I also forgot to mention, I first came across your site last week, when I noticed your linked to me. I’m so happy you’re doing this. I’ve wanted to do something like this for a long time, but either I often don’t have the time, or because I’ve worked with some of the companies — it might not be ethical for me to discuss. But then again, who knows — when I see something that works or doesn’t work — I feel the need to discuss.

I started a post about your site last week that I haven’t yet published. Expect it soon though.

Best,
Lynne

First I would like to thank you for posting! You and I are on the same page totally regarding the design aesthetics and social media integration of African-American sites, this is the main reason why I decided to start this blog. Although there is a long way to go I am so excited about the latest batch of black websites to under go redesigns.

I actually read your blog religiously so I am familiar with your post, I am a little late with my site so there is a lot of ground for me to cover to catch-up but I will be positing regarding EbonyJet.com. As far as the top 3 sites being less Web 2.0 then BlackEnterprise, I agree! BET has some nice features like the OnBlast video player but currently that is completely disjointed from their homepage design. I am not sure if they are currently going through a redesign and this new look of the OnBlast video player aligns with that but there is definitely a disconnect. Other then Social Bookmarking, Blogs, and Forums I don’t think BlackVoices even comes close to integrating Web 2.0. I am disappointed that they send users to their forums to comment on articles versus allowing comments directly on article pages similar to what USAToday.com has done. I was actually quite impressed with AllHipHop’s redesign and think they did an excellent job. I also like how Illseed has a presence on MySpace and users can comment directly to his posts.

I think this new site makes huge improvements over what they used to have and is a move closer to Web 2.0 than many other African-American sites. As a Web 2.0 enthusiast I’m often dismayed by the lack of Web 2.0 design aesthetics and social media integration that African-American sites are using. But recently I posted about how BE, EbonyJet.com, and Essence are moving closer to that than any other African-American site. 3 of the top African-American sites are Allhiphop, BET, and BlackVoices, and I strongly believe that what BlackEnterprise is doing is much more conjoined and Web 2.0 than any of those type sites.

1) Great use of user interactivity such as: ability to comment on article pages, email to a friend, DIGG integrate.
2) Great upsell of media center housing related multimedia content.
3) Clean and easy to use top navigational structure.

I do, however, agree that the below the fold things begin to go downhill design-wise.