Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Welcome to the new VegasHappensHere.Com!

Wow!

I didn't even know we had put it online already, but the amazing Sparky of Las Vegas plugged the thing in and the lights are all on so here we are! What do you think? I know it may take some getting used to, but it was time to kick it up a notch around here and that Holly Madison photo couldn't be wasted! (Maybe I should take a page from the vermin Perez Hilton and rename myself Holy Madison or something...)

A word about the thought process behind the way VegasHappensHere.Com is now branded. My inspiration over the past several years has been Nikki Finke, the L.A. Weekly columnist who has turned herself into probably the most important journalist in the Hollywood business thanks to her blog, Nikki Finke's Deadline Hollywood Daily. In fact, when I decided to change the name from The Strip Podcast Blog to Vegas Happens Here, I did so after considering renaming it Deadline Vegas as an homage to Finke before realizing just how derivative that would seem.

So the content of this site remains exactly the same. You'll find breaking news and incisive commentaries about the Vegas entertainment and business scene as well as photo journeys into places that others don't get access to. This site remains a portal for "The Strip" podcast and "The Strip Sense" columns in the Las Vegas Weekly and a space for musings about my personal and family endeavors, too.

Oh, and here's a tease: You're about to see a bit more of me on TV. When it comes to pass, you'll understand why this site needed an overhaul. Stay tuned!

Obviously, there will be more tweaks to come, some fun new graphical ideas and widgets and such. And we welcome your advice! Thanks again to Sparky! Did I give out his link? Oh, I did? Well, can't do so too often. And here's Sparky's claim to fame:

Posted by THE STRIP PODCAST at 10:19 AM
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11 comments:

Thomas from Germany said...

The site looks great, Steve. Best of luck with this new venture.

September 9, 2009 at 12:31 PM
Michael said...

I like the redesign, although I'm not a huge fan of black backgrounds, I do like the text choice for it. I also agree that Holly pic is definitely not to be wasted.

September 9, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Anonymous said...

Yup, it may be fancier and prettier, but I don't like reading on the black backgrounds either.

Good luck with all the other changes you're hinting at, whatever they turn out to be!

September 9, 2009 at 12:53 PM
THE STRIP PODCAST said...

The trouble is, with a flag like that, what other color could the background be? No, really. I'm serious. Anyone have any thoughts? And hi to Thomas in Germany -- very long time, no hear!!!

September 9, 2009 at 1:19 PM
Anonymous said...

There's a reason Google uses the colors they do -- white background, blue links, green highlights, black text.

You want an honest opinion? I've never liked your colors. It's A LOT better than it was, but I'd at least switch to a white background.

September 9, 2009 at 9:19 PM
Unknown said...

The flag looks great with black. And it's Vegas, the city of lights, the city of the night -- you want bright on black. The white and light blue type on black is easy on the eyes; the red may take a little time to get used to, but it stands out. I think you're right, Steve: the flag is made for a black background...I don't know how you'd do otherwise, but then graphics aren't my thing.

September 9, 2009 at 11:03 PM
D said...

Cool site. Love to look closer at the strip image and see 'in' references.

Also find it cool that Wynn tag cloud is bigger than Adelson. Hmmm!

September 10, 2009 at 12:25 AM
martyseattle said...

Yikes! Steve I've been coming regularly for a long time but this design hurts my poor middle aged eyes. I'll probably still come from time to time but almost certainly less often.
best of luck going forward.

September 10, 2009 at 2:23 AM
Jamie said...

Whether you know it or not, you're actually making an environmental impact with the new layout (tiny as that impact may be). There's been a lot of stuff written on how white text on black background uses fewer watts than the reverse. Here's a starting point link: http://ecoiron.blogspot.com/2007/01/black-google-would-save-3000-megawatts.html

So, haters are gonna hate, but you can just claim you're being green!

September 10, 2009 at 8:29 AM
Anonymous said...

The site looks AWESOME! Huge improvement and plenty of sites, especially Vegas related, that use dark BG and light text.

Many adjust their monitors for those glary white pages with dark text that screws the colors for everything else from pics to video.

Google it and calibrate your monitor to display standards and see how well you like those white pages. The dark is much easier on the eyes and I'd rather see what an image really looks like.

September 10, 2009 at 12:25 PM
robertw477 said...

Big improvement. I like the branding changes. The Holly pic looks a little weird over there but you can rotate various images. The site has good contrast and is sharp. The top banner is a little large. I might consider making it a little thinner.

Rob in South Fla.

September 13, 2009 at 6:32 PM

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