Don’t Miss Anything Community Information Service

Don't Miss Anything is an information service in open beta. The site is supposed to use the power of community to act as a kind of "head's up" service for things you want to be notified of. The theory behind it is that you post your list of things you are interested in knowing about, and other users report any news or events having to do with those things.

The site classifies your interests into InfoServices (the actual items you are seeking notification about) and Subject Pages (larger topics your InfoService requests are categorized under). Each time you list a new InfoService request it gets flagged on the home page as new so that other users have a chance to see it. It helps to categorize your InfoService requests under Subject Pages, as these are more searchable on the site.

My first sign that the idea might need a little fleshing out came when I saw "whenever I sneeze" in the top three of the "Most Recent InfoServices" list. If the site depends on user generated information to function, they need to attract a caliber of user who will post something more than novelty items like "whenever I sneeze" as their InfoService request.

They also have a point system in place to reward users who report messages in response to InfoServices they see from others, although they are quite vague about the rewards as yet. You do not have to be a member to report messages, though you do have to be a member to make InfoService requests. If you are reporting a message your rewards include a small place to advertise your site or service next to your message (creating a huge risk of populating the site with nothing but spam), being asked to confirm message reports less often, and becoming a "top reporter" with points attached (with no word on what the points are for yet).

Browsing the site, I was captured by the lack of substance that is available right now. I realize they are in beta, but the available information left a lot to be desired. Entering in "Music" on a broad Service Page search you would expect to find many, many selections from concerts to CD releases, and what you get is one sad little InfoService topic on CDs that is even too vague to be helpful. The content just isn't there yet.

Dont' Miss Anything misses out on a variety of other things also. Unlike the similar-but-different sites it takes its inspiration from such as 43 Things, Don't Miss Anything lacks intuitive navigation of any kind. Sites like 43 Things are organized in a variety of ways, from tags to broad categories, allowing you several chances to find what you are looking for.

Don't Miss Anything doesn't seem to be organized in any way at all, really. You can't really browse through all of the Subject Pages. You can't see individual users. There isn't a master list of InfoServices. The content is thin. There is no way to associate yourself with a location to bring more place-relevant content to your door. There is no profile option to help others know what you like and help them submit relevant messages to your requests.

The design put me off immediately. It is busy and disorganized, though it does have the ubiquitous Web 2.0 blue based color scheme we are all growing so tired of. It reminded me of a business site trying to be hip and failing miserably. I didn't like the look of the site or the navigation options at all.

Don't Miss Anything has a strong concept, but a site won't succeed on concept alone. You have to back it up with solid structure, usability and content. Don't Miss Anything falls short of the mark on all categories. The best bet for Don't Miss Anything to be a success is to find a way to attract more and better users, with more personalization to help make the content valuable and usable. Hopefully it stays in beta for a while longer to work out the kinks before any major alpha release gets planned.

Note: Edited 12/7/2007 to correct color scheme spelling error.