CS 73N Peer Review:
Yuriko Tamura
(by Dian Rosanti)
Your project is very interesting because it relates to the ever-growing industry of online and electronic games. Many of my friends are fantasy football players, and learning about a different fantasy sport has been a lot of fun.
I read your business plan on your website, and it is obvious that you have a sound structure. You stated your goals very clearly, and took many factors into account. Also, I am sure that readers will especially appreciate the “Qualifications” section of your business plan. I always like to know from whom I am learning! It is good that you mentioned in your website that you are a beginner player yourself. I believe that this will enable you to reach out to a wide audience, since other beginners and first-time players will probably feel more comfortable to seek help from someone who is playing at the same level. Hopefully you can encourage interactivity not only from beginners, but also from more experienced players who are willing to share their skills. In addition to the FAQ section, perhaps you could set up a forum for the exchange of playing tips and other relevant information.
As you have mentioned in your plan, the site is currently located in a Stanford webspace. If the project grows, you may want to consider relocating, simply for accessibility reasons. The project is not Stanford-affiliated, and I feel that hosting outside the Stanford webspace will enable you to reach out to a wider audience (beyond the Stanford community). Web-hosting may result in additional costs, but there are many free hosts, and like you said, advertisements are also an alternative.
I also enjoyed reading “The Future of Fantasy”. You raised interesting points concerning information property and it was very interesting to learn the connection between real-life and internet baseball. However, because the written piece is quite long, I would suggest that you change the layout to make it seem less lengthy. Perhaps you could insert more headings, so if readers prefer, they can skim the headings without losing the general idea of the information that you are trying to communicate.
In general, your website is quite user-friendly, and I did not have a hard time navigating it. In terms of layout though, I would like to see a design that is more visually stimulating. I know that a black background is easy to work with, and I definitely like the simplicity of a black-and-white design. I was actually thinking of using a similar layout for my website. But if you were to add some color, or maybe more visually striking graphics to complement the black, that would be great too! You can just make a few changes to certain parts of your site (not necessarily ALL of the webpages) and it would already make a significant difference to its appearance.
One last thing, I love the game log section of your website! It is a great platform for communication with your audience because it is informal, and it gives your site a much more personal feel. I think it will be fulfilling for the readers to be updated on your progress in a game that is of mutual interest for both the readers and the writer. Just remember to consistently update your entries, and avoid “disappearing” for extended periods of time, because it may detract from your audience’s incentive to return to your site!
