Something Here Seems Different….
…Maybe Even Out Of Place.
Relax, I've made some changes here. Least of which is the "new" theme, but I also pulled in more than 630 articles from my defunct The Article Writer blog.
Regular visitors to Matt’s Musings have probably realized that something here has been changed. The obvious difference is the “new” theme which I installed on Friday, but I also did quite a bit of work behind the scenes as well as off site work which involved pulling in almost all of the articles from my closed down blog, The Article Writer.
I haven’t done the 301 Redirect yet (it works, I’ve tested it) but this blog now contains most of those articles minus a handful of the old categories. Photographs are still linked to the www.thearticlewriter.com images folder, but I plan on uploading those pictures here and redirecting the links accordingly.
A number of people were surprised last May when I suddenly closed down what was then my flagship blog. I simply decided that I needed to redirect my attention elsewhere, particularly to a number of client projects. I’ve always maintained multiple sites of my own, but since the beginning of this year I’ve been thinking of consolidating my work in a bid to be much more effective with what I have.
At present, I manage six blogs but I’m likely to scale back to five when all is said and done. Eventually, my The Article Writer site will not have one blog associated with it as I give The Auto Writer its own site (I own the www.theautowriter.com domain) or merge it with Auto Trends. Yes, I think concentrating on one car blog is much more efficient; besides it takes the burden off of having to regularly update two similar sites which are basically in competition with each other.
For a lot of businesses – big and small – 2009 will be the year of consolidation and pulling back. I think that this makes sense as everyone is trying to figure out ways to cut costs and run more efficiently.
Those of you who work as freelance writers have always been doing that – picking which gigs fit best with what you do while passing over everything else. Like a steady rhythm, you’ve found your beat and are continually looking for ways to work smarter and faster while bringing in the pay.
I should complete the transition from the old blog to Matt’s Musings by the end of this month as I finish notifying my link exchange partners of these changes. A number of my online friends have kept their links in place to The Article Writer just as I have for them. Now, I want to give these same folks the opportunity to find me here, actively updating this site on a fairly regular basis.
I am planning on covering freelance writing topics on Matt’s Musings as I had been doing on The Article Writer, but not as consistently as I did previously. This blog has a much broader reach to it, one where I cover issues as far ranging as politics, small business development, SEO, societal trends, human interest, even the occasional public service article. Truly a mixed bag and hopefully something that you’ll find of interest as well.
Tags: article writer, freelance writer, Matt's Musings
General, Social Media | Matthew C. Keegan, 17 Jan 09
By LarryJackson, January 17, 2009 @ 7:32 am
I really like the new theme, Matt. It is very clean and readable.
LarryJacksons last blog post..Senate gives Obama remaining $350 billion TARP money
By Matthew C. Keegan, January 17, 2009 @ 8:20 am
Thanks, Larry. Its is easy to use and manage. I’ve got some quirks to get rid of, but I think that is just part of working with a new theme.
By Dominique, January 17, 2009 @ 3:03 pm
Hey Matt – I love the new theme and I like your idea of consolidating. I did the same and it made my life so much easier. I also updated my link on my blog to refer to your new theme.
Dominiques last blog post..NO PARDONS but Possible COMMUNTATION for Ramos & Compean
By PaulsHealthBlog.com, January 17, 2009 @ 5:05 pm
I like the new look. It is clean and easy to navigate.
I am not a techie, and lean heavily on my wife to do these sort of things!
By MattK, January 17, 2009 @ 5:31 pm
Thank you, Dominique. I think reviewing what we have and going with what works is the best usage of our time. The theme is easy to use and I can make changes with ease.
I understand that, Paul! It took me a long time to figure WordPress out when I started using it three years ago. Today, it is much easier to work with but I still lean on several online sites to help walk me through the rough patches.
MattKs last blog post..It’s A Wrap: Week In Review
By Jena Isle, January 18, 2009 @ 3:12 am
This is cool. I new this new one better. It looks more professional. Happy blogging.
Jena Isles last blog post..A Simple Theory of Communication
By Jena Isle, January 18, 2009 @ 3:12 am
I mean , I LIKE THIS NEW ONE BETTER..lol, sorry for that. My keypads are acting up again. Cheers.
Jena Isles last blog post..A Simple Theory of Communication
By Matthew C. Keegan, January 18, 2009 @ 6:32 am
LOL. Thanks, Jena…either way you put it I understood. Much appreciated too!
By Lillie Ammann, January 18, 2009 @ 8:26 pm
Matt,
The new theme looks great. I’m using various Revolution themes on most of the blogs I create/maintain and love them.
I’m also glad to see The Article Writer posts moving over here. People will be more apt to read them here, I think, than on a blog that’s closed down—even though they’re just as good there as here.
Lillie Ammanns last blog post..Religious Freedom Day
By Matthew C. Keegan, January 19, 2009 @ 4:43 am
Thank you, Lillie!
I’ve been getting regular traffic to my closed down blog, but I didn’t like leaving the “out of business” look on it, thus the consolidation.
The 301 Redirect end was easy too…I should have done that months ago!
By Peet, January 20, 2009 @ 12:44 am
I like the new look. It is clean and easy to navigate.
By Michael Kramer, January 21, 2009 @ 4:21 pm
I love the new theme, your changes are only for the better.
By Matthew C. Keegan, January 21, 2009 @ 4:52 pm
Thank you, everyone. The theme is working out well. Right now I’m waiting for Google to index all of the new pages.