One of my first acts as the Big Cheese (the only cheese), aside from having to write or find a lot more content, is to resolve a handful of wants and needs that have been niggling at the edges for (what feels like) ages.
I am referring to a subscriber/donor ad-free VIP version, a faster, cleaner site, a more intuitive search, and a better mobile experience.
We are adding “links” into the header, allowing you to sort content by region of interest. You’ll be able to ‘Grok New Hampshire, New England, The US, or the World with one link that will sort content by these categories the way you can jump to microgroks now (a feature that will continue).
We are dropping the existing underlying architecture and switching to something cleaner and faster. There is also discussion about dropping Disqus as the commenting system. We will still have comments, and there is a way to migrate existing comments into the new design so we do not lose any of that, but Disqus poses problems. It is woke. It removes reader comments without our say-so or yours. And not everyone wants to sign up to use it. The new ‘Grok would load even faster without the weight of it, while the default WordPress commenting system is lighter and more than adequate.
Dropping Disqus is not a done deal, but it is on the table. I’d appreciate input from the commenters who use it before I decide one way or the other.
Non-Disqus users should know you can use the WordPress commenting system without registering. You can comment as a guest by providing your email address, which will alert you when someone replies to your remarks. Registration is not required, and my inclination is to keep it that way unless the spam and trolling get out of hand.
And because our audience is both national and global, we will keep the appeal of a state-level blog and a focus on local and regional stories but attempt a feel that is a bit broader. In other words, we are tweaking the mechanics of the site to catch up to what has been an editorial state of being for many years.
The layout will not change much, if at all, but we are also resolving issues with the MicroGroks along the way. The current version does not permit you to load more content despite the button that exists to do that. This function will now work.
We are dropping GrokTALK! as a separate page/environment. Most of that content is offloaded and offline, so the links don’t work, and everything these days is video/podcasting, all of which will be curated under GrokTV! moving forward.
In other news, I am working on expanding VermontGrok, and I have a line on at least one young female conservatarian author – a demographic we need and want to attract – and there are a few other surprises coming.
As always, this stuff costs money, so I can’t end without asking for your continued and ongoing support. The Donate page stays, and you can use it to give with credit or debit through GiveSendGo (no transaction fees) or PayPal. We also have a Stripe account, and I will add that option soon.
If you’d like to send a check, email me (steve@granitegrok.com) for the address (that has changed).
