Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover. Delivered at the annual meeting of the University Research Magazine Association.

1. Starting Over:
nline Ma 10 keover
u r Magaz ine an O iversity • May 20
Gi ving Yo and Martha Te
rry, Bingha
mton Un
ker
Rachel Co

2. Before our makeover, we were like the frumpy
girl at the beginning of “What Not to Wear.”
We had a closet full of clothes, but nothing
that looked fresh or made us feel good.
Before
We were also maintaining two separate websites,
one for our research newsletter and another for
our annual research magazine. And while both
may once have been stylish, neither had seen a Before
significant update in about five years.
Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010

3. Before
Before
Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010

6. What was wrong with our sites?
• We were too rigid (chronological list of
stories, with no way to emphasize one
as more important than another).
• There were no entry points aside from
the headlines.
• We weren’t capitalizing on the excellent Before
work done by the campus photographer.
We knew we
• There was no easy way to post photos
or videos.
needed to
get a good
• The online version of the magazine haircut and
offered nothing different than you could buy a few
find in the print edition. The website new outfits,
was simply an expression of the print
at the very
product.
least. Before
Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010

7. Why redesign? How often do I need to do this?
Every two to four years is one guideline we’ve heard. But start by giving yourselves
a look in the “three-way mirror.” Does your site still look good? Is it still serving
your needs and the needs of your visitors? How does it compare to the sites you
consider your peers?
University of Missouri
as Oregon
Arkans State U
ity of niversity
Univers
Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010

8. We saw a 20 percent increase in unique visitors from
mid-2008 to mid-2009. Why mess with success? We
knew we could do better. We decided that we wanted
to do a better job of reaching the public, not just our
faculty and researchers at other institutions. So we
started to think about how we should look and what
we should offer as a news site.
New York Tim
es
zi ne CNN
Tim e Maga Popula
r Scien
ce
Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010

9. We made a list of things that our new site should have and should allow visitors
to do, and that list became our set of guiding principles for the redesign.
• News stories • Search function
• Slide shows or image galleries • Subscription button
• Videos • Comments section
• Faculty spotlights • RSS feed
• Easy sharing via e-mail and • The ability to schedule stories
sites like Facebook for future publication
• A “most popular” list
That’s when we knew we were
ready for a dramatic makeover,
not just a new pair of shoes.
Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010

10. Keeping it familiar
The new site needed to feel
like part of the family that also
includes our print magazine.
We drew inspiration from
the magazine’s TOC when
designing the landing page
of Discover-e. The magazine Binghamton ReseaRch
Binghamton University / State University of New York / 2010 research.binghamton.edu
banner and new Discover-e con te n ts
2
about Binghamton Research
38
cool model for a hot planet
Economist explores how
62
Probing public policy
New ideas about networks
3 international cooperation may reveal why programs
banner have a similar feel.
can mitigate climate change succeed or fail
messages
4 44 74
honors for early-career Diving into the data is climate change
scientists and engineers Computer scientists empower making us sick?
citizen scientists The answer is yes, and a
18 geographically based approach
50 can help fight diseases such as
clinic sets course for a cure malaria and swine flu
origins of the culture wars
Psychologist aims to eliminate
Dispute over evolution in the
social anxiety disorder, OCD
1920s paved the way for
78
ongoing debate Bookshelf
22
Web-friendly font families
a revolutionary idea 58 79
Historian’s new book breathes historian revisits a in Brief
life into debates of 1790s
battlefield of cold War
medicine 80
26
Gerald Kutcher walked away impact
Well connected from a career in cancer care
Nurse finds that girls are less to delve into military experiments,
were selected to match the
likely to be teen moms if their nuclear threats and informed
parents get involved in the consent
community
fe atu r e s
serif and san serif fonts used 44 Diving into the data
Computer scientists empower citizen scientists
in the print version. 12 30 54 66
Binghamton University / Binghamton ReseaRch / 2010
On the fly Earth on our minds An Rx for what Cultivating the
Biologist’s work may lead Cover Story: Innovations
ails alliances next generation
to ways of controlling in sustainability could save Partnerships built on
of innovators
insects that spread money, reduce greenhouse innovation lead to better In labs and far beyond,
disease or harm crops gases, boost national results for drug companies graduate students are vital
security and protect our to campus ecosystem
water supply from pollutants
10
Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010

11. Going shopping
Next, we developed three possible designs and showed them to
several small groups to gauge their reactions.
Wee kly edit
ion
May 21, 2009
discover-e
Weekly edition Search Disc
May 21, 2009 over-e archi
veS
Search Discover-e archiveS
insights a
nd innovat
ion s from Bin
ghamto n Universi
ty
May 21, 2009
discover-e discover-e InsIghts
blog
and Inno
froM BIn vatIons
ghaMton
Insights and innovations UnIversIt
from Binghamton Univers y
ity
feature
FeatureS n More Freatures Archives Feat ureS n
More Freatures
ur mind?
Archives
what’s on yo
neWS n More News Archives
New center to focus
Faculty SPotliGht n More Spotlights
New center to
computer scientist focus on Facu lty SPot
liGh t n More
most viewed
most searched on solar energy earns prestigious solar energy Spotlights
most e-mailed NsF grant Working tow
ard
Research at Binghamton Uni- ‘greener’
1. versity will help to harness the computers
2. power of cloud computing, Binghamton resea
3. resulting in lower costs for busi- rcher
Qinru Qiu has
receiv
4. nesses and revolutionizing every- NSF’s most prest ed the
day tasks such as shopping and igious
award for young
5. browsing the Web. n Read More work may lead
faculty. Her
to smaller
news
computers that
function
more efficiently
Professor in spotlight power.
and use less
with first novel for Working toward n Read More
t
tigious NsF gran adults
tist earns pres ‘greener’ computers
computer scien ss
will help to harne for
ergy amton University Liz Rosenberg, a poet and chil- MoS t PoP ular
us on solar en
costs Binghamton researcher Qinru
Research at Bingh computing, resulting in lower dren’s book author who teaches
foc such as most e-mailed
New center to ed Binghamton University thister for
the power of cloud everyday tasks Qiu has received the NSF’s most
most viewed
revolutionizing English at Binghamton Univer-
week businesses and Read more prestigious award for young 1. most searched
browsing the Web. sity, has written her first book for
shopping and ts faculty. Her work may lead to
tatives visit ersity’s Cen novel for adul adults. n Read More Federal representa 2.
Federal represen ion in funding for the Univ light with first Federal representatives visited Binghamton smaller computers that function tives visited Bingh
mill Professor in spot r who
en’s book autho n her
University this week to million in fundi amton University 3.
to announce $4 announce $4 million in funding for the more efficiently and use less ng for the Unive this week to anno
Read more , a poet and childr writte University’s Center for Autonomous rsity’s Center for unce $4
Solar Power. Liz Rosenberg n University, has Solar Power. n Read More University earns power. n Read More Autonomous Solar
Autonomous teaches Englis
h at Binghamto Power. n Read 4.
first book for adults
. Read more AAHrPP accreditation More
lty spotlight
5.
chives Read more Binghamton University has moSt PoPular
More News/Ar
facu
video n More Video Archives earned accreditation for its vide o n More
Video Archives
Human Subjects Protection e-mailed viewed searched
video
program from the Association
1. neW S hea dlin
rd for the Accreditation of Human
Working towa
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Research Protection Programs Archives
2. computer scien
Inc. n Read More tist earns pres
Research at Bingh tigious NsF gran
‘greener’ 3. amton University t
the power of cloud will
businesses and computing, result help to harness
Professor’s technology ing in lower costs
computers
4. revolutionizing
everyday tasks for
and browsing such as shopping
outsmarts Google the Web. n Read More
5. Professor in spot
archer Qinru Binghamton’s Weiyi Meng has light with first
Binghamton rese
Professor Goldstaub explains his Professor Gold
t novel for adul
the NSF’s mos
Professor Goldstaub explains his pioneered metasearch-engine staub explains Liz Rosenberg
creative process n Watch , a poet and childr ts
Qiu has received for young creative process n Watch creative proce his Professor Gold
technology that harnesses the ss n English at Bingh en’s book autho
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rd Watch staub explains amton University, r who teaches
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Share Discover-e his
to power of small search engines creative proce adults. n Read has written her
work may lead ss n Watch More first book for
faculty. Her tion Photo GallerieS n More Photo Galleries to come up with results that are >
smaller com puters that func Archives more accurate and more com- More News/Ar
y and use less chives n Read
more efficientl staub explains
his plete than Google’s. n Read More More
Professor Gold SuBScriBe to Discover-e Pho to Gall
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creative proce Photo Galler ies Archives
other neWS headlineS >
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n of Research at Binghamton University. Images used
throughout this site are copyright protected. n View online
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Starting Over: Giving Your Magazine an Online Makeover
Rachel Coker and Martha Terry, Binghamton University • May 2010