The New Global Grind…Not so much about You
by Markus Robinson
Global Grind has just launched their newly redesigned front page, which seems to now put more focus on their editor’s selections than they do the reader’s choice. Hip-Hop’s Digg-Like news aggregator, which was first sold as a tool to democratize content by allowing users to submit and vote for their favorite articles, now looks more like your run of the mill magazine style blog. The front page now uses an oversized 350 x 980px flash based scrolling image box to display their “Latest Headlines” . The headlines, from what I can tell, are articles selected by Global Grind’s in house editors, and user’s votes and views seem to have little to no impact on the content that gets chosen to have the most face time. The Top Stories (stories chosen by the people) and the recently introduced Celebrity Blogs, are now pushed down to the center of the page and require you to scroll down to view their titles.
When you click into an article, you will notice a link that will allow you to share the article quickly and easily through email, Facebook, Myspace as well as Twitter. You may have also noticed that the new design eliminated the old “Grind Button” and replaced it with a “thumbs up icon”. The new icon, in my opinion, looks more like the normal “recommend” button you might find on most websites, which may take away from the voting features that once made Global Grind so glitzy. If you click into the actual link to take you to the page, you will notice that the Grind Button is back, but the thumbs up grind button mixture is sure to confuse users new to Global Grind.
The rest of the Global Grind’s pages including the Celebrity Blogs, Global Grind Network, and Video pages, still carry the old website look. The old design takes you to a completely different set of links which are not accessible from the newly designed front page. I’m not sure if this was a glitch or done on purpose, but it does make navigation tough for new comers.
All in all it seems as if Global Grind’s new shift is completely contrary to their original business. Instead of putting the power in hands of the people, Global Grind has instead opted to put the power in the hands of their editors. I’m not sure if its because of the lack of participation in the voting process (which to me could be enhanced by increasing the size and frequency of the Grind Button), or because of fear of what the people might choose, but regardless the company has taken away from what made them unique and have chosen what makes them just like everyone else.
Category: Design, Digital Media, Startups, web 2.0 | Tags: global grind business model, global grind redesign, GlobalGrind, Russell SimmonsDid you like this article? Share It!
Mike Gutter says:
Man…
You must have read my mind…When i saw the new lay-out, my thoughts were the exact same.
GG has taken the power a way from the readers and urban bloggers..and made it about them. which is hurting them.The last few weeks I notice that their traffic is deteriorating for these exact reasons.
It's Over Hova says:
This site just needs to die. Cause I can't take them changes every 6 months and no addressing navigation and design issues. I just want to know who is designing their sites. It looks like their went to Guru.com and hired someone to do this. I really would think with the money that Russell and his team has/had they would hire a consultant and a stellar and award-winning design firm that know new media and designing website inside out. Navarrow is gone and now I understand why. I really want to be positive, but I just can't anymore when it comes to them.
Russell – let it die. Please – let it die…
BlackAdTalk - Webmaster Forum says:
The new design is ok… Nothing special, as oddly enough they are now linking to other sites RSS FEEDS instead of url… ( thats via their Blogroll )
BlackAdTalk - Webmaster Forum says:
Navarrow was there for years, and still GG did nothing… Him being gone seems to be a good thing… Atleast they are trying to do something…
Dedej says:
I kinda have to agree with “It's Ova Hova”. I am just disappointed that Russell keeps throwing up redesigns that are not helping with what he really wants to do with the site. I do think they are surrounding themselves with people who say they “get it” but truly don't.
One of the main issues with GG and Russell I see is they think they audience cares about celebs more than the content. The celebrity bloggers are cool, but I don't think that is what will bring folks to the site and will keep them there. Yeah, it's a perk, but not what a lot of people care about – IMO.
I think they need to do some deep research on their audience wants and needs and start to implement after truly getting it. Also, I really wish they would not use dark colors like the Black on the home page – it makes sites so depressing to me. They have a lot of space on the bottom of the home page too.
I cringe when I see people with sites that don't know how to connect with their audience or know how to present content in the proper way for their audience to connect to it. I think GG and Russell is looking at anyone they think has a “hot” site and copying and trying to implement their strategies and if they dont' know by now, it's not a good look and won't work.
BlackAdTalk - Webmaster Forum says:
Why my comments being deleted????
markusrobinson says:
Sorry about that, it looks like our commenting system swallowed some of our comments.
markusrobinson says:
Sorry about that, it looks like our commenting system swallowed some of our comments.
BlackAdTalk says:
All luv brother… Sorry about that… Thought maybe I was on the ban list or something…
Like I said before, continue to uplift the webmaster community…
facebook-25506863 says:
I like the new look. It looks like my second favorite site current.com Honestly this is how MTO should look. And global grind should look more like an Ad Network. There is no shame in being like what you really are.
They should not die. They shoud reorganize, retool, and get their shit together. Either way none of that will get done while Russel is at the helm.
Dutch Connected says:
I am also upset I use to post a lot of stories. I can tell traffic is decreasing because of the number of views each story has now… They actually are now just working with only members of the global grind network as oppose to all urban bloggers before the redesign. I use to visit and post at least 20 stories a day I haven't been on global grind since the change took place. I was real disappointed.
Dutch Connected says:
I am also upset I use to post a lot of stories. I can tell traffic is decreasing because of the number of views each story has now… They actually are now just working with only members of the global grind network as oppose to all urban bloggers before the redesign. I use to visit and post at least 20 stories a day I haven't been on global grind since the change took place. I was real disappointed.
Coloredgb says:
I used to use Global Grind a couple of years ago. I discontinued using Global Grind cuz it took too much work to upload: pic, link, tags, excerpts etc.
Now that I’m collaborating on a different blog this year, my peer is frustrated with Global Grind because they REFUSE to allow readers to come to our homepage. Even when she created a post with the title (no url) of the video we wanted to highlight, when she published the post, Global Grind GRABBED OUR LINK TO THE VIDEO…FROM OUR SITE. Yesterday, we deleted our Global Grind account. Not surprising seeing as how Russ pimps the RushCard users. However, he won’t pimp ColoredGirlSpeak! lol
>:o >:o >:o