CSotD: GoComics launches its Beta
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The beta for GoComics' new website launched late yesterday, and I haven't had a chance to look in every corner, but nobody told me to keep it a secret, so here's my take so far, and, if you go there and find something interesting I didn't notice, please mention it in the comments.
And tell them what you like or don't like, not just me, because that's how this sort of thing works.
My overall take is that it's a good, clean redesign with some nice improvements and one awful, horrible, glaringly-annoying added feature that ought not to get out of the beta and should, in fact, be killed right now. (We'll get to that shortly. It's otherwise good stuff, so let's lead with that.)
That screenshot at the top is the top of the splash page, but this is a deep site, so here's a shot from a slight scroll-down.
As you see, there are a lot of invitations and entry points for non-members, and you could spend a lot of time here enjoying yourself without paying the $19.99 for a premium membership.
Most evident in the redesign is an intent to get you to sample new comics and to feel part of the gang, which is not only good business but should please the lesser-known cartoonists and, in particular, those on Sherpa, the amateurs and semi-pros whose presence on the site is often pretty invisible.
Toward that end, there are drop-down menus in a number of categories:
The first gives you a variety of ways to sample comics, and, perhaps obviously, there is some repetition in the various categories, since a comic could appear in more than one. But, whether or not you use all these categorical choices in the future, it's a fun invitation to explore and you might thereby find an unexpected gem.
The op/ed cartoons tab is similar, though a little more problematic, since it does, in fact, sort the cartoonists by (purported) stance, and I don't agree with all the decisions on that, nor, I suspect, will others and probably for different reasons.
However, there aren't so many editorial cartoonists that it creates any real problem, and, again, it's an invitation to sample and explore, which is good for both the syndicate and the cartoonists, so I'll give it a B+.
The third tab invites you inside, and this is where involving readers becomes the main goal.
There's nothing cynical in making people feel part of the process as long as you don't overdo it — I avoid "Moe's Pseudomexican Food-O-Rama" or whatever it's called because they yell greetings at everyone who walks in and then give their food funny names so that outsiders don't know what the hell they're ordering.
There's none of that here and, if you choose "In The News," for instance, you get choices of stories that, at the moment, include Doonesbury's anniversary, a project "Pajama Games" creator Terri Libensen did for a hospital in her hometown and a light story about a vandalized-in-good-humor banner.
This is all stuff you could have found before, but — cleanliness of layout aside, as you can see — you'd have had to do a bit more poking around to find it, and part of marketing is not making the customer work too hard.
Or, to extend the Moe's comment, it's as bad to ignore the new customer as it is to smother him in phony camaraderie.
And these stories and features are also in those bright blocks on the splash page, so you get plenty of chances to jump in and become part of the gang. It's well-done.
So let's talk money, because they're jumping the annual subscription from $12.99 to $19.99, which has occasioned a little bit of howling, but come on folks: How much do you spend on movie tickets or pizza in the course of a year?
Maybe you never participate in Kickstarters or support a cartoonist on a Patreon, but are you really so tight in the pockets that you can't break free a nickel-and-a-half each morning for about as many comics as you can read? (And you should be joining Comics Kingdom, too, which would kick it up to a dime and why don't you take that into Starbucks on your way to the office and tell me what you come out with?)
We're not talking about how much it costs because it costs next to nothing. We're talking about whether you support cartooning, and if you're here … well, come on.
Which makes my first complaint about the new site a kind of funny one, for me, because I hate pop-ups and pop-unders and ads that hijack content, but, on the other hand, what you get without joining up isn't half obnoxious enough to induce you to subscribe.
A tower on the left, a banner at the top? That's supposed to make me get out my wallet? Come on, GoComics, you can do better than that!
And as long as we're looking at the non-subscriber default, let's scroll down a little, because they've added some bells and whistles that you've seen before, in one form or other: Ways to share, ways to save, etc.
But they've also added tags you can play with, and this is fun.
For instance, if I click on "Babies," I get a collection of Adam@Home strips featuring, or referencing, babies, going back to 2009.
Yes, with a tower and a banner, if you can imagine that.
This is the sort of feature that would typically be behind the paywall, that would only be offered to Premium members, and I think it's good to make it generally available.
Again, it's that niche between smothering the newcomer with phony greetings and shutting the visitor completely out, and I like the idea of offering a fun, immersive place to enjoy comics, even for the non-members.
(clears throat)
So, remember that thing I mentioned before? We're about to get to that.
First, here's what Premium members see on their "favorites" pages, and it's a nice, clean, sharp view of the selected strips and panels, which you no longer embiggen by clicking, but you mostly don't need to anymore, and you can, of course, make the whole screen larger with a Control-Plus command.
Another plus: Although they don't show up well on this screen shot, there are also small arrows at the side so you can quickly pop back or forward without leaving the page. Very nice touch.
The ability to create your own comics page, rather than avoiding banner ads, is what makes Premium membership worthwhile, though I know people who prefer to get their comics emailed to them — that remains an option, though one I've never bothered with.
And, again, a nickel a day would be an embarrassing contribution to your local NPR or PBS station and might get you spat upon if you tossed it in a homeless person's hat (which just inspired today's moment of zen, but you'll have to wait for it).
You should subscribe but — and here droppeth the shoe — not if they don't kill a horrible new feature, which is that, if the strip you've chosen has not updated that day, they swap in another one.
Or, in other words, "I know you didn't order this, but we're out of what you wanted."
I'm all in favor of promoting other strips and I think it's a good thing to remind people of what else is available, but this is a bad idea.
"We're out of pancakes. Here's a cup of clam chowder instead."
Granted, if you click the little x in the corner, it disappears and they promise the system will learn from what you reject and will offer you things you'll likely want more, but still not as much as you wanted what you asked for.
"We're out of pancakes. Here's a peanut butter and jelly sandwich instead."
It's not so bad on the daily strips, where, in my case, only a handful of selections are non-daily. But it plays holy Ned on my page of editorial cartoons, where it creates an entire page that is about two-thirds composed of strips that I didn't want to read.
And it wouldn't be so bad if, when Stuart Carlson didn't update, they swapped in Robert Airial.
But come on, guys. How many x's do I have to click to correct this misperception of what I might like instead of Jack Ohman's latest?
This feature has to go, and by that I mean it's a subscription killer.
I'd rather figure out a quick-click way to get the strips and panels I want — sure, with towers and banners, wotthell — than have my favorites page flooded with stuff I don't want and, particularly, my editorial cartoons page totally disrupted.
Which isn't exactly ending this sneak peek on a high note, I'll admit.
Overall and with this single exception, the new GoComics page is a substantial improvement, and I didn't even explore the shops or some other aspects that I'm sure I'll discover over the next little while.
There are many improvements, refinements and cool additions and you should be a subscriber, not just an onlooker.
Not only will that make you a supporter of the medium, but it's worth a lot more than it costs, and particularly with these refinements.
But now, for those who insist that content should be free …
Here's your moment of zen:
Mike Peterson has posted his "Comic Strip of the Day" column every day since 2010. His opinions are his own, but we welcome comments either agreeing or in opposition.
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