New Blink 2.0 Launched to Enhance Campus Productivity in Tight Budget Climate

Shelley Herron | September 28, 2009

The Internet has grown by leaps and bounds since Blink, UC San Diego’s intranet for faculty and staff was launched in 2000. A redesign with major enhancements was long overdue for the 9-year-old Web portal, which is used by more than 100,000 people each month.

The new Blink 2.0 offers an updated look and feel, significant new features on the home page, dynamic navigation, better content organization, and a new content management system.

“Since its conception in 2000, Blink has become a primary online source of information, training, tools, and news for our faculty and staff,” said Steve Relyea, vice chancellor of business and external affairs, who originally led the effort to establish the portal and still champions it today.

“Blink is more vital than ever in this tight budget climate, as its tools and clear information improve efficiency at UCSD,” Relyea added. “Blink saves time by providing faster access to information.”

Blink’s new homepage features direct links to business tools, a new events calendar feature, a link to the live shuttle map, timely campus news, and enhanced search capability.

The site’s 3,000-plus articles are organized into a site structure for easy navigation and better readability. Users can always see where they are in relationship to other information, both via dynamic navigation and “breadcrumb” links that appear on each page.

These enhancements result from user input by more than 1,000 staff and faculty who reviewed designs, participated in focus groups and surveys, and performed online card sorts to organize content.

“We always have the user in mind when we consider design, content, and tools for Blink,” said Elazar Harel, assistant vice chancellor for Administrative Computing and Telecommunications (ACT). “User testing is a critical part of the process before and after launch. We also consider user feedback as we continue to update and improve the site.”

One of several business-process initiatives developed by ACT, Blink grew from an effort led by Karen Andrews, currently of the physics department, in 1997 to streamline administrative processes and make the vast amount of campus business information more accessible.

“It became evident that departments could benefit from a central Web-based system of guidelines for information to help with daily administrative tasks, thus requiring minimum support from other people,” Relyea said.

A prototype of the system debuted in March 1997 and was called GO!. From this prototype, the Blink project was born. The name "Blink" was chosen as shorthand for the term "business link."

With 100,000 visitors per month, Blink has become a model for other research universities nationwide. Some staff at other University of California campuses even use UC San Diego’s Blink as their home page. 

Dozens of staff members serve as subject matter experts who help draft and update Blink content. “Blink’s new easy-to-use content management system will help these content owners develop and maintain their pages more easily,” said Sydney Donahoe, director of Portal Services in ACT.

Donahoe added that the new system, the Hannon Hill Cascade Server, also supports TritonLink, the UC San Diego home page, and several of UCSD’s colleges and departments. Many other universities across the nation use this system, too.

 “The easy-to-use interface and customized templates make it easy for people with little technical experience to create professional-looking Web pages,” Donahoe said.

For more information about Blink 2.0, visit the New Blink promotional site or contact Portal Services.