Category: Blogging

I can hear you groaning. And I’m not suggesting that we should all invest in print media. But there is, for those who care about design and user interface, a significant change in the way media websites are required to look based on the adjusting realities of a socially-networked society that are probably worth stopping to examine.

I am examining these things, of course, because I just got done with my survey of my readers. And also because, based in part on those survey answers, I’m starting to think a change in the DFE theme is in order. Probably nothing in the next month – I tend to develop slowly – but change is definitely in the wind.

The current site’s layout is itself a reflection of the new realities of social media. I recognized in part that I needed to simplify what I was doing on the blog because I simply was not doing that much in the first place. I’ve been curating content on Twitter for a year or so now, more than blogging. The current site reflects that by devoting the bottom part of the screen almost exclusively on third-party content in the form of Bit.ly links and Twitter updates. The full-width content areas were meant to provide a full view of an article on a small browser window like iPad and mobile phones.

Trouble is: full-width layouts are hard to read and nobody’s really clicking on the links at the bottom. So its time for a change.

Meanwhile, the newspaper thing: it used to be that a “headline” was literally a large-print section at the top of an article. That’s why we call them headlines, of course. But the last iteration of news media changed the meaning of “headline” to mean “navigational element.” No longer did the headline live directly above the majority of articles: they existed on front pages as teasers to the article housed on another page.

Thing is, though: so much content is shared on social network sites that really, I’m betting the traffic to even quite popular news sites has to be greatly diminished in favour of direct links to content.

In short: the front page as link bait is over. I think its time to start putting headlines right back where they belong.

So I’m exploring ways to make a more “traditional” website here at DFE. No changes any time soon and I welcome any input anybody has. Hit me up on Twitter or reply at the bottom, let me know what you think!

First of all, I want to say a huge thank-you to every one of you who took part in my survey. I’ve done a number of surveys in the past for a variety of reasons and never had the kind of response I got from this one. You guys are awesome!

Since I’m always changing up what I do here at DFE, its important to me that what I’m doing stays interesting to those of you who have supported me. So the survey, while limited and hardly scientific, was meant to judge whether or not that’s been happening. And since I had a pretty good idea of where things might progress next, I wanted to see if that worked for you guys, too.

DFE has always been a political blog, and I’m happy to report that the overwhelming majority of you would prefer it to stay that way. Over ninety percent of you said you either wanted the same or more political coverage. That, I can do! But in large part because of what I’ve learned from the amount of clicks I get on articles I’ve posted, the site and the Twitter feed have also begun a transition towards more of a science and technology center. You guys also seem pretty enthusiastic about that change, which is awesome for me, so thanks! The site is slowly becoming more “me” than ever before and its really nice to have readers who appreciate that.

In fact, the only real loser in the topics department was economics. Well, they don’t call economics The Dismal Science for no reason at all, do they? Mondays have been my days for covering economic news and generally been my least-responsive days. In truth, I got into the economics side of politics because I was covering the Subprime stuff. But while the effects of that whole system are certainly still being felt, the story has largely run itself out and I have to admit that I’m feeling a bit rudderless on that count, myself. So, I would count on seeing a whole lot less in the way of economic news on the site and the feed. I’ll have to come up with another subject for Mondays.

Perhaps it aught to be local news, since there was a huge roar of support for the local stuff. I’ll admit that, especially with the focus of my writing shifting towards science and technology, this is a challenge for me. But I’ve been assembling more resources to try to cover local science and tech news, as well as the big stories of the day. Stick with me and let me know how its going!

And ok: I admit that the descriptions provided for the site and feed were not exactly even-handed. There were lots more positives than negatives, sue me for my vanity! But out of a list of positives, I’m especially proud that you guys find me funny as well as informative! Honestly, if there’s one thing that could *not* have been said about this blog a few years ago, it was that I’m “funny.” But again: opening up on Twitter and having your support has given me the opportunity to be more myself than ever on the Internet.

So, what comes next? Well, DFE’s going to keep on kickin’ and giving you the stuff you want. The focus is going to be much more on science and technology, particularly where science and technology news happens in Rochester. The Top 5 Articles lists that I’ve been doing on the weekends have been a great success, so that’s definitely going to be in the mix. And I’ll try to keep you all entertained with plenty of goofy shit, especially of the sophomorically-sexual variety I know you are especially fond of.

Thanks again for your support and your responses! Talk to you soon!