on November 11, 2009 / by Downtown Dallas Inc. / in Arts and Culture, Blog Posts, DDI News, Things To Do
As many of you have probably heard through various avenues, we’re about to relaunch the “new and improved” yourDspot.com. Almost 3 years ago we launched the site with the idea of it being solely a GuideLive of sorts, for Downtown specifically. However, as time moved on, technology changed and the way that people use the web morphed into a more interactive form vs. informational only. The result, sadly enough, was a poor web site that currently is not user-friendly nor the least bit interactive.
So we spent 6 months going through a redesign with new components, testing what works, doesn’t work and what folks want to get out of a site like this. Launching partially on November 19, yourDspot.com will feature these new assets:
- Comment and rate functions for every listing in Shopping, Dining, Hotels, Arts and Culture, Parks and Landmarks, Residences, etc.
- Video and Photo Gallery where users can upload their experiences in Downtown, also will have the comment and rate functions.
- “My Downtown” a profile of sorts that will be created for each user that wants to leave comments, rate or upload videos and photos. Through their account they can have “favorites,” basically a catalog of places you want to go, stay or visit. This will serve much like a “Wish List” function that most online shopping sites have, to where the next time you log in you can see these items and decide where you want to go that night, etc. Through the site you can also browse other members with similar interests and see if there are place sthey’ve been, reviewed that sound like something new you’d like to try out. However, there will be no intrasite messaging like a Facebook or MySpace, profiles will only have email addresses where you can contact these people if they make the email public.
- Interactive events calendar with commenting, rating and saving to favorite options.
These are the main components being debuted. However, in 1Q 2010 we will be launching a mobile app to compliment the site, so whenever you’re out and about and need a restaurant to go to or checking out contact information for reservations, you can access the app for free.
We’re really excited about this site and is sure to be a much better and user-friendly site than before. Be sure to check it out and let us know all your feedback. Stay tuned for more info on the exact launch time on the 19th!
-Kristy
