Friends, I have to ask your honest opinion. Do you think Male Pattern Boldness could use some cosmetic improvements -- a few virtual nips and tucks as it were? I hope you weren't thinking I was asking about myself....I embrace my crepey eyelids!
Occasionally I look at other people's sewing blogs -- or even blogs unrelated to sewing -- and I notice all kinds of tweaks and subtle touches that make the blog look...if not younger exactly, then certainly more wide-eyed and firmer-of-jaw.
But since I know nothing about how to create these changes myself, I'd have to ask for help. I hate that.
A little research reveals that some sewing blogs change often, others hardly at all. I'm going to name names here, so brace yourselves.
Take Casey.
Since I started reading Casey's blog -- maybe a year-and-a-half ago? -- Casey (I refer to her blog, not the woman herself, obviously) has discreetly changed her look a couple of times. Today she's wider (to keep up with the growing popularity of widescreen computer monitors, I assume), has a different header font, and if I'm not mistaken, sports a different tag line too. It looked great to me way back when, only now it looks fresher, more today -- or rather, more yesterday, which is the vintage look she embodies so well.
Debbie also has a widescreen blog (I'm not sure how one of these looks in an old-fashioned square monitor, can anybody tell me?). I can't remember when Debbie switched over. More recently I've noticed other changes as well: new links, new layouts, and, at least on my last visit, an ad for $1 off Quilted Northern Soft & Strong toilet paper at Target, which is helpful as we're running low. Are those ads the customized type (i.e., you see an ad for something local to you, I see an ad for something local to me, or something I've been shopping for on, say, Amazon recently) or does everybody see the same thing?
Robin is looking different these days too. I know her header has changed, but I couldn't tell you how -- a different font? And there are links I never remember seeing before. Robin's changes are subtle -- the equivalent of a nose bob: you know something's different but you can't quite put your finger on it. What's Robin's secret and will she share it with us today?
Then there are the old faithfuls, of which I count myself as one. I'm loathe to link to Elaine's blog for the second time in two days, but The Selfish Seamstress looks exactly the way it did when I first stumbled upon it and I'm not going to say anything else. You almost get the sense she's not making any changes merely out of spite.
Has Shelley made major changes in the past year or so? Perhaps -- and she does like to change her header, which now reads, "It's time to make some foundation garments" -- basically what I wake up saying to myself anyway -- but overall, Shelley looks the same, at least to me.
Finally, there's Sunni, who -- true to the spirit of the times -- has completely reinvented herself. Formerly The Cupcake Goddess, Sunni has ditched the dessert motif and opened her own sewing supply store! Today, as A Fashionable Stitch, Sunni's bigger, bolder, and better than ever. Do I wish her blogroll weren't alphabetized but rather listed by most-recently-updated? Perhaps, but I respect Sunni's right to do things her way and so should you. But the blog looks great.
Speaking of tweaks, I opened Blogger this morning to find an invitation to "Try the updated Blogger interface." Friends, these are the kind of things that drive me crazy. At first I thought I'd give it a try to write today's post, only I couldn't even find the "Publish Post" button! Fortunately, Blogger gives you the option of reverting back to the old interface, which I immediately did. I'm sorry, but was there really any need to update the interface? Were people complaining?
Which brings me to my new iMac. I hate adjusting to updated software and Apple is the worst offender as their updates tend to be downloadable and are strongly urged upon you, though of course you can refuse. It seems they update iTunes every other month.
I do a lot of photo editing -- mostly cropping and brightening, little things like that -- and till I got my new computer, I've been working in iPhoto 6.0.6, which is the version that came with my Macbook more than four years ago. I probably downloaded a few minor updates, but the overall system hasn't changed.
My new iMac comes loaded with iPhoto 9.1.5, which as you can guess, is vastly different from three generations earlier. The problem is that it is also much more work, and not only because I'm not yet familiar with it. Photo edits that used to require two steps (like cropping a photo), now require four, and there are more options and more buttons and more headaches. If I wanted the sophistication of Photoshop, I would buy Photoshop.
Why must everything be updated all the time?
There are lots of other "improvements" that come with my iMac that make me long for the relative simplicity of my old laptop and operating system. I guess I'll adjust, but who needs it?
On a related note, I seem to have misplaced -- or lost, sob -- the battery recharger for my Canon S90 camera, so I've had to go back to using my former Canon SD1000 camera (which, thankfully, I never sold, since it wouldn't fetch more than $50 on eBay today), and I was surprised at how few features that camera had -- though more than enough to meet my needs at the time. My current camera is chock full of buttons and dials I never use and which only get in the way. Michael complains that the S90 is also slower, which causes him to miss some of Cathy's magic moments. I do think it takes better photos but it's too complicated. I read the manual and I still don't understand it.
Friends, in summary, I have thought about making changes to Male Pattern Boldness, especially now that I am viewing my blog daily on a 21.5" widescreen computer screen. The reason I haven't is basically a combination of inertia and resistance. Does it look a little fusty-dusty compared to some sewing blogs? Perhaps.
I like to think of it as classic. I'm like the Bloomingale's bag of blogs. Ultimately it gets the job done, right?
In closing, wise and with-it readers, your thoughts. Should I go widescreen (and how does one do that anyway)? Do I need a new header photo? Should I alphabetize my blogroll? Any other cosmetic changes you recommend?
If you have a blog, how often do you update its look and what motivates you to change it?
Is it time for a little Botox...or maybe just a few evenings with my Réjuvénique?
I'm all (hair-sprouting-but-as-yet-unpierced) ears!
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