Thoughts About the Blog
Posted on April 1, 2008
Filed Under Tech |
I’ve been pondering about this website ever since it disappeared from the Internet a week or two ago. For a while, I though that the database was destroyed, and that I’d be forced to start from scratch.
At first, the idea of starting over bothered me quite a bit. Then, I thought it might be a good thing. if I was forced to start from scratch, I could take the site in any direction I wanted.
Of course, being adamsnider.com would limit me in some ways: It would still have to be a site written by and/or about me. But, as a writer who is very aware of the power of the Internet to self-market, I had/have no intention of making this site anything other than a site about Adam Snider: Author.
Still, starting with a clean slate would allow me to redesign the site, if I so desired. It could become a portfolio site. The blog could be moved to a subdirectory (technically, this is still possible). I could do anything.
I think I am still going to be making some changes around here. I will probably make me writing samples more prominent. I will be removing the “services” page for the time being (though I will probably replace it with something similar in the future).
The blog will not get moved to a subdirectory. It will still be the first thing you see when you arrive on adamsnider.com. It may get a new name, though. As much as I like the name Ink Slinger, it sometimes feel strange to have a blog who name does not match it’s URL.
Should I change the name? Would a simple adamsnider.com be better? What about other ideas: Adam Snider’s Weblog, or Adam Snider Online? I’m reluctant to give up the name Ink Slinger, especially since I rank #1 for the term [ink slinger] on Google.ca.
However, [ink slinger] isn’t a common search term, and the people who do search for it tend to be looking for information about tattoos and tattoo artists. These people are not my target audience.
I rank well for my own name, which is something that is important to me. That’s about all that I rank well for, as far as terms that I want to rank well for go. Considering I’ve never really done any SEO for this site, that doesn’t strike me as particularly surprising.
What does all of this rambling mean? I’m not sure yet. I think I’m going to work on rebranding the site/blog over the coming weeks & months. It will still be a place to read my thoughts and ramblings. It will still be a personal blog, but it will focus much more on my writing.
I don’t want to turn it into a blog about writing, but I am a writer more than anything else, so it makes sense that this should be a focus.
At the same time, I don’t want it to be a self-absorbed wankfest (which it really has been, at times). I want my personality to be evident, and I want to market both myself and my writing here, but I don’t want to come across as writing about things that no but me cares about.
I know what I want my blog to be, even if I’m having trouble putting it into words. I guess the reason that I’m writing this post is 2-fold.
I’m writing this to give all of my readers (i.e.: you) an idea of what to expect in the coming weeks. But, the main reason I’m writing it is to get a few things straight in my own head. Plus, putting these thoughts in writing and making them public will, hopefully, keep me a bit more focused on the “new direction” of the blog.
On the more technical side of things, I’ll be using a new theme (which is already in place), and I’ll be simplifying the navigation by reducing the number of categories, and making sure that past posts are categorized as appropriately as possible.
When will these changes start taking place? I’m not sure. Soon. Probably this evening. They won’t likely be large changes. I’ll still be writing about a lot of the same things, I’m just going to try and make them more interesting and relevant to people who aren’t my close personal friends.
The changes, therefore, will likely be subtle and almost imperceptible to some of you. But, to my more casual readers, I expect that they will be very significant. Hopefully, they will change casual readers into subscribers and fans.
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4 Responses to “Thoughts About the Blog”
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I’d be interested in seeing samples of your work! Especially if you include some “behind the scenes” when you share.
I like the way you currently have it…with “Ink Slinger” as the large title, and “Adam Snider’s Weblog” underneath.
Thanks for you opinions/comments, Mack. I’m leaning toward keeping the Ink Slinger title. And, I’ll definitely try to share more of my work, and more of “the process of writing.”
I think the title “Ink Slinger” is great! Always been one of my favourites. I’m interested in seeing what you do in future
Thanks you guys. It seems that, at least among the 3 of us, Ink Slinger is still the popular choice for a title. I guess I’ll stick with it.