Website Stoke

BigGuns · Faceplant Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 25 City: Orlando

I work in the web industry so I think about this stuff far too often. It seems like the wakeskate community thrives on the web. From the community on WS.com to the banter between the Obscura boys and the Remote Fellas there is a lot on the web to get stoked on. What sites are doing a great job propelling our sport forward and maybe even which ones are dead in the water?

*Nate · Backside 180 Joined: 11 Mar 2008 Posts: 1230 City: Nokomis

blastwakeskatemag.com

-LoGiK- · Kickflip Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 2747 City: Orlando

no ones doing shizzle right now, its been pretty boring lately

BigGuns · Faceplant Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 25 City: Orlando

*Nate, Yeah blast for sure. Alliance has a steady stream of content but for the most part I see it on here before it ever hit's their site.

tad · 360 flip Joined: 07 May 2006 Posts: 5031

BigGuns, Alliance Wakeskate isn't even ran by wakeskaters.

Not saying that you have to wakeskate to run a successful site, but their content is mediocre at best.

BigGuns · Faceplant Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 25 City: Orlando

tad, bummer. So is Blast the only mag site out there run by wakeskaters?

-LoGiK- · Kickflip Joined: 22 Sep 2005 Posts: 2747 City: Orlando

BigGuns, ya AWS just copies vimeo links and host them on their site....

yookyle · Backside 180 Joined: 15 Jan 2009 Posts: 1002 City: Reno

i feel like this is the best place to get wakeskate news before everywhere else. and i know im pretty new to the site but lately ive been liking the vibe on here, not alot fighting, lots of jokes, and alot of stoke i guess everyones just pissed off during the winter haha

khowe22 · Faceplant Joined: 29 May 2010 Posts: 23 City: Orlando

mank the tank · Posted: Jun 14, 2010 1:41 pm Post subject:

Sorry for the lack of online videos from ftg and blast. I am currently putting together a full length movie with full riding parts from Blake Steele, Josh Norman, Lemo the emo, David Roehm, Colton Voswinkel, Collin Gee, Bret Little and hopefully if I can get to the island to film with Nick and Andrew they will have one. Keaton as well. Nothing too special, just music and them boys shredding. the way I like watching wakeskating.

Slapdown · Kickflip Joined: 20 Apr 2005 Posts: 4240 City: Austin

Too many news/blog sites. None of which I particularly like 100% but it seems like Blast is doing a pretty good job of keeping new content up and having at least some sort of quality standard. Not to mention it's run by wakeskaters so i suppose I'd say they're in the lead for the time being. As far as actual companies and the like.. Personally I'd rather remote and obscura have real websites than blogs. But I also understand they put their time and money into other things that are likely in most (if not all) cases more important. I know blog type dealies seem to keep people coming back for news videos pictures etc. But I'd rather go to a company's website and be able to go to sections where you can look at their boards, maybe a team page, etc.

But that's just me.

miller · Backside 180 Joined: 08 Aug 2004 Posts: 2394 City: Regina

mank the tank, can't wait to see that

jcoffey · Backside 180 Joined: 24 May 2008 Posts: 1339

Slapdown, i agree, in my opinion a company website with a blog within their site would solidify them as a company (not that companies like remote obscura and all them aren't solid companies)

BigGuns · Faceplant Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 25 City: Orlando

You can see obscura product on the liquid force site. Remote on the other hand should be showcasing their product online but they are not. A little mystery is fine but at some point you're just letting your brand down by not giving people the opportunity to see it.

BigGuns · Faceplant Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 25 City: Orlando

mank the tank, Music and shredding is what it's all about. I may just adopt that as a personal mantra.

electricsnow · cassette Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 10751 City: Jefferton

slapdown, I totally agree with you and have thought about that a lot, especially after learning more about branding and in turn, thinking about good examples of branding that I've seen or really liked. I just feel like a blog (or specifically the aforementioned blogs) don't represent the full brands well. None of them really show who's on the team, what the full product line is like, etc, etc. integrity's site is similar, but almost the exact opposite. There's a product offering and product info (which is the main purpose of the site), but very little info on the team and brand identity. I recognize that that site serves a different purpose, but it's still something I think about.

mojo · Posted: Jun 14, 2010 7:16 pm Post subject:

how much would a website cost anyway? one like company has or devotid? it's insane this day and age not to have one. blogs are getting old. i have stated this in the past and gotton flack for it on here.

electricsnow · cassette Joined: 14 Sep 2003 Posts: 10751 City: Jefferton

I think it depends on who's building your website and what you're really going for. A flash based site like company wake's site (which, in my opinion, is one of the better, more professional wake sites) is going to be expensive. I also think that site is really good because there's continuity between ads in the magazine and the web site (as an example). it's not a generic site that was put together for the sake of having something. there's a branding experience and the whole look is totally professional. Plus, I love flash so I'm a little biased in that area.

I wouldn't be surprised if I disagreed with you mojo because I find myself disagreeing with you a lot on here. As I said, after learning more about branding and looking at what current wakeskate companies have going on, I guess it feels a little disappointing. maybe other riders don't care and maybe the people apart of it don't even care. but I think we've seen how good it can be and I feel disappointed that the quality of brand representation has regressed. and I should add that none of these opinions are meant to be personal and I dig a lot of the riders and people that are trying to start up new brands...it's just more about looking at how things were and where things are.

mufinman98 · Posted: Jun 14, 2010 9:58 pm Post subject:

BigGuns · Faceplant Joined: 08 Apr 2009 Posts: 25 City: Orlando

mojo, There are a lot of factors that go into pricing a website. There is no blanket price for site. Really it comes down to the complexity and man hours it's going to take to design and implement. I would say for the most part wake industry sites are poorly executed. I would guess because it's an after thought for most companies and their not willing to make an investment into their web presence. Which is unfortunate.

electricsnow mentioned Company's site. It's probably one of the nicer designed sites. I'm not sure why everything is in Flash, because they don't seem to be taking advantage of any of the things Flash is good at. Really they just made it slower and less accessible. Everything on the site could be pulled off with html and javascript. I'm definitely not anti-flash. I've made a comfortable living on developing for Flash. But it bums me out when people don't use the right technology for the job.