Just when you thought Netscape was a poser for jackin’ Digg’s style. Check out this list of more than 220 Digg clones.
And one clone that’s not on the list is Steve Yelvington/Morris Digital’s newly revamped FanaticZone.com.
This afternoon at Morris DigitalWorks, where I do my day job, we’re launching a Web 2.0 social filter metasite about pro and collegiate sports. I alluded to this project last week.
FanaticZone.com is a remix of some current cutting-edge ideas combined with a niche topical focus. You’ll recognize some of the ideas from Newsvine, Digg, Beta.netscape.com, and from various RSS readers and aggregators.
When you click through, FZ will take you all over the Internet. That’s the point of a metasite — it’s not about publishing content, it’s about finding content. Wherever it may be, including photos at Flickr and videos at YouTube.
Not many news orgs are doing this. And very, very few are doing it this way…
This is a six-week project. You heard it right, six weeks. Nik Wilets, who heads the MDX Lab at Morris DigitalWorks, designed it, led the project, and did some of the coding. Stefanie Rodriguez, an intern, did the bulk of coding and integration work. It is built on the Drupal open-source platform using some contributed modules and some custom work. Underneath is the standard LAMP stack.
Six weeks is an important figure. We’re learning that fast development of a flawed product is infinitely more valuable in the long run than slow development that aims for perfection.
We’re always going to fall short of perfection. It’s more important to discover quickly whether we’re directionally correct. Discover your mistakes early in the process. Don’t fear failure. If you’re going to fear something, fear your own hubris.
This is an extraordinarily hard lesson to learn for those of us who come from businesses with defensive cultures. But it’s an important one.
Totally badass. (Emphasis added to the previous quote to enhance the badass-ocity.)