Network Nav - Channel 10 example

Check out this link to 'newish' Channel 10 template
What NOT to do with your network navigation and advertising methinks
http://www.ten.com.au/ten/1706.html

- strange multiple tiered advertising that breaks the navigation spatially (note just had another look and the triple layer adverts have gone now, perhaps it was a glitch)
- unclear repetition of the navigation item / title

Not wanting to come over all self righteous with this post - but sometimes its useful to see examples of what really does not work. This really looks as if someone at 10 was getting a bit greedy and wanted to find another banner ad spot without regard for overall experience.

I am currently seeking out examples of global navs with a lot of options that DO work - any suggestions welcome as comments to this blog post.

A couple of other potential user experience and overall design issues for C 10.
- Hidden search box top right... dark colours blend it into the background of the template.
- Large amount of wasted real estate above the fold
http://www.ten.com.au/ten/talk-play.html
- alternating height of heading areas - in same section
e.g. 1:http://www.ten.com.au/ten/talk-play.html
e.g. 2: http://www.ten.com.au/ten/talknplay-forum.html

On a postitive note - the part at the base of their page where they expand on the content available in each section is a nice way of displaying a lot of options at a glance - at a part of the page users may be expected to look to navigate to another area or away from the site altogether.

MySpace - instead of your actual website

Last week, i saw an ad for jeans on the back of a bus. Not so unusual. It had a picture of a bored and pasty youth, a Wrangler jeans logo, and a url. This one: http://www.myspace.com/wranglerjeans. Apparently, Wrangler is male, 101 years old and would rather not discuss his sexual orientation. His interests are a bunch of photos that, when clicked on, open the MySpace page again in a new window. Wrangler has a website: http://www.wrangler.com but it seems they want the kids to interact with them via their MySpace page. I think this comment (from Melbourne band The Emergency) sums up the success of this particular effort:

Hello there a pair of jeans!

I remember when I got Wranglers for $35 at Myer, just a few short years ago. They seemed to be made much better then.

Oh well, you're much more popular now, I guess being popular is the most important thing in the world.

Another comment thanks Wrangler for the ad. Now, businesses running ad campaigns in social spaces isn't unusual, but it is generally unpopular with communities. I understand that businesses are experimenting in this area and most haven't found ways to offer something of value to the community that also promotes their product. I'm just surprised that Wrangler chose to use its external poster advertising to promote this page. I'm guessing it didn't pay off.