What Did You Get for Valentine's Day?
February 14 is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other; sending Valentine's cards or candy. But instead of discussing about the candy that I got (!), I would like to follow up on some of my previous posts because I feel that these updates are too important to be overlooked. Plus, I don't want to mess up the already long posts by making them longer!First of all, I would like to thank all my friends who provided feedback on yesterday's post. I made some changes according to the suggestions. What do you think?
- Removed Translate panel. Let me know if anyone needs it back.
- Bookmark/email this post. I will remove or replace them in the future.
- Down sized the fonts. Does it look better now?
- Shuffled the sidebar panels. 'About this Blog' panel didn't look good when higher up.
- Huge RSS Feed icon near the top. For all you RSS-aholics out there! If that isn't big enough, check this out:
UPDATEThinking Blogger Awards: . Are you a thinking blogger or a blogging thinker? Probably the best meme blogosphere has ever seen. Well, I guess it would be better if I didn't limit the number of nominations to 5 but that is the whole point. Only the best gets a 'Thinking Blogger' award! =)
Due to its nature, the nominated bloggers are (obviously thinking and) making little adjustments to the rules. For example, Greg added:
But it doesn't seem to work all the time. Myers like snakes, and adds:"If you do not follow the rules, snakes will take up residence in your basement and you will get a flat tire. Or worse. Tires will take up residence in your basement and you will get a flat snake. "
"Extortion just won't work, especially when the threat is so tantalizing."
- No blogs with so many contributors coming from so many directions that they have an unfair advantage over solo practitioners.Tim Abbott added inclusive criteria, emphasizing:
- No blogs that I rely on primarily as news digests, however much I rely on them.
- No blogs that I see have already received the Thinking Blogger designation.
- Blogs I read daily and that post regularly.This is creativity! But the most important thing is that I found really nice blogs through this meme in the past few days. And it's not just me. As far as I can see from the comments left on those posts, lots of great content is brought to people's attention. Some of the blogs really makes me pause to think.
- Blogs that stimulate thoughtful commentary and foster informed debate.
- Blogs that present ideas and information that are consistently fresh, unusual, and thought provoking.
For example, one of the blogs tagged by Nirmala is called Indexed, a blog which is worth a daily feed. The blogger mentioned is Jessica Hagy who draws Venn Diagrams and graphs on Index cards to get her point across. Imagine a graph with the X-Axis as number of brain cells stimulated and the Y-axis as number of words. Most blogs reside in the upper left corner. Indexed sits comfortably in the lower right. This delightful sketch, "What are you getting for Valentine's Day?", seems to fit here just in time:
92 thoughts:
Since you asked, kiddo, I have to tell ya-- I like the facelift!
I would have responded more quickly but got spaced reading the comments regarding the meme. I've been keeping up with it since it first launched. Btw, I'm one of a few working the grandstands selling peanuts and popcorn. ~:o)
You did mahvelously, dahlink! What's even more important is: how do you feel about the changes?
*Hugs*
@Saboma: Hey, thanks.. you got a V-D candy too?
I'm feeling good about the changes. Since this will be my theme forever, I thought at least I should do some minor tweaks every once in a while.
The only problem is that now I need to upgrade my 12" screen to read my own blog though. Fonts are too small! =)
Hey! I don't think it will be your theme forever but if you say so, that's kool. I will put back the traslate icons, many bloggers will hit your page and won't have a clue about what are you saying at least they can translate it. Everything else fine. I love the huge RSS icon. Can steal it again?
@TonNet: Did you use the translate panel before? I heard it doesn't always make sense when Google translates into Spanish. (BTW, you can also bookmark a button there to use it anywhere on the Internet.
No, you can't steal anything. They are mine! =)
I think it looks great and it loaded really fast for me. I was wondering about the translation tool myself? Is it something tha just never or rarely is needed or gets used? I think your custom graphics are wonderful.
@Polliwog: It is good news to hear the site loads up faster. The translation tool is basically a link to Google Translate I gave above. If you mean what my blog looked like before, then see the previous site face-lift.
Well, someday I'll make my blog look as clean as this, once I shake the pre-fab theme.
I do not think you really need a large button for RSS. A average sized button with some decent looks is best for your template which is really awesome.
Waiting to see how you manage with your sidebar!
site looks nice, like the 3D buttons, though the corners look a bit jagged on my screen.
I don't think the RSS icon is big enough, hold on.....let me get my magnifying glass...oh there it is I can see it now. Can you make it just a little bigger..just a smidge?
Just kidding, the new look is NICE, by the way can I steal the RSS icon too? :)
That white space on the right was waaaay out of wack and causing me problems ..
but then I reduced My IE7 screen from 125% back to normal 100% and it looks fine :)
Like the Comments script show/hide!
Hi,
I like the tweaking you have done. It does seem to be a continuing process tho, doesn't it.
As you have so often done, your post on the memes make me think. When I started blogging - so long ago - 2 months now :) - I thought that what blogs were all about was sharing some common interests. I have enjoyed doing that - but now I am looking at a bigger picture. The blogging of thoughts and ideas, opinions and analysis are a much more tantalizing and appealing prospect. I am mulling this now.
Amazing blog!!Loved reading your posts!!Jessica
ABOUT THINKING BLOGGER AWARDS: As far as Internet memes go, this one isn't too bad. It's more a way of recommending interesting blogs than revealing useless personal information at least. If it had been '5 favorite species of butterfly' then people might not have bothered.
ABOUT YOUR WEBSITE DESIGN: Amazing work!
Hi ilker,
I'd change your body text font to a sans serif. Serif fonts such as the one you're using are better for printed material. Sans serif is the web standard.
Make your RSS icon orange so it's instantly recognisable, thus attracting more subscribers. It's orange at the foot of your page so keep it consistent.
Increase the text size on the top horizontal nav bar as your categories get kind of lost. Either that or slightly increase the spacing between them. Again, I think a san serif font would help them out.
Ciao for now,
David
Hi, your changes help, definitely. That RSS button is a whopper. Consider moving your categories to the sidebar. It took me awhile to figure out those were categories up there at the top. Love the donations thermometer!
Tried making it orange, red, black but they don't fit in nicely with the other colors! How about we burn that RSS feed icon? =)
Now it looks more like the standard orange one but a bit more.. hot!
You're making improvements.
Keep it up.
Navigation bar (on top) and side bar fonts are now Sans Serif.
Also smoothed the previously pixelated (jagged) RSS, Technorati and Delicious buttons.
I like the facelift, but I still think that the navigation doesn't fit into the layout. The black background there and the small buttons doesn't look good. There is a little gap between the menu and the wrap area. Maybe you can fix it. But all in all i like the design.
That little gap is intentional. Trust me, without it the nav-bar looks worse!
My, that IS a big button. Hope you get lots of subscribers from that. :D
Changes look good
http://ntycnboricua.blogspot.com
I like the changes - kick ass indeed.
The blog loads fast enough for me -- Firefox user.
I like the labels as a tabbed nav bar across the top. I wouldn't change that. I think it's very tidy-looking.
Slightly smaller font is good -- and I agree that the sans serif "reads" better. But don't make the font too much smaller (or maybe I'm telling on myself -- grandma here with her reading glasses LOL).
Waiting to see what you'll end up doing with the sidebar. Sometimes it's a tough trade-off between clutter and information.
I agree with the poster who said you should have a serious look at who's clicking on what, using Google Analytics, to guide you re which features to keep and which ones to toss.
Guess none of us are ever done with tweaking... On balance, though yours is a very distinctive and appealing design.
I agree that these are great layout adjustments. I'm going to have a closer look shortly.
How does one follow the links OUT from the start of a meme automatically? Going backwards from a single end point may be easier because people will generally link where it came from...
Ah once you have a list of blogs on the award-meme-web how do you depict this web, physically? What kind of "map" (no that one has to do this, but it could be interesting)
@Greg: I think you can follow the meme if you click on the 5 blogs I tagged, and the 5 blogs they tagged..etc until you find no posts.
Mapping all those blogs would be really interesting though. Because almost all of them are really interesting to read!
Wow your RSS icon is almost as big as the one on http://worldsworstwebcomic.com/! Awesome!
I could get lost. So much room... Quite unusual in a blog :D
Alex
I especially liked the picture of the pie charts at the end, although they are a little cynical. The new blog look seems to work. All the best. Michelle
I like the new theme a lot. Things that especially stuck out were the white on black side panels causing good visual separation, and I totally love the technorati, digg, and RSS (chicklets?). Very cool stuff.
Your site looks awesome and the changes are probably good as well. But I can´t really say, because this is my first visit to your blog :-)
I love your design, it's simply and epurate. Your posts is very interresting, continue for this good work.
Bye !
Zial
Love it, Your design is award winning caliber. How the hell do you do it?
ROLF! Love the V-Day candy you got!! :D
Wll! I quess, is beeeter! If you like it that is important no?
Hey ilker*
Nice looking blog but i don't like white backgroundz that much*
but i guess thass what all the Pro WordPress Bloggers use so what do i know*
;))
"down sized the fonts"..looks much better now!!! :)
it's great..I liked it before and I like it now :)
by the way, what does ilker mean?
I really like what you did. The only thing is...I'm not sure if it's my browser (firefox) but everything looks so BIG. (RSS feed button on post) jk.
:)
GREAT job!
Now, I want to work on mine...sheesh.
Great idea..
shows some thing we dont mention...
@Mike: I wish to win an award for the design. Problem is, nobody knows my blog!
@Arin: Yeah I like but I'm not the one reading so I thought it is also important that you like it as well.
@Billy: What Wordpress? Haven't you noticed the "blogspot" bit of my address? =)
@Nights: My name, Ilker, means first child. I also have a younger sister. Our surname, Yoldas, means travel buddy in Turkish.
@Alyx: It is meant to be big! ;)
This looks good, but I think I like the other layout a little better. More of a personal taste thing, though. The big RSS button at the bottom and in the center seems a bit off.
Other than that, it's clean and simple. Easy to navigate and find what you're looking for.
I'm amazed,not by the blog itself though it's very, very cool, functional, cool design, colors etc. Orange on black always works good. Sort of 'punk' in a way.. me gustas mucho. Since I never saw it until now I can't comment on the improvements.
Your energy is what amazes me. You are pure energy. Is this your work??
Sorry for not realizing what's behind that facial you're using on mybloglog. I´m a sceptic (thinker) and a pic on the net could be anybody in reality, right?
I'm also loads of energy and I've just posted some cool brake-beat samples on my server (CD out in about a month ). If you like break beats you should come over for a visit. qubetech.net/xen-breaks/ And if you like it even more than just a little, you can help me by writing about the music... ;) I admire your (web) presence, keep it up... ::rich::
@Qubenzis: I'm hyper-energetic! Of course I like break-beats.. I'm a breakdancer, remember?
Downloading your music now.. if it makes me think while dancing (!), I'll write about it as well ;)
It's much better to read now.
And people are reading it, most importantly!
Congrats.
I like it, very professional looking and easy to read
I think the new layout works--everything loaded up nicely. And fantastic post (including link to back posts and thinking blog awards--loved that)
It's looking good, but I think your sidebar still loads way slow.
Looks sharp! I'd update my own template if i weren't doing it from work ;)
I'd actually seen the face lift earlier today when i dropped by. Was at work so i couldn't really comment :). Nice of you to remind me about it . Love the new design by the way and the BIG rss button ;) .
Eu gostei bastante da mudança de visual, mas como sei ler pouco ingles, nao dá para comentar muito mais..
Bjinho e visita meu blog...
http://bancadadirecta.blogspot.com/
your blog layout looks outstanding... Im quite sure your blogging skills well be greatly enhanced with the new look
-trump
I really like the look of your blog! Looks very nice and the "gigantic!" rss button rocks...I want one...lol! Take care friend. ;)
Very nice! I love the thecnorati,rss and del.icio.us icons!!
Great work ;)
Something is funky when you adjust the browser size smaller. Check your CSS to see if you are using fixed widths.
@hmtksteve: The sidebar has fixed width, so when you resize the browser it shifts down. I have very limited CSS knowledge, so I don't know how to fix it. Please help!!
Btw, the headline for each post is also the permalink.
Just in case you might need it ;)
You could wrap your blog in a brown paper bag & I would still read it. But the new look is nice.
I like it! Nice work. It looks like you could make the side bar a little wider if you wanted to. I love the 3D feed buttons.
Lookin' good. You may inspire me. I've wanted to change things around for a long time but just don't have it in me.
Hats off to you :)
interesting site you have. i like the design.
I love it, it all looks good, you are a hard worker!
Looks great! Keep it up. Wish I have the time to make a major facelift on my blog.
good work!!
you have given importance to your work more than any other thing.
That's the best part of it.
I like the way it looks like now. And I am pleased to see that I am in a prominent "position" in your "Recent Thinker" list. First, because of the position. Second, because of being considered to be a thinker. Peter (pvoegtli)
It's nice :-) but the sidebar looked disproportionately narrow on my firefox browser. I'm using 1280px display.
Hey ilker!!!!
Wow it's cool template ..thank you for inviting me to your blog.
Silentsurfur
It's fun! Thanks for inviting me to take a look. Love the vibrant colors. I'm sure you'll continue to make changes as you get used to your own new look.
Namaste, Thea
At first I have never met someone who is special to me....So obvious would be I never got anything...Well I am waiting for someone special...!
@Bernard: Thank you for mentioning that. I have designed my blog according to the most common screen resolution (1024x768), according to this blog's visitor statistics. In any case, it is also the maximum resolution I can have on my 12" screen.
Would anyone with a larger resolution be willing to upload a screenshot to Imageshack and post the link here? It would be really helpful to see how my blog looks on your computer.
Well, here's Johnny-Come-Lately to put in his 2cents worth. Generally, you can expect favourable comments because, in a visual sense, your blog design looks cool and very different from others. But to have function and form creating effective visual communication, using different types of visual devices like huge RSS button, etc, just doesn't cut it. You need to look at a number of elements on the blog page - where they are placed, how easily are they located and so on.
Again, generally san serif fonts are preferred for body text, but I won't say you can't use serif fonts. Put it this way: if you want to look cool, funky, trendy, contemporary, casual, relax, then san serif is the font. If your content is about business, literary and thoughtful stuff, then maybe a serif font can be considered.
Post headlines shouldn't be too big and too long unless it's something special that you want to use. Whether you're using serif or sans serif, it's a good idea to keep the point size in the range of 24pt to 36pt. It can be in bold or regular. But, of course, this is not cast in stone.
Your header: you need to adjust it. The avatar seems to be partly hidden.
The top menu bar: Too many labels running horizontally and going into a second line. When a reader starts going down the page, it would be inconvenient for her to return to the top to check those labels again. Better to run them down the sidebar.
Translation: It's good to have a translator if you're also targetting other non-English readers. You get a wider audience worldwide. I know some people don't think that way. That's insular thinking.
Post box too wide: That's why the sidebar content gets pushed down to the bottom. I don't know how you're going to adjust that. Keeping body text at 10pt and downsizing the post headings may do the trick.
I'm afraid you need to do some more tweaking before you get everything right. But I must say, one more time, you got readable content. So, you must be doing something right, eh? In design, everything evolves as we move on. Having done a revamp, we'll sit back and look at our "masterpiece" but overtime, we'll be back again for another design revolution.
Okay, that's enough for today. Keep the good things coming!
@Mark: Thank you for your constructive comment. It is really helpful and I will see what I can do about those.
For those who would like the see how the translation on my blog used to be, I submitted the links to this post's comments. Have a look and see if it makes sense.
If more than 22 people would like to have it back, then.. you will get what you want!
Hi,
ok my 5 cents.
basically i like the color scheme and the layout. The font is good, the size as well.
I find the right panel a bit "unconnected" to the posts. It's a bit disturbing as it doesnt really fit into the blog the way it is now.
Perhaps you should let it start at the same height as the posts and you should adapt the widgets in color and font to the blog entries ?
Second i would suggest you limit the number of posts per page. I don't like to scroll much ;)
But don't worry ....
as long as the CONTENT stays at that level you could write even with a yellow font on a pink background and I would read it ;-)
@Kerim Mansour: I will keep your advice in my mind for the future updates, when I can manage to find some free time.
"yellow font on a pink background" LOL! Now that is a good way to convert some of the MBL community members to RSS readers! =)
Note: Compared to the number of members, there are only 52 RSS readers.. What a difference!
No wonder you don't have a feedburner RSS readers counter displayed on your blog. Make that 52+1, I getting fed now!
Thanks Eric!
Hey Ilker, the new look suites you. Thanks for asking.
Since you asked:
Blog looks very nice BUT (!!) where it says "by: Ilker Yoldas" you ought to remove the colon. Colons after prepositions make me itch. Keep it up!
I would love it if you checked my blog out too. :)
Ack! That was me back there!
Sorry!
Thanks Madame! I removed the colon and now I'm coming to check your blog ;)
Hey Ilker, nice look for your blog. I quite enjoy the content as well. The header is a great look and fits well with the overall theme.
Not sure if the blog design will be forever, seems to be a pretty long commitment. I can only ever commit to a design till I get bored with it.
My websites usually only last a year, maybe 2 if they are lucky before they gotta go.
the smaller fonts do make it look more friendly. i came here only recently though..
Hey!
Seems nice to me. Since I just came know about ur blog so can't comment on any changes.
BTW it might be just me but in the block Subscribe to feeds there is a underlined gap between the icon and the text that does not seem to hold with the rest of the template
Hmm...I thinks you could put it(Translate panel) back to your blog because your readers may come from many different countries and it's really useful for foreigners. Btw, I like your blog! Keep bloging :D
Hey, I said it already, but I feel comppelled to repeat myself... So much room! :)
Alex
Here's a screenshot from my 1280px screen:
http://img472.imageshack.us/img472/2048/capture19022007115001rg1.th.jpg
Whow the New Design so cute and wide... I love it...
All is perfect!
The new look is great, smaller fonts make things look cleaner and the side bar looks really nice as well.
So all in all it's a GOOD LOOKING blog, but us readers come back for the wonderful content of course. :)
wow.. this is great.. you did a great job on this... The color is cute.. :D
New design looks great. I am having a bit of trouble with the navigation bar on top. It seems to be getting mixed in with the name of your post. I am using IE 7 at 100 percent.
keep it up 8-)
Martin Reyes
I want to have the same one
Your blog is exemplary for me! The graphics, design and structure are enviable. You know, I can't edit so - from reason of english language don't know - my wordpress blog...but would be good, wouldn't be?!
best regards and waiting for your reply
What do you think? Post your thoughts..