Economic Stimulus Check and Windfalls @ The Carnivals

by Silicon Valley Blogger on February 27, 2008


When I first started maintaining a web site, I didn’t realize how much work it would be under the covers to keep it going. I thought it was a simple matter of picking out a design, setting it up and doing some writing. But behind the scenes, there’s a lot going on as I tweak and experiment with this blog layout, trying to find a good balance between what you, dear readers, would like to see, and optimizing for site revenue. Now that I’m out of a job, I hope I’ll be able to make a happy living developing sites and producing helpful content for your reading pleasure. And of course, there’s nothing more I’d like to hear than your feedback and thoughts on this site, especially as I change it up now and again.

For pleasurable readings around the carnival circuit, here are some places I stopped by this week:

Broke Grad Student did a great job with the Carnival of Personal Finance #141 – The College Years Edition. It was a hit with entries like:

No Credit Needed presented a pretty tight Festival of Frugality #114 where I enjoyed these picks:

Don’t rest yet because you’ll need to come on down and boogie with Being Frugal at the Carnival of Debt Reduction: 70’s Edition. I made it to her Editor’s Picks with this post, (yay!) and also got wind of some fine money tips:

And finally, thanks to Suzanne Reisman from Blog Her for this nice mention in her post: Would the American Economy Collapse if Women Stopped Hating Their Natural Appearance? A Look at Makeup.

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Categorized under: Money Articles

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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Working Dollar February 27, 2008 at 11:02 am

“When I first started maintaining a web site, I didn’t realize how much work it would be under the covers to keep it going. I thought it was a simple matter of picking out a design, setting it up and doing some writing.”

I know exactly what you mean, blogging, design, etc. is tough work, but its fun. I love your blog and its format right now. I also enjoy the content. The lay out is not too busy.

I have been to some blogs where there is so much to look at that myy eyes get tired of trying to decide what to focus on. I alway like the “kiss” method myself – “keep it simple, stupid.” So, keep up the good work.

2 Silicon Valley Blogger February 27, 2008 at 11:13 am

Working Dollar,

Thanks so much for your thoughts! It gives me some assurance I am on the right track! It’s tough to gauge if things are “okay” or too much… we walk the fine line here with design/layout/content. I am contemplating on going back to my former “content in the middle” layout I used to have, and I’m hoping it isn’t a step back.

Tradeoffs to consider again: every time there’s a change, you gain something but perhaps lose a little something as well. Hopefully it balances out in the end to an acceptable result. :)

3 Patrick February 27, 2008 at 12:46 pm

I really like the content on the left for your site, especially when reading in IE6 (only from work, FireFox at home). The right sidebar used to render below the content. Of course, we all know IE6 has issues w/ WordPress… ughh…

I had no idea how much work it would be either, but I am proud of how much I have learned, and very thankful for everyone who has helped me along the way! :)

Thanks for the mention! :)

4 Money Blue Book February 27, 2008 at 1:15 pm

Digi,

I’ve personally taken a month off from my contract work to tinker with blogging and my other part time ventures. I don’t regret a thing. It has allowed me to write more substantial and detail/content lengthy posts.

I’m personally a fan of the content one the left setup, but for ad purposes I know why bloggers would rather leave content in the middle. Good luck!
-Raymond

5 RacerX February 27, 2008 at 3:03 pm

Don’t change for change’s sake! Look at your data, and if an area isn’t performing up to snuff then address.

You have a great looking blog. Totally jealous. And it continues to improve. Looking forward to tracking your progress of which at least I am certain! All the best!

6 Mark February 27, 2008 at 5:54 pm

Your site is clean, with a nice color scheme. As I look at it more carefully I realize this is one of the main reasons I end up back at your site vs other sites in the PF niche (not to mention the quality of the content of course).

7 Silicon Valley Blogger February 27, 2008 at 5:57 pm

Aw you guys, I appreciate it :) . Yes, I so love the left content set up, but after a while of trying it out I found out it wasn’t as optimized for revenue so yes, it is a trade off on style/readability vs monetization. Though every site is different, I found that in my case there seemed to be a noticeable effect, so that would be the main reason for the changes.

Will readers forgive me for moving back to my previous “content in the middle” format? :( I certainly hope so… again, the whole process of site design involves so much experimentation. Web sites and blogs are such dynamic beasts that you can be tinkering around with your blog all the way to retirement age and you’d still not be “done”. ;)

Again, I need to take on this information and see how to move forward. It only takes very little to alternate between left-content to mid-content layouts and back. But given what you’ve told me, I feel compelled to rethink my plans!

8 fathersez February 28, 2008 at 1:54 am

Ms. SVB,

I am a great admirer of your blog’s design, looks and content.

I can’t think of or see anything that needs tweaking.

Regards

9 Lynnae @ Being Frugal.net February 28, 2008 at 4:31 pm

When I started blogging, I had no idea how much behind the scenes work there was! I enjoy it, but I was totally unprepared!

I love your site design! And thanks for the mention!

10 Suzanne Reisman April 3, 2008 at 10:32 pm

Thank you for providing such good content! :)

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