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Ars Technica - Design With An Attitude

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Raleigh, NC. (Sept. 1, 2000)

THE BASICS

Thanks to the awesome technical and design skills of hesketh.com, the newly designed Ars Technica Web site really "rox so hard." At least, that's what the folks behind the popular online destination are saying — openly. And a large community of PC prosumers who hang out at www.arstechnica.com seem to agree. We're talking over a million above average Web surfers per month who are saying that their lives have been made more meaningful by the way the new site looks and how well it delivers the information they want.

WHAT IS A PC "PROSUMER," AND WHY DO I CARE ABOUT HIS/HER PERSONAL TRANSFORMATION?

Ars' folks define a prosumer as someone not satisfied with the status quo. "When it comes to computing, prosumers want performance, and they want it at a price that lets 'em sleep easy at night. When it comes to news, opinions, and technology reviews, prosumers want content that informs, not conforms to industry hoopla or some IT manager's idea of proven," says Kenneth Fisher, Ars Technica Editor-in-Chief.

AND WHAT'S ON THE ARS TECHNICA SITE THAT THEY GET SO EXCITED ABOUT?

www.arstechnica.com delivers technical information to its visitors (like reviews, notes, impressions, technical explanations, and news) about CPUs, motherboards, data storage technology, video cards, Microsoft Windows Operating Systems, PC games, The BeOS, scientific content (nanotechnology), the politics of technology, additional forms of PC hardware, and Linux.

Other visitors are suppliers of CPUs, video cards, Microsoft Operating Systems, PC games, and Linux, advertisers, investors, and the press, and they also leave the Ars Technica site with a belly full.

NOW HOW EXACTLY WAS HESKETH.COM INVOLVED IN THESE PROSUMERS' PARTICULAR JOIE DE VIVRE?

hesketh.com was initially hired by Ars Technica to write a functional spec and then execute that project which included:

  • A dynamic, database-driven system for posting and administering news items.
  • A publicly accessible annotations system linked to the news items.
  • An administrative interface that allows for automated and manual thread and post-level management of the annotations.
  • A ratings system that members may use to rate posts.

During this process, the Ars folks decided that their site also needed a face-lift.

Internally, they had been working on a revised user interface, but finally they decided to seek outside assistance — stipulating that they wanted an evolutionary visual redesign, not a revolutionary one.

Seems the power of the Ars Technica brand rests in visitor perception that the site is an independent entity. This challenge of creating a professional looking site that didn't damage Ars Technica's "street cred(ability)" was also awarded to hesketh.com. And all this internal and face-lift stuff is what makes www.arstechnica.com "rox," according to Fisher.

SO EVERYBODY'S SMILING, RIGHT?

Ars online enthusiasts are more aware than the average Web surfer of the issues behind site design and curation, and they are "quite vocal" when it comes to bulky, slow designs, and also designs that obscure or make difficult locating the wealth of information contained within a site.

WELL OKAY, SO LET'S HAVE SOME COMPANY QUOTES

Steven Champeon, Chief Technical Officer of hesketh.com, states, "Working with Ars has been an absolute joy. These guys know their stuff when it comes to PC hardware and building a loyal audience. And they also know that on the Web, audiences are two way. - i.e., unlike other PC tech sites, they realize the Web affords community building like no other medium. Ars initially came to hesketh.com because of our technical skill and understanding of how to grow communities. Then they allowed us to redesign the site's entire look and feel. Would I be redundant in saying that the site 'rox so hard.'"

And now, this word from Ars..."hesketh.com was clearly the best choice for Ars Technica's design needs. With a sensitivity to community, hesketh.com didn't waste any time in working with us to come up with a solution that would not only be sound in terms of design, but also sound in the eyes of the community. For Ars Technica, a diverse, affluent, intelligent audience, this was no small order. hesketh.com's broad experience is only surpassed by their ability to communicate effectively and efficiently with their clients."

ABOUT hesketh.com/inc.

hesketh.com is a leading Web services firm that punctuates the fast-paced dotcom sphere with distinctive design and development solutions, specializing in vibrant online communities, dynamic dotcom businesses, and high impact corporate sites. A hesketh.com design makes the most appropriate use of Internet technology, from its integration with corporate marketing strategies, to strategic site design and information architecture, as well as cross-platform and cross-browser compatibility. http://www.hesketh.com

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