Comments on: Bring my website back to life?

Question: Bring my website back to life?

mrbloo — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 07:55:48 -0800

What can I do with my personal website? I already have a blog and a picture gallery. I sometimes upload some code snippets or helper scripts written in python. I'm looking to do something more with my website, what else can I do with it?

By: Murray M

Murray M — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:02:00 -0800

Sounds like you have a content problem, not a technical problem. Don't worry about the code, worry about having interesting stuff to say, or in other words: the art. If this resonates with you, then go to a local museum you've never been to and write a review of the stuff you like and the stuff you don't.

By: winston

winston — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:02:11 -0800

Who is your audience?

By: yohko

yohko — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:34:12 -0800

Start something where people can pay you $5 and have the ability to ask other people on your site questions. I think this could really take off.

By: cmonkey

cmonkey — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 08:38:54 -0800

Porn is always an option.

By: freya_lamb

freya_lamb — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:21:51 -0800

Seconding winston:

Who is your audience?

This is a really important question! But I would also ask, 'What is this site it for?'

By: mathowie

mathowie — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:31:52 -0800

This is like asking what to do with an empty fresh new sketchbook.

Ask yourself what you really love and love to do, then make a site about it.

By: fogster

fogster — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:39:19 -0800

A blog alone can be pretty powerful, if you "market" it well and post useful stuff. I get a lot of hits from people searching for various error messages, etc.

I run a MediaWiki install, but keep it "hidden" from the public, and use it as a sort of 'personal online notebook.' It's come in quite useful.

Why not work on making the blog super-interesting, versus trying to add more stuff? (Quality over quantity!)

By: beerbajay

beerbajay — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 09:55:23 -0800

Yeah, your personal website is about you, so write about the things you do other than maintain a personal website.

By: waxboy

waxboy — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:05:49 -0800

1 - setup a webcam
2 - take off your clothes
3 - profit!

By: Xianny

Xianny — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:18:58 -0800

I see personal websites as a sort of cathartic space/showcase for yourself. who knows, someone with similar interests might contact you and you might make a friend. so go ahead and publish anything you like; your code snippets, which I assume is a hobby of yours, is a good example.

you could also write reviews of things that excite you - art, movies, gadgets, websites, software etc. you could do fun little experiments and document them on your website, Peep Wars-style, if you're into that sort of thing. you could explore the place you live in, take pics, and document your adventures. ;)

it really depends on what you're trying to achieve with your website though.

By: Student of Man

Student of Man — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:20:07 -0800

Make your next blog be about "the blogoshpere" or how it has evolved, or how useful it really is, It's proliferation and how everyone feels they need to have one and why. your thoughts about that.

By: edjusted

edjusted — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 10:37:24 -0800

Even more basic than "who's your audience," what would you like to accomplish with it? Why did you start your web site in the first place? Where would you like it to go? What would you like it to do?

By: Civil_Disobedient

Civil_Disobedient — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 12:18:02 -0800

I have some sad news to break to you: photographs are a lot like dreams--easy to make, easy to forget, and way more interesting to the person who made them. There are exceptions, naturally, but I'd suggest you'd know it by now if you were one of those exceptions, and you wouldn't need to ask this question in the first place.

New pictures aren't going to send the masses tearing down your doors. What, then? Content is good, if it's useful. If it helps someone do something for themselves. It's even better if your content is original, but the most important thing is utility. Originality is overrated.

I sometimes upload some code snippets or helper scripts written in python.

See, there's something right there. Do you write any kind of introduction around the code snippets? Or is it just... "here's some code." I know more than a few people that have a more-than-haphazard following because they not only post code, they post words around the code. They talk about the code. Explain how it works. Maybe bring up some challenges you encountered along the way and talk about how you worked around them.

By: mrbloo

mrbloo — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 22:17:25 -0800

My audience is the general public. It is a personal website afterall, and not much of a niche per se. Thanks all for your comments so far, I'm already getting good ideas from you.