I never met a metapost I didn’t like
Thanks much to all of you who’ve chimed in on the linksharing survey (and if you haven’t yet, here’s where). I expected varying responses, which I’m getting, but some patterns are emerging: Facebook users tend to prefer links shared via that platform (I loved Susan’s “town square” metaphor). Non-FB folks prefer links on the blog, but not too many links at a time, and with short why-I’m-sharing notes. Hardly anyone looks at sidebars anymore. (Begging the question: are sidebars therefore a cluttery distraction? Or does it not matter because people are reading in Reader anyway? I figure sidebar content exists for a tiny but important minority, particularly newcomers, and therefore serves a purpose even if it is seldom used. I admit, however, that lately I’ve been craving a wide text column and only one sidebar, sparsely furnished.)
Sometimes I wonder if it makes more sense to move all link-sharing (I’m talking about items-of-interest like the midnight sun eclipse link I posted yesterday) to a separate venue, Tumblr maybe (which could be fed to Facebook or subscribed to in Google Reader by those who were interested). Reserving this space for booknotes, comic-con reports, travel notes, family tales, the inevitable garden photos. (Be warned: my sunflowers are mere weeks away from blooming. The bees go mad for them, and then I go mad for the bees going mad. Also: the milkweed is in lush bloom, and we’re expecting monarch caterpillars any day.)
But I don’t know. As I continue my archive cleanup, I’m enjoying revisiting the links that caught my attention at a given moment (if they still exist), and remembering that moment only happens if I see them in the context of my days and weeks.
Scott often teases me about my Charles Ingalls streak—I absolutely thrive upon a big move, a fresh start. (Even when we’ve been sad to leave our friends, like our New York and Virginia moves, I’ve been simultaneously grieved and exhilarated.) I’m sure part of my current metablogging preoccupation has to do with the fact that I’ve been living in this blog design for (gasp) four years now, and I’m craving change. Which generally starts with cleaning out closets and packing up things you aren’t using anymore.
Well, enough of this for now! I’m supposed to be doing a final pass at the beginning reader today. My editor said no rush—it isn’t scheduled to pub until Spring 2013—but I’m really enjoying these last little nitpicky tinkerings. Then it’s full steam ahead on the Alabama book. (And ooh, they’ve picked an artist for the middle-grade novel! Can’t wait till I have clearance to share! But it’ll be a while yet…)