Gimmick or utility? News connections

I’m wondering whether people like these Evri widgets and find them useful:

The one above appeared beneath a story headlined “In Obama’s Inner Circle, Debate Over Memos’ Release Was Intense,” published April 23. The one below appeared beneath a story headlined “In Mexico, Young Adults Appear Most at Risk,” published April 26. Both stories appeared at washingtonpost.com and were staff written. (Click the image to see the story.)

I feel divided about these. On the one hand, they are fun to play with. They make me curious, and I click on them. On the other hand, I don’t think I have ever clicked one of the story links below the graphic — which would seem to be the reason the graphic exists. (More about Evri at their Web site.)

I also find it interesting that the graphic appears way at the bottom, below the story. I wonder how many people have seen these.

This entry was posted on Monday, April 27, 2009, at 8:46 am and is filed under audiences, design, graphics, journalism, online. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

4 responses to “Gimmick or utility? News connections”

Megan Taylor writes:

I want to like them, but I honestly want to see a Wikipedia type article on each subject, not related news articles. I know how to find more news, what I really want is backstory.
April 27, 2009 at 11:16 am
Stephen Downes writes:

You know what would be useful? Gadgets like this that displayed a pundit or spokesperson’s corporate connections, a gadget that linked crossmemberships on boards, a gadget that identified a subject’s political contributions, a gadget that disclosed the funding sources of the ‘think tanks’ routinely cited as authorities. You know, useful informnation. Not just gee-whiz graphics.
April 27, 2009 at 3:52 pm
Mindy McAdams writes:

@Stephen Downes – You mean something like the awesome, classic They Rule graphic? (Such a sweet, sweet thing. LOAD MAP, then choose POPULAR.)
April 27, 2009 at 4:00 pm
Evri, los widgets de Washington Post | Sicrono writes:

[...] si hace mucho están ahí, al pie de algunos artículos del Washington Post. Pero descubro con grata sorpresa estos bonitos widgets hechos por [...]
April 28, 2009 at 4:48 am