Recently, I’ve been combing the archives, labeling all of the (currently) 1,362 posts so that they can be indexed topically when I switch from template to layout mode (readers shouldn’t notice a difference, except there will be two new sections–Recent Comments and Labels–and the Previous section will be down to five posts and will not appear on post pages). I should really also condense the sidebar contents; I’ve gotten emails from people asking me to link to their site when I already do, and that’s a pretty good indication that it’s hard to find things.
I’m continuing the topical reorganization although it may not look like it; I’m going through the archives in chronological order, and I’m almost through December 2005 although I haven’t done November 2005 yet (sounds like nuclear management, doesn’t it?). I’ve covered most of the things I want to write about (although I obviously haven’t written about them yet); most of the rest is FAQs.
As for the navigation of the main site, I was thinking of using the wikipedia-type method where approximately every third word is a link to an article, with the home page broken down into sections, each with a couple of drop-down menus on subtopics (Waste–>Repositories, for example). I would really like feedback on this.
I’m trying to post as much as possible, but I get the idea that topically organizing and indexing the content that I’ve already posted would better help readers find information. It’s supposed to be an informational site with a blog and news services attached, not a blog with an informational site attached and a half-baked news service that doesn’t even keep up with NRC press releases. I’m also looking ahead to 2009–the 30th anniversary of Three Mile Island–and how we’re going to handle it; I’ve registered the domains www.tmi30.org/.com/.net/.info and www.tmiplus30.org/.com/.net/.info and hope to launch www.tmi30.org (with redirects for the others) in January 2009, using content from the main site. If we can get our act together, this could be a major PR opportunity–explaining how a reactor works, why defense-in-depth poses problems, the difference between Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, etc.
Other things:
1. The Energy Toolbar–a Google-Toolbar-like service for energy geeks–is currently on hold, but it will eventually be available (I’ve signed up for the service and arranged most of the buttons, but I haven’t collected all the necessary energy information links yet).
2. Somebody should do a website on Whole Ecology; I can’t right now, but being able to give a name to the environmental philosophy held by most scientists and some open-minded environmentalists could give us a boost. I suppose that could be the step after TMI+30 awareness, which is the step after writing a book and starting to organize campuses, which is the step after getting this incredibly disorganized site into a reasonably navigable form. So I guess I’ve got my work cut out for me for the next 5-10 years :).
3. Let’s go nuclear!
Comments?
Posted on January 30, 2007 by Stewart Peterson |
