20th August 2007

31 day blogging challenge: Day 15 - 20

posted in Blogging |

Building A Better Blog contest

Creative ways to manage challenge overload.

The challenge continues, and it continues to be challenging. The crew is getting creative in finding ways to get the TASK COMPLETED, Done clever checkbox, Progress = Completed :)

Day 15: Make your posts sticky. Hey that worked! I have made posts on related themes.

Day 16: Create a heatmap of where readers click on your blog This was helpful as it showed me I had a category that was named About VisualsSpeak as well as the usual About at the top of the page. People were clicking on both, so I assume it was confusing. I went to change the name of the category, and realized the posts that were in there weren’t always remember to click on it.

Day 20: Run a reader survey I’m going to wait on this one until after the new site/blog is up. We will be going through user testing and asking for feedback on the new designs. Perhaps some of you will take a look?

Other challenges of the challenge.

Noticing those highlighted t’s are you? That is the Diijo demon at work. On Michele’s suggestion, I installed the toolbar to make it easier to keep track of things I find on the web. For some reason, it thinks t should be colored, or is it only on my computers? I have gone into the code and removed it four times, and the demon keeps putting it back in. If anyone knows how to tame this monster, do let me know.

On the Google versus Netvibes, the battle continues there also. I must say, I keep going back to my Google Reader, it is easier to read long lists of blog posts for me. Netvibes also continues to mark posts as unread that I have already marked read. Will function overtake beauty? Will my art degree be revoked? Stay tuned.

And how incompetent can a usually competent person feel? Try Twitter, Faceboook, Ning? So far, it’s like a junior high party where no one knows what to do, and I am feeling awkward and unsure. A colleague referred to it being like parties where everyone is watching the Cheetos go stale. Yes. I’m hanging in there waiting to see the great value I hear about.

And Tim keeps reminding me of the importance of photos. Yes, we are professional photographers and visual communication specialists. And I have used less images in the past 20 days than ever before. I’m going to have to do a photo post just to remember how. I do most of my posting from home on a PC, but all the software and images are on my Mac in the office. More organization needed to get what I need accessible from where I need it.

Hang in everyone, I am thrilled to be learning with you. And if you didn’t join the challenge this time, it is a great learning experience. I’m sure you’ll be seeing more from this group in the future.

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  1. 1 On August 20th, 2007, Sue Waters said:

    Hi Christine

    I think we should all thank Indian blogger for the concept of marking tasks off - makes you feel really good knowing they are completed. Love the extra dimension that Frances has added with the Green Tick. Good to hear that I am now winning the battle with NetVibes.

    You can use as many categories as you like - the more the better. That way if your readers want to find articles it makes it easier - also makes easier for you to go back through posts. Talk to Indian Blogger he looks like he is the expert of Wordpress. If you thinking of Blog Search engines than you need to make sure you also use the terms in your post.

    Sue

  2. 2 On August 21st, 2007, Cammy said:

    Christine….kudos to you for tackling so much at once. (And now I take a moment to stop and…click on track co.mments. Thanks for reminding me…)

    And I’m with Tim in encouraging you to use more photos and visuals!

  3. 3 On August 21st, 2007, Kristina said:

    Hi! Thanks for the post. You may also want to check out coComment.com, which was the first and currently most used tool for comment tracking, organizing, and sharing. It also provides some more advanced features that you can use if you want. Thanks! kristina

  4. 4 On August 21st, 2007, Christine Martell said:

    Sue, Netvibes hasn’t been consistently feeding Twitter either. I wish someone would come up with a beautiful skin for iGoogle, I’d be back there in a minute.

    Cammy, I guess I’ll be going back into my posts and not only adding links, but also to add more images. Thanks for the gentle nudge!

    Kristina,
    Definitely will give coComment a try. Comments are so important, and anything to help with organizing is welcome.

  5. 5 On August 24th, 2007, Mobile Technology in TAFE » Blog Archive » How to Read Blog posts on a Phone Using Mobile Friendly Google Reader said:

    [...] Martell (Visuals Speak Blog) comment on my STOP, LOOK, THINK - What Is Material Really Going To Look Like on A Mobile Device [...]

  6. 6 On August 25th, 2007, Mobile Technology in TAFE » Blog Archive » 31 Days to Build a Better Blog–- Days 20-26 said:

    [...] which then inspires me to investigate and report back. Classic examples this week has been: 1. Christine encouraged me to research how we can inform our readers to best read our blogs on mobile phones; 2. [...]

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