This may come as a shock, but I was not born a blogger. While I have always been a net junkie, some times for the good part of what that means and at others for quite the opposite, I started self-publishing on January 13th, 2004. This makes it two years today, and in retrospect I am quite amazed at the changes that my blogging has undergone.
Moving from a basic, minimalist service at Blurty.com, where the “community” is largely different from the one I am exposed to presently,I shifted to Blogger and started publishing under a similar name. I do not say pseudonym, for multiple reasons, and I would appreciate it if you marked my diction because it is not empty.
My enlightenment came through a New York Times IT article by Emily Nussbaum made public on Sunday, January 11, 2004. At that time I was an avid reader of the e-paper, checking it daily and gladly checking my mouth after a good read. I was so flooded with sentiments of sheer delight and an adrenaline rush swept through my frame that I just had to try this “thing” out. I made the technological leap and I can positively announce that it has proven to be more significant than were my initial expectations for it.
Since I know many curious eyes are digging for information about the much-cited ex-blog, I believe it is only fair to disclose some bits of data about it: it was very introspective, very basic, and very unread. I was technically my only reader and, surprise of all surprises, I was the subject matter. Nothing too fancy, this was a place where I poured out what chaos or order I had in my head, when I felt like it.
The decision to move my blogging activities corresponded with a decision to enforce change, or to accept it, in many aspects of life. Better understanding for what I was looking for helped me make the call, and the style of writing and the scope of topics handled changed accordingly. I faced no problems moving from Blurty to Blogger, and the fact that I had one reader greatly facilitated the step.
To truly celebrate my second blogday, my friend Mahdy designed this beautiful template for me as a gift. I thank him for his generosity and kindness. As you may have noticed, this new design brings a total transformation from the previous soothing earth tones to the bold reds and yellows. It may take you some time getting used to it, but I have no doubts that it will grow on you, much like I did.
I am tempted to reveal some of the cool new features in the Box. Try hovering over the links present in the sidebar, for instance, and see the amazing color changes. Also look for the home icon on top of the header, this would take you directly to the front page of the blog. And my favorite feature of all times: the way the sidebar is neatly tucked in its titles, this would help me add more links to my list. I did not wish to do that before because I do not like crammed, confusing sidebars. Now I can do that without feeling bad for confusing my readers.
Bringing this potentially epic-like entry to an end, I say that I am pleased with what I have done so far through my blogs. I am tremendously flattered that there are people out there who dedicate minutes of their days to read my mind, and I earnestly hope I manage to provide material worthy of their time.
Alf Mabrouk for the 2 years blogging and the New Design…..
Kol 3am o enti be 5eir for the b-day of yr blog :) and this design is nice , but its too red :P
Cheeerz!
Heeey Tololy!! I love the new design!! and mabrouk the 2 years of blogging.. 3o2bal 20 more :)
absolutely shocking new design… it reminds me that maybe i should put some time to make a new design for my blog… ehh, the uni finals should end soon! maybe then :D
congrats for the 2 year milestone
Okh! w javascript kaman! yalla tshoofi 3ala wihjoo il kheir ;-)
Happy belated eid
Magnificant design, but the most important thing is the maturity and depth of the content which is amazing. I wish you all the best.
Congratulations on 2 years blogging. Very nice design…bright yet subtle. Now I’m jealous.
730 MABROOK.
welcome back T!
happy birthday box
the box is looking great on its second birthday.
Happy Blog Day Tololy :) I’m definitely glad you switched to blogger and decided to ‘go public’ with what you write!
This new design is cool but it will take me some time to get used to it. I always associated you with that soft earthly pink and the beautiful downtown header!
99.9 mabrooooook, Tololy in red
I am glad the new design is getting these splendid reviews. I adore it!
Lina, I see you decided to share your picture through your profile. I think that is very wise, and I salute you for it. It gives a face to associate with the words, way to go!
Mabrook, nice design change as well.
Congrats! I like the new design:-)
ehh, allow me to notice: the “previous posts” section seems non-existent anymore…. maybe someone should work on that! sometimes i find it more useful than archives….
Devil’s Mind, very true. The Previous Posts section is gone with the wind. It previously showed about seven posts, now one can actually see the seven posts on the Box’s front page. Therefore no need calls for the Previous Posts section. I thank you for your observation, much obliged for the feedback, and good luck working on your template.
i still would consider it useful…
If you are not on the home page, and is viewing one post (ie. at permalink) you would see previous posts… at such location the home page fails, because it shows previous posts to that particular post, not newest seven posts.. i actually use it, thats why i noticed….
thats just feedback.. the final judgement is yours :D
Congrats on the new style…I personally like the loss of the ads so largely seperating your posts…because I like to read straight through what tololy says…I think the style is awesome…