Windows Central is getting worse every day, other websites are beating you

[anon(5969054)]

First read my topic full of whine about the design and layout of this website: http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...rrent-website-bad-performance-bad-design.html

And here we are in 2015. What the hell is happening to this website? No progress on any front regarding above issues. What else is wrong these days?

- Slow on news.
- Lots of 'advertised news' about useless apps and games. Please make a filter. It's just too much games. Many people don't give a **** about games. I almost can't take this anymore.
- No articles with any journalistic value. Including rushed articles without imagery to support content.
- The site is still sluggish as hell and looks like a chaotic pile of trash designed by a 5 years old.
- Several other websites like WinBeta | Your central source for Windows 10 and Microsoft news are beating you in every aspect.
- Since the name of this website is WINDOWS CENTRAL now, one would figure you could cover news on Windows 10 and analyze each build and share all the discoveries that are being done in the development of Windows 10. But there is almost no coverage whatsoever. It is all elsewhere to be found. Maybe you need to realize Windows 10 = the new Windows Phone so you need to investigate that **** and cover the hell out of it!
- Lot's of articles by different authors who don't know **** about Windows Phone and only cover what is necessary and passion is far to be found.
- I'm even visiting http://wmpoweruser.com/ more and more. Yes the site is unreliable when it comes to sources, but it is way faster on news 99% of the time and the guy has passion. You need to check sources before you post something? Sure, but then invent a rumor corner or a rumor tag. Then update the article after few hours when it is confirmed. Or perhaps post nothing but a headline "Rumor: blabla, more to follow in two hours" Then tag it with 'rejected' or 'confirmed'. You could figure out a system to keep up with the speed. Not that difficult.
- Do you guys need a wake-up call or are you admitting this platform is dead as hell?
- You guys are lucky you have a big fan base but I for one am visiting this site less and less.
- Why do I write this? Because I still stay loyal and hope for improvement.

Let's take a random example of what could be better and what proves that these articles are written poorly.
http://www.windowscentral.com/new-videos-lumia-camera-update-fast
You ask us to watch a video to see how much faster the camera app launches compared to Cyan.
First of all. Not everyone has unlimited mobile data to watch videos to discover news. An author with a little passion would have used a stopwatch and informed us "it is X seconds faster, it now takes X seconds instead of X seconds.". That's a little summary of the video and deep diving. And where is deep diving about the little improvements on photo quality per type of phone? And are photo's also shot faster now? If so, by how many milliseconds?

 

[PepperdotNet]

Thanks for the whine thread, saved me the trouble of writing that myself.

 

[lexus67]

Agree 109%

 

[MikeSo]

I've thought the same thing myself. Maybe there isn't always that much news to report, but in that case we need creative writers to come up with personal angles for articles about different aspects of the whole windows eco system. It's supposed to cover Xbox, Windows Phone, and Windows these days, I'm sure that there must be plenty to report and write on regarding those things from a personal and business user perspective. Instead we get "articles" about how some minor app just got a version x.x.x revision and being asked to watch a Twitch stream.

Maybe it's just a holiday lull, but the site needs writers that have a personal style that connects with readers, and topics that cover how Windows is being developed and used. Right now, the only writer here that has any sense of connection with readers is Rubino. If it'll just keep being blurbs about whatever app my phone just auto-updated, the site will die pretty quickly.

 

[binnyandrews]

Said it right. The games and other news sessions are too boring and stale these days! 90% of the forum is related to games and screen guard. May be this is because MS has no new stuffs and/or its long holiday season. But overall its stale and slow. Also, some time back DR has a thread on how to comment and behave in this forum/website needs to be noted here though he was unbiased in what he was saying! If we holistically look, majority in this forum are whiners who seems to be immature. Sorry no offence here.

 

[Kevin Rush]

I tried to read the winbeta site on my widows phone but it keeps redirecting to apps in the windows phone store. I couldn't read the article?

 

[nallWhite]

Yeah, I just checked out WPU and way more articles. It could be that the WC crew have day jobs.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I'm more or less spending time on the site as well. The app has gotten so buggy and this design really needs a rewrite as it must frustrates me with the bugs and layout.

The articles don't annoy me much really but I have been checking out winbeta, eye on windows and even wmpoweruser a whole lot more because all the sponsored apps and crap and advertisements for silly cases annoy me.

 

[Nogitsune Micah]

I don't like the fact that half the writers are not even enthusiasts and the articles lack personality and feel cold and just robotic.

The layout of the actual site bugs the crap out of me and I don't visit it much.

The forum software is old and dated imo. Guys go ipb software or if we must....go xenforo.

I'd donate cash for that lol

 

[Laura Knotek]

First read my topic full of whine about the design and layout of this website: http://forums.windowscentral.com/wi...rrent-website-bad-performance-bad-design.html

And here we are in 2015. What the hell is happening to this website? No progress on any front regarding above issues. What else is wrong these days?

- Slow on news.
- Lots of 'advertised news' about useless apps and games. Please make a filter. It's just too much games. Many people don't give a **** about games. I almost can't take this anymore.
- No articles with any journalistic value. Including rushed articles without imagery to support content.
- The site is still sluggish as hell and looks like a chaotic pile of trash designed by a 5 years old.
- Several other websites like WinBeta | Your central source for Windows 10 and Microsoft news are beating you in every aspect.
- Since the name of this website is WINDOWS CENTRAL now, one would figure you could cover news on Windows 10 and analyze each build and share all the discoveries that are being done in the development of Windows 10. But there is almost no coverage whatsoever. It is all elsewhere to be found. Maybe you need to realize Windows 10 = the new Windows Phone so you need to investigate that **** and cover the hell out of it!
- Lot's of articles by different authors who don't know **** about Windows Phone and only cover what is necessary and passion is far to be found.
- I'm even visiting WMPoweruser ? Windows Phone News,Apps,Games,Contests for Lumia owners more and more. Yes the site is unreliable when it comes to sources, but it is way faster on news 99% of the time and the guy has passion. You need to check sources before you post something? Sure, but then invent a rumor corner or a rumor tag. Then update the article after few hours when it is confirmed. Or perhaps post nothing but a headline "Rumor: blabla, more to follow in two hours" Then tag it with 'rejected' or 'confirmed'. You could figure out a system to keep up with the speed. Not that difficult.

Every writer has a different style. Just because certain writers tend to have a style that resembles that of a newspaper journalist, rather than that of a blogger, does not mean the writers lack passion. Not everyone has a style that is humorous or irreverent. Some people just seem "serious", not because of lack of passion, but just their personalities.

- Do you guys need a wake-up call or are you admitting this platform is dead as hell?
- You guys are lucky you have a big fan base but I for one am visiting this site less and less.
- Why do I write this? Because I still stay loyal and hope for improvement.

I'm sorry that you have been disappointed with the site. However, you mentioned that you aren't interested in gaming, but there are a lot of people who are interested in gaming.

Since the site is now called WindowsCentral, rather than WPCentral, it makes sense that there is more coverage about gaming (Xbox One, PC gaming) than just Windows Phone content/Windows Phone apps that aren't games.

Regarding Windows 10, it is a Technical Preview that is not even optimized for use on tablets at this point (and there is no version for phones). The majority of users aren't running the Technical Preview at this point, since it is mainly for IT professionals to test. It's not at all consumer-based at this time. Mobile Nations is clearly aimed toward consumers primarily, rather than enterprise users.

Let's take a random example of what could be better and what proves that these articles are written poorly.
New videos reveal just how fast the Lumia Camera update is with Denim (Hint: Very fast) | Windows Central
You ask us to watch a video to see how much faster the camera app launches compared to Cyan.
First of all. Not everyone has unlimited mobile data to watch videos to discover news. An author with a little passion would have used a stopwatch and informed us "it is X seconds faster, it now takes X seconds instead of X seconds.". That's a little summary of the video and deep diving. And where is deep diving about the little improvements on photo quality per type of phone? And are photo's also shot faster now? If so, by how many milliseconds?

Not everyone is going to watch videos on a smartphone. Most people have desktop/laptop PCs at home, and watching a short video is not an issue.

 

[spazzmeister]

Not everyone is going to watch videos on a smartphone. Most people have desktop/laptop PCs at home, and watching a short video is not an issue.

That article was bad though. I mean the writer could have taken the idea and run with it. Wake up speed, shutter speed etc. I really don't care for your never ending articles on games either. Maybe it's time for a reader poll, no?

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

 

[Laura Knotek]

That article was bad though. I mean the writer could have taken the idea and run with it. Wake up speed, shutter speed etc. I really don't care for your never ending articles on games either. Maybe it's time for a reader poll, no?

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

I was answering the OP on why I believe there are more articles on games. However, I have nothing to do with the content of the blogs. The writers are separate Staff persons. The moderators on the forums are volunteers, and we do not have any input on the content of the blogs.

Please see the following link: Contact | Windows Central In the Category dropdown, please select General Feedback, if you'd like to make a suggestion to the site Staff members.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Hmm, interesting thread.

I don't want to address each and every point because I'm busy packing for a flight, but I'll address a few.

1. The amount of complaints we get from users, or threads like these, are extremely low. From that perspective, I consider such criticisms an anomaly and not the norm of our readership

2. Regarding speed: It is not about being 'first'. Maybe for some of you, you absolutely need to know "news" that second. We would rather get the story right, add detail, confirm changes, etc. Our site is so large now that we do not need to be first. Only sites that are struggling to be noticed pride themselves on such trivial metrics. Now granted, I am not saying we should post a major news story 6 hours late, but if we are talking minutes to a few hours, sorry, this does not matter if we are doing work.

Another way to report it, and this will sound very prideful, is it is not news until we post it. I realize that sounds arrogant, but it is the same reason why there is a hierarchy of news sites. Engadget often reports stuff days later after we have, but it does not matter when you see their audience/traffic/reach--they can afford to not be first and still crush everyone.

3. News stories, breaking articles, rumors do crap for traffic. If you create a site and your only selling point is you post whatever, whenever, without any real content, you will never move beyond the hardcore audience (see how Evleaks failed? Leaking images and tidbits is no way to build a site for long-term sustainability). That audience, while important, is but a tiny niche.

What actually drives traffic is the stuff the hardcore people loathe: how to articles, tips, best-of, top games, etc. We try to do a mix: original content, longer form articles and news, rumors, facts, etc.

4. A few of the points like site design, nothing of journalistic value, etc. are merely personal opinions. I will not address them as I disagree. I also doubt you can get the same content we produce elsewhere, or someone else is doing it better

5. It is the holidays. The majority of Microsoft is on break right now and things are slow, especially before CES. We will not just make up stories or run with things to fill the space to please a handful of you. This and even some of our staff deserve to spend time with friends and family.

6. We lost one of our major writers to Microsoft. Not an easy gap to fill in a few weeks time.

7. Regarding Windows 10 and going deeper, I don't disagree. The problem is finding (a) Someone who knows the material (b) Someone who can write well (c) Someone who has time to actually commit. I have been doing this since 2007, I can tell you it is very hard to find anyone with such talents. Lots of people raise their hands to take the task, most fail.

8. As far as Denim and camera stuff, the fact is no one here on staff has a Lumia phone with Denim and the new Lumia camera. It's that simple. When Denim goes wider with Lumia Camera 5.0, we will certainly do more. Considering the majority of you do not have it yet, sorry, you will have to just wait.

Finally, as far as how we are doing...

 

[Daniel Rubino]

In short, no one is "beating" us. Perhaps by some of your standards, other sites do things better. That's fine, I encourage people to visit other sites, do what they want. But in terms of site traffic and our audience, I am confident in our approach.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

That article was bad though. I mean the writer could have taken the idea and run with it. Wake up speed, shutter speed etc. I really don't care for your never ending articles on games either. Maybe it's time for a reader poll, no?

Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

You are aware those were not our videos? They came from NokiaWindowsPhone.pl as stated numerous times in the article itself.

If we had Lumia Camera 5.0 on any of our devices, Mark Guim would have done one of our well edited, HD videos. Had we ignored that story, the OP here would be complaining about how we don't post things.

Can't win with you guys...

 

[LTTG]

Numbers don't ever matter to me, it's the quality of the content that matters, and the quality of this website is beyond perfection. Being a Microsoft fan, I can't imagine a day without Windows Central, it's my most favourite portal to Microsoft and Windows.

 

[Sameer Beri]

I think these peoples are editor of those sites..n came here to insult this site.. So ignore these peoples.. Daniel.. U r doing great job as well as other editors too..

 

[neo158]

The main issue I have is that this site is so full of adverts it's getting harder and harder to find the actual news now, OK that's an exaggeration. It was bad enough that we had loads of ads on here already but why have a full background as an ad as well!!!!

 

[DLJBD]

View attachment 92784View attachment 92785
In short, no one is "beating" us. Perhaps by some of your standards, other sites do things better. That's fine, I encourage people to visit other sites, do what they want. But in terms of site traffic and our audience, I am confident in our approach.

Of course, you've more traffic than everyone else on the Windows community. Why? Because you're being supported by Android Central, iMore and even CrackBerry - basically, the whole Mobile Nations. But does other sites have that? No.

Including that, you guys often don't credit the actual source and pretend to 'reveal' the news first. That means, sites like Verge and Engadget credit you cause they don't know about the actual source. So how are others going to grow?

Just credit the MAIN SOURCE and stop pretending like you revealed the news first.

 

[Daniel Rubino]

Of course, you've more traffic than everyone else on the Windows community. Why? Because you're being supported by Android Central, iMore and even CrackBerry - basically, the whole Mobile Nations. But does other sites have that? No.

Including that, you guys often don't credit the actual source and pretend to 'reveal' the news first. That means, sites like Verge and Engadget credit you cause they don't know about the actual source. So how are others going to grow?

Just credit the MAIN SOURCE and stop pretending like you revealed the news first.

We actually do more front page traffic than Android Central or iMore. In many ways, they are riding off of us now. AC's forums are huge though which is where their traffic comes from, but that is the nature of Android: support and hacking.

Look at iMore's front page and comments and now look at ours. We have the largest, most active community. We built that here, it had nothing to do with AC, iMore or even CrackBerry. It was from hard work, writing good content, responding to the community, digging deep, trying to up our quality, etc. At the end of the day, it's what is on on our front page, written by people, that drives people here. Nothing artificial about it.

What is the evidence of how our sister sites support us? What is the actual mechanism that you perceive as an unfair advantage over other sites?

you guys often don't credit the actual source and pretend to 'reveal' the news first.

Example, please. How are we "pretending"? If you are talking about us doing research, having contacts and sources that we do not reveal...I mean, tough? Do your own legwork. It took me years to build up this site (since 2007), I am not going to apologize for that nor feel bad for other sites. Earn your stripes, don't envy others.

Also, I noticed you just joined Windows Central today and this is your first post. Care to reveal which site you work for (I am assuming)? I notice you hail out of London. Surur from WMPU is from there too, do you know him?