The Web is not a printing press

Theorion.com had a couple of instructive examples this weekend of how to use the power and versatility of the Web.

On Friday, Yzel Romo put together a nice preview story about a KZFR benefit concert that split the story into a description of the event and a sidebar about who was going to perform. That's classic Web design, giving the reader bite-sized pieces in an attractive package.

The package could have been even better, though, had it used the most basic of Web tools: the hyperlink. The sidebar (at right) could have given visitors a much better idea of what the concert was going to be like this:

Ha'Penny Bridge, a Northern California Celtic music band with members from the Chico area. They recently appeared in the Chico World Festival last year.

Ali Battaglia and the Musical Brewing Company are inspired by rock 'n' roll of the '60s and '70s. ...

Jeff Pershing is a Chico State alumn(us), singer, songwriter and guitarist...The Jeff Pershing Band is influenced by....

Wolf Thump is a samba troupe with many performers....

The page could have added another dimension if, instead of links, the page designer had embedded videos:



The other story, a roundup from the Inline Hockey Team's tournament in Hamilton City over the weekend, was put together by Alan Cuevas (reporter) and Riley Mundia (photographer). 
The page features:
- a text story broken into pieces (game by game)
- a photo gallery of Riley's images from the game, and
- an embedded YouTube video. 

This effort shows an editor and staff attuned to the storytelling possibilities of the Web. I'm hoping to see a lot more like it this semester!