July 31 marked the one year anniversary since I started this new weblog format. 27 articles later, it’s been fairly successful. I’ve got the Who, Where, and Why down, and have some tweaking to do on the When and What.
Content
When I first started, I didn’t really know what Altering Log would be about. I knew it would not be about what I did that day, politics, personal stuff, or meta-blogging (other than the occasional status post like this one.) Categorizing each post, though, made me realize what Altering Log is about. Besides my own projects, I’ve noticed some of the common themes are Google, Apple, Socioeconomics, and Cell Phones. To root out more of these, I’m going to replace the categories Programming, Products, and Design with more specific categories.
People have noticed that every post I make is accompanied by one or more “Little Images”. Some people (cough) don’t edit down or have any format at all for their blog images, but I love making those little things. Sometimes I even start with one, and it helps inspire the post.
Frequency
My initial goal was to post every week or two, and try to be consistent. I mostly succeeded, except in early 2007 when I massively screwed the pooch and didn’t post for 118 days. Because of that, my average posting rate was every 13 days, with a standard deviation of 22 days (which is pathetically high.) For the coming year, my goal is to be more consistent - specifically, to have half the deviation in post frequency. To accomplish this, I’ve started throttling my posts. When I’m super-productive, I write lots of drafts, and store them. Then every week or so, I’ll go through what I have, edit one, and post it. That way my hyperactive times don’t go to waste, and I stay involved in blogging even when I’m not as motivated or creative.
Sucking Less
So do you have any criticism? Maybe the name “Altering Log” sucks. It kind of does actually, but I’m not sure what else to call it. (Bloggering Time?) Are you happy with posts every week or two? What things do I not write enough about? I’ve got another whole year of posts to write.