Sunday, March 7, 2010

Website wonders

Internet, what am I going to do with my website?

I've come a long way as a builder of website, from scrappy do-it-yourself php, to work-done-for-you plugins like Gallery, to now when part of me just wants to dump everything and use Google Sites because of how simple it is. I realize that everyone's website is "under construction" to some degree, but I have a bad habit of stopping early in grand designs.

Right now my biggest problem is that I feel dispersed across the internet. I want my website to be a centralizing force, but I'm not sure what I want that to mean, exactly. Here's an inventory of my internet doings:

My portfolio site, which rose up to a state of half-finishedness before my getting a job and losing all motivation to make it pretty. The process was this: I'll just lay out all the text and the basic format, and go in and make a stylish design and fancy menu later. As is evidence by my straight up text link navigation, "later" never happened. It is certainly minimal and straightforward, and I did toy with integrating some personal site stuff (as evidence by the sidebar on the first page), but nothing is set in stone.

My personal site, which is in absolute shambles. My intention for this place was to store my various non-professional projects and art, and at the time I was super proud of myself for getting Gallery up and running and integrated. I love to have that stuff sharable, but I hate that my personal site is tucked back and hidden. Is it appropriate, now that I have a job, to once more integrate all this stuff together?

My blogs, one of which is this one, and crossposted to Livejournal, my personal site, and Facebook notes. The other two could fall under the category of "projects," I suppose.

My Picasa site, where I post my photos, both social fun photographs and my fledgeling attempts at Photography.

Add my Formspring and Twitter pages and I am spread and crossposted pretty thin.

Everyone has the sweeping desire to overhaul their website from time to time, and I'm up for the undertaking, I just need a *plan* before I go in this time. Should I Google Site it afterall? What are my goals with my web presence, beyond just consolidation? Who is my audience? What are my intentions??

Any advice is welcome.

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