As a wise sage once said, "It's time to change when it's time to change." And even though that sage—the illustrious (and squeaky-voiced) Peter Brady—is now married to a girl half his age on a VH1 reality show, we should still take heed and listen. 'Cause according to you readers, the revamped Watch with Kristin section still needs a few nips and tucks to get it to where it needs to be.
In the two weeks since the relaunch of E! Online and the new Watch with Kristin section, hundreds of you have given feedback. The good news is that the response (particularly via email) has been mostly positive, but there are also some issues with the new format that seem to be causing serious frustration.
And since momma can't bear the thought of losing even one of her kids (or becoming the new janitor in charge of mopping up Ryan Seacrest's dressing room), I want to address your top concerns now and let you know what we’re doing about them now, because as always, this section is all about you.
Top 10 Complaints About the New WWK Section—and How We're Fixing Them
1. I miss the chat transcripts!
When I found out the chat would be ending (which was not in my control), I thought the new WWK feature called Hot Piece of A’s (in which I have been answering your Q’s) would fill the void. But the truth is, everyone (myself included) misses the bejeezus out of our Tuesday morning chat transcripts! They were longer, they were juicier, and they were just...better. And so, while unfortunately it is not within my power to bring back the live chat, I can do the next best thing and—drumroll, please—bring back the chat-transcripts format!
Starting tonight, and every Monday night, I will be posting a "Live-ly Chat" for you, with answers to all your burning TV questions. It will read exactly like the chat transcripts used to—same length, same breakdown (Spoiler-Free Zone versus Spoiler Zone), same content, etc. The only difference is that because it is not live, everyone (even people with work and/or school) will get a chance to submit a question by clicking on the Ask Kristin button at left.
P.S. And don't forget, for live interaction (that is far more personal and scoopy and spoilery than anything we've done before!), I'll also be picking a show each week to watch with you on the message boards. This week, it will be Grey’s Anatomy at 9 p.m. PT on Thursday.
2. I miss the old Friday column.
Me, too. So, while I'll still continue to post content throughout the week, I also will be posting a "columny thing" (with interviews, set visits, etc.) every Friday.
3. The new design is too busy/confusing.
Our production team is working on a simplified/improved design for this section this very moment. I can't promise you this will happen soon (since WWK is only one piece of a very large and very new machine), but please know that it is in the works and that we have taken all your requests to heart. In the meantime, the content will be streamlined a bit to make it easier to navigate. And who knows, you might get used to a few of the things that currently annoy you. Hey, stranger things have happened!
4. I can't figure out what’s NEW on the WWK main page.
Since E! Online is all new, it has experienced some serious technological kinks/growing pains. The biggest technical snafu in the Watch with Kristin section has been that items on the main page—and also Korbi’s Quickie—have been inexplicably disappearing, reappearing and reordering themselves. Yes, David Blane has nothing on WWK! Obviously, this weird reshuffling has been frustrating and has made it hard for you readers to figure out what you've already read. But the good news is that, as of today, this problem appears to have been fixed. So, it should now be easy to know what is new on the WWK main page: The newest item posts at the very top and bumps the second-newest one down.
5. I want a direct link to the Watch with Kristin message boards! And a Next button at the end of each story!
These are both getting fixed right now. In the meantime, in the message boards section on the main page, you can click on the words Watch with Kristin in any thread to go directly to the WWK message board. As for getting to the next story, I’m putting in a link at the end of each story, along with related links to similar content.
6. I love/hate the Tease-o-Rama!
Some of you love this feature. Others of you want it to die a miserable, torturous death. So, a compromise: I still will be doing the Tease-o-Rama feature, just not every week.
7. I think the Redux and Recap should be in the message boards.
I suppose these features are primarily discussions of an episode, so I can see how they might be a better fit for the message boards. We'll try them in the boards this week—and you guys can let me know what you prefer.
8. I don't get the Recommend thing! And the Comments don't work!
Recommend is a site-wide issue that is currently being addressed. The comments should be working now. (Please email me at tvdiva@eonline.com if you have any further problems.)
9. I love the new daily ratings rundown, but I think it should have its own section.
We are really hoping to get this, and it should happen. For the time being, you can find all daily ratings stories by the prefix Ratings Decoder, and we'll also have links at the bottom to the most recent ratings stories, so they’ll be easier to find.
10. I miss the Vine show! I want the Vine transcripts back!
The Watch with Kristin Vine Show (which also is getting revamped) will go live every Monday morning. As for the transcripts, we unfortunately cannot, at this time, transcribe every single WKK show and video clip on the Vine without requiring medical attention. However, well, should any of you kind souls happen to have a solid DSL connection and a little bad karma you want to shake, let’s just say I know you'd be very popular on the message boards if you were to post transcripts of the video clips there for all the WWK world to see.