Homepage improvements & Olympics video stream

There have been a bunch of improvements to the BBC homepage recently which are worth a mention. Individually, they may not seem like a big deal - but together, they signal our intention to keep up the pace of change.

Since my last post, we've introduced video to the main section of the page.

Our aim is to seek out the best short clips available from around the BBC - from news packages to comedy sketches. I hope that visitors to the page start regularly coming across nuggets of interest.

Moreover, we will sometimes 'go live' to big breaking stories. Our first live video stream, of the Olympic opening ceremony, was fired up by 400,000 users. In this sense, the homepage really will be a "portal" - giving users a direct line of sight onto unfurling events.

It's early days yet, and I would be interested in hearing feedback about which types of video work for you and which don't. Are there clips you would like to see which we don't currently provide?

And speaking of the Olympics, we rolled out a special section (or module - see below) dedicated to the Games, with news, live video and a medals table. We also launched the food widget I mentioned in my last post and are already lining up a Learning one - which includes a "phrase of the day" available in four languages.

New content isn't limited to people in the UK. With additional funding from the BBC's commercial arm (BBC Worldwide), we are improving the BBC homepage for international users as well - this month introducing specially-produced features to pep up our offering.

While working to make the homepage reflect (or even aid) the BBC's aspiration to become an industrial-strength global media brand, we won't forget about those overseas users who come to the BBC site to get a slice of something distinctly British. Forthcoming improvements to the way in which the page can be customised will be key here.

Technical enhancements "under the bonnet" are going on all the time - even if you can't see some of them. One recent upgrade responded to complaints that you couldn't move sections up and down within an individual module. But now if you want to see tennis headlines above football... be our guest! Just use your mouse to drag them up or down.

We aren't going to rest on any laurels though and remain acutely aware of things that users are pushing us to do. Items on our "to do" list include a smaller main promo area, enhanced customisation and more access to non-BBC content. Many people have asked for a webmail module, for example.

I've also had time to reflect on comments made back in April by those who wanted a return to the old BBC homepage. While I thoroughly approve of o_r_i_g_i_n_a_l, referencing one of my favourite Simon and Garfunkel numbers, ultimately I side with Dylan and say: Don't Look Back.

Still, I'd be interested to hear from any of you to see if you've since warmed to the new homepage. Or do you still dislike it six months down the line?

James Price is editor, BBC Homepage.