I am so thankful this class was so hands-on about online publishing! I think I have similar struggles that I hear many writers and bloggers complain about: keeping up with consistency, having enough story ideas, always being able to pull inspiration even when you have none, and the overwhelming feeling of a great story idea that needs to be organized well and has many moving pieces. It was refreshing to feel that I was addressing those complaints and learning how to work through them in Online Publishing.
What was great about this past month was just being required to make the blog and write the posts, just as consistently as a successful blog should. I hope to keep up with posting regularly and resolve some bugs I have in the layout. I also want to find a way to integrate my main blog with this personal one without muddling a lot of different kinds of posts together.
It’s also been invaluable to be working with a cohort so diverse in every aspect of writing style and subject matter, as sometimes you don’t even know what you’re missing until you have colleagues to sound off of.
From Toni’s blog, I was reminded of web conventions, because her menu icon in the top left was easy to recognize, was located in the first place my eyes went to, and it helped me navigate easier.
Renee’s website really highlights the importance of content: She has organized links and lots of different types of content, like her professional work, links to her Instagram, a reel, and a personal blog. There are different ways to engage with her, and her use of anchor text is simple and useful. I also LOVE her domain name! Summa Our TV is a pun on her last name, so it’s personal but memorable.
My favorite thing about Tanya’s blog was how straightforward and clean it was. It’s interesting to learn something new and suddenly have the terms to explain what you like or want to do with a project.I say that because going to Tanya’s page made me instantly think of Krug’s underlying principle of just making things easy for your readers. I like that there isn’t too much scroll from the landing page to some kind of text that pushes you in the right direction, and even though I love succulents, highlights for me that I prefer to have less of a banner.
Delores’ name for her blog, Mellow Peppermint is so cute! I like it because it gives the idea of her blog being a package or product a more complete feel. I also appreciated that her posts were laid out differently; I’m still playing with how I want posts to be displayed and seeing something different like her story tiles reminded me that conventions don’t have to feel standard or boring.
Jennifer’s blog Dakota FM also has that clean uncluttered feeling that Tanya’s did. The layering of the photos gives dimension to the page, while also creating defined spaces for her posts.
My classmates have given me a lot to learn from! I’m excited that this is just the beginning with WordPress and publishing online in general, because learning in practice feels intuitive through their programs. I remember writing html code for Myspace 15 years ago, and having to manually lay out objects on pages by measurement, so the simplicity in modern technology and how you can personalize it is honestly mind boggling. As a tech lover, I appreciate the usability of the editing and management tools that still translate into professional and aesthetically pleasing sites. I’m looking forward to the learning curve here, and being able to use these skills in the future.
Garbanzo Bae 