Harry Potter and the Prarie Hallows

Posted on July 12, 2007 by Melissa Worden

I came across this cute, cute site tonight (via the Digital Edge), put together by the News-Gazette in Champaign, Ill., which counts down to the release of Harry Potter’s newest movie and book, both happening this month.

The design is very nice and quite a departure from the News-Gazette’s main site. One of their goals, according to Digital Edge, is to appeal to a younger audience, and I think the look and feel works for a pre-teen through adult (not so much for the younger readers, though).

The site is full of interactive goodies, including trivia, polls, forums, a calendar of local Harry Potter-related events, and a spell feature where readers can create their own spells, guess what other spells do and comment on them. Another cute feature: Send a friend a “howler,” which mimics the reprimanding audio-telegram that Hogwarts students receive from their parents.

Two things that would make this site even better:

>> The blog hasn’t been updated since July 5 — I want to read about the movie’s opening night reactions.
>> And I want even more reader interaction.

There’s a photo gallery, but I’d love to see a way for readers to upload their own pictures.

And on the In the News page, local Harry Potter Club members put together a video newscast, with their own commercials. It’s cute (a little hard to hear at times, and it is what it is: you’re watching a kids’ play), but it’s a great addition to this niche site. It’d be even better if other readers could upload their own videos.