PsyBlog Evolves: Status Report
PsyBlog has evolved considerably over the last year and I wanted to highlight a few of these changes and get some feedback from you, dear reader. Perhaps regulars will already be aware of the changes, perhaps not. I'm not even sure I've been aware of many of the changes myself! To me, the shifts in content, as well as an ongoing redesign project, have happened at an almost imperceptible rate. But, I can deny it no longer, the PsyBlog baby has shot up into a spotty adolescent. As part of taking stock, I'd like to run a few things by you. So, all constructive criticism is welcome.
Looking back at posts from a couple of years ago, I notice these tended to focus on linking to items from news articles, and sometimes providing a little critical commentary. Nowadays the focus is much more on summarising and commenting on current academic journal articles. Even now I'm noticing a shift away from summarising and towards commenting and integrating. I'm assuming you are happy to scan the abstract. If that's not the case, please let me know!
I've introduced the 'Stream', the column to the right of this, to allow me to link directly to stories on other blogs and snippets that I've picked up. The Stream is really a record of the things I've read and I think are worthy of passing on. With the increasing numbers of psychology bloggers out there, this is continually growing.
As a result of starting the Stream, there are now two 'site feeds' (RSS feeds) for this blog, which you can see linked up at the top of the left-hand column. Follow the 'What is RSS?' link to find out more about 'subscribing' to these feeds. If you're not already using some kind of news reader then I'd strongly advise you to start as it makes keeping up with the blogs in which you're interested much easier.
Unfortunately a natural result of these shifts, as well as my limited time, is that the post frequency has gone down. Hopefully, though, the quality of both the content and writing is going up - that's my overall aim for the site. For PsyBlog I believe less frequent but slightly longer and more considered posts better serve both you and me.
One thing that hasn't changed much over the last couple of years is the wide variety of topics PsyBlog has covered. Despite my recent obsession with unity in psychology, it seems likely the variety will continue. I like to post about things I'm interested in, and, naturally, I'm interested in a lot of things!
Finally I'd like to say thanks to everyone for reading, and encourage you to post comments on the stories as well as email me. So, if you've got any points you'd like to make about any aspect of PsyBlog (as long as it's not typo related!) then please do leave a comment below.
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The site is looking fantastic and the "stream" is a great idea. As a reader, it really gives me the feeling that you are part of a larger writing community. Too many bloggers get wrapped up in their own blog and forget the fantastic community they write within. Late this year or early next year, with the PhD out of the way, I am hoping to create a psychology newspaper made up of the great content produced by psychology bloggers. I hope psyblog can be a part of it. For the time being, you can try http://www.speedyfeed.com/psychsplash which summarizes a number of psych feeds. Good work Jeremy
Gareth, thanks for your comments, and I'm sure I'll be interested in your psychology newspaper. Look forward to it...
I've been reading for a while and I like the change towards more indepth material. I hope the broad spectrum of subject matter stays though...it keeps me up on areas outside my immediate interests.
Thanks 'healthpsych', at the moment it looks like I'm heading down some more specific routes, talking about emotion mostly. But because this interacts with many different subjects, hopefully that will keep the appeal broad enough for everyone.
I like the idea of focussing on a general area for a while as it provides an anchor for the ongoing conversation. When I'm reading other blogs, I prefer at lest some level of continuity to carry me over from one post to the next.
What do you think?