found drama

I forget where I came across GoodReads.com the first time around but I had basically just removed the link from my del.icio.us “todo” set when Sarah pops up and tells Wranglers to get on board.  So, several Wranglers later, I cave and join up as well.  Short versions of immediate impressions:

• The concept is neat but the UI is terrible.  It’s hard to find the correct action links and there is not much consistency from screen to screen.  And what’s up with not allowing whitespace characters in the names of my shelves?
• So much focus on each book and not a lot of focus on the users.  Hard to describe…  Just seems like when you land at a given book, you don’t see how it ties in with your social network or your interests.  Seems difficult to explore (thus far).
• The system seems demanding.  Sure you can just rate a book (having it automatically added to your “read” list) but the UI seems like it’s trying to bully you into making recommendations and reviews on top of your ratings.

About Rob Friesel

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