new top gear website

[sl55 amg]

there is an all new official topgear website! (well, a revamp), it is primarily for the magazine but there are plenty of clarkson reviews and comments, a selection of classic top gear videos to view as well as loads of wallpaper and pictures. take a look at www.topgear.com

[jarborra]

Finally! Thanks for letting us know.

As a fan of both the TV show and the magazine, I find it very annoying to have to switch back and forth between the two sites. In general, I find the magazine site better and easier to use. The TV show site is quite amateurish and is full of broken links, missing information and doesn't seem to be updated. For example, they have details of the most recent show, but nothing on the earlier shows in the season although they have recaps of (most) of the season 4 and season 5 shows.

That's why I come here for my Top Gear info!

[justin syder]

"Oh my God, there's so much f*cking wind!!!" - Me, riding in my friend's custom-built Westfield.

Hey jarborra, I have episode guides and Im currently updating them. Check them out in my sig.

By this Sat the latest I will be done and you will see more info for older 5thG and the current TG and other changes.

[jarborra]

Originally Posted by justin syder

Hey jarborra, I have episode guides and Im currently updating them. Check them out in my sig.

That's a great page, thanks for pointing me to it. Now I can check which episodes I missed and need to...ehm...find somewhere.

I agree the "Best Of's" are confusing. I bought one Best of Season 1 & 2 DVD on Amazon and got another freebie DVD on the cover of one of the magazines last year but I think the material overlaps a bit.

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by sl55 amg

there is an all new official topgear website! (well, a revamp), it is primarily for the magazine but there are plenty of clarkson reviews and comments, a selection of classic top gear videos to view as well as loads of wallpaper and pictures. take a look at www.topgear.com

I should point out, this is the magazine site, it has nothing to do with the TV programme, or the public service site.

[Electrastar~Indochine]

Public service site, is that like those old "Charley says" public service announcements?

Yes, I am showing my age !!!

[moo]

Originally Posted by bbc.co.uk/topgear/

I should point out, this is the magazine site, it has nothing to do with the TV programme, or the public service site.

interesting you say that, I thought the new site was going to synchronise the magazine & the prog's identity a little - hence the tv prog overview tab to say what was on that week, also the video clips are straight from the programme. So really it does have something to do with the programme albeit minor.

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by moo

interesting you say that, I thought the new site was going to synchronise the magazine & the prog's identity a little - hence the tv prog overview tab to say what was on that week, also the video clips are straight from the programme. So really it does have something to do with the programme albeit minor.

topgear.com is operated, and paid for by BBC Worldwide, who also own Top Gear magazine.

As part of the agreement between the BBC and BBC Worldwide, topgear.com are able to licence clips from the programme as they wish. The public service site, can, under certain restrictions, publish any clip they like for free.

The two sites cannot merge (however much sense that would make, and trust me, it would make a lot of sense) because of the way the BBC works.

Still, there is room for both, but bbc.co.uk/topgear/ doesn't have any adverts

[jeffy777]

^^ Will bbc.co.uk/topgear/ be updated any time soon?

[SL65]

Originally Posted by jeffy777

^^ Will bbc.co.uk/topgear/ be updated any time soon?

It certainly needs to be
This new site looks much better and easier to navigate though it still flooded with huge and annoying flashswf adds

[Leppy]

I cam into this thread thinking that the people at BBC had made their own Top Gear Forum to compete with this one.

[moo]

Originally Posted by bbc.co.uk/topgear/

topgear.com is operated, and paid for by BBC Worldwide, who also own Top Gear magazine.

As part of the agreement between the BBC and BBC Worldwide, topgear.com are able to licence clips from the programme as they wish. The public service site, can, under certain restrictions, publish any clip they like for free.

The two sites cannot merge (however much sense that would make, and trust me, it would make a lot of sense) because of the way the BBC works.

Still, there is room for both, but bbc.co.uk/topgear/ doesn't have any adverts

I knew all that, but my point was they were acknowledging the links with the programme, which in my opinion is better for the broader audience as it makes tg.com a bit more of a 'one stop shop'.

Don't mean to tread on your toes old chap but I find the programme website a bit underutilised and agreeing with jeffy777 it could also do with updating sometime soon.

[Webmonkey]

Hey, I know what you mean. And without wishing to cause an outbreak of violins, the main problem with bbc.co.uk/topgear/ is money. And of course, there aren't many staff on it. In fact, many is a total over statement because there is about 1/2 a person working on it.

Basically, each week, we update the This Week page, with a summary of the programme. We also update the Power Laps (although this needs some more work at the moment, because of staff holidays etc) and the Star Laps page.

Then, once a month we update the desktop calendar, and some time, we would love to put up more video clips.

Now, when I say we, I bascially mean me. And I'm working on a bundle of other stuff at any one time too.

Don't forget, I love Top Gear, and I wish we have the funding to do much more.

I'll update the archive soon, so people can see recaps, but FYI, you can read all of this seasons content using:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/series_6/

I'll link these into the archive this week, promise.

[moo]

Originally Posted by bbc.co.uk/topgear/

Hey, I know what you mean. And without wishing to cause an outbreak of violins, the main problem with bbc.co.uk/topgear/ is money. And of course, there aren't many staff on it. In fact, many is a total over statement because there is about 1/2 a person working on it.

Basically, each week, we update the This Week page, with a summary of the programme. We also update the Power Laps (although this needs some more work at the moment, because of staff holidays etc) and the Star Laps page.

Then, once a month we update the desktop calendar, and some time, we would love to put up more video clips.

Now, when I say we, I bascially mean me. And I'm working on a bundle of other stuff at any one time too.

Don't forget, I love Top Gear, and I wish we have the funding to do much more.

I'll update the archive soon, so people can see recaps, but FYI, you can read all of this seasons content using:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/series_6/

I'll link these into the archive this week, promise.

Just yourself mate? I'd have thought there'd be at least a couple of chaps nursing that baby. Such as shame, as the syndication of the prog makes a lot of money, mostly for Worldwide I'd have thought mind you and i'm guessing the majority of budget is ploughed into actual programme making rather than ancillary projects such as the minisite. Shame that.

[anto-t]

who wants to help mr top gear admin here

lol if only the bbc would let me do it i would be up for helping you

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by moo

Just yourself mate? I'd have thought there'd be at least a couple of chaps nursing that baby. Such as shame, as the syndication of the prog makes a lot of money, mostly for Worldwide I'd have thought mind you and i'm guessing the majority of budget is ploughed into actual programme making rather than ancillary projects such as the minisite. Shame that.

Yeah, seriously, and I'm not on it full time, so you can see why the site can look a touch out-of-date sometimes.

The issue is, the TV budget is seperate from the online budget. I am part of a department that makes websites for a wide range of subjects. And of course, you are right to say worldwide makes a lot of money out of the programme, which is the reason that topgear.com is quite a lot more lavish than our site.

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by anto-t

who wants to help mr top gear admin here

lol if only the bbc would let me do it i would be up for helping you

You can help, you can use the "top gear site/programme ideas" thread to tell us what you think we should do. It gives us something to think about and those ideas can get fed into brainstorms here that may get used on the site.

Particularly, I'm looking out for ideas that could work like the Driving Song vote, which has been a huge success for us!

[anto-t]

Originally Posted by bbc.co.uk/topgear/

You can help, you can use the "top gear site/programme ideas" thread to tell us what you think we should do. It gives us something to think about and those ideas can get fed into brainstorms here that may get used on the site.

Particularly, I'm looking out for ideas that could work like the Driving Song vote, which has been a huge success for us!

what sort of ideas like new votes ect..

[Webmonkey]

Originally Posted by anto-t

what sort of ideas like new votes ect..

Yeah, that sort of thing. Really, what we would like is to encourage the viewer to get involved. Everyone seems to like the driving song, becuase everyone has an opinion.