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Since it’s the off-season and changes are coming (quickly or slowly), it’s time for a meta update.
NEW BLOOD
You will be seeing a new face around here. That face belongs to Mike Knapp, who will be endeavoring to bring you interviews, news bits, and other content. Mike grew up in the New England area and now lives on the West Coast, where he has spent time working in the education world. I’m happy to bring him on board. UPDATE: In fact, he has his first interview lined up with James Ross III, so let him know if you have any questions to ask (LINK).
You might also be seeing one other new addition, but I’ll save that for later.
Hit the jump for more.
OLD COMMENTS
Comments are good. I like comments, and I participate in them. Probably more than many blog owners. But I’m going to start shutting down comments on posts that are more than 14 days (a.k.a. 2 weeks) old. It prevents some confusion. If you want to bring up an old post, you can always create a thread on the message board or link it on a more recent post.
MONEY
When I get a chance – which will hopefully be soon – I’m going to start tracking the traffic and income the blog is making. This information will be made public to you. I think it’s important to be somewhat transparent about the direction of the blog.
COMMENTS SECTION
I am going to explore making changes to the comments section and/or message board. I’m not happy with the look and feel of the comments. Sometimes it’s hard to follow long conversations, and the lack of HTML capabilities in the comments prevents people from posting pictures, gifs, Youtube videos, Hudl videos, etc. So if there’s a particular website out there that you think I would do well to emulate, please leave a link in the comments or tell me the name of the site so I can check into it.
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Thanks for the intro, and I’m obviously excited to join TTB. Hopefully I can add some quality content to the blog.
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Welcome Mike!
Out of curiosity – being on the “Left-Coast”, how do you plan to be on top of breaking news and/or delving into topics that require sources? Granted, I don’t know necessarily how Thunder goes about putting together his stuff, just wondering if it will be harder for you not being relatively local.
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Thanks for the question, boliver46. Thunder and I spoke quite a bit about my initial role with the blog, and we both think it is best to focus on interviews and other high interest stories to start. A lot of these aren’t necessarily “breaking” news stories in which we’ll need informed and reliable sources. As a lifelong fan, I hope to bring that perspective to my interviews, and ask questions to former or prospective players that I find interesting. Hopefully you’ll find it interesting, too.
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To add on to what Mike said, I plan to continue to be the “breaking news” guy (even though I don’t view myself as a beat reporter). But news about commitments, roster changes, etc. will probably still come from me. Mike is welcome to report those things if he gets a scoop, but that’s not really the intention. He’ll be more of a feature reporter.
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We’re in a different timezone, not a different day of the week! Once a tweet or report goes out, the whole world knows about it, not just those in SE Michigan
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Haha – but what if you’re sleeping? LOL
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If they’re still sleeping, then it hasn’t happened yet. News at 9:00 a.m. EST doesn’t become real on the West Coast until 9:00 a.m. PST. Clearly, you haven’t studied Einstein’s Theory of Special Relativity.
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Welcome aboard. You have a high bar!! Hopefully Thunder can get more than 4 hours sleep a night now ( just guessing but I don’t know how you stay on top of everything)
Love the changes and transparency. Unfortunately the best part of this blog is your commentary, so you will never be able to totally break free!!
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Four hours isn’t far off. Usually it’s 5 or 6. Last night I went to bed at 11:00 and woke up at 4:00.
I’m glad you appreciate my commentary. I don’t intend to distance myself from the blog at all. With other people involved, I think I might be able to write up some more in-depth posts since I won’t necessarily have to spit one out every day.
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New blood – Welcome Mike.
Comments – While I read other blogs including MGO etc., the only other blog I post on is GBMWolverine. It is easy to follow a conversation, and to reply with a quote made from a previous poster. It is simple to edit your comments or add to them even after the fact (the original post), and provides a way to track quotes and to PM other users.
I recognize this site is relatively small by comparison. Really, it is the quality conversation here and civility that keeps folks coming back.
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Thanks for the heads up on GBMWolverine. I don’t read their site, but I’ll check out the comment format.
I know, of course, that you’re not insulting my site, but I feel a need once in a while to “toot my own horn.” From what I can tell, TTB is the #2 most trafficked Michigan football blog behind MGoBlog (so this doesn’t include Rivals, 247, etc.). I have a hunch that networked blogs like Maize ‘n’ Brew and GBMWolverine may get more traffic, but they’re part of a network, write about multiple sports (mainly basketball), and have multiple staff members. Not everyone publishes traffic reports, but I haven’t seen any traffic numbers that are higher than TTB’s. Also, for whatever it’s worth, Worth of Web values TTB at a higher price than GBMWolverine; Maize ‘n’ Brew is higher than TTB and GBMWolverine.
I do hope the site expands while maintaining the civility. That’s one concern with “getting too big.”
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I pray this site doesn’t turn into MGO anytime soon. The TTB forum and comment section is courteous and respected. I frequent many of the above sites but TTB is the only site I actually have a login for. Brian and Ace (and others) do a good job with articles and update, however, their forums are a joke. Love this setup and I’m glad it’s expanding. I’m looking forward to Mike’s contributions.
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The thing I envy about MGoBlog is the site traffic. I would probably keep a better stranglehold on the comments, because some of the immaturity and vitriol pushes people away. But the first five threads on the MGoBoard have 7,000 and 3,000 and 6,000 and 450 and 1,400 views. I get a little more than 10,000 pageviews per day, so those five threads right there represent about 1.7 days of site traffic for me. MGoBlog is so, so much bigger than any other Michigan site.
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Welcome Mike. Look forward to reading.
I’m with the others in being weary of the MGoblogification of this excellent site. The quality vs quantity scales have tipped dramatically since adding contributors. Brian’s still great when engaged but there’s a lot of junk now and the comments have become all but unreadable with all the wanna-be comedians, gifs, etc.
That’s not a shot at anyone here. I look forward to reading new writers and will do so with an open mind.
Comment on comments:
Will the old comments be deleted or just no additional ones allowed? I’d hate for my 2009 opinions on Vincent Smith to be gone forever. (This is a joke, but with a kernel of truth.)
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I agree with the quality vs. quantity thing at MGoBlog. I actually think Seth and Tom Van Haaren were quality additions, but not so much the others.
The old comments will still exist to be read. However, new comments won’t be able to be added to those old conversations. So don’t worry. Our 2009 Vincent Smith arguments will still continue to grace the site.
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Welcome Mike! Were you a member/poster here during the season? If so, you’ll adjust quick. Great place, great group
I agree with GKBlue, that this is one of two places I visit the most. Thunder has some really good stuff, and it’s a small community of mostly respectful exchange (especially between Thunder & Lanknows!)
Best of luck to you sir, I look forward to your contributions
GO BLUE
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Hi je93, and thanks for the welcome. I’ve read blog posts and the comments for TTB for at least a year or two now, so I’m at least somewhat familiar with the community, even though I haven’t added to it until now. I hope to add to the respectful exchange, and hope to learn a lot from both my interview subjects and the commenters here.
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