From Deep Fryer to Slow Cooker
Never go grocery shopping while you are hungry.
I’m almost sure I’ve heard that before… Then I get home, unload the car, and think, "Why did I buy seven boxes of cereal bars again? Who here eats jalapeno hush puppies?"
In the excitement to get Blog Nosh Magazine’s pantry stocked and satisfy your appetites for fresh voices, I think we may have overstuffed ourselves just a tiny little bit. Time to sit back, loosen our belts, and digest all we have placed on the table and then immediately gobbled up.
Our initial plan was to publish one post from each channel, once a week. That’s just about 15 posts a week. Now, three posts a day isn’t that bad when you are covering such diverse topics, but 15 posts a week is a lot if you miss a day or two.
As publisher and editor-in-chief, I actually expected our readers to simply skim the day’s posts for a channel they liked (hence those easy-to-identify channel
graphics at the beginning of each post), cherry-picking more than reading. Come to find out, you are reading all of the posts in all of the channels. You are surpassing our initial goals and embracing the challenge of opening up to new genres and different perspectives.
Better, yet? You are then clicking through to the authors’ blogs. You are clicking through to our editors’ blogs. You are clicking through to blogs they reference on their blogs. You are, in effect, taking the road less traveled and finding yourselves there, as well.
Blog Nosh Magazine is evolving. We will always be evolving. That means that we are open to change, despite how brilliant the bossy editor here thinks her ideas are. So, for the time being, we are going to cut back to 9 posts a week, which means that the entire week’s features will remain on the front page for a full seven days. Appropriately enough.
Instead of deep frying our fare, we are going to try the slow cooker approach and see how you like it. How will we know if you are satisfied? Why, we will know because you will speak up! Ask to speak with the chef, so to speak. She devours the comments as though they were covered in nacho cheese. 
Subscribe to Blog Nosh Magazine in your favorite feed reader or sign up for email delivery of all of our fresh activity!
Be sure to follow Blog Nosh Magazine on twitter,
as well!
That’s one of the main places where we’ll be announcing calls
for theme-specific posts we want to promote, new editors we need, and
all the other scrumptious news we want to share, including whose blog
we are nibbling on at the moment.
I love this place. Love. It.
However you want to cook it, I’ll read it.
My brain thanks you! You’re doing a great job!
It’s a good thing to tweak a recipe. You’re doing a great job.
- Suzanne, the Farmer’s Wife
Blog Nosh. All those references to food and now you’re calling the EIC a “chef.” My knees are weak, I’ve got to sit down. I’ve known this was a grand idea from day one, but you keep hitting me with clever details that let me know this site is run by people who are thinking and your posts lead to entire sites packed with morsels.
Have you seen Ratatouille?
Blog Nosh’s “Chef” is Auguste Gusteau!
And I, a mere “Linguini,” (a slightly odd looking man with no culinary talent) am mesmerized by Blog Nosh and its team of “Chef Remys” (i.e.: Blog Nosh editors).
My review of Blog Nosh would mimic that of Anton Ego’s review of Remy’s Ratatouille.
I dine daily.
I think that’s a great idea. It gives us time to give each post the attention it deserves, and the posts get to bask up on the front page a bit longer. Win-win!
Many of the posts are long and very well written, so they deserve some extra time. My favorite part of the site is checking out other topic areas…it’s like a treasure hunt for good blogs!
I have loved every minute I’ve spent perusing the blogs here, but I am glad you’re cutting it down a bit. MommysMartini just raised the issue of how hard it is to find the time to spend reading everything we really want to enjoy. 9 posts will make my life a little easier. Fo sho.
My compliments to the chef!
I guess I’m getting everything in the Google reader, but I’m sure I’m not reading everything. It is a lot to digest, so okay by me to slow down.
Oh phew! I’m getting everything by reader too and I was falling further and further behind!
I love the idea of the slowcooker approach, it’ll give me more time to indulge!
Oh, yes, back to the nachos again. . . .
I always have an opinion, but one thing I’ve learned in my 30′s is that I don’t always have to share it–even if it’s good info. However, if it’s solicited. . . .
Which allows me to tell you that when I first saw this last week, I thought, “Excellent idea! I will love reading it, and I should try to contribute too.” However, when I’ve clicked through, I’ve found it a bit hard to manage. I’m just not sure where to begin or how to take it all in. I felt overwhelmed.
I like the new plan!
Overall, I think 9 posts that stay on the front page all week is going to be our best option. However, in more detailed response to Jennifer:
I love feedback, actually.
The way the site is currently set up, the best way to navigate is simply to click on the channel you are interested in within the left sidebar. If you want something more specific, you can click the “Browse” button in the right sidebar and that lists all of the subcategories and topics, which cross-references all channels.
More specifically, we head each post with a channel graphic so you can just skim the page and look for topics of interest.
How else can we simplify this? After a while, I get too close to it and can’t see it any longer.
I think backing down to 9 posts a day now that we have launched will help a lot. But seriously, any navigation suggestions? I’m trying to make it super obvious, but again, I designed it so it makes sense to me too much.
Megan
Very good idea, actually. If the idea is for us to catch good blog content that we’ve missed, I’d hate to just miss it again…
And yes, I have followed the links back to the original blogs to explore more there.
I even passed along a submission through my buddy Robin (Pensieve). Keep up the good work!
I am one of those click-thru people and I want to take a little time to see if the sites are ones I can invest more time into. and a lot of them are.
I would be A-ok with slowing down the process, so we can really digest what we’re given first. It gives the rest of us a chance to get to “know” the headliners a bit better.
–Anissa @ Hope4Peyton.org
I love everything you’re doing here. Thanks for introducing me to so many great bloggers. My news reader is so full I don’t know how I’m going to digest it all!
I think the slow-cooked idea is terrific. You can always speed it up again if necessary, but I doubt it will be. I have a difficult time, just as everyone else I’m sure, reading the blogs I’ve ALREADY discovered.
You have done an extraordinary job, Megan, and all involved. Keep up the high quality!