3 replies to this topic

[monogodo]

So I updated the blog template.

Check it out.

[Dave]

Good for you for changing their default background image. Your tweak looks better than their default, so good job recognizing a diamond in the rough.

I never had much of a problem with your old one. What motivated you to change?

Suggestions:
* go into your Recent Post settings and remove them from the home page (i.e., so they only show when you click on the post). Seems like clutter to me.
* Change your .ico file from their default.
* A survey showed most people have no idea about clicking the recent/popular/comments tabbed box.
* Nix the calendar.
* Move tag cloud up.
* You have recent posts in both the tabbed box and as a standalone sidebar widget. Pick one.
* Importing Twitter (or other similar content aggregating service) - this is tricky. I don't pretend to know the latest Google search algorithm, but there is a chance your site will be penalized for duplicate content if you import your Twitter feed wholesale. Even though it's your words. And monogodo.com is your site. Twitter is the bigger fish, and Google rewards bigger fish. The content aggregation war is not over and many things may change between now and even 6 months. Who knows. The growth of OpenID style logins and user ownership of content (friends/contacts/pix/posts) on 3rd party sites may change for the better...or worse. I'm not saying you should be concerned about duplicate content issues, only that they exist.

[monogodo]

Good for you for changing their default background image. Your tweak looks better than their default, so good job recognizing a diamond in the rough.

I never had much of a problem with your old one. What motivated you to change?

Suggestions:
* go into your Recent Post settings and remove them from the home page (i.e., so they only show when you click on the post). Seems like clutter to me.
* Change your .ico file from their default.
* A survey showed most people have no idea about clicking the recent/popular/comments tabbed box.
* Nix the calendar.
* Move tag cloud up.
* You have recent posts in both the tabbed box and as a standalone sidebar widget. Pick one.
* Importing Twitter (or other similar content aggregating service) - this is tricky. I don't pretend to know the latest Google search algorithm, but there is a chance your site will be penalized for duplicate content if you import your Twitter feed wholesale. Even though it's your words. And monogodo.com is your site. Twitter is the bigger fish, and Google rewards bigger fish. The content aggregation war is not over and many things may change between now and even 6 months. Who knows. The growth of OpenID style logins and user ownership of content (friends/contacts/pix/posts) on 3rd party sites may change for the better...or worse. I'm not saying you should be concerned about duplicate content issues, only that they exist.

1. Yeah, I need to clean some stuff up.
2. Just noticed the .ico swap earlier today. Been working on it, but it is either still in my cache (which I've emptied), or something else is fucking it up. I've even deleted their file.
3. See #1.
4. I'm not married to it, so it probably can go. See #1 & #3.
5. Ditto above.
6. Yet again, ditto.
7. I'll probably change it to do it once a week instead of daily. I'm really not concerned about Google rank.

I just think it generally looks good.

[monogodo]

OK, I just did some work on it:

1. The Recent Posts thingy at the top of the sidebar is part of the widget. That particular item can be either Recent, Popular, or Categories. I could probably completely remove it, but am not sure I want to jack with the code right now.

2. It's now fixed. I'm guessing it just had to propagate to the various servers between the host and me/you/the world.

3. See #1. I might ditch it, but not right now.

4-6. Done.

7. I've switched to a weekly update.

Thanks for the tips, by the way.