Just got off an hour-long phone conversation with our owners about the redesign of TeleRead. Yes, it will happen and it will be soon. The target date is September 1, but to be honest with you I think it will be a couple of weeks after that. Even though we will still be using WordPress, it is amazing how many small details need to be attended to and how much time they take.
I hope you like the new design – it will be modern and streamlined. Hopefully it will point you to articles that interest you in a way we can’t do now. I’ve asked that we have a “real” search function and our international readers will be catered to as well. It will also allow us to be more advertiser friendly, which is important if the site is to remain viable and grow even more than it has to date.
One of the things I am most excited about is that we will finally have a full set of forums. Yes, you will still be able to comment, but we’ll have a real forum structure that will allow for extended dialog and community interaction. This has proven more complicated than we originally thought, so don’t be dismayed if it doesn’t show up at the launch. We’re trying our best to get it done, but it may end up arriving after we go live with the new design.
Some of you will love the site, and I’m sure some of you will hate it – that’s just the way people are. But when we are up and running I will be very interested in your constructive criticism and we will make every effort to tailor and refine the site to your interests. There will also be glitches and problems, and please bring these to my attention as well.
Keep an eye out.
Best of luck Paul. Redesigning a site is always something that seems to split readers down the line but I’m sure it will work out beautifully.
Good luck, very much looking forward to the forum … I suspect this feature will become very popular!!
Might I suggest/request that the links under the “Blogroll” section just be made a static “links” page — it would be easier to navigate, presumably easy to update and you could use a chronological listing so people could see how new or old a link is.
— Bill Smith
http://www.BillSmithBooks.com
Thanks Paul. I fully realise how much work goes into this kind of thing. I welcome the forums, registration etc. and thank everyone concerned for their hard work.
Personally I hope that the focus on daily up to date articles that drive the site will be able to continue because without them the forums would lose focus.
Howard: don’t worry. The prime purpose of the site is the daily updates. The forums are just an addition to this. We will continue to be a news site, just one with some forums.
Maybe its time to start thinking about the print version. Teleread magazine would fit the profile of other successful emergent culture publications in sectors such as urban food gardening, bicycle transportation or alternative press each of which have successful print products.
The print product would leverage the content archive and perspective of Teleread and bring in another market. The immense exposure of Teleread would easily trigger subscriptions.
We certainly appreciate the eBook news found here; congratulations on the redesign, the figurative equivalent of moving to a larger facility.
oye I hope it comes soon … I just posted a long detailed comment to one of today’s articles. The page refreshed as usual and ………. it was not there.. no amount of searching succeeded.. all lost :(…………………