Yesterday I blogged about some of the things that the Pajamas Media might do to improve their site... making it more attractive to readers coming in to look for news and blogs talking about the news...

The main part is fine - but the links at the end... I tend to look at them and my eyes cross! There are so many... thus making me think I won't go read any - it's too much. I'm not sure how to make it better, but at the very least, they could give a line from each post to draw readers into clicking through.

Today I was over at Instapundit and followed his link to the latest story over at PJM...

Head on over and have a look! Either they followed my suggestion or someone else had the same thought... doesn't really matter. They have made the effort and given each blog link a short blurb of its own! WONDERFUL! Color me astounded. Compare and contrast with the story I linked yesterday. Quite a difference!

Honestly I never expected that change - it's quite a lot of work. So Kudos to them for going the extra mile on this part.

Posted by: Teresa in Weblogs at 07:44 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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As I was over at Sissy's this morning, reading about vibrating Pajamas and the new Pajamas Media, I was surprised to find that the bloggers running the PJM have ignored something major in their efforts to get things going. Front page content on their site.

Now, I grant that they are a new company. They are trying to find their place and get things going. BUT... these are all seasoned bloggers. They all have very successful blogs. So, I am astounded that they have forsaken one of the biggest draws in blogdom - lots of content that is updated frequently... all day... ON THE FRONT PAGE!

If I look at the main page of PJM right now (the link is above I'm not going to redo it) there are 3 (count 'em THREE) whole posts on the front page. The first is a linkfest of bloggers with posts on yesterday's story about Cunningham's resignation from the House, the second is a "Special Report" by Claudia Rosett, the third is a "Best of the Blogs" story about blogging.

Now there is nothing wrong with any of those stories,. but... that's ALL - there is nothing else on the front page. And therein lies the problem.

If I'm a blog reader and I want to find out what's going on in the news and around the world and what the blogs are saying about it - this is not going to grab my attention and keep me coming back. I may... possibly... go back daily - but most likely I'll check in once a week (if I remember and have the time). Personally - this is only the fourth time I've been over to the PJM main page since they've started - so far as I can see - there is no reason to waste time going to see IF they may just have updated and put up new content. After a few checks with no discernible change - I lose interest and go where I know I'll find content.

They may point to the left sidebar that has links to "Top Stories", but I say - that will only catch a few people who might be interested in clicking through. With the main page being so completely underwhelming in content, I would think that there will be far fewer people wanting to take the time to click the links.

Unfortunately, in an effort to be a portal rather than a blog - they are neither.

So what needs to be done? Well, I can only tell them what would get me back on a regular basis - say several times a day.

1) They need to hire (they are a business - so yes hire people!) several bloggers from around the world whose job is to peruse the news and blogsites and link them up in posts. This would need to operate at least on the scale of Glenn's output - but more of it. 24/7 - 365 which is why you need people from around the world to work on content... look at email... set up posts.

2) Have a look at this post that links to blogs following the Cunningham story... it's sloppy. The main part is fine - but the links at the end... I tend to look at them and my eyes cross! There are so many... thus making me think I won't go read any - it's too much. I'm not sure how to make it better, but at the very least, they could give a line from each post to draw readers into clicking through. Yes it would be longer - but far more readable and would draw more readers to the various posts that are linked. Even Glenn only does the occassional "HEH" post without comment. If they say that is too much work then I'm saying - they have just lost the reason for their existence. Yes, it is work, to slack off makes you no better than the MSM that tends to just slack off on its reporting and thus ends up with an inferior product!

3) For heaven sake - stop blogging about blogging! PLEASE! It might be informative, but the end result looks like you're trying to justify your existence... meaning you can't stand on your own merits.

4) Be sure to have some "lighter" fare mixed in with all the hard news. Constant hard news is very depressing. We all need a few laughs to keep things going and brighten the day... at least I need it. Perhaps that lowers my standings in the "highbrow" circles - but so be it. Throw out some posts on cooking, cars, sports...

Well, that's my take on the Pajamas Media problems. In my very humble opinion...they have a lot of work ahead of them to get up to speed. Then again I'm such a small blogger that I wonder if my thoughts have any merit whatsoever...

Posted by: Teresa in Weblogs at 07:46 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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