Interactive Housekeeping

Now that I'm posting again, it's time to freshen up the place. I've started by doing some of the obvious things, but I could certainly use the help of readers (even those for whom subscription has meant you haven't been to bluebexley.com in months).

1) Links. I've taken down a bunch of dead links. I've replaced some links that got lost in various shuffles. I need some more links. If you know of left-of-center political blogs from and about Ohio, that post fairly regularly with original content, let me know. If you know of non-partisan aggregator or old media blogs that would interest Central Ohio readers, let me know. If you know of a great blog on any topic from Central Ohio, let me know. If you know of any website with regular updates (blog, newsletter, etc.) by or for Bexley residents, let me know.

I may or may not link to them, but odds are pretty high that if you ask, I will.

Speaking of links and asking... I've had a policy of not directly asking other sites to link here, unless they solicited links in the way I've just done above. I've been pretty proud when links to BB go up without my direct involvement. I'm about to make a one-time partial deviation from that policy...

If you maintain a site that links to Blue Bexley, would you consider taking a moment and updating the link to "www.bluebexley.com" ? The old blogspot address leads to a redirect that gets people where they need to go, which is the important thing, but... BB has a current Technorati authority of 8... I shouldn't care, but... updating the link would remedy that.

2) Ads. Sometimes people ask me if I make a lot of money blogging. For those of you who have not yet spit your coffee or been convulsed with giggles, here is the scoop: I've been allowing Google to post ads on the site since 11/14/2006, or 16 months. These ads have generated $17.06, which works out to 3.5 cents/day. Unfortunately, Google will not cut a check until a publisher has generated $100.00 in revenue. At this rate, I will get my check at the end of December 2015. If you are or know of a local entity that would like to publish ads on BB, my traffic data is public (click on the Sitemeter icon on the bottom of the page), and the pricing negotiations, well... I just told you that a buck a month would double my current ad revenue. And it would certainly beat the McCain and Ron Paul ads that have been showing up recently (although it amuses me that if people click on those ads, those campaigns have to pay me).

3) Fundraising. I've removed the widget that directly raises funds for the Bexley Education Foundation. Change.org had a great idea with the generic fundraising widget, but it wasn't right for this site. I still enthusiastically support donating to Candidates through my ActBlue page, and that link will keep its prominent position. I've updated the candidate list, but it currently only allows donations to the Dem presidential nominee (funds that will be transferred when it becomes apparent who that is), and to David Robinson. Act Blue provides fundraising capabilities for Statehouse candidates, but the Garland campaign has not yet taken advantage of this. If/when they do, I'd appreciate a heads-up and I'll add them to the page.

4) Format. As these things go up and come down, things will get shifted and shunted. This might entail futzing with the column layout and even the color scheme. If something looks particularly pleasing or nauseating, let me know. If something looks just plain wrong, let me know that, but also what browser you're using.

Thank you, and please pardon the virtual dust.