Those of you who are fairly recent members of the SockMonkey Writer's Group probably had no idea we had a blog. Heck, most of our somewhat longer term members probably never even saw it when it was active - back in the spring, summer and early fall of 2013. This inaugural post from April 19th, 2013, explains what the original hope for this blog was, back when it was started by the then current Admins of the Facebook group (and NaNo Municipal Liaisons) Cassandra and Shelly. [Thank you to both of you for the work you did within the group and getting this blog going!]
As stated in that post, there were many reasons (and hopes) behind its creation. While Facebook can be a handy place to share a quick link or update or create a group event, not every writer in the area uses it and this leaves them out of much of the group's discussions. Plus, the algorithm being what it is, only about 6% of group members even see new posts, unless they've chosen to always see them or interact with the group a lot. This, and the way posts quickly scroll out of view, means lots of information and conversation gets missed. This blog was being used to catalog the links that were shared in the group at the time, to allow people to see what they might have missed - and to be able to discuss it outside of the group by making it easier to find. Cassandra and Shelly hoped this blog could become a central place to collect information on members' blogs or websites, to share book recommendations, writerly events in the area and so forth.
Unfortunately, they stepped down from their roles and those who stepped in after them didn't end up continuing to update the posts and information on this blog, so it has been dormant for nearly 6 years. After my first November as a Municipal Liaison and Group Admin, I realized it would be really nice to have a central, non-social media oriented, place to point members so they could learn more about the group, each other and writing, etc. I didn't have time during NaNo to work on it, but I felt that this blog could end up being that central place.
It has taken me a bit of tweaking, but I have made a number of changes to both the look and function of the blog. There are links to all of our (currently used) social media platforms, plus a few widgets so you can see what's been posted and shared on them, even if you're not a user of that platform. There is also now an "About" page with some of the history of our group and our mascot and a "Writerly Resources" page where some of the links that are shared in the Facebook group or on various other sites will be centrally located - so you don't have to scroll through a bunch of old posts! There's also a questions/comments box and a way you can react to posts even if you don't want to leave a longer comment, plus, if you'd like to just get an email when something new is posted, you can sign up for that.
I do hope that this blog will become a place where we can share conversation and ideas with any in our group who choose to join in. I know it may take some time for people to decide to migrate over and take a look. That's okay. I'm just hoping this is the start of something that writers in the Tacoma/Pierce County area will participate in and enjoy.
Please start by letting me know what sort of things you'd like to see on this blog or what you think of the layout. I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Thank you!
Okay, I'm going to start by critiquing (gently!) the layout. Is there a way to make the middle part wider? I like the colorful bookshelves on either side, but they take up too much visual energy, does that make sense?
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it will effect the mobile display if you widen the middle part?
The black background with grey type has always bugged me, but I think that's a personal preference thing. I know it's supposed to save energy to make the background dark but...I dunno. It's harder to read.
Content is king, as they say, and so the posts themselves are more important (or at least just as important) as the layout of the site. This is going to require more thought. Maybe an occasional review/share of articles on writing, lists of things (I don't care what anyone says, I love a list), guest bloggers?
I'm excited about this new/old thing!
Yay! Thank you for being the first to comment. (Not that it's a competition...oooh, but it could be...prizes for game posts...sorry, tangent.) Thank you for the suggestions. I really appreciate them. This template was quite finicky - it was hard to get certain things on the side bar to show up correctly - but, it was what was used originally, so I started by just making my changes to it. I would like to make it larger - I will have to look into other templates and see what's available.
DeleteWhen it comes to the mobile display, if you're set only on mobile, it ONLY shows the blog - none of the sidebars, etc., at least that's how it looked to me when I tested it. But, if you check the button for full site, you see a super tiny version of everything.
I tend to like the "night" view - meaning a darker background, but I'm not super set on the color of the text. I'm happy to play with suggestions and see if we can find something that's good for (almost) everyone's visual preferences and/or vision. Do you have any preferred text colors on black? I might even try a very deep blue - but that limits text color choices, too.
Thank you so much for your ideas! I have a number that are inspired by what was done previously and what I've seen elsewhere and I plan on posting them separately to make them easier to discuss, but I will say that I would totally love not only guest bloggers, but also to see this become a group effort in some fashion. Here's to forging a new path!
Ah, the width is more restful now.
DeleteI try very hard to like the night mode, because it's theoretically better for your eyes, and certainly uses less electricity (I don't have a citation, but I'm pretty sure I'm right ;) ), so I don't mind.
You're right about the top photo being off-center now, it's probably a template function because of the sidebar. I don't know how to fix it, but I don't think it looks bad. Keep fiddling with it, or not. Excellent work!
Yay! I'm glad the width helps. I do actually like it a bit better myself. Thank you for the suggestion.
DeleteI took missmobtown's suggestion for color and brightened the text a bit (just one step down from completely white). Is that easier on your eyes?
It is a template function because of the sidebar. It sort of annoys me to have it off-center...but, technically it's centered over the blog, so, there's that. Thank you so much for your comments, suggestions and encouragement!
Hello! Thank you so much for revving up this blog (which I didn't even know was here). I really appreciate having a non-Facebook place to interact! That said, I also find the gray on black type very hard on the eyes.
ReplyDeleteHello! Thank you for stopping by and commenting. I am happy to hear from people who are looking forward to seeing where we can take this. :) I mentioned in my reply to Jexx's comment that I'm not super set on the text color, per se, I just tend to like the darker background. I'm totally open to changing things to make it easier on as many eyes as possible. Any suggestions are totally appreciated!
DeleteI recommend changing the body text color to white, I think that would help immensely! (change color: #999999; to color: #ffffff;)
DeleteThank you! I went just slightly off white (#eeeeee ?), so it's brighter but not as stark, just as a sort of middle ground. What do you think?
DeleteMakes a huge difference! Thank you!
DeleteHappy to make changes to help make the blog more welcoming and easy to read! :) Thanks for the feedback and testing!
DeleteDelighted to see the blog back in action! Thank you for taking this on.
ReplyDeleteThank you for starting it in the first place and for popping in to check things out. :)
DeleteGood morning. Thank you for restarting this blog. I'm trying to figure out how to disengage from FB, but the Sockmonkey group is one big reason I stay on it. I agree with others about the text color, and find the new "off-white" very restful and easy to read.
ReplyDeleteHello! Thank you for stopping in and commenting. Yes, I am hoping we can grow this so that more of the group is included and can converse with one another. It's hard, though, for people to change their habits, especially if those habits include Facebook, or any other social media site. I'm glad you like the text color and that it works for the eyes.
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