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jspitzberg

Feedback

Posted by jspitzberg on Oct 24, 2008 3:02:51 PM

Per my earlier post about our home page refresh, please consider the comments on this page your open feedback thread.

1,895 Views Tags: active


Comments (15)
Oct 24, 2008 8:18 PM Dave Sorenson Dave Sorenson    says:

"Classic Search" -- maybe it's still around someplace, but I can't find it.  Can you make it available again?  The current search is really poor.  I always had better luck finding events using the "Classic Search."

 

Thanks,

Dave Sorenson, Colorado Springs, CO
Oct 27, 2008 9:14 AM JeremyGThomas JeremyGThomas    says in response to Dave Sorenson:

Hey Dave,

 

You're right, we've removed "classic search" from the homepage, but you'll still find the link on what we call our "channel pages", i.e. http://www.active.com/running/.

 

You'll find classic search at http://www.active.com/advanced_search.cfm?CHECKSSO=0

 

We're actively working to improve the quality of our new search solution but may not be there yet in some ways.  Stay tuned...
Oct 27, 2008 9:20 AM Cannikin Cannikin    says:

Hi Dave,

 

Have you tried the new Activities & Event search? We added a pretty robust set of filters to replicate (and hopefully improve on) the classic search:

 

http://search.active.com/?tab=events

 

Let us know if that works for you.
Oct 27, 2008 9:29 AM vickyatactive4 vickyatactive4    says in response to Dave Sorenson:

Hi Dave,

I'm sorry that you're having trouble with our search. If you have a minute, can you help us out by giving us some more specifics about what it is about the current search that causes problems for you? The more we learn about how our users are searching and where we're losing them, the better chance we have of making the search better for you.

 

If you'd rather not post on a public board, you can e-mail me directly at vicky@active.com.

 

Some examples of feedback that will help us:

 

1. If you're having trouble finding a specific event, can you give us the name and year of the event, and approximately when you searched for it?

2. Where did you start your search? (Home page, running page, event detail page, community)

3. Did you use the simple search in the header of the site, or the advanced search on the home page?

4. What keywords did you enter? (ex: marathon, 5k, running, Colorado)

5. Did you enter a date into your search?

6. Did you enter a location into your search?

7. How did you feel about the AMOUNT of search results that were returned?

8. Did you filter your search after you got your results? If so, what happened?

 

Thank you Dave, and anyone else who can give us this feedback, for helping us understand your needs better in order to improve your user experience on Active.com.

 

Vicky Eydelberg

Product Manager
Oct 27, 2008 10:22 AM Dave Sorenson Dave Sorenson    says in response to vickyatactive4:

Hi Vicky,

 

The main thing that bothers me is the number of false hits that are returned by the search engine.  I'm using the search on the home page that allows specifying several pieces of information to qualify the search.

 

For example, an upcoming event in our area is named "Run 4 U.S."  If you search for exactly that name, the event comes up fine, first on the result list.  But if you search for "Run 4 US" leaving out the periods, the event is not returned in the result list.  In fact, many of the events that are returned in the result list don't have the words "Run" or "4" or "US" in their names, so it seems pretty random that they are returned as a hit.  Additionally, if you further qualify the seach using a name of "Run 4 US" and a location of "Fort Carson, CO" you still don't get the actual "Run 4 U.S." in the result list, and most of the events returned in the result list are not from Colorado.

 

I'm assuming that when multiple operands are used in the search, e.g., a name and a location, that the operands are and-ed together to further restrict the result set.  It actually seems like the operands are or-ed together (or perhaps even ignored).

 

Anyway, using the classic search, I could at least ask for events from Colorado and get only those events.  That's why I prefer to use it rather than the current search capability.

 

Thanks,

Dave Sorenson
Oct 27, 2008 5:47 PM mrblue96 mrblue96    says:

Something is seriously wrong with the website...looking up activities within my community is nearly impossible...and how come every time I come the website, its set up differently...it's almost more trouble than its worth.
Oct 27, 2008 5:53 PM mrblue96 mrblue96    says:

The "Find Things to do" section doesnt work...I've tried it on Firefox and IE and neither works...all it does is load indefinitely.
Oct 27, 2008 6:29 PM JeremyGThomas JeremyGThomas    says in response to mrblue96:

Hey mrblue96,

 

I hear what you're saying about the redesign.  We've added a few enhancements to simplify the community experience over the past few months, but admittedly didn't do a good job engaging our audience beforehand.

 

What community are you looking up activities from?
Oct 28, 2008 9:41 AM dookiej dookiej    says:

Your website is too busy and is missing the key component of a great website - FLOW.  Your overall concept is great.  However, your site needs a lot of work or an entire revamp.
Oct 28, 2008 10:32 AM vickyatactive4 vickyatactive4    says in response to dookiej:

Hi dookiej,

Thank you for taking the time to give us some feedback, and I'm glad to hear that you like the overall concept. It is only through talking to people like you that we can understand our users' needs better. I'm interested in your comment about FLOW - I agree that our flow needs some work, and I'd love to understand how, specifically, you and other visitors use active.com so we can create a flow that makes sense.



Would you mind answering a few questions to help us out?



1. Once you can get around the navigation and flow, what are the most useful and interesting parts of active.com to you, in order of priority?

2. How often do you visit active.com? What would cause you to visit more often?

3. Do you always start on the home page, or do you have other pages bookmarked or linked from other sites?

4. Which link or feature on the home page do you usually click/use first?

5. How long have you had a MyActive account, and what parts of it do you use?

6. What are your favorite and least favorite pages or sections on active.com?

7. Would you prefer to use active.com to fulfill a specific purpose, such as search and register for events or read articles, or do you like the idea of browsing around to see what types of information about the active lifestyle we have in general?



Thanks so much for your help,

Vicky
Oct 28, 2008 10:53 AM vickyatactive4 vickyatactive4    says in response to Dave Sorenson:

Hi Dave,

THANK YOU for taking the time to provide this feedback. You have helped us discover a very specific problem with the Run 4 U.S. listing - the zip code was mistakenly appended to the city name, which is why you were unable to find it by searching for Fort Carson. Some of the other seemingly irrelevant results are being returned because "U.S." is listed somewhere in the event description. The problem with the periods is also one that we have noted and are now in the process of fixing.

 

In regards to your note about using the new search to find a list of events by location, I think if you try any city except Fort Carson you should be able to find what you're looking for, and hopefully it is as good as if not better than classic search was (let us know if that's not the case). For example, I went to the Find Things To Do box on active.com and typed Colorado Springs, CO in the location box and clicked "search". Here are the results I got:

 

http://search.active.com/?q=&start_date=&end_date=&l=coloradosprings%2Cco&p=25&channel=&mediatype=&commit=Search&tab=events

 

I could then further refine these results by selecting Running for Sport/Activity, Events for Type, and 5k for Distance. This returned a very manageable set of 6 results for those specific criteria within 25 miles of Colorado Springs.

 

http://search.active.com/?tab=events&q=&start_date=&end_date=&l=coloradosprings%2Cco&p=25&channel=Running&mediatype=Events&subtype=5k&commit.x=25&commit.y=13&int=

 

If you have a chance, take a look and let me know what you think? Does this meet your needs in terms of finding events near you? Is there anything else this search is missing?

 

We are in the process of working on a Proof of Concept for an improved search, and would really appreciate any feedback you can provide that would help us make it even better.

 

Vicky
Nov 2, 2008 7:37 AM mabfarrar mabfarrar    says in response to vickyatactive4:

Hello all,

 

I noticed today when clicking on "my active" or "community" I am returned a page with an option to subscribe to live feeds....   and nothing else.   I am trying to access threads regarding activities as well as my profile for updates.  Most often I use active to search and register for events but, I also enjoy the tips and info regarding specific training; running, cycling, etc. 

 

Thank you.

Mary
Nov 2, 2008 7:42 AM mabfarrar mabfarrar    says in response to mabfarrar:

Interestingly enough, as soon as I posted the above comment and went back to the homepage, I licked "my active" again and it took me directly to my profile..  maybe a random bug?  I tried and failed to reach the profile page several times before commenting on it the first time. 

Thanks again.
Nov 3, 2008 9:48 AM jspitzberg jspitzberg    says in response to mabfarrar:

Thanks for bringing this to our attention.  I'm glad it eventually worked. 

 

I haven't been able to replicate the problem myself, but we'll be sure to be mindful of this behavior and be on the look out for it.

 

Thanks again!

 

Jeremy
Nov 3, 2008 11:11 AM JeremyGThomas JeremyGThomas    says in response to mabfarrar:

I've noticed this happens in Firefox if you have "CoolIris" (http://www.cooliris.com/, formerly called PicLens) installed.  mabfarrar do you use Firefox by chance?

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