The trouble with a blog is that so much is hidden away and hard to find. I suppose a website would be easier to search? Just looking back on what we posted today a year ago and two years ago throws up these 2 bloglets:
2009 A year ago - New Flying Saucer Mystery
2008 Two Years Ago - Brainteaser [which Grif got!]
Is a blog the best format for all the information we've collated here? What do you think Swordies?
its hard to make a distinction between a website and a blog, both wold contain info which is effectively hidden - perhaps we just need to catagorise stuff better ?
ReplyDeleteI think the blog is fine as it stands, always interesting, andallowing for comments on new items etc.
ReplyDeleteYou have an excellent online magazine (well done Woodsy & Wotan et al)-I suggest if it isn't broke, don't try and fix it.
The blog is definitely the best engine for uncovering new information, particularly because it encourages quick informal posts and lets readers offer instant feedback and further info -- like what we is doing here right now, see?
ReplyDeleteWhat might make an interesting addition would be something like a "Project SWORD Gallery" or "Moonbase Museum Annex" -- a sibling website mainly featuring images organized by topic plus explanatory text, so that someone could, say, look at the "Tarheel" page for all the images of those toys -- plus some historical blurbs, and links back to relevant posts here -- or "Spacex" or whatever other categories come to mind. Think of it as a little extra thing on the side; a blog is still the best way to present news and updates and gather opinions from your audience.
Blog is best for the very reason Richard gives. And I think we ought to give serious consideration to his suggestion.
ReplyDeleteFailing that, what about an index page? Or a searchable database?
I agree with with you all. Especially Richard. And as Andy says "If it ain't broke don't fix it".
ReplyDeleteThanks for the feedback Guys and Gals. Wote and I will have a good natter about it at our Christmas get-together, although we may be very sleepy after the mince pies and Christmas pud!
ReplyDeleteBit late, sorry, but here's what I think:
ReplyDeleteAs Richard says, the blog is the easiest way for you two to post stuff, and for us all to react to it.
Having some sort of searchable compilation would be ideal, esp since I find current search results appear to get stuck around a year ago (if I only enter my last name, I don'tget past my astronaut origin piece - if I can remember another word to add, I do get more but with my developing senility that's not always easy... :)
A proper website is a lot of work, especially if it need to be updated often to accommodate new stuff.
Keywords would work probably work best, but will need to be -very- judiciously chosen to make some sort of sense. And you'll have a bit of work in applying them retrospectively
Best I can think of is to provide an index page, linked from the top of the blog, which would have keyword-like headings, and where each article could appear under the one or two most relevant headings (more than that and you'd need an index for the index :)
What might be even better is a system of categories and sub-categories (eg category "childhood memories" could have subcategories like "toyshops" "music" "xmas" "projects" etc). Sorting stuff by brand or contributor would also be fairly easy, though I think you'll have your work cut out with the more fanciful items on these pages. :)
(btw: gimme a shout if as & when, I'll be happy to have a think with you?)
Best
--
Paul
Yes, what Paul said.
ReplyDeleteYou can add "Labels" to each posting on Blogger, can't you?
ReplyDeleteMaverick uses labels with his posts. Tell us, Mav, how well do they work?
ReplyDeleteIf they are any good, and if we decide on a sensible labelling convention, I'll help label old posts if you give me editing rights. We can do it bit by bit, rather than in one mammoth session.
Thanks for all the input everyone. Much appreciated! Feedback like this makes it all worthwhile for Wote and me. We'll take it all on board. Ta!
ReplyDeletePlease go with a traditional website - there's so much information here, but it's virtually impossible to find after any time has passed. I find blogs are only suitable for day to day events, not for anything of lasting worth.
ReplyDeleteIn other words, great content, wrong format!
Sean
The trouble with a 'real' website is that it's hard to get all the stuff from this blog in it. Best one can do there is re-present the information in a more organised structure, which would mean a lot of stuff getting condensed out (plus having to decide what).
ReplyDeleteI'm speaking from experience here - I've been working on a Spacex website off and on for the last few years, which contains some information that has already appeared on this blog (stuff I submitted, stuff where the blog 'scooped' me and new discoveries by other readers). A website is indeed a different format, and adding -every-thing from this blog would make a website quite unwieldy and just as hard to retrieve information from. Not to mention the daily chore of adding updates from the blog.
An efficient index for the blog on the other hand can easily have new bloglets added as links (if this can't be automated by well-chosen keywords/labels). I've for years produced an in-house (paper) magazine for a well-known home-furnishings company, which presented exactly the same situation when that had to be accessible online too. A well-organised index proved to be the easiest way of retrieving articles, as well as adding new ones.
Best
--
Paul