About a month ago, I began working on a new version of my site.  I wanted to challenge myself, do something that I’ve never done before, and push my limits.  I’ve done all that and a bit more and I’m very proud of what I’ve done so far.   With each re-design that I’ve previously done, I’ve tried more and more to make the focus of my site, my content.  But in a lot of respects I’ve failed and missed the whole point of a content-centric theme.  Don’t get me wrong, I think I’ve come pretty close sometimes, but I’ve never really been completely happy with what I’ve produced.   But that’s about to change.

I’ve put a lot of thought into this re-design, and I’m still ironing out kinks, making changes here and there, and making it a better site, not just for myself, but for people that use my site.  With this new design, you’re going to see a whole other side of me.  I know that I’ve said that before, but this time I mean it.  I wanted to challenge myself, and I have, and along with that I’ve come up with some ideas, some that I haven’t implemented yet, that will help you get to know me just that much more.

If you’ve noticed, it’s been a bit quiet around here lately.  I barely Twitter anymore, Pownce is almost non-existent to me at the moment, I know longer participate as much as I used to on 9rules Notes, and my online life has all but diminished.  But in the end, I’m sure you’ll see why, and hopefully it’ll have been worth it all.

With this re-design, I want to make sure that not only am I truly happy with it, but I want my readers to be as well.  That’s why I have a favor to ask of you.  I want this re-design to be as much about you as it is me.  I have a few reasons for this.  First, I plan to continue writing about my personal life as much as I can.  I am going to continue podcasting, videocasting, and writing about my opinions, issues, fears, loves, hates, and worries just as I always have.  But I plan on bringing in other types of content as well.  I don’t want to feel limited with what I can write about, or what I can do.  Hopefully, everyone will benefit from this.

So, on with the favor.  Basically, I just want you to answer some questions.  No, you won’t be graded.  You can answer them any way you see fit.  But I just want you to know that I truly appreciate you taking the time to answer these.

1. What do you think can be improved about the current design?  I want to learn from my mistakes, so don’t be afraid to be blunt.  :)  And yes, I know that the site is crap in IE6/7 and Opera.  That will be rectified in the upcoming design.
2. What are some things that can be improved content-wise? Do I need to work on my grammar?  Do I need to spell-check some more?  What kind of things do you like reading, or do you look forward to?
3. What should I add, or take away, from my site currently that will make this upcoming design a better one?  It’s important for you to know that when I’m finally ready to launch the new design, I’ll be shutting down my site for a bit.  Yes, it’s that big of a re-design.  It isn’t just a design, it’s a whole new site.  But don’t worry, I’ll only be gone for a day or two, and no it’s not happening anytime soon.  I plan on launching it in about a month.

That’s it for now.  I’m pretty sure that’s all I wanted to ask, but if I come up with anymore questions, I’ll ask politely.  I truly appreciate your answers and I look forward to them.  Also, if you would like to help test the new site out, I’ll be needing some volunteers in about a week or two to help test out any kinks.  If you’d like to help me with that, shoot me an e-mail or IM me.