What Should the Chiefs Do to Make the Mothership a Better Web Site?
by Chris Thorman on Jun 11, 2009 8:48 AM CDT
in 2009 Kansas City Chiefs Offseason
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A couple of months ago, the Kansas City Chiefs sent out a message via their Twitter feed saying that the staff had a meeting about how to improve KCChiefs.com and more specifically about how to integrate social networking into the whole online experience over there.
I replied on Twitter asking if they came up with some good ideas and the response was, "LOTS OF IDEAS!"
So the team is moving forward with some cool new ideas for what may or may not be an entirely new web site. The Chiefs have gone through a couple of redesigns of KCChiefs.com over the last few years and probably at least a dozen since they launched KCChiefs.com back in 1996. Some of the redesigns were good. Some bad.
For a 13-year review of the history of KCChiefs.com, check out this link. Trust me when I say you'll want to see some of these old school web site pictures. Wow....
The mothership (as it's known around here) has improved quite a bit over the last year or so. Embeddable videos (which you see here all the time) are available within hours of a press conference happening. This is HUGE by the way. The vast majority of NFL team sites do not allow embedding of their videos. I have to say thank you to the Chiefs for allowing this. The Chiefs official Twitter feed is a great place to get the jump on the articles and videos posted over there, as well as miscellaneous bits of information we never really got before. We'll even get the occassional picture out of a One Arrowhead Drive office now and again.
The columnists on the mothership put in a lot of time and effort into their articles. Even though I may disagree with a topic or find it a bit boring, you can't chide them for putting in the sweat to write them. Bob Gretz especially does his homework when it comes to his articles on KCChiefs.com.
It's possible we may see a change in the mothership with the addition of Mark Donovan as the new COO. Donovan came from the Philadelphia Eagles, who have an incredible official site. The site is loaded with pictures and video, as well as a forum. Plus, it just looks like a slicker, more modern, faster loading site.
Here are some of the team sites who I think "get it" when it comes promoting their team online:
(On a side note, check out the Eagles homepage and you'll see an official menu bar at the top labeled NFL Internet Network. Oddly, the Chiefs don't have that on their site. The Chiefs old site used to have a similar menu bar.)
So kudos to the Chiefs for improving the site with some cool new features over the last year. But what else could the team do with its official site? A blog with comments? Some sort of message board or forum perhaps? An official team blogger with full access to the team? Link to sites like AP?
One thing I will say right off the bat is that I want to see more pictures on the mothership. There's no photo gallery and the official site more than anyone could be posting some great insider pictures. Take a look at the Eagles photos and drool.
Chime in with your thoughts. The Chiefs are listening....
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I like a lot of aspects of the site now
But as far as improvements…
1. Daily blogger posts/articles…anything! Even if it was something small that was NEW every day, that would make me coming back every day. Maybe BobGretz.kcchiefs.com?
Maybe even if they had a news feed or something like that. I know there are folks at One Arrowhead Drive that are reading Chiefs articles on the internet every day, why don’t they add a few of those links to a daily feed at the mothership?
2. PHOTOS…this one is huge. Right now, the only photos we see in the offseason are ones released by the KC Star when practice is open to the media. Over the entire offseason, that will only happen 11 times. I need my photo fix and KCChiefs.com can (I would guess) fairly easily deliver that.
3. Keep up the Twitter. Those guys are doing a good job.
I agree
all of those are great ideas.
"I can only imagine what it is going to be like in that town if we are fortunate to build a winner. You win there, you can sense that it would be something really special." - Todd Haley
by Jason Shore on Jun 11, 2009 11:22 AM CDT up reply actions
Not a fan of the mothership site.
Just plain looks boring. How about some season highlights? Big hits (the few) from last year? Why not some videos from practices? I agree with senor primetime, PHOTOS!
In season highlights would be nice
And the Chiefs could control it so only the highlights (as opposed to lowlights) are distributed. I think there might be some issue with broadcasting NFL content not sure though.
by Joel Thorman on Jun 11, 2009 9:30 AM CDT up reply actions
Also on the embedded videos
I like how you can still scroll through different videos once we embed it.
I think the home page could use some work
A photo gallery as suggested. More interactive content would be a good thing. It seems there are a couple of players that like to blog, why not let them blog on the site? They could have a monthy Q&A session between the fans and players. Let the fans ask some questions and get some answers. Shameless plug warning! They could buy the team Arrowhead Pride Wolf Pack T-shirts.
Yeah, let's just keep matriculatin' the ball down the field, boys! ...
Order your Arrowhead Pride Wolf Pack T-shirt at ARROWHEAD ATTITUDE
I got a good idea
tell them to link this site!!! and get somre real Chiefs news HAHA
Great players dont win championships.....Great TEAMS win chapionships
*some
Great players dont win championships.....Great TEAMS win chapionships
by DT58forever on Jun 11, 2009 10:18 AM CDT up reply actions
I am not sure ...
What that site is for .. lol If I were to rely on that site as a chiefs fan .. i would be LOST!! lol The only time I go there is for the videos they have .. but to stay informed AP is untouchable. I live in Toronto, Canada and have been a chief fan since the early 90’s … try getting chief news BACK THEN!! lol Only until I got the Sunday Ticket and was able to watch every game did I realize how much of a true fan I was NOT! Then again following a team through box scores and the odd game on TV (if I was lucky) and highlights is still pretty hardcore! Back to the point, I guess if they added some of the above idea’s I MAY be more inclined to go there … I like number 1 and 2 on primetimes list .. not a big twitter guy yet …
"even though I was born in Toronto Canada and I love the BlueJays and the Raptors and the Leafs .. I cut my finger this morning and I was BLEEDING KC RED BABY!!!"
by T-DotChiefFanSince93 on Jun 11, 2009 10:50 AM CDT reply actions
I have to admit
that I think they do a nice job when they put together promo videos and such like 2008 awaits and anything can happen from the 50, etc…
"I can only imagine what it is going to be like in that town if we are fortunate to build a winner. You win there, you can sense that it would be something really special." - Todd Haley
There is nothing wrong with the site content
they just need to revamp their site design. There are so many web design firms constisting of young, fresh out of college web designers that could give the site a good facelift. They could probably get it done for pretty cheap too. I feel like I’m visiting a law firm or something when I go to KcChiefs.com. More FLASH! That’s for sure. I also like the blogging idea. Gretz would be perfect because he’s not going to bash the organization but he can still provide the fans with as much information as they’re gonna get from any other source.
Agreed on Gretz
He’s about the best thing to happen to Chiefs bloggers since….well, ever. He runs an awesome site. I wonder why the Chiefs didn’t approach him about doing essentially the same thing but on the mothership?
by Joel Thorman on Jun 11, 2009 11:40 AM CDT up reply actions
I think
He writes about as freely on the mothership as he’s allowed to. From there, which is understandable, it should be a bit more of an official voice.
I think Bob probably started his own site so he could voice some of his opinions without having to worry about what the brass thought about it.
by TheScootness on Jun 11, 2009 4:36 PM CDT up reply actions
+1
An official website for a team is a PR machine—make it pretty, but I’m not really concerned about the content (besides more pictures). It won’t stop me from coming HERE first.
-cw
Watching the 2009-2010 Chiefs via the Slingbox, 12 hours delayed, in Taiwan.
Twittering my every move. Don't act like you're not even slightly interested.
Overall
I would also like to see more interaction with the fans/readers. In the long run, this would only help solidify their brand.
Better standings
The past couple of years, they had the Chiefs in last in the AFC West.
I think they should have the Chiefs in first place this year.
Happiness is a long walk with a putter in your hand.
by craig in calgary on Jun 11, 2009 12:23 PM CDT reply actions 1 recs
Archived content
One thing I’ve noticed is that a lot of the content from past years still exists on the website but it’s damn near impossible to find. They need to provide links back to the old articles, game recaps, etc. I’ve tried researching some things from there and it’s just useless unless you happen to google it just right.
Content beats frills.
So I’d argue to keep it simple and straightforward. The current design is not bad. Maybe promote Gretz’s site to more prominent place. Also, keep an eye to load times. Designers/developers tend to have the best machines and the best connectivity, and what looks good to them can be an annoying waste of time to us consumers. You never want to waste people’s time trying to show off, and that’s probably the biggest weakness of young developers.
What’s appealing about this site isn’t the glamor, but the content, honesty and perfect blend of irreverence and respect for others. A lot of people here know a lot about football, and the collective IQ of this site is unrivaled. Don’t overlook what makes you different/better or try too hard to do what everybody else is doing.
Scrap the whole site.
Seriously, whose idea was a red & olive green color scheme. It looks like a website for the Boy Scouts (no offense to any Scouts on here…this is coming from an Eagle Scout myself). I went through every single NFL teams’ site a few months ago and come to the conclusion that the Chiefs had the UGLIEST site in the NFL (and I seriously was certain that it was going to be the Bengals).
In my opinion, Seattle should definitely be added to your list of “good” sites.
More links
The official site doesn’t connect me or even give me a clue about where a fan can find more information. Like links to this site I found it by accident (love it but hard to find). Since I don’t have satellite TV I look for ways to watch Chiefs games over the web or listen to the games on KCFX.com I hope they are still broadcasting the games this year. I’m in south Mississippi, so I don’t get very much info on my team and it would be nice to be able to go to one place and be able to find links that I have been looking for. As far as news goes, AP blows away the Mothership hands down which is why I’m such a huge fan of this site. I have a friend down here who is a Donkey fan…(yeah it’s sad but hey He isn’t a Saint fan) I tried to send him to the MHR so he could get what I was out of this site. Seems he wasn’t impressed they don’t have things together like AP does so his search continues. The Chiefs site should link fans to sites supporting the Chiefs for the fans all over the world and not just the one living in KC.
is it me? or isn't about time the Lamar Hunt trophy belonged to His team?
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