As a rule, I do not discuss politics on this website.  I have several reasons for this, the most selfish being simply that when people hear me rant and rave about - well, anything really - they tend to not listen to anything else I have to say.  I hope that some of the information I post here might be helpful to someone, and I don’t want my own personal beliefs to jeopardize that.

However, I watched a video the other day that inspired me to do a comparison of the Democratic and Republican party websites.  While the video is certainly biased, it had very good points about the importance of imagery and media in today’s world - especially in regard to politics.  Let’s face it - it’s 2009.  Any popular party, organization, service or group should have a good website.  It’s amazing how often large organizations look over design and content structure when building their site.

And so, without further introduction, here is my (unbiased, I hope) review of the Democratic and Republican National Committee websites.

Above are screenshots of both the DNC and RNC websites.  Right off the bat, you will notice a few things.  The layouts themselves are actually very similar - suspiciously, even (note the 2-column portion beneath the left-aligned main image).  Both sites use very patriotic colors and graphics.  You will also notice that the “Contribute” button on the DNC site is bright red - immediately drawing your attention to donate money to the party.  While it’s not overwhelming, it certainly is one of the first things you notice.

The very next thing I saw was the header.  Both sites use left-aligned header text.  However, the RNC simply displays “GOP.com”, while the DNC reads “The Democratic Party”.  Now chances are if you’re going to the site, you know what the GOP is, and what it stands for.  The point of a site header, however, is to tell the reader where they are and what they are reading.

One of the biggest differences in the two sites is the emphasis on social media.  Both sites link to the main networks, though the delivery is completely different.  The DNC uses classy (but cool) image links and rollover color effects, while the RNC only lists the 3 main sites using very basic, somewhat fuzzy images and no rollover effects.

Another major difference is the background image.  The RNC website uses a very plain 2 colored background image, while the DNC site has a snazzy star background, which gives the impression that the stars are flying out of the site’s main content.

I discovered my biggest disappointment with the RNC website when I clicked on any of the only three navigation options.  Each one opened into a completely different design - new colors, a different header - new EVERYTHING!  In fact, the blog page simply looks like a WordPress theme gone terribly wrong.  Consistency between contained material is fundamental to web design.  Not just good web design - basic design.

There are a few other small things that really bug me.  For instance, favicons.  I am a big believer that every website created should have some sort of favicon - no matter how basic (just look at the DNC’s).  More and more people are learning how to add shortcuts to make their web browsing more efficient, and favicons are used for Chrome application shortcuts, etc.  The point is, your site needs one.  And the RNC doesn’t have one.

In the same manor, the page title of the DNC site (”The Democratic Party”) is much shorter than the RNC (”GOP.com Republican National Committee”).  This means that in a normal tab, half of the RNC title is hidden.  Again, not a huge deal, but remember, it’s the details that take a site from decent to great (as our friend @squaredeye taught us).

I do like the rotating images and site articles on the main page of the RNC website (though sharper images and neater header text would be nice).  However, adding a margin of 10 or 15 pixels to the bottom would make the 2 button links below stand out a lot more and would present a far less cluttered site.

On a final review note, I’d like to say that using offensive language on any website should be done very carefully.  There are times when it is absolutely appropriate.  However, calling the Democratic Party blog “Kicking Ass” might not be the best idea.

It hurt me a little to write this post.  You see, I’m conservative.  The only reason I say this, of course, is because I just wrote a very negative review of the Republican National Committee’s websites.  I want to make it clear that this is solely based off of design.  Don’t believe me?  Take a gander.

Now, to be fair, the DNC website isn’t all that great either.  It has a lot of elements that could be better, though it is leaps and bounds greater than it’s counterpart.  I suppose my point in writing this post is simply to show how important it is to put time, energy, and (get ready) - money - into good design.  It can go a long way in making a great first impression, which (especially in this society) may be all you get.

As a raving Firefox fan for years, I can’t believe I’m writing this post. My love for all Mozilla products has always been because they “just work”. Unfortunately, that’s no longer the case for me.

Over the past week, Firefox has been acting up - mainly sluggish page loads and running processes, even after the browser has been closed. Basically, this just means that I can’t run Firefox again until I end the process in Task Manager.

Google Chrome has been my #2 browser for several months, so I decided to give it a try. Within a day of serious use, I’m sold. As I posted earlier, Google is planning an entire OS built on the Chrome idea - browser/desktop integration. Chrome makes a great start with my current favorite feature - application shortcuts.

Take any website you visit, add an application shortcut, and you’ve now got a shortcut right on your desktop. Clicking this will open your page in a special Chrome page that’s set apart from normal browsing. This way, you can essentially add shortcuts to your favorite sites, saving a few steps if you just want to check your Gmail, Facebook or Twitter (or your Joupes account!).

JavaScript effects and plugins (like LightBox) are faster in Chrome than any other browser I’ve used. Page surfing is smooth and fast-loading. Despite it’s limited customization, Chrome looks good and the lack of buttons works to its advantage by freeing up lots of real estate. Other little design features like the downloads section, highlighted entry text boxes and “Most Visited” (much like the Fast Dial plugin for Firefox) links are icing on the cake.

Well done, Google. You’ve won me over. I look forward to you doing the same thing when Google Chrome OS comes out.

Big Prize. If you’re on Facebook or Twitter, there’s a good chance you’re somewhat familiar with the name. Whether you check the fan page every hour, are constantly confused by the odd little sayings your friends write on their wall, or your Twitter homepage is sprinkled with #moonfruit tweets - you’ve seen the name.

In less than two weeks, and with over 140,000 fans at last check, Big Prize is taking over - by giving stuff away!  The people at Big Prize seem to understand something very basic to human nature - we like free stuff.  Want to attract a lot of people?  Give them really expensive things…for free.

Now, as with every “free giveaway” program, Big Prize has raised plenty of skepticism, especially after the consecutive winnings of Ben Scott.  Ben was one of the people I got to talk with, and he has a very interesting story about Big Prize.  Ben actually won 4 different prizes - 3 t-shirts and an iPod Touch.  While a lot of people posted some pretty rude things about him, he won it all fair and square, simply tweeting responses when he received Twitter SMS updates.  That’s not good enough for some people, and Ben gave up 2 of his shirts to calm the storm of people essentially angry over the fact that they didn’t win.

To be fair to those truly wary, I was also a tad hesitant at first.  However, after doing a little reading, tweeting, Facebook stalking (and discovering that it’s sponsored by Startlike), I was (and am) sold.  So how can someone just give away iPhones, MacBooks and golf clubs?  The answer is pretty straight forward, and involves something my mom has hounded me about for years - budgeting.

As with any company, Startlike has a marketing budget.  This is how they can give away awesome little freebies that we all love so much like t-shirts and koozies (honestly, what is it about free shirts that makes us salivate?).  It’s also how they can afford to chuck out more iPhones than self-taken mirror shots on an middle schoolers Facebook.  Which do you think is more effective - banner ads, pens, and rubber key chains or TaylorMade drivers, iPhones, and MacBooks?

As Michael Scott (Regional Manager of Dunder Mifflin Paper Co. in Scranton, PA) has taught us, this is what’s called a “win-win-win”.  Big Prize experiences an exponential growth of fans (hopefully attracting partners), Startlike gets more attention, and all the fans and Twitter followers get the opportunity to win stuff.  Viral marketing at its finest, in my opinion.  Traffic, fans, and interest grows through Facebook “word-of-mouth”, with minimal-to-no direct advertising.

Ok, so all that’s fine and dandy - but why do you care?  As the end consumer, you just want to know that you aren’t getting scammed.  That’s where I come in.  Over the past few days, I’ve been gathering interviews from a few people who have been Big Prize winners.  Everyone I talked to was happy to answer my questions - I guess free iPhones tend to put people in a good mood.

Now, as Facebook is geared towards sharing information with friends, most people I talked with found Big Prize through the wall posts of friends or direct referrals.  Michelle Cramer, however, saw something about it on her Startlike homepage.  A few days ago, I wrote a post about how much I enjoy my own Startlike homepage, and it’s neat to see a winner who uses it on a regular basis.

Basically, though, I just wanted to find out if winners actually got their prizes, and if they got them quickly.  My answer:  a resounding double yes.  Everyone I talked with had great communication with Big Prize, and they received their prizes about a week after winning.

“They were really quick about it, within a week I got it.” - Binal Patel

“They told me on June 29th or 30th I would get the gift card . . . on July 8th. I got it on July 2nd.” - Benjamen Scott

“The prize . . . arrived by postal mail the following week. No muss, no fuss.” - Eric Alderman

“I received my [prize] about a week after winning it, which in my opinion is pretty quick!” - Michelle Cramer

So, after speaking to 4 completely satisfied winners, I can safely say that yes, Big Prize is giving things away - no scams, no ploys.  “No muss, no fuss.”

Now, explaining why I’m a Big Prize fan is like trying to explain to my best friend Daniel (a Celtics fan) why I’ve been a die-hard Laker for 11 years - they’re the best program in the league, backed by some terrific players (in Big Prize’s case, Startlike), and Kobe Bryant is the finest example of hard work, dedication, and fundamental perfection the NBA has to offer.  Ok, so that last one didn’t really apply at all, but it’s my blog.

Show me another company that can give away thousands of dollars in free stuff, carry on great personal customer relations, generate thousands and thousands of Facebook fans in a few days, and represent themselves with a gnome.  In the meantime, my computer’s broken, and I could really use a MacBook - so excuse me while I keep playing.