I've been mulling over content organization again. The vast majority of new posts are Blog Entries; there simply isn't enough traffic to warrant Fora. Of course, I'd have to move content from the Fora to the Blogs, but that could damage my Google Page Rank.

Top 20 Search Strings:

1 29 21.17% ninja ping pong

2 22 16.06% windiz update

3 5 3.65% windiz

4 5 3.65% windiz updates

5 4 2.92% starcraft mods

6 4 2.92% stnnng

7 3 2.19% infiniti m35x

8 3 2.19% lego cd thrower

9 2 1.46% 2005 photos of mn ren fest

10 2 1.46% air quality towers implosion ames

11 2 1.46% cd thrower

12 2 1.46% nikki's breakfast iowa city iowa

13 2 1.46% ninja ping-pong

14 2 1.46% windiz review

15 2 1.46% windiz update review

16 1 0.73% arizona uses ikonos imagery in dispute with developer

17 1 0.73% best buy enployment application

18 1 0.73% cyrix kitchen

19 1 0.73% cyrix processors

20 1 0.73% des moines implosion

Ninja Ping-Pong Action accounts for a fifth of my search engine hits alone. Try a search for "ninja ping pong" on Google. Of course, other odd search strings give me Top 5 Status on Google: "Wizz3rd", "Boxy Foxy", "Old Cyrix Processors", "SpamGrish", "Hemionitis arifolia", and "Weed Pots" are good examples. Nevertheless, I have a burning need to round-up content, and the Fora are currently a wasteland. I'd also have to finally rebuild my Case Mod Work Logs as Articles, but those have been languishing in Hard Drive Purgatory for too long. Aside from some Fall Cleaning, I'd like reworking the the Site Template as well. I like lean and clean, but it's a bit bland right now.

Comments

heavy pie
Wed, 10/19/2005 - 16:03
Remove the fora?
Well, if we'd all take the relevant-to-a-particular-forum content from the blogs, there'd be more there. You could make a woodworking fora for your woodworking tidbits, but adventures with fish would still be relevent to a blog. Sorta see what I'm sayin'? All we have in the fora are articles and links. We've got our own content for better forum discussion. Another example... this could have gone in the announcements. Maybe rework the system so the blogs aren't front page? That might promote more interesting discussion... the fora got kind of tucked away out of sight.
Other time... other space.

bruce42
Wed, 10/19/2005 - 18:58
Makes Sense.
Filtering my random blog crap back into the forums is logical. Finding Front Page content replacement is the trick. I haven't really had time to put together any Articles. I suppose once I have my Case Mod work logs restored I'd have a few, but I don't have the resources to do mods regularly enough to keep a font page interesting. Quandaries.
"Your mission is to obey the commands of whoever is able to strike the Master Key of Electricity... I once read in a book that all things are regulated by exact laws of nature" - SPAM

heavy pie
Wed, 10/19/2005 - 19:19
Front page
So feature blogs and fora on the front page, at a glance of sorts. Keep only the latest.. let's say.... three entries. Then have a table (dunno what else to call it) of things to go to. Have blogs section, which brings up all the blog entries as they're appearing now. Then have the fora listed below it. That way it's all easy to check at a glance. Hopefully that makes sense.. I can whip up a simple html page to kinda show the layout if you'd like. Perhaps you don't want to run all this like just about every "other" forum/blog site, but it's a decent way to to things.
Other time... other space.

bruce42
Wed, 10/19/2005 - 19:31
Hmmm...
I'm not sure how far outside the Drupal system I want to delve. Articles alone could still be a good option for the Front Page- perhaps it's just a matter of keeping links to the other content both "Above the Fold" and "Immediately Obvious". Giving the Aggregator Feeds a facelift would be a good start; they consume far too much real estate. Do you use the feeds at all?
"Your mission is to obey the commands of whoever is able to strike the Master Key of Electricity... I once read in a book that all things are regulated by exact laws of nature" - SPAM

slackfiend
Thu, 10/20/2005 - 13:18
Hey, I read the feeds. All
Hey, I read the feeds. All sorts of neat stuff in there.
--- Hint: You may have to use some letters more than once.

bruce42
Thu, 10/20/2005 - 13:31
Excellent!
I try to find good quality sources to pull news from, and its good to know people like what I've found. Feel free to suggest feeds from other sources because sharing is caring. Please excuse some site wonkiness- I am developing an improved site theme at mdportal.ultrasciencelabs.com. I am striving for cross browser compatibility, but in the end I might give up on IE workarounds and force users to wait Version 7 is released for proper site display.
"Your mission is to obey the commands of whoever is able to strike the Master Key of Electricity... I once read in a book that all things are regulated by exact laws of nature" - SPAM

heavy pie
Thu, 10/20/2005 - 19:35
Do eet... screw IE! It's
Do eet... screw IE! It's about time sites start saying that. Always reppressed by that piece of crap. Help, help! I'm bein' repressed! Lemme know if you'd like help 'themerizing.'
Other time... other space.

bruce42
Thu, 10/20/2005 - 19:48
Sweet Like Candy
Right now I am trying to figure out the best placement for bits of data. I installed a Module called "Flexiblock". It allows me to place Block wherever I see fit. The key is figuring out where to squeeze them in. I shared the user table with mdportal.ultrascience - you can log in over there and fuck with shit. I'm experimenting with a new aggregator system that pulls pulls data from a news feed and converts it into Nodes. That way we can share content across the sites. 2, 3 or even a 4 column layout? 3 Columns with blocks in the Footer and Header; just the Header? So many options!
"Your mission is to obey the commands of whoever is able to strike the Master Key of Electricity... I once read in a book that all things are regulated by exact laws of nature" - SPAM

heavy pie
Thu, 10/20/2005 - 20:06
Options galore
Three columns would still look all right and not be to cumbersome I think. You could put useful site stuffs on the right and aggregators on the left. Maybe. Blocks in the headers and footers could be useful as well. Like polls... maybe other nifty things... Hm hmm.. hafta play with that now.
Other time... other space.