retroBlog

You know, it has been a while since I last fiddled around with the template on this blog. It’s a bit surprising to realize how much time has lapsed since the last time I changed the look of this blog. Especially since I’m the type of person that LOVES to customize things and mess with gadgets, widgets and plug-ins. But alas, life happens and stuff here on the blog tend to get placed lower and lower on the priority list. Hey, I’m just thankful that I’m able to simply post on this thing whenever I get the chance!! But Christmas break is coming and I’m bound and determined to use some of the down-time to spiffy up this blog. As a matter of fact, I thought I’d post my holiday wish list of things that would do this blog some good.
1. a new template – a no-brainer and a relatively easy thing to update.
2. a new logo – I definitely need to create better brand recognition for “RetroBlog”.
3. evaluate some of the numerous plugins available for wordpress – There are so many plugins to choose from. I’m like a kid in a candy store.
4. feature more interviews with my favorite musicians – I’ve enjoyed doing the few that I’ve posted so I’m hoping to continue to do so in the near future.
5. organize categories and tags – to help visitors find past articles a lot easier on this site.
6. improve stickiness – I get a good number of visitors through google searches but I’d love for them to stick around or come back more regularly.
7. online music jukebox – I might incorporate an online streaming jukebox on the sidebar to share some of my favorite tunes.
8. more original multimedia content – content is “King” so I might end up posting some original demos that I’ve recorded in the past. and, who knows, maybe some video podcasts?
9. more giveaways – a recent CD giveaway proved to be a good promotional tool so I’ll probably do more of those to help promote the blog in the coming year.
10. and lastly, I’m hoping to get a new copy of Dragon Naturally Speaking 10 Preferred to help me post content on the blog faster and easier. The revolutionary speech recognition software would be able to get those thoughts out of my head and onto the screen faster than I could by typing. I’m not a great typist by any means so using something like Dragon naturally Speaking would making things way more efficient in RetroBlog-land. Check out the youtube video playlist put together by fellow blogger and Dragon Naturally Speaking user, Brett Bumeter. Watch how simple it is to convert recorded messages from a portable recording device into a blog post. Not only would it be perfect for bloggers but also for converting interviews into text, which happens to be related to #4 on my wish list.

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I like the way Brett’s video is one long shot with no edits which helps convey the off-the-cuff nature of the recording and how the speech recognition program needed virtually no prep work. Definitely a nice feature especially for bloggers like me who like to do things on-the-fly.

For those that are interested in purchasing their own copy of Dragon naturally Speaking, be sure to use the following coupon codes and links to get a discount:

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