Alright - check it out, I had the explanation at the top of the site edited to reflect the suggestion made here by systemtrigger. and we made the content not part of the image and made the logo a PNG.
what do you think?
thanks everyone.
ill talk to my developer about the possibility of having a better search device.
please, keep it coming. ill do my best to incorporate the best ideas. we've already begun working in a test environment to implement a new header statement and graphics.
As with last time, amazing feedback.
I LOVE the new mission statement - I was just too close to the entire project to come up with something so brief and clear (and believe me, I slaved over what is there for a while).
And the GUI edits - I'm already talking to my GD about implementing some of them.
Thanks Ycombinators - you all are an inspiration!
Peace...James
Wow - thanks for all the fast feedback. I will respond tomorrow, but for now I definitely have the clue that the sites function and purpose need more in-your-face presence and explanation.
I'll jump on that quickly.
Hey Gstar - essentially, Digidorm is a tremendous blogging system. But members don't just comment - they create the content - kind of like Allvoices, which, along with Digg and Technorati, were models for the function of Digidorm.
The University List is HOPEFULLY the first clue to visitors that the site drills down to many individual universities.
"Hmmmm" on the video not communicating the sites intention. Perhaps you have some advice on how to amplify my efforts to communicate that?
And I think - professionally and personally - that FB has bascially become Twitter Jr. I don't think the groups satisfy the need of both the community members (students, faculty, parents, advisors) to be forthcoming about their real experiences (one big reason is anonymity, which Digidorm provides) and the universities to engage in well-archived citizen-journalism about the university.
Does that make sense? I'd enjoy answering any more queries/critiques.
First, its supposed to give students/parents/advisors/alumni - the REAL people - who have to navigate a universities multiple obstacles/administrative hurdles the power to publish about what is really going on. Essentially, it is meant to take the 100% share of the authority to project the universities reputation away from the marketing dept and distribute it more evenly amongst non-employees who have lots of information to share.
Second - after years working with universities, specifically on technology, social media, and their intersections for broadcasting authentic messaging about the university - I realized that many universities wanted/needed this type of tool, but were lacking resources to build it and keep it coordinated.
So I built it for them...and for the students/parents/alumni.
Like many social media sites, Digidorm.com is meant to create a place where true stories about a service/products can be shared and learned from.
Hey - I wanted to add a bit about my post to have my new site Digidorm.com critiqued by the Ycombinator community.
I'm a brand spanking new start up - went live a little over 4 weeks ago.
I spent 3 years working at Arizona State University, did my masters in social media marketing, and then consulted for a while with universities around the country.
I realized that ALL universities want social media, but for copious reasons cannot accomplish a coherent presence (lack of resources, silo-ed workflow environments, high turn over, et cetera).
So I created one core social media site for EVERY university on the planet that I could find.
I'd like to have feedback about the function of the site mostly - is it intuitive? does it add value as a core social media presence for higher education? Yes, it's light on content, but I just went live - does the site somehow communicate its intended values? would you use a site like this?