SFist (And Other -ist Sites) Reportedly Sold To Cablevision

Is there no end to the hunger of Kabletown (with a K)?!

I just hope this means that we will still retain the SFist we know and enjoy, and not see it turned into some bland thing that isn't fun to read, or tries to push something on SF, instead of being a part of SF like it is now, or falling victim to the "chain management mentality" that some other properties have fallen victim to in print and online in the past.

and Jason, epic WIN on the Kabletown reference.

Seriously, I was thisclose to saying "Kabletown" as I wrote it, but I went for the serious, probably to my detriment.

Cablevision is still around?!?!

I guess we could all rant about how corporate media are like sharks that die if they stop swimming. They....must....eat....publications.

Or we could all wonder about the enduring popularity of a website that isn't very user-friendly and badly needs a re-design. And while we're on the subject, are we getting weepy that Cablevision picked up a site that has 14 site affiliates? The Cablevision unit involved here also owns the IFC and Sundance Channels.

The best we can hope for is a neutral outcome, right?

The best we can hope for is a neutral outcome, right?

I think SFist is the most user friendly of all the SF blogs. I like that I can scan the day in a glance by just scrolling down. I like the comment response layout. And I like the that the most popular stories are ordered in graphics at the top.

I'm just curious: how do you think it could be made better?

Who wants to help me move into my new penthouse at One Rincon Hill?

Simple: make it look more like the SF Appeal. Organize the main page into something other than scrolling down posts in chronological order. Enlarge the menus at the top of the page. Prioritize the content a bit more for users by the way you design the page; tell me what the editors think is significant. On the day that two other sites are reporting your imminent purchase, should the top post be "Tips On Getting Your Dollar Bills Into Muni Fare Slot"? Use a little white space now and then.

I'm not a web designer, I'm a user. I just read this stuff, I don't know how to make it happen.

While I certainly appreciate anyone using this site's design as a positive example, I'd hasten to point out that SFist is a blog, with a built-in user expectation of reverse chronological content.

We're (no diss to SFist or blogging, you know I mean it) not a blog, and wanted people to understand that, so we made the decision to lay ourselves out differently. But I am frequently jealous of blog-type sites because they can, in part because of their built in understanding of how the content will appear, generate a lot more page views to users than we do.

I'd say SFist has a better layout than the Appeal. The Appeal looks like a newspaper, with a lot of confusing "sections" on the front page. I can never find what I'm looking for. (Well okay, that's not true, I use Google and the Appeal's Twitter feed.)

That said, while the layout of the Ist sites is fairly typical and follows the standard block layout, they have a really screwy hackjob on the comment section. The logos, color schemes, etc. don't look very professional. But maybe that's what gives the Ist sites that "indie cred."

just hope that you have an equity stake in your former employer, eve!

I can't say I know the diff between an on-line paper and a blog, in the sense that SFist is more than a mere "blog" isn't it?

I had no intention of igniting a debate (or rather, a smack-down) on site design. I'm a lowly user; I only know what's easy on my eye and what is not, which is totally subjective and not intended as some sort of high-level design critique. What do I know? I just slap text into a word press theme and call it a blog.

I'm pitching a story to Brock tomorrow called "Cable TV is where it's at!"

Wow, that's sweet. Create something cheap, sell it for lots. If Keeling is a rock-n-roller, he can shred all day/night and finance his own world tour.

Does this mean no more American Apparel ads!? Then woot woot!

You can tell this isn't a blog because the "most commented" list on the side has things with no comments.

Also there is no way to see the article and the comments at the same time.