So, you probably noticed that for the last few months, this blog has been in kind of a weird netherworld. I'm reproducing the sports posts that I write for my Sports Illustrated blog here. I'm also putting up some non-sports stuff here. Meanwhile, I'm putting up polls here and, well, it's all kind of weird and distracting and disjointed. I'm also finding myself spending too much effort doing time-intensive things that don't make a lot of sense, like making changes to the same story on two different blogs.
Well, over the next few weeks things are going to change a bit. We are redesigning joeposnanski.com. I have quite a few ideas for what we're going to do. And, at the same time, I have no idea what we're going to do … or what technically we even CAN do. By "we," I should say that I'm including my technical team, which at the moment includes family members, though the 6-year-old at last check was holding out for more money.
Among the general plans:
1. Make the overall site a bit more interactive.
2. Have two separate blogs -- a sports blog and a personal blog.
3. Do a better job of connecting everything I do -- from books to magazines to web to Poscasts to Tweets.
4. Possibly connect with a statistical site … not entirely sure how that would work yet.
5. Write that iPad review.
in any case, you have been the driving force behind this blog for a few years now. So I would ask you for your suggestions, your ideas, your crazy notions -- what would you like this Web site and blog to be in 2012?
I just want a place to read whatever you write. Having everything all in one place would be great.
ReplyDeleteLove the personal blog and interactive nature of this site. Perhaps instead of duplicating, could just link to SI articles here so we don't miss them.
ReplyDeleteThe only thing I really want is full text RSS feeds. Having all of your articles on a plane without internet is a God-send.
ReplyDeleteWhat RKO36 said. I want it all, in one easy-to-follow place, with an RSS feed just like the current blog.
ReplyDeleteI think the driving force for change is from your end, so follow what you want to do.
The site could be a "one stop shop" for all that you do. There could be a widget for Twitter, archived episodes of every PosCast you have done and links to SI articles as well as the brilliant non-sports stuff that got me hooked into your writing in the first place.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually not wanting you to write or pour out more of yourself on ever-increasing platforms. I want you to continue observing people, phenomenons and trends, continue raising a wonderful family and to "clumsily" stuff it all into your own words and into our view.
And see if you can negotiate with the six year old about possible popsicle benefits in exchange for a pay freeze.
I agree with the others. I hope you don't split up the sports and personal blogging because I really like both.
ReplyDeleteDoes this mean that Wikipedia is going to be proven right after all?
ReplyDeleteAssuming your BRs want a separate place to interact and comment on your story, posts that link to SI would do the trick.
ReplyDeleteI would like to see you also link to other writing you find interesting. Better yet, invite some guests to occassionally post on this site.
Even better yet, allow some of your BRs to pitch stories and write ocassionally on your site.
I realize that last suggestion = additional work. I would be happy to assist in any way I could.
As long as there is an iPad review to look forward to, I'll follow you anywhere, Joe!
ReplyDeleteI would love to see a forum for your brilliant readers. The comments are often as good as the articles.
ReplyDeleteWhatever you decide to do, please do not write that iPad review.
ReplyDeleteAnother vote for NOT splitting things up -- the more scattered your work product is, the harder it is for us to find your writing.
ReplyDeleteI think you, in particular, might find it difficult to separate "sports blog" and "personal blog". How many of your blogposts are pure sports? How many of your blogposts are pure personal? Hell, even one of my favorite recent "personal" posts of yours -- "A Fatherhood Story" in June -- was mostly about the Twins :-P
ReplyDeleteI want the blog to become an iPad app.
ReplyDeleteJust do what you do, Poz. It may take some time, but we BRs will come to accept xJOE. Sure we'll cling to the old, RBIs-are-a-good-stat current site, and, for some of us, even the older pitcher-wins-are-the-be-all-end-all of the older site (Which is still functioning with a link to this one. Weird.).
ReplyDeleteBut I will second (third? Fourth?) the comments above, that your "sports" and "personal" posts should remain together. For your sanity, do not separate these. I can only imagine the struggle on where to place a Buck O'Neill post. He's a legend, but you post nothing but heart-warming, personal stories of the man.
If you write it, we will come. But remember, a sports movie is still a sports movie even with a tear-inducing game of father-son catch at the end.
I'm tired of hearing about that ipad, can we get the review out of the way already? Plenty of sites have baseballreference and fangraphs linked on the side column.
ReplyDeleteI would like a unicorn. Thanks in advance.
ReplyDeleteAlternately, just keep writing great/quirky/personal stuff.
I am not a brilliant reader. I can barely read. Just keep feeding me enjoyable content and I will continue to listen to you and Michael Schur draft everything under the sun. In fact, there's my suggestion for an improvement: Audio blog, with Morgan Freeman orating your posts. Actually, let's go with David Caruso.
ReplyDelete"connect with a statistical site".
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you intend by this, but I would love if you at least did something like Fangraphs or a lot of other big blogs, where the name of a player is always linked to their stats page on first reference in a post. Since I read in an RSS reader, it's easy to forget whose site you're reading, and I've repeatedly had the experience of reading your posts, seeing you mention a player, and getting annoyed that I couldn't just click on their name to pull up some career stats, like I would on those other sites.
You're a writer, Joe, and I enjoy reading what you write. I read you in an RSS feed so what you do to the look of the site doesn't influence me at all. I hate polls and so I don't miss that aspect of your site either.
ReplyDeleteSteak is a jerk. First order of business for the new blog should be banning him from commenting.
ReplyDeleteinstead of having 2 sites, why dont you just have 1 site w/ 2 different sections, that way we dont have 2 go to 2 diff places to view your fantastic writing?
ReplyDelete"If you build it..." ah, well it seemed like a good spot for a Field of Dreams reference.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to see a comment section for the polls.
ReplyDeleteThe iPad review is a shibolleth. It will never be published in my lifetime, and that's the way I like it.
I'd rather you write more than redesign the site. I'm sure I'll like the site whatever you do but I really love your writing. The more the better.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to echo the motion that you should not split up your personal and sports stuff in two different sites. There could potentially be separate categories you could file the posts under, but please keep everything on one site and all your articles should be able to be viewed from one page
ReplyDeleteI appreciate the simplicity of the blog, as the stories from the author are the reason for site visits.
ReplyDeleteI too like reading whatever you write, and find that I enjoy the non-sports articles as much or more than the sports ones (not least because I can share them with my wife!).
ReplyDeleteMy suggestion would to be have your technical team work on making it as easy as possible for you to write, in whatever format or medium you wish, and have the results show up in one place with a full-text RSS feed (like on the current site).
Anything involving as many of your awesome posts as possible. Sportswriting needs more thoughtful writers like yourself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the comments. Love the complete text on my RSS. I'm living abroad and internet is not as cheap to click all over the web. I like seeing everything you write in one place and think it would be great to link to more things from here. 2 or more places is ok as long as one has were everything is. Don't want to miss anything.
ReplyDeleteAs Fat Tony once said, "listen to your heart."
ReplyDeleteIt's your blog, Joe. We'll follow you in whatever direction you choose.
But I do love the reviews of weird products!
You are asking the wrong crowd since people that comment here are your fan base and already like this blog as it is.
ReplyDeleteWhat is RSS?
ReplyDeleteHahahaha.
I'm serious.
Another vote for one site.
Hey Joe,
ReplyDeleteI second those who prefer one blog over separate ones. Things people follow or want to read on the internet tend to be very scattered, so to me it's always a plus if I don't have to go to too many places. In addition, as one commenter wrote, in many cases it might really hard to decide whether a text belongs into the sports or the personal blog.
Including your most recent tweets and poscasts on the site (somewhere on the sidebar, maybe) is a good idea, but I hope the site generally remains as simple as it is.
I also like the idea of a commenter that you could, out of the probably hundreds of articles you read per week, recommend a few 'must not miss articles'.
Then again, it's a privilege to read your work, so really, do whatever you want, we'll find it and we'll deal with anything.
Obviously, the SI site is where Mr. Posnanski gets paid, so you can't exactly change him writing there. I would prefer to keep one blog here that combines the personal with the sports as they so often blend together anyway. Suggestions:
ReplyDelete1. Stop thinking that this site needs content to the point of sending the same SI pieces. If it isn't different, don't post it here. That would ease some of the burden. Only post here when you want to and make it original to what is on SI.
2. Polls are okay and some are very interesting.
3. Not a fan of podcasts.
4. Keep it simple.
5. It would be cool if you featured writing from some of your brilliant readers once in a while. Many of them are bloggers.
I'd like to see comment threads for podcasts and polls.
ReplyDeleteI had always assumed the posts here and on SI were the same since they had the same names. I don't have a problem with you reposting the same articles here along with the non-sports stuff. I say keep it in one place.
ReplyDeleteI like the podcasts and would like to see them continue.
More Royals articles would be nice, but I doubt that is going to happen.
Yet another vote for not splitting up the sports stuff and the personal stuff. That's like putting out Superman and Clark Kent as separate comic books.
ReplyDeleteConsider using tagging to categorize your posts, then they could still be a single stream and people could filter out what they want. Keith Law's blog is a good example of this, and I think it's hosted by blogspot also.
ReplyDeleteYou have to save the iPad review for 2025 or something... Let's face it, you probably can't add anything new at this point except just marvel over it like everyone else, so why not just wait until we're a chunk into the future and it will be a novelty again?
ReplyDeleteAlso, don't split up the blogs. We don't want to hop back and forth for things...
IlOVE your personal pieces and don't want to have to go elsewhere to find them, so keep 'em all in one place. Makes your sports pieces more "personal" by association and distinguishes your "voice" by breaking the "fourth wall" and including non-professional sports topics.
ReplyDeleteas others said, id love for everything to be this one site
ReplyDeleteYou are a great writer. For the love of God you made a speech about sports turf eloquent and moving. You also write great stuff about baseball. "Katie the prefect" made my week. So did you fessing up to dissing Bautista in your best players in the game post at teh start of the season. I want it all.
ReplyDeleteI do not mind link or redirects to your SI.com blog if you want to only post something once. And since SI pays you, well posting there might make sense for you.
I don't think you should split things up, except for the iPad review. That needs its own site.
ReplyDeleteHere's another vote for the smorgasbord blog (the smorgasblog?). Also pro-unicorn. Somewhat anti-inviting-guest-bloggers. If you could figure out a way to make the rest of the internet more like this blog, that would be cool.
ReplyDeleteMy reading experience is not noticeably impoverished by the absence of connection to a statistical site, or by not having more interactivity, but I dare say I just don't know what I'm missing and I would love it if it was there.
Feel free to start singing "Just The Way You Are" here.
I would actually like to vote AGAINST putting the sports content only on SI.com, with only links here. Nearly all the big sites like that have worthless comment sections. It would really be terrible to lose the opportunity to discuss what you write - it's half the joy of your writing, Pos. You have the ability to spark people's minds and imaginations.
ReplyDeleteNone of the BRs want to make you do twice the work, Pos. We're grateful that you give so much excellence for free. There should be a way to automate the process of uploading your content here, so you can make your deadlines and do everything once, while some clever programming takes care of the grunt work.
Such an interesting story to read and I enjoyed reading it as well. Keep up the good work. lidocaine
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ReplyDelete