New Website Design Coming in January

Sneak peek: You won’t find this online, but here’s a glimpse of the new AAPG website design.

As we told you last month, something very new – and very big – is coming soon to the AAPG website.

Our look will be noticeably different in January, and when it happens it will be sudden and fast – there will be no gradual move from the current www.aapg.org to the new.

And we’re doing this, of course, so that all members have a better website experience. We want this to be the perfect place for you to begin finding, talking, collaborating and contributing more to your career, this Association and the petroleum geosciences.

AAPG does a lot of things – and we want to get the information about every single one of them into the hands of our membership and the world.

The number one thing that people use the Internet for is to find information.

These has been the driving force behind the redesign of the AAPG website.

However, your web team recognizes the things AAPG does and has available to its membership aren’t the Association’s only focus.

First and foremost, it is the science that inspired the forming of AAPG. It is the science that drives the work of its members. It is the science that their careers are all about.

The science is the star of the new website.

There will be a feature page specific to scientific disciplines. It will feature articles from not only the publicly available EXPLORER but also from the scientific papers presented at meetings, articles published in books and the BULLETIN, and as the discussion forums develop, the content that is being shared there.

Protected, of course, but still pointing out its availability.

All content on the site will be categorized in such a way to cause events, training, information and even people sort into these disciplines.

Turn It On

For the most useful science to float to the top, users need to register for an account on the site.

Registration will activate features and accessibility.

One such feature is the ability to rank the information made available. Only Association members will be able to use this feature.

Ranking is a little easier to understand in practice, but let me attempt to explain the importance of this critical feature.

You’ve seen the “Like” button on Facebook, right?

It simply tells other people that the comment posted caught your interest, made you think, made you laugh – frankly, “made you look.”

When you “Like” something you are recommending to others it is worth their time to look, too.

It also keeps fresh the post you noted so it remains within the current feed longer.

Ranking in the new site will provide members the opportunity to do this on articles, lecturers, events and, yes, even in the discussion forums and searches.

However, unlike Facebook, it also allows you to vote if the information was unhelpful the information found was. A way to tell others they might not find what they were looking for within that content.

In other words, the ranking system goes both ways.

As more people weigh in about site content, the membership will begin to shape the site’s content.

It will reflect what is most important and most useful to the membership all around the world – or at least to those who chose to register on the site.

Don’t like being told what to look at?

No problem.

Simply turn this feature off in your profile.

Bragging Rights

That non-member user who registers to use the site will not be able to rank the content, but they will benefit from the ranking. They even will be able to read comments and other feedback – they just won’t be able to leave their own imprint on the information provided.

We hope your colleagues and peers will become jealous of this feature and make a decision to join the Association, so they too can benefit from the world perspective about the information available.

As you watch the evolution of the site you’ll want to share with those around you about what you find, what you read, what you know because you have the AAPG website as a resource.

Good browsing!