It's going to be hard for people to find the time to keep updating all these different web pages isn't it? Unless they can find student fans or something willing to do it for them. Does the internet really need another one of these sites though? I'm not so sure. My guess is it'll probably still be a success though.

I agree, I think it will have some success but I already do see some specific problems for the site and how it is positioning itself, but I am not going to elaborate on them here. Better they stumble on the problems themselves and then try and sort them out (like I've had to do too often over the years!)

The unity of the log in with the different sections is nice, and something this site is moving towards. But we're not fully there yet.

Eoghan

Its oddly named.

Check out what you see now when you follow that link. Eoghan got snared.

Hey everyone!

God ye are eager beavers, but it was actually good to get some unexpected feedback, so I might as well answer your questions about it.

Eoghan - thanks for the comments re: navigation. We wanted to revive Muse.ie for a range of reasons, one of them being that Myspace is sometimes a complete pain in the rear end to navigate and use. For instance, today I clicked on a link in a friends profile to send them a private message. It prompted me to login. I did. It then spat me over to the homepage... total pain in the ring.

Re: 'Will bands have time to manage another page' - the quick answer is, thats not what we're trying to achieve. Muse.ie won't be a social network. There will still be a strong focus on editorial including news, special seasonal microsites for festivals and special events, and of course the event listings, music reviews, event reviews, and charts. Users can contribute to these sections, and on all sections of the site users will be able to comment on and respond to this type of content.

We want to make it as easy as possible for bands to promote themselves, and for users to discover new music. For example, a band can sign up, create their profile page, add videos, photos and so on to help customise their page. But they can also add events to our event listings section, and every bit of user generated content is linked back to the profile of the user that submitted it.

So, lets say a user searches for events on a particular night in a particular location, then click to view the event details for a band you've never heard of. If this event was submitted by that particular band, you can click through to their profile page to read a bit more about them, ask them questions, view other events, or even see video of them live (if they've added it!) The user submitted content is just that, it's user submitted - not strictly typical 'social network' stuff.

We're not Myspace or Bebo, and don't want to be. The profile pages are simply a handy place to find out more about those who have contributed to the site. For instance, if you're reading a gig review submitted by a certain user, you're going to possibly want to view other reviews submitted by them - you can do this via their profile page.

One of the guys working with me on Muse.ie is a good friend and colleage, Karl Hussey - otherwise known as 1/4 of Future Kings of Spain. So his input is extremely important as we develop features which can help bands get their names out there and in touch with fans.

Hope this helps,

Hugh.

P.S. Let's not forget that Eoghan was the pioneer of user generated music sites in this country! Does anyone else remember the picture of him sitting in an inflatable chair in Temple Bar that appeared in a prominent business mag?

Hugh,

Cheers for the background info on the site and what you're aiming for with Muse. It's sure looking good and I for one am looking forward to seeing it roll out and evolve over time (and who knows, CLUAS may even - cough, splutter - 'borrow' the odd good idea from Muse!)

Muse will be a very welcome addition to the growing and diverse set of websites adressing the needs of Irish bands and music fans. So CLUAS wishes you the very best for its rollout and future!

Eoghan

PS - Ha ha! You remember that photo in the inflatable chair?! Boy that sure is a good few years back now. CLUAS has come on along way since those days, but there's still miles and miles for it to go. And THAT is the real fun of it.

PPS - You forgot to plug this back door to the Muse.ie log in page!

that's not a back door, that eh, a window ;-)

Tis live now, so no more sneaky peeks!

H