Some site changes, I could use your input

Stefan Constantinescu

Stefan Constantinescu (@WhatTheBit on Twitter) has loved technology since as far back as he can remember. It started with computers, but in the past few years his passion has turned to mobile devices. As a mobile phone enthusiast who lives and breathes devices that connect to the internet, he knows he is not alone with this radical fascination of all things wireless. He is strongly opinionated and enjoys a good debate so leave comments in his posts and he’ll get back to you! Stefan began blogging as a hobby in the fall of 2006 and joined IntoMobile in the summer of 2007. Later he got a job at Nokia in March 2008, but as of June 2009 he has rejoined the IntoMobile team. He is currently based out of Helsinki, Finland.

• ragz

  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….

• Tommi Vilkamo

  > 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!

• Stefan Constantinescu

  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.

• PhatTrance

  Hey, i like the old way better with more “new” on the first page, dont have any problem with scrolling

• Henrikki

  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..

• Antony Pranata

  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…

• Jaro

  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.

• Dave

  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.

• Ken Wind

  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.

• Alex

  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).

• Darla

  “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.

• Stefan Constantinescu

  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.

• Mark Guim

  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…

• Stefan Constantinescu

  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.

• Darla

  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.

• Stefan Constantinescu

  Not making fun of you guys at all. I’m just saying I prefer no ads.

• Jaro

  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.

• Henrikki

  “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.