I’m proud that I have used several different blogging formats. In my mind, it shows that I’m always trying new things (sometimes over and over again just to make sure!) To date openswitch has donned at least three distinct styles of blogging. The first is what I call the “essay blog.” This is what I did for most of my blogging days. An essay blog is basically a collection of essays. The blogger — more often than not — tries to write original material for these essays. A good example of an essay blog is The Fight Spot.
The second type of blog is the “hub” blog. There’s not much difference between a hub site and an essay blog. The major difference, in my mind, is what kind of content is located at the root URL. In my case, the root URL is openswitch.org. With an essay blog, the root URL serves as not only the home page but as the page which contains the blog essays. With a hub site the root URL serves as a sort of “hub” that highlights all the different places one can go to at openswitch.org. A good example of a hub site is Jon Hicks’ site. Note that on a hub site there’s not only a blog but other content as well such as downloads, link logs, etc.
The third type of blog I’ve experimented with here at openswitch is the tumblelog or a “tumble-hybrid” some will call it. It’s a collection of images, links, quotes, thoughts as well as more “blogish” journal articles that I collect and/or write as I experience daily life on the Net. It’s this third type of blog format that I think suits me best.
Now, before you go saying, “Yeah, we’ve heard that before” I’ll just admit up front that I’ve told myself the same thing. However, I can’t escape the fact that I’ve been slowly changing the way I blog. I’m not sure if you’ve noticed it, but I certainly have. I’ve stopped writing the original essays I used to. I’ve stopped and I think there are several reasons for it. 1) At one point or another I’ve expressed virtually every personal belief I have at least once, sometimes twice. I don’t want to write again about a topic I’ve already written about. 2) When I do think of something to write it’s usually commentary on something else someone else wrote already or on a current event. 3) Most of the topics I’d like to write about are already written about elsewhere, and are written better than I ever could write. I’ll get an idea for an essay and then I’ll remember, “Oh, I read this same thing over on this other site.” I can’t justify writing about the same stuff that other people do unless I have a unique viewpoint. And what I’ve found is that my opinion is rarely unique to me. There are hundreds of other bloggers out there who have similar views and have already written about them. I’d much rather link them and add my own commentary that regurgitate it all over again.
For those reasons, amongst others I’m sure, my blogging has changed from an essay style blog to more of a link-with-commentary type posts. Most of this has been done on my del.icio.us account rather than my blog.
Of course, I had to allow myself the chance to write longer articles should I desire (such as this article.) And all that’s available here. Really, when you sit down and think about it, what I’m doing here is not too different from what Jason Kottke has been doing for a long time now: links with commentary and a few original articles thrown in for good measure. Derek Powazek is another who’s been doing something similar.
I’ve come to the realization that I much enjoy reading other’s work, linking the good stuff, and adding in my own commentary. Sure, occasionally I like to write an original piece (or pseudo-original as is often the case) but mostly I like reading what others write.
So there you have it.
22 Comments
I can\’t believe you left TXP again. However, WordPress does seem to be a better solution for the format you are wanting to use.
Yet again, you have come up with another great design here!
Thanks, Will :). Both are great CMS\’s. I\’ve also just figured out that you can use custom fields in WordPress very similarly as Textpattern.
That is true. I have been working on a site in TXP. I am torn between the simplicity of Textpattern and the ease-of-use and plugins available with WordPress…
I feel that both are great for what I want to do, but the template engine of TXP tends to get on my nerves. Who ever wanted to build template files in a text box?
I do agree with you on that text box thing.
WordPress definitely has more plugins, no question. What I\’m realizing though is that I just need to stick with one and let the other go.
I really dig the new design!
Thanks man
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I\’m really digging the new design Ben, and I\’m not surprised you returned to the \”Tumble-Hybrid\” style of blogging. One thing I would like to say is in relation to your RSS feed. Is it possible to maybe offer two feeds? One which is combining everything, like you have now, and the other which just spurts each post as an item? I prefer being able to see each individual post separately, I find the combined one hard to distinguish between posts.
Unfortunately that\’s not possible. I have to offer it either one way or the other. I get A LOT of complaints when I offer it the way you\’re talking about as people\’s inboxes tend to get throttled. I understand what you\’re talking about though, let me see what I can come up with.
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Ben, I visit your site from time to time and every time I\’m here you have a new design, I like the new design/format, and I currently use your Unsleepable theme on one of my Blog\’s, its an excellent theme !
Anyways on your old Openswitch layout you had a wonderful flickr feed that featured a rollover effect that I\’ve been looking around for everywhere. I plan on using it for recreational purposes, is this something you did custom? if so what are the chances of you releasing it, or maybe it\’s a pluggin I just haven\’t found. but then again you mentioned using Textpattern as your old CMS, so I\’m clueless.
Thanks in advance !
@Mike: Thanks for the kind words. The tutorial I used is found here.
Thanks a million! I\’ve briefly ran through the tutorial and it looks simple, I\’ll be implementing this on my personal blog after I get a bite to eat. Take care and keep up the outstanding design work !
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Someone should study how individual blogs evolve over time. I know I’m certainly blogging a lot less than I did at the beginning.