What follows is more of what my drill sergeant would've called "constant site improvement." I think I remember the priorities of work: "First, dig the foxhole ... then add overhead cover ... then dig a grenade sump ... then carefully emplace a line of painted white rocks around your fighting position."
Or something like that.
I've added a "Networked Blogs" Facebook app widget on the Red Bull Rising sidebar, after realizing that it might help people find the blog. The "new, improved" Facebook does a good job of making even your pages and groups hard to find. In my opinion.
Let me know if it slows down your page-loading times too much, will you?
I'm finally getting around to adding some additional "useful tools for soldiers deploying to Afghanistan" links to the sidebar. Many of these come from the minds and blog-rolls of my friends, buddies, and mil-blogging mentors. As always, I'm trying to really focus my categories down to "tight shot groups": 3 to 5 items each. As a reader, I tend to get overwhelmed and easily distracted where there are too many options. ("SQUIRRELS!") I'm figuring my Red Bull buddies need the same kind of calm reading environment in which to ruminate. Pay no attention the matador behind the curtain ...
Before I forget, please note James Lee's photo blog from Eastern Afghanistan at the Ventura County Star. I don't know how long he's going to be in country, but I hope he continues for a long time. With his eye, even the most mundane scene becomes magical--and an opportunity for insight.
Also, I'm stepping up the hunt for more mil-bloggers from Red Bull units. I recently had one pop up on my e-mail net--a medic who may be deploying with us, who's been blogging since 2006 or 2007. If there are other Red Bull soldiers out there doing or thinking about doing, zap me an e-mail or contact me via Facebook. We're all in this together.
More generally, please feel free to post recommendations of other useful websites, blogs, or Facebook pages ... and thanks in advance for your help!
Essayons!
That's a nifty facebook widget. I'm still figuring out how Networked blogs works, and haven't yet put it up on mine.
ReplyDeleteNetworked Blogs installation was both easier and harder than it should have been. It's hard to figure out how/where to "point" your feed--your FB wall, your info page, your fan page. I think it has the potential of making one's blog more accessible to Facebook users--and it seems to make the delivery of RBR nearly instantaneous. (When I was using the built-into-FB "feed-to-Notes" method, it could take hours to populate.)
ReplyDeleteThat said, I don't think Networked Blogs works unless people know that you're on it. That's why I broke down and put the widget up. I'll let you know how it goes ...