3kworld lifts its face, access

Community Web portal improves navigation, expands solution data

Recognizing that no Web site is ever truly finished, 3kworld.com rolled out a new version of the 3000’s community Web portal designed to improve access to its online resources.

Just completing its second year of service, 3kworld has a new look and feel, a new advisory board and a section rededicated to HP e3000 solutions. Web site chief Sheri Drucker of Client Systems, which operates the site in conjunction with founders and content providers, said the changes reflect a big shift. 3kworld means to help the firms that have so long helped the 3000 community: tool providers.

“The focus is on the fact that we want to help out the tool and middleware software guys, and get the visibility for them,” she said. “It benefits the user and it benefits the provider. Applications drive things, but the tools and middleware people make it all a lot easier to use. We’re really excited to work more with these guys.”

Changes in the site include replacing ICP-based front-page navigation with a Community Center panel on the site’s home page, designed to highlight user groups, the career center, surveys and the solutions center.

The new Solutions interface lets customers search for providers by company type, market segment, country or state, as well as alphabetically. Directory listings have been expanded to include address data and descriptions of products and companies. Free listings are available.

The Solutions Center “gives the tool vendors some visibility without spending any money,” Drucker said.

The Career Center is generating jobs, she added. “There’s a lot of people utilizing that center,” with companies posting jobs available and people posting their resumes. The jump station format of the site’s prior version has been replaced with clearer navigation, pushing links to such services out to the site’s front page.

Some changes are more subtle, but are the result of requests. The site has dropped all animated banners, for example. Drucker said surveys are driving many of these changes. She said more than 5,000 colleagues are signed up for the site.

The changes to 3kworld also reflect the roots of the Web site, wrapped around Web engineering implemented by the technical team at Client Systems spin-off Collabratek. This founding management team of 3kworld revisited the project to renovate the site; its technical content continues to be managed by 3000 technical expert Chris Gauthier.

The site has also formed an advisory board to counsel on content and access issues. Initial members include former CSY general manager Harry Sterling, HP 3000 training maven and consultant Paul Edwards, SIG-COBOL co-chair Jeanette Nutsford, HP CSY engineer Jeff Vance, HP 3000 consultant and Solutions Symposium founder Bill Lancaster, and 3000 NewsWire editor Ron Seybold.

“We’re really excited about the makeup of this board,” Drucker said. “This will help with future directions of the content, as well as navigation.”

The remake is the second in as many years for 3kworld, and Drucker said “this is more significant than the last one. We’ve added more functionality.”