On Being Critical
The Design Critique post hacking away on Read/WriteWeb’s design made people react. That’s a good thing, I think, because the whole idea with the post was to pick the RWW design apart, and give you my opinion on it. Especially Stephen found this offensive, and that sparked a debate with Fantan.
I like debates and disagreements. That’s fine.
What I find a bit discouraging in this affair is some, albeit a minority among those having commented and e-mail me on the subject but still, thinks that I’m in no position to criticize a site that’s bigger than Wisdump.
This is something I will never ever agree upon!
Free speech is all about letting everyone who cares say their piece. Not all will like it, since we all have our different opinions, but that is beside the point. Just because one has more listeners than the others, that doesn’t make him or her right.
Or to be very concise: Just because RWW’s got more readers than Wisdump, doesn’t make their design great.
Yep, I’m stretching it, purposely so. There is no reason whatsoever not criticizing the established actors in the blogosphere, as I would in the print industry. I don’t like the biggest band because they’ve got the most fans, nor do I automatically think that the movie awarded the most Oscar statues is the best one.
We all think differently. I’m not asking the Wisdump readers to agree with me, do tell me if you think I’m wrong, by all means. Let’s discuss it, that’s interesting and it certainly brings something new to the table. I’m all for that.
Nothing of this has anything to do with Wisdump traffic, how the blog’s faring since Splashpress bought it from whoever bought it from Scrivs, or whatever was behind that deal, I don’t know and I don’t care. If you still think that the bigger one’s the one who’s right, then you really shouldn’t be reading blogs at all.
Finally, on a side note regarding the post in question, there was one piece of criticism that struck true. The post should have had more constructive criticism, although I think it does contain that as well, but it could’ve been more forthcoming. The point wasn’t to slam the RWW design and throw dirt on it, I like the site, which I stated from the beginning. The various points of criticism I state are no less true, but it would’ve been a better post had I delved deeper into what could be done to fix it. I’ll keep that in mind ’til next time, and be more thorough on that part.
That’s what I really like about blogging, and about the comment functionality it usually brings - the conversation is always in motion.
That’s why I post design mockups, and that’s why I wrote this post.
Thanks for reading, and thanks for the comments - good or bad - and also thanks for the encouraging e-mails, as well as the one not so encouraging. It’s all part of the conversation, and as long as it’s civil, you know I’m game.
Related reading:
Glad I could help! :)
Actually, I am glad that I could help start the discussion and I appreciate your thoughtful response to the whole thing.
I still wonder…what is Wisdump about? The about page says, “Over the years, it successfully established a tradition of discussing and dissecting business, design and web++”, which is what I am guessing it is supposed to be about today…I am not sure though.
If it is about those topics doesn’t the traffic you are generating speak to your credibility as an expert in this space? Is a decline in traffic relevant? Is the decline in traffic related to a decline in the interest in these topics or just a decline in interest in this blog’s perspectives on these topics?
I don’t actually think that the bigger blog is the one who is automatically right. In fact, I don’t even think that RRW and Wisdump are writing about the same topics. However, I do think that design influences whether people subscribe to your site or not.
Subscribers / Traffic create revenue, right? If this site is about web business and design isn’t it fair to judge your authority on this topic based on some of the metrics that are related to the business side of operating a blog?
My point was simple. If you are going to criticize the design of a successful site and if you are going to put yourself forth as an authority on design…you should be able to back that up with by putting forward a compelling design for your own site. If you can’t do that then I think you should keep out of the business of doing design criticism.
The free speech comment strikes me as a bit of a stretch. My comments were not designed to challenge your freedom to write anything you want to write. My comment was a challenge to back up your position as someone giving design critiques with a great new design for your own site.
Best of luck with the reDesign.
By Stephen on January 30, 2008 11:16 am
Thanks for the comment, Stephen. I won’t go into traffic or revenue, as I don’t touch these things myself. I’m hired to write about design on Wisdump, and a bit of blogging, but that’s it. On a separate note, I’m hired to redesign it, and naturally I’ll do my best to not put off the readers by doing something completely new, there’s history in the brand and in the design.
That being said, I’m certain that the mess that followed Scrivs selling the site have affected it, and as far as I can tell we’re heading in the right direction again. Linkage show that, at the very least.
I’m fine with you criticizing the redesign concepts, the grid comment you made is valid (although the grid obsession that some people put forth is a bit strained online, in my opinion - in print it’s more important, but that’s a totally different discussion), and I appreciate your point of view. However, whether I can do a good design or not doesn’t really connect to how I can criticize others in my book. Think about it, do you require any other critic to be better at the trade than the ones he criticize? Does the book critic have to be able to write The Great Novel himself, for his words to be true about books?
Free speech was a stretch, absolutely, but the point of it was to get the message through, the one above.
That being said, do keep criticizing! It’s always a good thing to be pushed forward. Hopefully you’ll keep reading as well, and will weigh in on the turns Wisdump will be taking in the coming months, as I refocus the site. Because as you say, the about page is sorely dated…
By Thord Daniel Hedengren on January 31, 2008 12:21 am
Point taken. Thx.
By Stephen on January 31, 2008 4:04 pm
I should also say that I think my entire line of thinking / commenting on this topic is ironic, considering I don’t even have a blog. Those who can do - those who can’t complain :)
By Stephen on January 31, 2008 4:05 pm