by Walter T. Runn

Created on: June 08, 2010   Last Updated: June 09, 2010

For years, I have been looking for an efficient video network website on which to watch TV shows. I tried to use Youtube and a few Chinese sites, YouKu and TuDou, but none worked well. After much searching, I thought that I would not be able to watch the episodes I had missed on TV. However, that was when I heard about the website www.Hulu.com.  When I started to use it, I found that Hulu is a great example of a video network, because it is legal yet abundant, efficient, and simple, with a controlled uploading system.

To determine how efficient and useful this website would be, I used a list of five criteria to evaluate this website: quality and design, accuracy and relevance, credibility and authority, objectivity or lack of bias, and usability and coverage. Out of all the many confusing, complex, illegal, and overwhelming video networks online, Hulu the only one that met all of the criteria of a good website.

The first of the five criteria, quality and design, demands that both a website's content and design cooperate with each other in order to be able to deliver itself as an effective website. The criterion states that the quality and design of the website must be efficient and simple, yet entertaining enough for people to stay interested in the site. Hulu meets these criterions effectively in three different ways.

 First, the suggested links from the main page are relevant and easy to access. Normally, there are six to seven different slides that slowly switch in and out after each other, and each slide bears the picture of the most recent episode of a popular TV show that has been uploaded to the site. Next to each picture, there is a little box that is labeled “Watch Now!” under a brief synopsis of the episode and the show, which re-directs the visitor to that specific link. There are no complicated series of links the visitor needs to go through to reach his or her destination, nor is there too much information that may drive the visitor away from the page.

Second, the basic setup of Hulu is very simple and easy to follow. There are sections that are labeled in big letters for the important links; for example, TV and movie directories are in big letters, and there are also boxes that lead to links that have a list of the most popular shows, the most anticipated airings, and the most visited channel listings, all in big and visible boxes on the top of the website. Third, these tabs and directories display a large selection

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>