated 22 October 2000 (20010122). 

When I'd promote an article, say, in my email sig, I'd change the SRC
variable to something like: SRC=mmsigevolt
This way, I'd know exactly how many people from the Evolt list followed that
link. 

OK. End of lesson on link tracking.


> Maybe Madhu is a little spiteful?

Spiteful? Poor ol' me? Not at all. I was quite happy working at CNET, and
continue to offer them informal help in a few areas. No bad blood at all. I
just like playing a few pranks sometimes. Did you know that I NEVER fill
accurate demographic info into any registration form? I always live in
Antigua, was born in 1970, make below $25000 but am at CEO level, and like
gardening and golf (none of which is true :)


And lastly, Dan asked:

> Do you know if they're still using Vingette as their CMS?(or was it
> something else) Judging by the URL's it still looks that way..

While they still *are* using Vignette for their CMS, they're not totally
happy with it. They're building their own CMS using JSP from scratch. I
don't have any idea of when they'll actually roll it out though. Possibly
middle of this year. Vignette is a real pain apparently. Did you know that
they use over 200 different templates for stories? And sites like Gamecenter
and Builder (till recently) were done manually using just SSI. Shhh... don't
tell anyone I told ya' that.

BTW, on an OT note, Dan, what's with the new starkmedia.com email address?
Change your job?

Phew! Time to give my poor typing fingers a rest now. :D

Cheers,

Madhu

<<<   *   >>>
Madhu Menon
Head - User Experience Group
Trisoft Systems Pvt. Ltd.  
Global Software Services

Work: http://www.trisoft.net
Personal: http://madman.weblogs.com 


------------------------DISCLAIMER--------------------------.
The contents of this E-mail (including the contents of the enclosure/(s) or
attachment/(s) if any) are privileged and confidential material of Trisoft
Systems Private Limited and should not be disclosed to, used by or copied in
any manner by anyone other than the intended addressee/(s). If this E-mail
(including the enclosure/(s) or attachment/(s)if any ) has been received in
error, please advise the sender immediately and delete it from your system.
The views expressed in this E-mail message (including the enclosure/(s)or
attachment/(s) if any) are those of the individual sender, except where the
sender expressly, and with authority, states them to be the views of Trisoft
Systems Private Limited.