Archive for June, 2008

When I was brainstorming with the marketing team earlier this week about what company would be my next pick for my UX Review, I had been leaning towards reviewing a store – more specifically along the lines of fashion/clothing (the fashionista in me was bubbling). Immediately the team grinned and suggested the San Diego youth-fashion hot spot, Charlotte Russe.

CharlotteRusse.com along with the brick and mortar stores deliver style in clothing and accessories, providing an exciting, fashionable assortment of merchandise that compliments virtually every facet of our customers’ lifestyle. The stores provide fashion and lifestyle needs of young, fashion-conscious women in their teens and early twenties, offering trend right apparel and accessories at value prices.

Let’s take a look at CharlotteRusse.com and how they’re doing in usability and sociability since their launch 6 years ago. Headquartered here in San Diego – Charlotte Russe has undergone rapid expansion in the past couple of years – let’s see how the website is handling the growth.
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Hello! My name is Lacy and I am the new Social Media intern here at dt. Believe it or not, this is my very first blog post…ever! Alex and Sarah presented me with the task of adding to the dt blog..and the topic? Whatever I want. I thought about digg vs. mixx, or Myspace vs. Facebook, or discussing my experiences here at dt so far (which, by the way, have been awesome), but I decided to go with a Top 5 list.

Since I am new to the crew at dt..and pretty quiet at the office, and surely new to those reading this blog, I figured I would make a list of my Top 5 favorite websites at the moment in order to allow you all to get to know me a little bit better.

My Top 5 (in no particular order)

1. idealist.org : For the idealist in all of us, this website is a great social networking site. Whether you’re looking for a new volunteer opportunity, a forum to submit comments to, or a nonprofit organization to donate to, you can surely find it here. Basically, it’s an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a better world.

2. freerice.com : This website has got it right. They have two goals: provide English vocabulary to everyone for free, and end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. They turned a simple vocabulary game into a way to truly change the world and help those in need. (Be careful…the game is addicting!) If you look at their donation levels, it’s amazing how many people are participating. It would be great to see some sort of social application added to the website, to connect these people who have the common goal of ending world hunger.

3. vbs.tv : I love vice’s online broadcast network just as much as I love vice the magazine. They have a huge assortment of mini documentaries that fall into the broad categories of music, news and culture. Vice presents these documentaries in a way that perfectly combines entertainment and information, which intrigues the watcher to keep watching. Once I start watching a segment of a mini doc, I normally have to watch each segment until I’ve completed the series. Admittedly, some of them are more for entertainment purposes…but those are fun to watch too! vbs.tv also gives its viewers the options of signing up for a newsletter, participating in chatrooms, or signing up for your very own account for vbs, which are all great ways of getting the viewer more involved with the site.

4. bbc.co.uk : This is where I get my daily dose of news. While it’s a great source of news, it also has interactive options which I find awesome. You can listen to podcasts, comment on news articles, send in your own photos that relate to the stories they have posted, and my favorite, the news ticker. They allow you to download a news ticker that gives you the top three or four stories of the day and also shows breaking news.

5. stumbleupon.com : Thanks to my new found friends here at dt, I have been introduced to stumbleupon. I’m sure I am preaching to the choir in describing this site, but for those who don’t know, this social networking site allows you to search the web for sites according to your interests. You can add / make friends and see what kind of sites they’re stumbling, and you can comment back and forth also. With as much time as I spend on the internet, you would think I have seen every webpage known to mankind. But everytime I stumble, I am presented with a new Web page. Amazing.

My time here on the dt blog is coming to an end. Hope you have enjoyed my five favorite websites, and I’d love to hear what your top websites are!

–Lacy

San Diego is known for its weather, its beaches and its attractions. Talk to any out of towner and they’ll likely tell you they are heading to one of two spots during their stay here: the World Famous San Diego Zoo or SeaWorld. We decided to take a stroll inside seaworld.com this week to give you an insider’s look at why the aquatic park’s website may not be as friendly as it could be to its patrons.

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Hi, everyone. Hope that you all had a great weekend (I know I did!). This past Friday, I had the chance to listen in on the teleconversation with Daniel Pink, hosted by Learn From My Life.

Pink’s intelligence is almost breathtaking. His credentials are stunning: honors undergraduate degree from Northwestern, law degree from Yale, NYT best-selling author, chief speechwriter for Al Gore. When Pink speaks, his words are brilliant, relevant, and concise. Continue Reading

Hey, everyone. I don’t believe we’ve formally met: I’m Lauren, dt’s new Event Planning intern. I’m loving my time here– everybody at dt is absolutely rockin’ (but I’m sure you already knew that!). I just wanted to let y’all know about an awesome event that’s coming up. The event is titled Net.Working, and it’s presented by StartUpSD and sponsored by MindTouch. It will be taking place on Monday, June 23, and is an opportunity for recent college grads to network with employers in web-related fields, including entrepreneurs, developers, designers and startup businesses looking to hire. The Art Institute and Platt College are already promoting the event to their students, with more schools to follow. So come on out and get to know San Diego’s top businessowners, web-sters, and grads—and me! See our events page for more info, and I hope to see you there! Continue Reading