Forget to Mention...

There was something else that I forgot to mention in a previous blog post... I've been contemplating combining and consolidating a few blog projects. Certainly many of them are due for an overhaul and I'm not just talking about their respective designs. Many of the projects are ripe for a re-branding. A variety of things have changed in my life and I need to adjust the direction these things will go if they are to continue. Let me think out loud on this page for a moment. In no particular order...

ArcoJedi's Holocron :: http://blog.arconati.us/

At the moment, you are here! This is my longest running blog and has a variety of personal, professional, private and worldly stuff. I've talked about my kids, my job, politics and whatever. There isn't any strong focus here and there doesn't need to be since it is basically a public journal for my rambling. This site is powered by Blogger.

James A. Arconati :: http://james.a.arconati.net/

The purpose of this site started as a repository for my Delicious tags. The idea at the time was that there was supposed to be a way to have your social bookmarks on Delicious automatically posted to your blog, but even now it doesn't work with Blogger. So I installed WordPress and tweaked it into what I have now. At first this was just to have a locally controlled backup of my linked sites. I expected absolutely no traffic. But this site suddenly became very big and very popular. The only posts are from Delicious with very little other changes. This site could be the best for a blog on my portfolio site, but it needs some work. This site is powered by WordPress (and Delicious).

My Portfolio http://www.arcojedi.com/ & http://www.jamesarconati.com/ etc.

This is my newest site and is still in progress. I am using this to promote myself and the work that I do. I build it by hand without using a blog tool. And since I started building it, I've come to recognize that everything else I manage might need to be reorganized a bit.

For instance, the Arconati network of sites...

• Arconati Family: http://arconati.us/
• Arconati News: http://arconati.net/
• Arconati Surname: http://arconati.name/

I started with these sites and build everything else from there. If I were to draw a thought map of everything I've ever created it would start with these three in the center based on importance. At least, that was the case up until this point. I'm making the adjustment that these sites are moving out of the center and my portfolio is becoming central. The family sites will continue to represent my family at large, our genealogy and history. And links to my portfolio will be prominent. But stuff that is strictly ME will be moved to my portfolio.

And this means that some or all of the domains and sub-domains that I'm currently using for hosting certain blog projects should perhaps be reassigned. Even the address of this site --http://blog.arconati.us/-- makes less sense now since I am the only author here. Perhaps it should be http://blog.arcojedi.com/ instead. I'm still pondering these things, but...

Arconati Kid Korner http://kids.arconati.us/

This site is for sharing links with my kids and generally making a safe site for children. It can stay on this address as I am interested in sharing the responsibility of adding content and updating it without any parent and family member who would like to help. Contact me if you have any ideas.

NOT Tech Life Blogged http://techlifeblogged.blogspot.com/

This site I sort of inherited in a rather long story I won't rehash here. For most of my history with it, I've only been caretaker of this site as a placeholder for the original owner that moved off of Blogger. It has slowly become mine over time as I've updated it with new content as the desire hit me. It's a technology and gadget centered blog. I have thought about redirecting it using a sub-domain like tech.arconati.us or gadgets.arconati.us but just haven't yet. I think that just like the kids.* site mentioned above, I would welcome help from other family members to update a gadget blog. Let me know!

Arconati Comedy Awards http://comedy.arconati.us/

This is a joke blog, where I post any funny email forward and shared joke that I think is worthy. Again, I think this can stay on the current domain since I'd welcome any family member that wanted to post their own jokes that they find. The invite is open...

ArcoJedi's Dastardly Plan

I guess this is the closest thing I've got to a 'photo blog'. Updates are largely infrequent and usually posted tangentially from my Flickr account. The domain used for this has changed around a lot and it's not really very important. I've toyed with other stuff for this, but it's mostly public photos I've shared. I can and should fold these posts into another blog; either ArcoJedi's Holocron or James A. Arconati. I can export the posts and import them into either site with quite a bit of ease. But which one?

Musical Holocron http://music.arconati.name/

This is my music blog, where I write about music and share mp3s. Originally, I meant to use this site just for myself so that I could download my own mp3s directly onto my cell phone for free, but I could never get that to work right with my last few cell phones. Once again, this site could easily stay on the family domain name because I'd welcome any family members and music lovers who would like to write more for this site. Get in touch with me if you are interested.

R-Quotes http://quotes.arconati.name/

This is a directory and repository I created for quotes. I could very easily keep this under the family domain name. Or I could fold the posts into another site, such as the comedy.* site mentioned above. Or ... something else? For those family members like me with a fondness for a good quote (wise or whimsical), you are welcome to start adding your own. I can send you an invite and get you logged in very quickly and simply.

Seamist Inn • Dungeons & Dragons http://seamist.arconati.us/

I've had a little help with this site before but for the most part this is a site about Dungeons and Dragons written by me. The original plan was to document and play campaigns with my in-laws and they had a small hand in the site in it's early stages. However, for a long time, it's been just me. I'm getting my kids into tabletop gaming now, so this project will continue. I see no reason currently to change the domain as I'd welcome help from others with this site the same way I've already mentioned above. I should consider a more RPG related sub-domain for this site. "Seamist" doesn't seem to fit anymore.

Mudhorny http://www.mudhorny.com/

This site belongs to my little brother, but I mostly update it for him. This site's goal is to write about four by four trucks, the hobby of muddin', and promote a "Mudhorny" brand name; a t-shirt with a logo and quirky phrases will be forthcoming. For the most part, no change is necessary here, but I have plans to add a community forum (under the mudhorny.net address. Most of the updates I've posted have been links I stumble on about cars, trucks and other automotive technologies. I need to prod my brother into contributing his own stuff more often.

ColorBurst Video http://www.colorburstvideo.com/

This site belongs to my dad, but again I update it most often. The goal here is to promote my dad's brand name as a videographer, editor and titler. I mostly post links to pages regarding video editing, special effects and movies I like. There is also going to be a lot more information on home video production and services that my dad is looking to do more of now that he is retired. My dad also needs encouragement to contribute more often.

MonsterCommerceBlog http://monstercommerce.blogspot.com/

Here's a prime candidate for re-branding. MC as an entity doesn't exist any more and I no longer work for the company that owns the brand. I initially nabbed this sub-domain through Blogger back when the company was smaller and I was encouraging the leadership to start a blog. Over time, I've used it to discuss specific MC stuff, e-commerce ideas and general web development concepts. Since my portfolio is web services centered, this is a good candidate for alterations. For the future, I've got an idea I'd consider. Fold the content into an existing blog that is linked from my portfolio and redirect the URL. I could create a new sub-domain and keep the content separate. But I don't want to just abandon the site and the content that I've written there for whatever it is worth.

Happy Is The Bride - Wedding Planning Ideas and Products http://happyisthebride.com/

Here is my one active e-commerce site. This was a business idea that my wife and I shared and started in 2007, though it hasn't made much yet. In the long-term, my wife would like to be a wedding planner and event coordinator. The site is powered by Network Solutions Ecommerce, but there is also a blog powered by Blogger. Both sites could use a massive redesign and more frequent updates. What do ya say?

Friends of ArcoJedi http://friends.arconati.name/

I started this site as a link blog for my friends and coworkers who rarely had or launches web sites of their own. Nowadays however, it kind of seems like EVERYONE has their own site, which I consider a good thing if they go about it the right way. This site is a prime candidate for a bit of a shuffle. First off, the use of the family domain name here doesn't seem to fit. If these are my friends, then I should use my own vanity domain instead of the family moniker. So friends.arcojedi.com makes more sense. However, I could also easily fold the content and purpose into one of my larger and more regularly updated blogs. But which one?

Arconati News http://arconati.net/

I mentioned this site above, but I'll bring it up again here because I need to an overhaul to it. First off, I need to decide if I keep it on Blogger -or migrate it to WordPress or some other program. Do I stick to the current host or consolidate it with the other sites? And whatever I do with it, what do I do with james.a.arconati.net, since that is on the same server?

I also manage the site for Ferguson Christian Church, but that is okay for now. I hammered out a decent new composition for it that I will get around to implementing as soon as possible. And I may also upgrade it with it's own CMS of one kind or another. I host a few others, including Ratlifter.com and FrenchClassicalDressage.com, both of which use WordPress. Unless the friends that I host these for have some need, there is no reason to change these.

There really is not just one major dilemma, but a series of small ones. Do I keep using mainly Blogger? Do I move most or all to WordPress? Do I stay in multiple hosts or do I put all my eggs in one basket? Does the Arconati Family really need three separate sites or can these be consolidated into one?

That's where I'm at. Additionally to all of these questions and many more, I'm very excited that I will be starting a full time job next week. I can already tell that this is going to be a great company to work for. However, it would have been better of me to get all this personal stuff finished by now. Indecision causes procrastination.

Well, that's more than enough thinking out loud for now. Gotta wade through this...