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Your thoughts on a new project?

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I wonder, Dear Readers, if you’d mind taking a minute and giving me some feedback?

A couple of years ago, I found an abandoned group on a social media platform. Old Books. With the help of one other person, and as we went along several more, we build the group from eight members to over 400. We were scrupulous about keeping bot (fake) accounts out so these were real people. There are about a dozen or so who regularly posted, and probably 2-3 times that many who frequently commented and sometimes posted. Rest were lurkers.

For reasons which don’t matter here, I am leaving that social media platform. When I told those dozen or so “friends,” to a person they asked to be told if I landed someplace else, and several suggested other sites where we might keep our group together.

After some thought, I decided to do it myself–that is not to do social media but to put together a multiple-author blog, The Old Books Blog, at a domain name I already owned (but had done nothing with).

So here’s where you come in, if you will. The beta version of The Old Books Blog @oldschoolhouseroadpublishing.com is up and running.

Would you mind taking a quick look and letting me know what you think? Most interested in what you think about appearance and navigability. The content is nearly all mine but as other author-posters come on, that will change. (It was a diverse group with antiquarian booksellers, collections curators, people into the history of bookmaking, etc.) Also–I know the subscriber form isn’t right; I’m working on it.

Comment here or there. Thanks!

The Old Books Blog

4 Responses

  1. Looks nice. Question. Will a contributor receive a notice that there has been comments made on their post? Or will we have to keep going back to check. Just wondering about a running discussion between a couple members. How does that work. Also, as time progresses the posts move down the pike (so to speak) can a post move up to the top when a new comment is made? Otherwise if people get into this blog it will become difficult to find posts that are receiving attention. Sorry, I’m not savvy on tech stuff and don’t know what is a possibility. Just my musings.

    1. Thanks. Excellent and just the sort of things I needed.

      Answers. We can set it up to receive an email when someone comments (which is how I know you just commented). Posts cannot change order, I don’t think. BUT! See all that space on the right? That’s the sidebar and it can be set up to contain something like “newest comments” with a link to the post. In addition, lists or posts, or most popular posts can be in the sidebar.

      I haven’t done anything with the side bar b/c your concerns are exactly what can be addressed there. There’s lots of stuff that can be put in the side bar. Tags– so every post that includes an author’s name, genre, etc. is tagged and the list of tags can sho up. Look at Bigfood’s sidebar for examples.

  2. I enjoyed wandering around on the site. There are plenty of potential rabbit holes to go down, which is a fun thing in my world. It’s a place I’d like to return to and see develop

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