CONNECTIONS: New media choice - Motclub903

Motclub903 was one of the bold initiatives taken a year ago to build a cult teen site. While the idea is great, the execution isn't.

At first glance, you can see the site uses a "virtual town

format to guide users through the array of content, ranging from music, to celebrities and other trendy stuff that interest teens. While I have no doubt that both the content and flashy execution is teen-relevant, one needs to think more about the 'usability' and the experience aspect to make it more visible and digestible.

Admittedly, the 'virtual town' format instantly illustrates the concept of a teen community, navigating it can be difficult. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying every site needs to adopt a 'portal' format, with everything arranged neatly; although some teen portal sites, such as Yes.com.hk, are very popular. On the contrary, I believe not every site needs to be 'usable'; most brands sites are supposed to be experience-based instead.

However, this virtual town format makes it hard to direct and shape user experience, as well as makes it difficult to show the latest content update.

Perhaps it is for this reason that pop-up windows are often used to communicate the ad-hoc messages.

While I fully appreciate the attempt of building a teen culture online and the effort to include as much content as possible for teens, one would also need to think more about the user experience and the maintenance efficiency to make it a really effective community tool.