HTML5Rocks, a beloved resource for web developers, is shutting down. This post reflects on the site's history, its impact, and the reasons behind its decline. Key factors include the shift away from "HTML5" as a buzzword, changing team priorities, lack of a focused content plan, and challenges with community management. Despite the shutdown, the author expresses gratitude for the experience and the connections made, highlighting the lessons learned about content creation, developer engagement, and the open-source community.
Inspired by a recent trip to India and the emphasis on local language content, I developed a script to translate my Hugo-based blog using Google Cloud Translate. This script processes markdown files, handles code blocks and pull quotes, and outputs translated versions, expanding the potential reach of my content to non-English speakers. While machine translation isn't perfect, the goal is to improve content discoverability and accessibility for a wider audience. I'll share results as data becomes available.
This blog post discusses the ideal length of blog entries. It argues that both too short and too long posts can be detrimental to a blog's success. Short posts can appear superficial, while overly long ones can bore readers. The author aims for a balance, using shorter entries for critiques and longer, focused articles for more in-depth topics. This particular post, part of a series on the author's first AJAX application, exemplifies this approach by being broken down into smaller, manageable segments.
This blog post discusses the importance of balancing valuable content with helpful features. I currently offer content and features like Technorati tags, and plan to bring back related searches. The AJAX application I built helps create this value-added data, which I believe is key for reader engagement. I'm considering adding more data like citations and related searches, but I'm cautious about information overload. Maintaining these value-added sections is challenging (except for the now-easy Technorati tags). I'd love to hear your suggestions for other valuable data to include!