This is the 600th post on TechWalls and I am getting excited to write this post because this is the first time. The 100th to 500th posts marked important milestones for this blog and sadly I couldn’t write any of them.
I didn’t expect the 600th post comes that fast as the 500th post was just written in the summer. As TechWalls was launched for just 1 and a half year, it means that we are trying hard to publish at least 1 new post to our readers everyday. Seriously, it doesn’t sound easy as it looks. We all have to live our life, spend time for work and study, I guess not many people want to spend the rest of their days typing in front of the screen. Blogging sometimes became a duty, it is just like I have to write to serve readers. That does not only make me run out of ideas but also make blogging a tedious job because I have to do it repeatedly almost everyday. I couldn’t find any passion on the job and that’s why you saw me almost stop writing in early summer this year. From May to July, I often have just 2-3 new posts each month, what a shame!
Actually those were all my faults and I can’t blame other people or circumstances, it shouldn’t be the way we deal with conflict or unpleasant situation. There were some lessons I learned from the few bad months, firstly we always have time and we need to manage time effectively, don’t ever expect a day will be 24 hour longer. The second lesson is that our life can’t be happy everyday, so we need to have a plan for our blog so that it is not affected when we are not in the mood of blogging. Those are valuable strategies I learned from speakers at BlogWorld 2012 in New York. You probably heard about the strategies of time management and planning many times but it could be difficult to apply them in real life. So, I recommend you to attend NMX 2013 in Las Vegas next January (BlogWorld is being re-branded as New Media Expo). I am not sure I could join you there but I already purchased the virtual ticket to keep track of all presentations. There will be a lot of helpful experience shared by speakers to help develop your blog further. Register via this link if you want to save $100 off New Media Expo pass with the code AN100D. The code expires on 10/21/12 and not valid on Exhibits Only pass.
Besides, another factor helps my blog survive the summer is the contribution of TechWalls Writer Team. You won’t believe that they are writing more articles than me in the last 6 months. Specifically, Emmanuel Banks has written 109 articles and Sanjib Saha is just behind at 101 posts. Those are amazing works they have done for TechWalls’ readers. You can check out other members in our writer team here.
On the same occasion, I’ve just renewed the design of TechWalls. The WordPress theme has been changed to ExtraNews, this is a new theme for my blog as well as a very newly released theme for technology blogs. The ExtraNews theme is very suitable for tech blogs because we can integrate reviews, video, slideshows, and galleries beautifully in each post. The theme is priced at $50 and you can buy it via our link from ThemeForest. I didn’t go with Genesis or Thesis themes because they are more suitable for affiliate marketers. ExtraNews has some unique features that I couldn’t find out on Thesis, Genesis and Elegant Themes. However, this is not a perfect theme, it has some downsides as well and I will write a full review on the upcoming post.
If you are a reader of TechWalls, hopefully you will love the new design. By the way, we are planning for some changes on content here, so we appreciate all your opinions about what you want to read on the blog.
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RajKumar says
Hi Tuan
A great design, i must say. I have seen previous looks of Techwalls. But this one is awesome.
Any yes, Congratz on you 600th post. Would love to see you cross 1000 mark very soon
Raj Kumar
Tuan Do says
Thanks, Raj.
It means a lot to me as you guys love the new design. I spent a lot of money on Thesis, Genesis and some other frameworks but this theme is really the one makes me satisfied.
We will try to cross the 1000th post within the next 6 months. :)
Mushfique says
Congrats on your 600th post Tuan ! I really liked the new theme and was searching in themeforest for it ! Has the feeling of the popular blog, The Verge ! Kudos to the writers of Techwalls. Really enjoyed their articles all through out.
I am sure, you guys will rock even more in the coming days :)
Best of luck ! :)
Tuan Do says
Thanks a lot, Mushfique.
Yes that’s so true. The theme seems to be built on The Verge’s taste. You can see it clearer in the review system, which I am not enabling at the moment. Although it has some disadvantages, the design complements them all.
Anyways, are you still good with Marketers Delight? That’s also the theme I considered before purchasing this one.
Mushfique says
I once bought a theme from themeforest but had to remove it due to the slow loading speed.
Right now I am trying to give a new look to my blog and thinking whether adding a slider would be a good idea. Wish I knew more css :( Overall, its a good theme ! But I must say, the theme that you have selected is wonderful :)
Tuan Do says
Yeah that’s right. I have to spend 2-3 days to tweak the theme. It has a lot of problems actually while the themes on Thesis or Genesis are SEO and speed optimized already.
We should optimize page speed of our sites, but not to minimal because readers won’t be impressed with a simple design. Adding slider is a good idea.
Jakes says
Hi,
600 posts. Simply, WOW dude. Congrats. Being consistent it is the easiest way to success in blogging
Tuan Do says
Thanks mate. :)
I am trying to improve both quantity and quality of blog posts, hopefully it will reach more audience in the upcoming time.
Juan says
seriously i like this new design for this blog. It show the fresh content and the fresh look.
Tuan Do says
Thanks Juan.
I am so glad that you like it. There is a small issue with the comment system as designers say showing gravatar for commenters is not necessary. Do you think so?
Juan says
for this matter i really hope you must enable gravatar. For me this is necessary.
1. Able to quick identify the commentator
2. Make the comment area more active (not boring) and will be more benefit for long term
3. Easy and fast to remember our commentator friend
4. More friendly looking
Hope you agree with me. Sorry for my poor english
Tuan Do says
All your points make sense. I highly appreciate your opinions and I will make the gravatar available soon.
Thanks a million. :)
PrIyAnGsHu says
Congrats Tuan, your staff is really doing a great job with this blog. Keep up the nice work, and keep growing.