Huffington Post Review

The Huffington Post considers itself to be an Internet newspaper, and in many ways this seems to be a good description of its content. It has a centerpiece front page, with an important news story featured prominently so that all viewers will read it. It has different sections that focus on different kinds of news, like the Politics, Entertainment or Style sections. There are style palettes, standardized formatting, and the other trappings of a regulated news source. The site even has the same type of in-body ads that support print newspapers.

But there is much more to the site than merely being an electronic version of a common print newspaper. It is filled with multimedia - photos, slide shows and videos dominate the website - as well as a host of other web devices. Links, RSS feeds, search functions and menus can be found on all of the pages - nearly overwhelming the reader with their potential functionality.

Interestingly enough, there is also plenty of content that is not produced by the Huffington Post staff at all. It is also something of a public forum. There are extensive user blogs (some are even featured via the editorial sections!) comment sections, where registered users can post their reactions to news stories (though they are unfortunately limited in their ability to interact with each other rather than the original story). There are also links to content produced by other news organizations, such as this CNN video, plenty of AP photos, or even links off the site altogether.

However, while this visual vibrancy is refreshing after the staidness of the standard print newspaper, there are also some truly bizarre parts of the website that don't seem to work well. The mass variety of content is incredible, but it also makes for a confusing diversity in tone. Some of the stories are serious, considered news pieces, others are entertaining puff pieces, while others are satirical and should not be taken seriously. Without clear and obvious indications of which is which it can become a difficult and confusing way to look at news.

So in summation, while the Huffington Post website does appear to be a good one, it also seems to have some room to grow. The Wikipedia-esque level of cross-linking and depth in the site is fun and engaging (there must be six different ways to find a specific story, each good in its own way), but much of the functionality is poorly explained (if at all). And while it is good to have a news source that is willing to show its readers more than the small amount of information that its staff can produce, the multiplicity of sources can also prove quite confusing.

After perusing the website for this class review, I plan to continue coming back and using the site for my own news needs. However, I probably won't be recommending the site to my less computer-literate friends and family. The site's functionality (such as its openness to Google Reader and other aggregate generators) is fantastic, but it also seems to get in the way of readability.