We're trying something a bit different today for the first time. Once or twice a week, BBG will have a "theme", and the majority of the posts during that day will be variations on that theme. They might be overtly techy (today we're starting with "Printers") or they might not (Friday we're going to go with "Gardening"), but we hope they'll be a fun way to explore our chosen subject matter perpendicularly to the way it is typically presented in a blog.
It'll be a muddle-til-we-make-it sort of thing (what's new?) but I think you'll enjoy it. I don't plan on always doing any introductory post announcing the theme, but may when it seems appropriate. But I do want you guys to feel free to send in any links to things old or new that you think would fit well into the theme, as well as questions you want answered, so we'll have to figure out some good way to announce it early in the day.
I thought you had a theme: Gadgets.
And, if I really wanted to focus on a gadget sub-field, wouldn’t I just use the tagging to find it myself?
At the end of a theme day you should announce the next theme. Thus giving us a few days to muster up the courage to give you the links we find!
#1/Anonymous:
Seems the idea here is to inspire/shake up/de-boxify the authors of the blog, not the readers. We’ll be the beneficiaries indirectly by having more creative, deeper thinking to read. If one is interested solely in sub-categories, he or she may still use tagging, go elsewhere (Alltop is good for category fetishists), or wait for another theme here.
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Also: I humbly recommend “kitchen” as a theme – no end to the cool gadgets for food and drink.
Wooo. I’m excited. The following is a list of my modest suggestions.
bicycles, the color red, cleaning supplies, email, international communication, end-of-the-world-gadgets, things in the kitchen, gadgets that are fictional, sex toys, high-brow useless crap for the stupidly rich, stuff for airports, drinking related gadgets, outdated gadgets (think slide rules), things made from interesting materials.
This is a fabulous idea, Joel. I’m hoping you can keep it up.
Not that I don’t like your normal format, but it seems to resemble throwing things at a wall to see what sticks (which is the industry standard in blogging). Themes should gives BBG a more coherent feeling, an advantage over the gazillion other technology blogs that rely on press releases.
I’d say each theme should offer a nice breadth of info from the subject… give me a good sense of what’s going on in the world of INSERT THEME HERE.
…As long as the theme doesn’t go on all week long. I’d hate to be bored with getting stuck with a week of topics on a theme that I have no interest in whatsoever.
Ironically, “Gardening” is one of those I have AbZero interest in…:-/
I really like this idea. Can’t wait to see whay youse guys come up with!