Touch wood, this could be a week of full employment, which will make a change. I might actually be able to buy a drink for someone other than myself on Saturday. After a couple of days at the grotty Kingstanding factory I’m off to Landrover in Soluhull to do something or other and the commute means I probably won’t be posting anything until the weekend. So taking advantage of that I’ll be turning the tables with another survey. This is for regular readers, meaning you come here at least once a week and have done so for at least a month.
1) Last year I asked if anyone read the blog in an RSS reader. Pretty much everyone didn’t know what RSS was. Has anything changed a year on?
2) If you do use RSS, do you use the individual feeds or the combined feed (called http://peteashton.com/all.xml)
3) This site consists of 5 sections, the weblog, the linklog, the mp3blog, the podcast and, indirectly, the Flickr photostream. Which do you follow, in order or preference please.
4) What sort of posts work for you, subject-wise? Is there anything you’d like me to write / post about?
5) Finally, and most interestingly for me at the moment, how would you like to see the site develop? I’m thinking about the technical side here – layouts, navigation, archives, that kind of thing. Bear in mind that I can do pretty much anything with this data. It doesn’t have to be useful – cool and interesting is good enough.
Answer as many questions as you care to in as much detail as you can be bothered with. You have until Sunday morning. Thanks!
You have 8 bloglines readers (including me)
Almost forgot:
I love the random posts about your temping jobs. The one where you got driven 2 hrs out of Birmingham and faced a revolt… Best Post Ever
1. I know what a RSS reader is, but for some reason I haven’t equiped myself with one. I think that’s because when I have a few spare minutes to look online, which is a few times a day if I am working from home, the act of checking is part of the break from whatever I am working on. I don’t want to know what has changed, as it suits me to find out for myself.
2. So I can’t answer 2, though I guess I would go for the combined feed.
3. In order of preference:
- the blog itself
- the linklog
- the mp3′s
- the flickr photos
- the podcast
I haven’t started to dabble with podcasts yet. I am sure I will do at some point: I like the idea of them. A quick survey of my own – when do people listen to their podcasts? On the way to work? As part of an evening’s relaxation? I assume they would be listenable through iTunes if someone doesn’t have an iPod – is that right?
4. I enjoy your posts whatever the subject. You have an engaging writing style, and that’s the draw. (You were fishing for compliments, right?)
5. I am glad you have added comments to the linklog – there were numerous times I have wanted to drop a line with thoughts of some link or other and couldn’t. I’d say you were pretty much ahead of the curve, technologically speaking, and you implement whatever technology you include very well. There is nothing clunky about your site, which makes it easy to visit on a regular basis.
How time scurries by. I still haven’t sorted out the feedpage I mentioned last year — work continues to exhaust my web-whacking urges so comprehensively that doing anything more involved than community-site publishing has been impossible. That said, I’ve find I appreciate “dropping round” to peoples’ sites — chacking out the decor, their new gadgets … so it’s dropped down the priority list.
At the moment, I go blog, flickr, linklog. Still not really doing any audio stuff online at all — I’m interested, but not interested enough.
Your subjects, layouts, navigation and all that are your own business, but you’re doing OK by me.
1) Well, I did buy Net NewsWire when in Houston and on DSL. Then two things happened – the service was downgraded to dial up and the computer was stolen. Anyway, both these downsides have been rectified and there is no reason why I should not be doing RSS again. Your survey question was a good reminder – thanks!
2) I guess I use the combined feed, but then I didn’t know I had a choice!
3) Regularly – Weblog and Linklog. Occasionally – Flickr and Podcast, Rarely – mp3blog (but I did enjoy Peggy Lee!)
4) Life of Pete, Web design and computer techniques are my favorites, but most stuff is of interest.
5) The site is one of the most word heavy I know but it doesn’t seem to matter as the words are used to good effect. Many of the subtitles are your comments and on the Linklog, for example, the links come alive because of them. I do not want to suggest where you take the site to next because I would rather be surprised.
I read it on blogline too, although I also have it on my yahoo and Thunderbird and Firefox, for reasons of idiocy, probably. I like your writing generally, although I do tend to skip anything overly long, if I’m completely honest.
I subscribe mostly to the weblog one, although now since Monday I’m on the all one as I just got broadband. This means I now look forward to following the mp3 and podcasting blogs, which I haven’t before due to the cost/time issue of dial-up.
Again, I agree that you seem to be the dogs in terms of layout and tech adoption and all that.
What I’m getting at with 5) is, is there anything about the structure of the site that you think is cool but could be cooler in some way? To take a recent example, the Recent Comments box on the front page was cool if you followed the discussions, but the new Comments page is way cooler for that. I kmow it’s nice to be surprised, but I could do with some focus here.
Don’t think about specifics – vagueness is just as useful, probably more so.
1) I’ve heard about it but have no idea what it is.
2) See ignorance above.
3) It’s pretty much the blog for me. Occassionally I check out a link if I happen to see something out of the corner of my eye. The podcasts sound interesting and I’ve liked the photos I’ve seen but slow internet connection tends to keep me focused on the main reason I visit the site.
4) It’s the life of Pete stuff I like. My favourite, um, ‘chapter’ of your blog was when you were on the farm. Not fussed about techno stuff but that’s just my ignorance/lack of interest. As Smithylad said, you have an engaging writing style and I like dropping by every now and then to see what’s happening, if the subject matter is of interest all the better.
5) The layout of the site is very easy to navigate, no complaints there. There is an awful lot going on though and I tend to just stick with the blog so it’s all lost on me, but that doesn’t mean anything, none of the extra stuff gets in the way and it’s my loss really.
OK, for (5) how about user selected color schemes, selectable from a palette you provide (i.e. you still retain control but offer us a choice)? I note that the CBSO has this option for their site though the colors are somewhat “bright”.
Real quick answer. I read your blog (and all others) via FeedDemon reader – just your weblog because I have too many feeds to read. I use this address: http://peteashton.com/index.rdf.
I have a Bloglines account but didn’t like the format of posts – does anyone know if you can use CSS styles in Bloglines like with desktop readers?
Planet.
No idea what RSS is, or a podcast, or the other things. I look forward to having a house and then broadband rather than living out of a Scania and using Internet cafes.
I don’t know what RSS is. I read your posts and the linklog. I like Life of Pete best, but i like all the rest as well. Can’t answer question 5. Keep up the good work.
1 Just barely aware of what RSS is but…
2 …not to the extent that I use it.
3 Blog, links, MP3s, podcast, Flickr
4 I like it best when you’re ranting, enthusing or musing (ooh, if I’d said “abusing” instead of ranting… but no). I also like the straight diary-type entries ’cause I like to know what you’re up to. Not especially fussed about the more techy stuff though I like your thoughts about, say, the nature of the internet (the long tail etc.)
5 No idea.
Oops, just realised you said answer by Sunday. Sorry, sir, my dog ate my keyboard.