Site (& Content) Upgrade

Site Redesign

Exiting Times!!

This site is currently undergoing a redesign! (Wohoo!!)

(Click here for the latest progress update)

Why am I changing the site?

A bit of History

I started this post in 2010. On wordpress.com.

And it was purely for fun.
(I wrote about this in a 2011 post – “Thoughts on Blogging“).

The posts had no real structure, or goal. I wrote them to allow me to discover “what I thought about stuff”. And they were fun to do.

However, they were more designed for my writing pleasure than for your reading pleasure. I didn’t even care if my posts were read or not. The fact that I had a chance to write them was, for me, the important thing.
(This is something that I got into a discussion about – “What the Hell Am I Doing? (or “Should I just Shut Up?”).

2016

It’s now March 2016, and I have had a “refocus”. I want to make this blog a more useful tool. I want to write more for the reader. I want the posts to actually offer some value.

And…I want to monetize it. This does not mean annoying advertisements for things that have absolutely no connection to the blog.

Instead, I’ll be carefully selecting products (mainly books) that are relevant to what I am writing about, and that I feel will allow you to expand upon what they have read. (Note – this is important to me.I want to add real value to my readers.)

What’s changing, or has been changed?

Self Hosted

The site has been moved from a wordpress.com address to its very own .com.

That is, it was http://markjowen.wordpress.com and it’s now, https://markjowen.com

The old WordPress address has been redirected to the new address.
This means that anyone going to the old address automatically redirected to the new one.I am going looking at each of my 347 posts. The ones that don’t actually add any value are getting sent to the

What you can expect: Having the site on its own domain will mean that I can do more with it. I can turn it into something that will be of more value to you.

New Site Design

I’ll be changing the whole design of the website using a new premium theme. (This is not something that I want to do without some thought, so I’m trying to locate a good WordPress theme currently.

What you can expect: A (much) more pleasant experience

Selective Pruning

I am going looking at each of my 347 posts. The ones that don’t actually add any value are getting sent to the trash bin. The ones that do add some value, are getting an upgrade. This means:

I’m rewriting the post to make it more interesting,
Dead links are being hunted down and shot,
The graphics are being revised and refreshed

What you can expect: Post that actually add value. Fewer posts that are just fluff.

More relevant Material

New posts that I write will be more relevant, and timely. The focus will be mainly Business Analysis and Information Management, but I will also be writing posts on related themes.

What you can expect: Posts that are of interest and value.

Post Titles

Oh, how I loved cryptic,or funny, titles for my posts. The problem was that didn’t actually tell you what the post was about.

I am going to change the titles of the posts, and make it so that you, the reader, doesn’t have to guess what the post is about.

What you can expect: Titles that make sense, and that make it clear what the post will be about.

Relevant Resources

I am carefully selecting links to content/products that add value to the blog post.

These are affiliate links,but I am adamant that they must be appropriate to the blog post, and the blog, itself, and…they must be of value. I won’t promote something that I don’t, personally, think is of value.

I am carefully selecting links to content/products that add value to the blog post. These are affiliate links,but I am adamant that they must be appropriate to the blog post, and the blog, itself, and…they must be of value. I won’t promote something that I don’t, personally, think is of value.

What you can expect: Reference material that will expand, and add value to what you are reading.

Fewer categories and easier navigation

I’ll be splitting the posts into categories as follows:

Business Analysis related posts,
Information Management related posts.
Other posts, that don’t fit into the above two categories, into categories that are logical.

The top menu will be based on the categories.

What you can expect: An easier way to find posts and content.

What do you think?

I want to write content that you want. I’m going to make it easier for you to give me feedback. Feedback about the posts, about the site, about life in general.

What you can expect: The chance to have a voice. The chance to get content that you actually want.