I’m still very “n00bish” compared to many other bloggers in 9rules. I’ll admit that. How I got accepted, I’ll never know. However, I am definitely wanting to push forward with Timothy’s Burden to see where it can go.
I’m going to carefully reconstruct Timothy’s Burden, focusing on usability and other things like that. I’m keeping this theme and all my current content–I’m not reconstructing that much!–but I have deactivated just about all of the plugins installed here (save for Akismet and Bad Behavior, two plugins I wholeheartedly recommend to any blogger). Some won’t be returning, some others may be added, and some you may not even notice are gone.
I also note that there are currently 11 subscribers to my Feedburner feed, which though it may seem like a tiny number, means that there are eleven people out there who care enough about what I am saying here to want to be notified whenever there is new content. That’s amazing to me, and a bit humbling as well. I want to give more emphasis to the feeds than there was before, and I have started by adding a link to the comments feed which previously was missing. You’ll find it just below the header.
I think I may also install some stats tracking software to see what my visitors are reading and what they aren’t. I’ll call the popular material “stuff I should write more about,” perhaps. Clever title, yes? I thought so. Up until now, I have no idea how people are getting here and what they are doing when they get here. I have Google Analytics installed, but I don’t even check it. I don’t want to have to visit another site to check the stats on this one. Ideally, I would love to have a Mint, but who has $30 to spare? Not I, for sure. But, there are amble GPLed statistics software and plugins available I can check out.
9rules originally began with nine (wait for it…) rules, and if you are not familiar with them, they are
- Love what you do.
- Never stop learning.
- Form works with function.
- Simple is beautiful.
- Work hard, play hard.
- You get what you pay for.
- When you talk, we listen.
- Must constantly improve.
- Respect your inspiration.
Several of those things are more “personal” than others (i.e., “Never stop learning,” is something that occurs in my life and is expressed on Timothy’s Burden through my content, but isn’t as related to the site itself as, say, “Simple is beautiful,” which can refer both to content and design.)
So in wanting to move forward, I’m asking anyone reading for advice on how I can better Timothy’s Burden in light of 9rules’ nine rules (and any other advice you may have). I’m not asking just 9rules members for advice; I’m asking anyone reading this, and I will greatly appreciate any advice you may have.
For His glory.
I feel so honored to be one of those 11 first subscribers! Don’t worry about the small number, you’ll get more, trust me, you’re a great writer and great person. Good luck with your upgrades! :D
I know first hand that it can be a lot of fun and very inspiring to add more functionality to your blog. Feedburner is a wise choice, and I’d also highly recommend making your feed more visible with one of those orange icons somewhere. I’d just keep up the great content, and friendly atmosphere. I think those two things are what’s really going to bring people here. Keep up the great work!
A great writer? Nah. Great writing was my Star Trek fan fiction I wrote back in middle school. That was good stuff. I just wish I knew what happened to it… Arg.
Seriously though, thanks. And you’re right, having one of those nifty Feed images is probably a wise idea. I’ll be off to find me one momentarily!