The New Global Grind…Not so much about You

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.