Ohmystinkinheck

Gather round one and all because we have serious business to attend to - together we need to reinvent the Blogroll. Yes, you read right - REINVENT.

When I was working through this new design of mine, once again I rammed up against the idea of a Blogroll. In the past, just like nearly every single one of you, I have experimented with different forms of the Blogroll. I’ve kept a looooooooooooong list of text links that no one in their right mind would sift through. I’ve kept a short list of actual daily reads. I’ve organized it by categories, and then, alphabetically, because I just might be a tad bit obsessive compulsive (just a smidgeon). For the past 6 months I’ve just dropped the Blogroll altogether in the hopes that I’d never have to mess with the gaggle of text links again. BUT! That doesn’t work. You know why? BECAUSE WE ARE A COMMUNITY.

Yep, we are a community of bloggers and we are supposed to give to each other. In the blogging world, that means a link.

Now, I’ll be honest, I don’t like reading through long lists of text links any more than I like standing in long lines. So, when I made my new design I kept trying to think of how I could include the whole idea of spreading the love WITHOUT a coastline of text links wrapping one side or the other of my web page. I started thinking of what I would click on; what would attract ME? What would I like to see at other sites? Me, myself and I brainstormed and it didn’t take long for us to realize that what the traditional Blogroll was missing was IMAGES. I am a visual person and linger where photographs, graphics, designs, etc… are thoughtfully taken/created and blogged.

And that is how I came to implement a visual Blogroll in my new design.

But it couldn’t stop there, because I’m also a search engine lunatic. Images aren’t enough. I mean images are nice for PEOPLE, but search engines can’t read them. I wanted to hit both angles at once. And so, I realized, there would need to be an image for eye candy and a text link for the search engines. And honestly, I thought that combination made the most perfect Blogroll ever.

So, I asked you guys to let me know if you’d be interested (you were), integrated the idea into my design, tossed it Jessica’s way for her to review, and to my delight she was just as excited as I was about it.

Jessica decided to implement a graphic Blogroll as well - SHARE THE LOVE - whoooohooo! Her new design will encourage readers to exit her site through one of three screencaptures. These screencaptures are taken from sections of her readers’ sites that make her happy.

And then the emails started pouring in. You guys wanted to know the what, when, where and how.

And we want to tell you.

Not only that … we want to take it one step further. So be sure to take this all the way to the end (or read the end first) because we need your help, and in return, we’ll take what y’all suggest and package it up really purty-like, handing it right back to ya. Yep, we’re cool like that.

OPTION 1: Advertisement Manager

Since there are several ways to do this, I’ll tell you how Jessica and I do it first. Currently, we both use Advertisement Manager. I found this program back in 2003 when I was looking for ways to rotate paid ads on a business website I’ve long since sold. There weren’t a lot of programs that did this and did it well, but this one did. I could create “areas” that I wanted ads to display, indicating the size I wanted for that ad “area” and the program created the code for me to paste into my design. It also mailed statistic reports to my advertisers and they could log in and check their ads, upload a replacement button, banner, etc… at their will.

Jessica purchased it soon after because of requests from her customers to advertise at her family’s cloth diaper business.

Advertisement Manager allows you to rotate text links, banners, or even banners with text links directly under them like I’ve done with my reader screenshots. Seriously, it is a good program. BUT… it isn’t free, thankfully inflation hasn’t had its way with it, as it costs the same now as it did in 2003. The installation is FREE and completed by the individual who created the software.

SPECS

COST: $149.00
REQUIREMENTS: Blog must be self-hosted on a server (either Windows or Unix-based OS is fine), have a PHP and a MySQL database installed. MOST web hosting packages today provide this at the bare minimum.
ADVANTAGES: AM can run across multiple websites. I’ve installed this on my husband’s site, but use it for all of my businesses and blogs by simply pasting the code into the web page. AM supports text-links, banners, or banners with text-links.
DISADVANTAGES: Requires a self-hosted blog. If your blog is not self-hosted, but you have access to someone else’s server that has PHP and a MySQL database installed, you can still run this software off their server. So, perhaps a friend can help you out, or maybe space given by a spouse through a work account.

OPTION 2: Openads

If you are on a self-hosted blog, or transitioning to a self-hosted blog, with a web host that runs cPanel, you can use the Fantastico Auto-Installer to very easily install a FREE program called Openads on the server.
Openads used to be called phpAds and now, I believe it is called phpAdsNEW! when you find it within the Fantastico Auto-Installer area of your cPanel.

This program can also be downloaded at the Openads website and installed manually. You can learn more about Openads, but it basically does a lot of the same things as AM does, BUT … it is FREE!

SPECS

COST: FREE
REQUIREMENTS: Blog must be self-hosted on a server (Apache running on Linux is preferred; other servers are not supported), have a PHP and a MySQL database installed. MOST web hosting packages today provide this at the bare minimum.
ADVANTAGES: Openads can run across multiple websites, just as with AM. Openads supports text-links, banners, or banners with text-links.
DISADVANTAGES: Requires a self-hosted blog. If your blog is not self-hosted, but you have access to someone else’s server that has PHP and a MySQL database installed, you can still run this software off their server. So, perhaps a friend can help you out, or maybe space given by spouse through a work account.

OPTION 3: Random Image Rotation

If you are on a self-hosted blog, you can also implement the Random Image Rotation detailed by Dan Benjamin. I used this same image rotator for the photo header in my previous blog design. However, Dan took the Hivelogic header script a step further, to implement a mode where each photo/graphic would have its own link.

Previously this script was just a random graphic display. If hyperlinked, it would take you to the same URL for any image that rotated through. Now, you can assign each graphic its own URL, so it can nicely be used for a Visual Blogroll.

Don’t worry - you don’t have to know how to write php code to do this. As Dan says, “All of the code is already written for you, and it’s not necessary for you to grasp all of it (or any of it, really) in order to make this work.”

SPECS

COST: FREE
REQUIREMENTS: Blog must be self-hosted on a server that supports PHP (version 4.2 or newer preferred). MOST web hosting packages today provide this at the bare minimum.
ADVANTAGES: You can rotate images with links without installing any software on the server, so it doesn’t require MySQL.
DISADVANTAGES: Absolutely requires a self-hosted blog. Does not allow for text-links - just graphic rotations.

OPTION 4: Blogrolling

If you are not self-hosted, then you really only can rotate text-links. In which case, you can at least deal with them more efficiently by putting them on a manageable rotation. WordPress has plugins that will do this for you, but Blogspot doesn’t - so we aren’t going to forget about you Blogger people. We want to let you know about Blogrolling. Blogrolling is basically a text-link blogroll manager. Once pasted into your website’s code, it is just a one-click link to add or delete a site from your Blogroll.

If you can add one piece of code to your website - you can do this.

Upgrade to a premium Blogrolling account and you can easily set your Blogrolling account to show 5 links (or whatever you want) at a time, breaking that mile long Blogroll into meaty bite-size chunks; we all know bite-size is much more digestable! The links will refresh with each page load.

SPECS

COST: FREE
REQUIREMENTS: You must have a blog. I know, easy - right?
ADVANTAGES: Limit the number of links shown in your linklist - works well with larger, randomly ordered Blogrolls.
DISADVANTAGES: Does not allow for graphics.

Help Us Create the Greatest Blogroll Ever!

Even though there are many options above to do what we’re doing now, there are still some bits and pieces Jessica and I find lacking in all of them. For instance, I don’t want graphics or images to rest on my server forever and ever. Blogrolls need a cleanse every now and then to clear out all the dead links and what-not. I’d also like you guys to be able to upload everything all on your lonesome, because honestly, even with the gracious help of Steph, who ON HER OWN ACCORD took about 80 or so screenshots for me (MAY HER HOME BE FILLED WITH BLESSINGS ONE-HUNDRED FOLD!), I’ve also taken a considerable amount of screenshots in the last few days. And y’know, I’d uh… rather not have to do that.

There are other things I need.

There are other things you need.

Fill the comment section with your Blogroll wants and needs, because we want to build the absolute best, most community-minded blogroll ever. And then? We’ll give it back to you, the community, for FREE. Oh yes, we will. How could you not trust these faces?

“Let the new blogroll world order commence” - you are its people.

52 Responses to “The Most Perfect Blogroll EVAH!”

1. MammaLoves

   As if I didn’t love you two already, and then you go looking out for the community. Blogging royalty indeed.

2. BOSSY

   This is so cool, but quick question: Does your Greek blog come with a handsome interpreter?

3. Mrs. Wilson

   I think I’m a little bit too technologically challanged … maybe if I read it again …

   Blogrolls are AWESOME!!

4. Candi

   Wow, options even! That doesn’t seem too hard. Well except for getting all the screenshots put together of course.

   I was wondering if there could be an option to view the entire blogroll also. Like underneath the 3 screenshots, there could be a text link that says, “View entire list”. Or do you think that’s defeating the entire purpose?

5. Nancy

   Won.Der.Ful … blogrolls are the bomb, but … you lost me at Option:1

   So, I’m gonna just keep reading over and over and make a martini, check back on comments and your post tomorrow, and make another martini, and read some more, refill that martini, comment on how you two rock, and hope this sinks in.

   But then again, I’m not self-hosting, so I am out of the loop! “Cheers”

6. chocolatechic

   OH…MY…Goodness!

   Finally a full picture of you.

   You are so beautiful. I am just gobsmacked. You are gorgeous!

7. Angella

   I have been waiting for this! My lost is woefully outdated and I can’t wait for the New World Order (of Blogrolls).

   If you can figure out how to get everyone else to take their own screen shots, I am all over that!

   Also? You and Jessica are WAY TOO CUTE!

8. Steph

   OMSH! I meant to ask you if you’d seen Snap Shots. http://www.snap.com I am in love with this thing.

   I don’t know that it would necessarily be the solution to your blogroll needs, but it shows little screenshots on all your links. How awesome is that? Very awesome.

   And now you’ll tell me why it’s not that great and how I’m about five years behind of the rest of the internet. :grin:

9. kerflop

   Steph, I really hate snap.com! I always disable it if I go to a website that has it installed. It just drives me batty. Little windows popping up where I don’t expect them to. Ick!

   But, we have seen some stuff that makes screenshots for ya. It wouldn’t work if you wanted to do a banner like I’m doin’ but we’re looking into it. ;)

10. Steph

    kerflop -
    HA! HA! I knew there were people like that! So I set mine to open only if they hover over the weird little balloon thing. :grin:

    I’m a fan because I’m very visual. If the look of a site is unappealing to me, I don’t click. I’m a hater like that. :grin:

    PS I was feeling too lazy to install the opt-out with Snap Shots. Yes, I am THAT lazy. It’s a sickness.

11. witchypoo

    You are a goddess.
    The only thing that I could ever suggest for you to improve my experience at your site is to uncheck the notify me of follow-up comments via e-mail function.
    When I submit a comment, I am often so filled with OMSH love, that I forget to uncheck it. You and Jessica rock!

12. bethany actually

    I like the idea of the blogroll being visible to search engines, with the text AND images. Free is better than not free. :-) And I don’t have a problem making my own banners or taking my own screenshots. As I keep telling myself, the blog is a work in progress, so I just need to to do a little bit at a time.

13. Serene and Not Herd

    Dispite my current site’s bland appearance, I too am an extremely visual person, and locate and remember by image rather than word.

    I think this is a great idea, and would even be willing to help in ways I can. (I’m pretty good with the photoshop, ImageReady, and Dreamweaver) and could be convinced to do some screenshotting work.

    Also, I use little of my hosting space, so I might be able to take on some of the burden of storing the thumbnail database. Perhaps we could find a way that the site owner could even update their own thumbnail (so you guys don’t have to when I decide to repaint my blog).

    Aaron
    Father, Husband, Broad-Spectrum Geek.

14. Laurel Wreath

    I kind of second Candi, the option to view entire blogroll… Also make it easy to change out. I am always adding and deleting.

    I really like your idea, my only request is MAKE IT EASY for the ….you know technically challenged peeps. =))

    Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

15. Jenna

    I’m very excited to implement this… sometime between the laundry and contractions and chasing a two year old… I’ll get around to getting it set up.

    Thanks for the know-how! :)

16. MR. OMSH

    THE. PRESSURE. IS. GETTING. TO. ME. MMUUSST GGEETT OOWWNN BBLLOOOOOGGG!!!!

    I want to be able to upload my very own banner/images….Can I. Can I. Huh, huh?

17. bethany actually

    MR. OMSH - Oh, man, do I ever know how you feel. Except I already succumbed. I had to, just to relieve the horrible pressure! ;-)

18. Jenny

    I don’t much like Blogrolling, but for Blogspot blogs that would prolly be the best way to do it. But like the WP blogroll, I don’t think it allows images. But I’d LOVE to know how to put this on my blog without having to use an ads rotator.

19. carmen

    You and Jess - the BEST looking woman at Blogher. Seriously, you guys were soooo cute.

    All of your explanations on the blogroll? All I heard was “wah, wah, wah-wah-wah”, a la Charlie Brown.

20. Just Beachy

    I think it would be awesome for Mr. OMSH to have his own blog!
    I love your blogroll (and Kerflop’s) and I am sure I could learn to make a screenshot….lol. I’ve always strayed away from them as well, but some of my best reads have come from others blogs, so I like the idea of community blogrolling. Im not sure about my wants and needs except that I want it…I need it….

21. OMSH

    Mamma Loves - I don’t know about blogging royalty, but I could be convinced to wear a tiara!

    BOSSY - What? You haven’t met m husband? Oh wait…he’s Scotch/Irish

    Candi - We want to create a program where you wouldn’t have to make all the screenshots. There are plenty of FREE ways to grab screenshots out there in the world wide web. I guess an explanation of that will be in order!

    Hmmm… an overall list that dropped down would become quite cumbersome. I’ll have to chew on that one…

    Nancy - How’s that martini? Heh heh

    chocolatechic - I soooo love that word - “gobsmacked”. I think I’m gonna have to steal it. And thank you - you are too kind. :)

    witchypoo - UNCHECKED. And? I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize they were checked by default. That would irritate the fire out of me too!

    Serene and not Herd - The idea is for the software to be downloaded and uploaded to each particular blogger’s server. So, they’ll bear the brunt of their reader’s thumbnails or screen captures, buttons, banners, whatever…

    Thank you though - I appreciate the offer of web space.

    Also, we DO want everyone to be able to upload their own - most certainly!

    Did I miss any questions?

    Thanks for the support.

22. kerrianne

    That picture (and this idea) makes me so happy. Long live! the graphic blogroll.

23. chris

    I have no idea what all of this means, so technically challenged am I. But new improved blogroll is good. I have had mine completely gone for at least 6 months because I didn’t know what to do with it.

24. oh amanda

    I’m with Carmen. I’m hearing Charlie Brown’s teachers but…I want to understand! I think it is absolute GENIUS.

25. Mocha

    I had no idea the brain power was all over here. My God, woman. You are…ummm…what’s the word?

    HIRED.

26. Kelly

    Ok, I want it now and I want it easy to use :P That is all.

27. Nicole

    You’re such a smartie! I’m already running OpenAds too. Hmmm.

    p.s. Squee! That’s my little blog banner along with yours and angry chicken’s. Yay!

28. moosh in indy.

    Brilliant in every way. I haven’t deleted my blog in a few months or so, maybe it’s time to add something new and as fantastic as this.
    I don’t have a blogroll for a lot of reasons, if I were to have one I would need it easy to maintain (first and foremost) and I don’t want it to be eleventybillion links long.
    The random image rotation looks promising…
    I heart you two.

29. Anna

    Love, love, love you two! Thank you!

30. Rocks In My Dryer

    Absolutely ingenious. I’m terribly confused, but I caught just enough to know that it’s a fabulous idea, because PICTURES! I LIKE PICTURES!

31. Cathy G

    Totally confused. I dont’ even know what a blogroll is other than I can read and pronounce the word. I’ll have to educate myself. Whatever you need from me to help stay with this neat idea, let me know!!!! BTW, you’re hair is looking great!!!

32. The Sexy Blogroll meets the Widget : the SmockLady

    [...] 31, 2007 Jessica and Heather have done a lot of work with the Blogroll New World Order. This new Sexy Blogroll can be [...]

33. SmockLady

    Heather, I hope you don’t mind a few other options. I came up with a few (while not necessarily the greatest) for a friend who asked and I wrote about it. It was too long for a comment here, so I just linked it up. ;)

    Oh, and would you add me to your list? I’m still trying to figure out how I am going to do mine (which route to take, free is always better).

34. SmockLady

    Oh yeah, the link for those interested:
    http://thesmocklady.com/blog/the-sexy-blogroll-meets-the-widget_520/

35. OMSH

    Smocklady - PLEASE feel free to list as many options as you can muster using widgets for those on WordPress. I say the more ways to do this the merrier.

    What Jessica and I hope to develop will be able to be used across all self-hosted blogging platforms, so it won’t be as easy, of course, as sliding in a widget, but I’m certain we’ll offer install for those that can’t wrap their heads around it. :)

36. Serene and Not Herd

    Mr. OMSH
    Warning! Blogging may be hazardous to your health and is known to be addictive. Symptoms may include: starting a second blog, dreaming about starting a third blog, accomplishing little at work, replying to other readers.

37. jamie

    I didn’t read all of the comments, and I probably should have…

    But what I would want is something mind numbingly easy to use, and easy to apply to any kind of blog. (I have a blogware blog. Yes, it sucks, yes, I can do very little with it… but people, I gots it for free…)

    I am not program savvy at all. I can point and click and do some very very minor things (turn the computer off and on all by myself!!) so something that would work for the brain dead like myself would be awesome.

38. Jenna

    I just messed around with openads/phpAdsNEW and… I’m confused. Wow.

39. OMSH

    Hey you guys, don’t forget that ANY of the image software will require self-hosting. If you are using a free web hosting service, you’ll have to consider blogrolling, or the plugins available for your particular service.

40. Cathy G

    I got it! Blogroll is the same thing as “Linky Love”. I feel really numb now. But anyway, I have to put all mine in text form because Wordpress is the host for right now.

41. andrea_frets

    Newish reader and delurker. Very cool idea! Not so tech savvy to figure out how to do it myself.

42. Emily

    I was away for a bit and am afraid I may have missed the window of opportunity. I love Em’s new glasses. She is so fab. I love your new layout, too.

43. Kerflop » It’s almost a novel

    [...] of the blogroll feature, skip on over to Heather’s for the how to and a little poll of [...]

44. kerflop

    Emily - the beauty of the new blogroll is that you DON’T, you CAN’T miss the window of opportunity. Everyone’s invited.

    Click Heather’s little link under her triple decker blogroll and submit your site. She’ll add you toot sweet.

45. Elaine

    Well, it’s not a visual solution, but there is a wee bit of code in Bloglines that you can stick into your links page and it’ll generate a list based off of what you’re actually reading that updates instantly when you get pissed off at someone and unsub from their blog (not that I have ever done that, of courese. no, not me).

    But I admit the graphic element makes me giddy. Must see if I can make that happen!

46. witchypoo

    Just wondering, cause I’m strange that way. How crazy IS a bald headed triangle?

47. Sweet Mummy

    I’ve just been thinking about blogroll ins and outs. I’m such a total novice with code and such. I also am hosted at a small, free web host which probably does limit me but has worked so far. So I’ve just been using a Bloglines blogroll plug-in to keep my long list of blogs updated - and I hate the format, since it’s just a long list of links. So, I need something that is easy, cheap, can be plugged in somehow with just code (maybe), but that actually does more than just sit there. This long list doesn’t share much love, does it?

    By the way, kerflop - it’s tout suite (it’s French). LOL!

48. SmockLady

    Sweet Mummy, if you have ever seen MGM’s Chitty Chitty Bang Bang then you know it’s toot sweet. ;)

49. Sweet Mummy

    that shows what I know, LOL! I’ve never seen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but my children are in French Immersion Elementary school. I guess I automatically think of these French phrases. “Right Away”, “Immediately”, “Toot Sweet”, “Tout Suite” - it’s all the same, anyway. :grin:

50. Friglet

    Thanks for the “how to” post! I got it set up on my blog thanks to you and I’m loving it. :)

51. Kristen

    oh dear lord, now I’m going to have to figure this out. LOL

52. Dallas

    Thanks for explaining this. I kept seeing the three changing screenshots above, but I was thrown off by it saying BlogHer Ad Network next to it. I’m guessing those are two separate things.

    For the blogroll, is there a full list somewhere that we could see everyone who is listed…if we wanted to, or do we just sit and click refresh? And if it’s refresh, do they cycle through or randomly appear? I wonder if there’s a way to make a Flickr Community where people could upload their selected screenshot and then all you have to do is moderate it, especially for those doing the Wordpress Wednesdays and may be currently learning to customize the look of their site. I liked when thepioneerwoman.com collected photos of her readers and put them on Flickr, but I would have preferred using a group on Flickr, so each individual could change or delete their photo if wanted.