New bloglist -- need feedback (& blogs)

[Tinkerbell]

Hey everybody,

I finished adding a bloglist to my site the other day, and was wondering if people could send me some feedback (and their blogs if they feel like it). I've never made a bloglist before, so it's been quite a bit of fun programing it.

Things I've done to make them slightly different than other blog lists. First, with the exception of new sites, the list is randomly ordered (daily), meaning that every blog has a chance of becoming the first link at the top of their respective categories... forever. I figured this would be better than ordering by incoming hits (new blogs don't have a chance and it's confusing) and ordering by date (old blogs get sent to the bottom and only get hits in the beginning). This way all blogs get a steady stream of hits over the long run.

I'm also wondering if having a custom icon/thumbnail beside your link would be something useful? I have added a similar thumbnail option on my link list which you can upload to my site when you submit a link. I figured it would help make the site look more interesting and also help your link gain more attention... in the sea of text. Is this something that would interest you?

Any other ideas you think I should add or that you would like to see?

You can visit the sites here:
(straight)
http://blogs.tomspornlinks.com/
(gay)
http://blogs.tomsgaypornlinks.com/

Thanks for the feedback!

[Tinkerbell]

Actually, I'm really curious about what people think about the whole icon/thumbnail thing. If people think it's a useful idea, I'll implement it.

[walrus]

I'll have to give the random ordering sort a good think through but on the outside I like the idea.

As far as the thumb, since I brand all my sites with the same logo I would like being able to enhance that brand by uploading an icon with each site.

I"ll submit a few in a couple days for you.

[Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by walrus

I'll have to give the random ordering sort a good think through but on the outside I like the idea.

As far as the thumb, since I brand all my sites with the same logo I would like being able to enhance that brand by uploading an icon with each site.

I"ll submit a few in a couple days for you.

Thanks Walrus, I appreciate the feedback. I'll probably be adding the icon/thumb option over the next couple days.

[Tinkerbell]

I installed the icon feature for the blogs/thumb... so feel free to try it out.

thanks!

[afc_dave]

I use about 10 directories that use a screncap thumb of the blog and I like it. Do you write your own scripts?, I have been looking for a good blog directories script but just can't find one I like.

[Tinkerbell]

Originally Posted by afc_dave

I use about 10 directories that use a screncap thumb of the blog and I like it. Do you write your own scripts?, I have been looking for a good blog directories script but just can't find one I like.

Really? I've never seen other bloglist with that feature. Care to share them with me?

and to answer your question, I do write my own scripts. I use a combination of PHP/MySQL and Javascript to make my sites. It's a great way to learn/practice (I'm a budding computer sci. major) , and it also makes is so that I have complete control over my sites. The downside is that it takes FOREVER to make a them.. but I'm quite the perfectionist... so I'm always able to go back and make the changes I want.

[Tinkerbell]

Just wanted to give anybody reading this thread a heads up. Due to recent events, I've chosen to stop working on my Bloglists/Linklists for a while. I'll be taking them down within a week or so.. So Walrus, if you're reading this and were still intending to submit a couple blogs like you said, don't bother. I am working on another project, however, that I'm pretty excited about that may be of interest to anybody willing to try something new. It should be done in a couple days and you can read about it in the Link Trading forum.