Jan. 31, 2007

My favorite comment from last week, when we asked about special features you would like to see on MSN, was from Matthew, an outdoorsy type from Grand Rapids, Mich.:
"How about a button that will do my job for me so I can go snowboarding all day long?"

Ah, Matt. Wouldn't that be great? That's one idea we haven't put on the drawing board, but we are not short on ideas to invigorate your online experience.

In our poll last week, users weighed in on which of two features they would like to see first developed for MSN: site search or archiving. The vote was fairly evenly split – as it often can be where time and energy are limited and there is only so much daylight to go snowboarding.

Of nearly 4,000 responses, 29 percent favored a site search ahead of the 26 percent who chose an archived homepage. Of the rest, 16 percent said either – and 29 percent said neither. We're interested in your answers though we're working toward both.

In reading your e-mails each week, and in recent weeks discussing your desire to find content, I suspected that most of you would opt for site search ahead of archiving. That's the way it turned out.

Either archiving or site search could help out someone like Diane, perhaps planning a Super Bowl party this Sunday in her home in Reading, Pa. She wrote about returning to the homepage and being unable to find "Classic Game Day Party Menu" recipes that caught her eye last week, for munchies like bacon-cheeseburger pizza and pork and slaw barbecue rolls.

We never want to keep a user from mouth-watering recipes, Diane, so here's the link:

Classic Game Day Party Menu

Although we enjoy your high marks and appreciative remarks, nearly 70 percent of you think there's more we can do to make the homepage better. And that group has a lot of ideas. As Tony, a Seattle resident, wrote, "Instead of things like archives, you might want to consider things that may add more appeal to the site – like sections for fiction or tales from users. My personal thought would be something along the lines of 'Strange Headlines.' You have had things like this in the past and dropped them. They were the main reason I looked over MSN."

Well, come on back, Tony. News partner MSNBC has a section called "Peculiar Postings" and we'll surface stories like this on the MSN homepage from time to time.

Pointing our users to our wealth of content is a challenge tied a bit to the issue of adding content. Once we add content, we need an easy way for you to return to it, or find it. Based on your submissions, we can provide Diana of Las Vegas with her section on pets; Susan of Roberts, Wis., with etiquette; traffic reports for Steve of Monrovia, Calif.; and probably anything Michele of Presque Isle, Maine, might need when it comes to her idea of Today in Technology by visiting our Tech & Gadgets channel.  And by using MyMSN, Jon of Dixon, Ill., can track his favorite teams.

And more broadly, within our network partners, Slate has a book club that might be something for Mandy of Yakima, Wash., and Jennifer of Madison, Ala., and Newsweek has a books section, too.

Clearly, however, you have plenty of ideas. Some involve content; others are fairly dependent on technology. In truth many are intertwined. Some of your content ideas illuminate your desire to bolster your daily online diet: Affirmations, polls, quotes, jokes, brain teasers, puzzles, facts, historical information. Beyond those one-a-day programming ideas, here is a sampling:

More information about the school systems for elementary, middle and high school. I'd like to see what schools have gotten it right and those who could try harder. I would also like to see how the schools rank by state. That would help in deciding where to buy a house, among other things. – Jacque, Kailua, Hawaii

A link to webcams around the world. It would be like taking a vacation without ever leaving my desk to see live streaming video from places like Paris, London, Tokyo or special places here in the U.S. like Niagara Falls, the Grand Canyon, etc. – Renee, Hanford, Calif.

Short stories, poetry or art from today's contemporary artists. – Judy, Sacramento, Calif.

A section called "All Good News, All the Time." This would be a place to learn about unsung heroes, people found, good deeds, positive business practices and sound environmental policies. What a relief it would be to have a place to go where we get to see the good side of mankind. – Leaona, Kalispell, Mont.

Other ideas involved integrating content or developing online features – or both.

Better designed emoticons for the IM. I also want more graphics, fonts and better background designs for my e-mail. – LaVonne, Tumon, Guam

I wish to view printer-friendly versions of every MSN page available. – George, Chicago

I would like MSN to incorporate Xbox and Xbox Live info into the site somehow. – Casey, USA

Good or bad short stories from any serviceperson serving in Iraq. If you put out the request on the Net, you would receive several great stories from the troops themselves. There is a lot to be written about from there that will never see the light of day. – Rick, Jacksonville, N.C.

Post Amber Alerts immediately. They are much more important than fast cars or million-dollar homes, etc. Many people use MSN as their homepage. MSN could help get the word out. – J, Great Falls, Mont.

Put a dictionary and encyclopedia on the homepage. – Greg, Anchorage, Alaska

You probably agreed with at least some of the good ideas on this list. Our challenge is to decide which ones would be most useful to the most people, and calibrate that with the realities of how long would it take to develop, produce … and maintain.

While some of us at MSN also enjoy snowboarding on occasion on our off time, we remain focused in the content and technology hubs, working to develop features that you'll find compelling and useful. Keep your ideas coming! And specifically, we welcome your observations on the newly launched service and experience behind the Popular Search box on the homepage.

Editor's note: In recent weeks, data generated from Inside MSN quick questions may not have been rendering accurately. For the informal poll from last week, as well as those moving forward, the bugs should be worked out.