Some site changes, I could use your input
By Stefan Constantinescu on Sunday, February 4th, 2007 at 9:38 PM PST In Blog Updates
I want to make my page load quicker, in order to do that less content has to be on the front page.
Before this blog post I had Typepad show all my posts up to 4 days back.
There is a balance I must reach between content versus load time. I embed a lot of videos so that slows things down a bit.
Right now I have it set to show the last 15 posts.
Why 15? My favorite blog: Engadget uses 15
But wait, what about my 2nd favorite blog Gizmodo? They have it set to 18
Something that they have that I don’t have is a "next page" button on the bottom of my website. That’s because I use Typepad and not Wordpress or Wordsmith. I’m not going to switch blogging engines over that little thing but I have submitted a feature request to Six Apart.
This is where you come in: What do you think I should set it to? I’m seriously thinking of upping it to 20 or so.
I like scrolling, but that’s just me.
UPDATE: I set it to show me the latest 20 posts, I was scrolling to the bottom way too fast.
Just a reminder: I will never put ads on my blog. I’m not in this for the adsense money. I’m in it for the hope that one of these years months I’ll get a call from Nokia (NYSE: NOK) asking me to come in for an interview.
UPDATE (2007.02.05): I switched it back to showing all my posts from 4 days back. Personally I love content. Google (NSDQ: GOOG) Reader is down right now, it is making posting very difficult since obviously I can’t read the news. It is my own fault for choosing an online RSS reader. I’m not switching back to an offline one any time soon however.
dude, a job aint bad but i dont think ud mind if they started off with their blogger program, having an n95 for anything more than a day is worth it….
> I’m in it for the hope that one of these years months I’ll get a call from Nokia asking me to come in for an interview.
Dude, good goal, but I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. At least nobody has contacted me and offered a job interview. Sure, blogging helps you get slightly famous in your particular niche, which helps contacting people, establishing trusted work relationships, gaining an expert status, etc. But if you want a job, you’ll have to apply for one, and add this blog in your CV.
A marketing note: change your mugshot if you are looking for a job (you know, otherwise some more traditional people might not take you seriously). Keep it as it is if you want to attract the readers.
ps. just wondering, independent (i.e. not paid) fan-bloggers might be more valuable for companies such as Nokia, than getting them on payroll. As soon as you start paying people, they lose a large chunk of their credibility when they say good things about your product. Worth thinking.
pps. I’m not in a position to help you get job interviews, sorry. But good luck with that!
Thanks for wishing me luck and all the advice Tommi.
I realize that once I get on payroll people will begin to doubt my postings, but even you have said some not so favorable things about Nokia on your blog. People have listened.
That is the ultimate goal, to be that bridge between the people in the company, and the fans on the outside.
Hey, i like the old way better with more “new” on the first page, dont have any problem with scrolling
As per requested already by e-mail: put RSS-feeds on your comments as well! It would be convenient to browse the comments section with the Google reader too without being forced to come and go trough the “Recent comments” section..
Tommi is right. Normally you have to submit resume with reference to your blog. The recruiter may want to know more about yourself, such as skills, education, working experience and all those “formal” things.
Of course, there are some people who got hired of because of their blogs. However, I would not recommend depending on blog only. You have to be pro-active.
Good luck…
Stefan, first I’d like to thank you, you are doing an amazing job here and I hope and believe you can reach your goal. I’ll have to agree with others, you have to do more then keeping a blog to get hired. I know that Nokia’s job web page seems quite corporate and you can’t have an immediate feedback but what I also know is that people in Nokia do go through these job applications and they hire people via them. I know several people who were hired by Nokia only by filling the application form on the website.
Regarding the site changes, I would prefer less content on the front page. Did you consider giving each post only one paragraph with a “read more” link? That way you could still have last 4 or 5 days covered but the page would take much less time to load on slower connections. It would also get easier to scan through in my opinion.
Less is more. I surf a lot on my e61, so less loading time is better. Also using google reader makes life easier.
Max 5 posts.
Twenty loads pretty quickly for me, and I think I prefer more. Dave has a good point though. What if you’re browsing with your mobile? In that case, less probably is better.
The page loads quicly enough, but also agree with the issue of loading it on my N73.
I also second that you’ve gotta replace that picture. If you don’t want to put a pic of you in a suit, well then just put a pic that isn’t necessarily of you. Create some random Nokia collage or something, but I’ll tell you, every time I see that pic up there it freaks me out (not trying to be rude, but just offering my opinion).
“Just a reminder: I will never put ads on my blog. I’m not in this for the adsense money. I’m in it for the hope that one of these years months I’ll get a call from Nokia asking me to come in for an interview.”
I’m a but curious… why did you feel it necessary to make that comment? Just because people tend to use Adsense, doesn’t actually mean they are in it for the money.
Why else would someone use Adsense? You put ads on your blog to get money. Period. I’m all for capitalism and making money but my blog is … my blog.
Whatever I don’t like seeing on the internet, I don’t repeat here. No ads, no reviews that span 6 pages, no “click here to continue” unless it is really really needed, no watermarking of my images, etc.
I’m not trying to harp on you Darla, or any of the other S60 bloggers out there, it is just I try to give people the experience that I like seeing in other blogs.
Personally I try to push people to use an RSS reader, don’t even bother going to sites in the first place, have the new posts come to you.
I’m not in it for the money but after earning $500-600 a month from my blogs, I’m glad I put adsense. Darla probably makes more…
That’s great Mark, congratulations!
I have been tempted at times, but then I always come back to the conclusion that if I don’t like seeing ads then I shouldn’t put ads on my blog.
Actually Mark, I don’t earn as much as you… but I’m happy earning enough to cover my monthly expenses such as Typepad hosting and my cel phone bill.
I don’t think that should be considered a bad thing and Stefan I absolutely agree that “your blog is your blog”, but it doesn’t seem fair that you should make it seem that earning Adsense is a bad thing for those of us that in fact do use it. It doesn’t mean that we are greedy or money hungry and by all means, viewers do not have to click on any of the ads, but sometimes people have to do what they have to do and they shouldn’t be made to feel bad for doing so.
Not making fun of you guys at all. I’m just saying I prefer no ads.
You shouldn’t compare your blog to Engadget who put up the latest 15 posts on their frontpage. The reason is that that’s about the amount of posts they produce daily.
“Click here to continue” has its reason too. It’s not there to trick users to make one more pageview for your statistics. It there to reduce mess on a frontpage.
“Personally I try to push people to use an RSS reader, don’t even bother going to sites in the first place, have the new posts come to you.”
Well, you shouldn’t waste any time to put the feeds on your blogs comments as well then..Time to put your money where your mouth is.. See, I am using your tactics already..:)
As for ads, they don’t bother me. I think you should consider them if they would bring you some income. You could use them to buy extra gadgets for you to test.