Website of the week -TED: A Website Worth Tweeting
Posted by Patrick Murphy on Fri, Nov 26, 2010
Let’s be honest; there is a lot of junk out there on the worldwide web; badly designed sites with broken links and terrible layout, dull and uninspiring copy, and above all, content that is badly researched or aimed at the lowest common denominator.
Websites that deliver
Which makes all the more pleasing when you come across a website that consistently delivers thought-provoking and intelligent content. TED.com is one such site, amply living up to it’s strapline, ‘Ideas worth Spreading’. A small, nonprofit organization, TED started out in 1984 as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment and Design. The lectures are now filmed and then disseminated via TED.com.
Instantly Engaging
On first click, a colourful montage of video thumbnails appear, each clearly marked with the lecture’s title. Pass the mouse over the thumbnail and detailed information about the talk appears, including key words relating to the speech. These user-generated words are derived from a choice of adjectives used to ‘rate’ videos such as ‘persuasive’, ‘obnoxious’ and ‘ingenious’. Another fresh idea: you can also instantly ‘resize’ or reconfigure the video montage by clicking on other options such as ‘most emailed this week’, ’newest releases’ or ‘rated jaw-dropping’. A triumph of design and usability!
Get Involved!
TED.com is a masterclass in user interactivity, and in turn, in how best to send content viral. Beneath the video are a collection of icons – reddit, stumbleupon, blogger - which importantly open a new web page whilst the talk continues to play. But furthermore, you can download, favourite and email the video link via a special form to a friend, or even automatically generate the video URL at the end of your tweet using the elegant TED form.
Quality Attracts Quality
You’ve probably observed that a while a tidy garden won’t attract litter, an uncared for one will. In the same way, it speaks volumes about the professionalism and slickness of TED.com that public comments are for the most part intelligent and relevant. Even more impressive when you realise that comments are not moderator-approved. It just goes to show that if you deliver something of quality, you will almost certainly attract quality back.
This is a site that we can all learn from: both enjoyably designed, highly interactive and choc full of inspiring content.
So what is your website of the week?