Chawlk

1. Drawar
2. Fenxy
3. Decaflon
4. Two Credits
5. Wriging
6. Loose Suits
7. Chixe
8. Dud3s
9. Wing Colors

 

I think this is great. Well, I guess I have a few reservations. I remember when it was just 9rules the blog network. I enjoyed checking out the few blogs that were here. I'm glad it will be returning to that state.

How will you find new blogs (not that there are any lack of them). Last time I checked it was based on active my.9r users.

9rules/chawlk FTW

Wow, compared to Cas's version of simple my site is virtually barren! ;) I liked rileycentral's idea of just posting a picture so here you go:

Ah just look at that sidebar, nice and clean :D

Search, Feeds Links, About Link, Archives Link, Blogroll Link

Most recently I've used Webalizer and GA. Although now I'm using Go Daddy's Traffic Facts (because I work for them). The things I like about using Traffic Facts are A) There isn't any advertising B) It's fast. I whole heartedly recommend paying for services to avoid the ads!

I'm with pelf. I've got a lot of plugins installed, all of which have been time tested (used for a while and replaced with better solutions). I tend to try a lot of stuff but I don't usually stick with much. That said, my favorite is:

Textile 2 (Improved)

Of course ALL in One SEO Plugin, Comment Timeout, Twitter Tools, and Postalicious are also great to have!

Hey nice work, I think it's got a lot of potential! I wanted to say that that the bumble bee doesn't look the same as the rest of the illustration. While everything else has a sort of flat look the bee is very rounded and gradient looking. I think I'd love it if you took off those gradients! Maybe a little more transparency in the wings.

I dig the colors too.

I'd probably just say "sorry."

It's not that I'd done anything terribly wrong. I only had two really serious relationships (before I got married). With both of them it seemed like an emotional mess. Neither ended happily, but neither ended with hurt feelings or because something really bad happened. But for some reason I always feel regret--like I lost some really good friends.

Ah, it's that darn computer! I've got 5 books on my "currently reading" shelf. Most are bookmarked somewhere near the front of book awaiting my return. But alas, whenever there is a free moment I pull up the old trusty laptop and start clicking away. Maybe it's the glow of the screen that has me so hypnotized that all I can think about is the Internet...9rules is calling me...must read blogs...

I think it's considered good blog etiquette to link back to folks in the form of a post if they link to you from a post. But if someone adds me to their blogroll I don't necessarily add them to mine.

I try to post every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and then I fill in the gaps with my link logs and Twitter updates.

I just love writing. It's relaxing to me. In addition to that, it's a great place for me to work out stuff I'm thinking about.

I'm with dreamweaver, I just link to my daily reads really. Like cooper, I put my blogroll on a separate page to keep clutter off the homepage. If I just want to link to someone I'll write a post about them, even if they're friends.

Honestly this is the only "blog network" I'd even consider following--Maybe b5 because of Darren Rowse.

Like firesnake mentioned above, the Notes are fantastic. I come here for the community. I love how active and vibrant it is.

From what I can tell there really isn't anything like 9rules out there. It's the best!

Dude that's a great idea! I'm pretty set with mine--dbme--but occasionally it will be taken or they won't accept 4 characters. Very resourceful!

I'll agree with everyone else here, it's too dark. What mood do you want to set? The content of the site seems like a regular personal site. The writing is pretty upbeat. Why throw a wet blanket over it?

I'm cool with the lines actually. I think if you had a very light background color you could wash those lines out to the point where they were just visible. I think you could still get the same effect but without the distraction.

Here's what the lines say to me: a modern approach to something. If modern is what you're going for, you should use some more modern colors. Check out some palettes on colourlovers.com.

Anyway, hope that helps. Nice work.

That looks like the old default wordpress theme to me. Did you disable your theme?

I've been using Blueprint for a while now and I really like it. With that said, I completely agree with BinaryMoon. My sites usually start with BP at the core but get modified to be lighter. Typically this means that I just use the Grid stylesheet as a reference, using the values in the actual classes/ids in my stylesheet. In the end you lose a lot of bloat and maintain semantic integrity.

Speaking of which, that's my main beef with Blueprint. It uses classes like .column and .span-12 to markup your document. That's not semantic. It's presentational which should be reserved for the stylesheet only. Any reference to a non semantic class like those get pulled out for me, and added to the correct class.

TIP: Paste each of the files that you need into your stylesheet and OVERRIDE stuff that doesn't work for you. This way when the next release of BP comes out you can easily upgrade your styles without having to redo a bunch of stuff. By putting all the files into one stylesheet you eliminate extra requests to the server.

From a design perspective the rounded corners offer a less corporate feel and they're softer which create a more personal vibe. Maybe you really relate to that softer side. It's definitely more approachable and comforting.

The thing with rounded corners, like every other element in design, is it must support the overall message that is being communicated. If you're trying to be super-professional, e.g. the IRS, you'd need something more formal--straight edges, thin solid lines, standard shapes, serif type etc. When you get into the communicative, social web like 9 rules or Gmail you need something that communicates that message. That's when you can start using Helvetica, Arial, Verdana etc with the rounded corners.

That was a bunch of rambling but hopefully it was helpful.

Dude I totally listen to Pandora all day. I've got some pretty great stations with everything from Hard Rawk to Drum n Bass. Those are my two favorites though.

You know, CSS Mania (linked above) seems to put the most emphasis on the websites. CSS Beauty hardly has any screenshots on their homepage. Another cool thing that CSS Mania does is list the color schemes of each of the sites it lists. Pretty cool.

I really like using patterns but it seems like they're all the same anymore. It gets kinda difficult using the same stuff over and overagain.

Here's my desktop. I've been using this Aloe plant from Mandolux for a while. It just creates such a nice calming environment to work with. Notice the dual screens.

I'll do it! Send me a message. I love to write about that stuff.

I've been blogging "for real," with a platform and all, since 2002. My first post is still archived on the site. It's cool to see when I changed names and designs and stuff. I've lost a bunch of them over the years but I still have ALL of the content! YAY!

I want to start commenting more. I'm going to make an effort to comment as much as possible. Maybe my readership will grow. I'd just like to make some new blogger friends, maybe I'll make a few bucks on the site. Who knows.

I've written several PPP posts but you wouldn't know the difference between them and my "regular" posts, even though I have a site wide disclosure policy. I think that there is some misconception that a blog with some paid posts in it cannot be interesting or that it will seem "spammy." On the contrary, I invite you to tell me if my blog sounds that way at all. Occasionally every blogger links to something that he/she doesn't necessarily endorse or find useful. Does that make them the 3v1L spawn of Satan himself? I don't think so.

I've certainly debated it over and over again. I blog because I love to blog. But I also need to make some extra cash and that's like the only way I can think to do it. I tried AdSense and it SUCKED. If there were some other guaranteed way of making a little money to do what I love to do, I'd probably do that instead but there really aren't that many options. I'm still wrestling with this...

Oh you guys totally have to go to CreativeCommons.org. You can search all sorts of content including images that are licensed under the Creative Commons license. Flickr has a ton of images that are available for use under it and you can find them all right there.

@Kamigoroshi - I think that a personal blog can make money. Mine is currently making me about $75/month. BUT, it's not passive income. I've got to work to get that. I hope to get to the point where I make more with it but like you said, I don't think personal blogs are focused enough to actually earn a bunch of money--it's almost as if you have to focus on a specific product if you want to make anything substantial.

@cooper, yeah I've been commenting a bunch lately. I haven't started to see the return yet but I know I will. It's funny because I've been a web developer for years and I always tell my clients that if they want to build traffic they've got to get out and comment, answer questions, etc. I just don't have time to do it myself :-O I think that will be my goal for 2008. Comment a lot.

Gosh I'm trying to shut down. I've been working on one freelance project for 6 months. Bought a new house, started a new job, worked through serious marriage issues, and all this with 2 babies, one of which still isn't sleeping through the night! If only I could take a small break from it all...