Topic of the Week: Should I Change This Feature?

Oct 23, 2015

62 comments

62 responses to “Topic of the Week: Should I Change This Feature?”

Grichard

Oct 23, 2015 at 3:49 am

I’d prefer a news roundup. At least it’s content.

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Sam

Oct 23, 2015 at 4:04 am

Roundup

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zponline

Oct 23, 2015 at 5:17 am

Roundup here too!

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Baron Von Richtoven

Oct 23, 2015 at 5:57 am

News round-up sounds great especially if you include airport news

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Steve Betzner

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:19 am

Yep, news roundup.

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JAXBA

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:22 am

Topic of the Week. I read those, I tend to avoid roundup articles found on other blogs. :)

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JMR

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:24 am

I’d like a bit of both. Sometimes news, sometimes discussion.

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A

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:24 am

Meh, I can do my own roundup by searching news on all things aviation. I like the topic of the week. Not every topic is something I care to comment on but many are and I enjoy seeing the groups opinion.

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Andy

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:29 am

A roundup sounds great.

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Alex

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:39 am

I do actually like news roundups. I see many of the same articles pop up in these on other aviation blogs, but I appreciate the CF perspective on issues.

And yes, I do read the topic of the week posts but have never interacted with one, so their value is probably lost on me.

PS, unrelated, but I am not thrilled about the email subscription bar that has started showing up over the last week or so. It would be OK if it popped up once and then remembered that it had been banished, but it shows on every single page and is fairly obnoxious when reading from a mobile device.

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1. Nicholas Barnard
  
  Oct 23, 2015 at 1:09 pm
  
  I had the same thought about the email subscription bar. I was actually kicking around figuring out how to block it.
  
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  1. Alex
    
    Oct 23, 2015 at 2:08 pm
    
    It’s already gone! Brett’s awesome :)
    
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    1. crankyflier
      
      Oct 23, 2015 at 2:11 pm
      
      It’s true, I am awesome. ;)
      
      This has actually been up for a couple months, and I completely forgot to look back into it. I wanted to see if it was getting people signed up. There was a slight bump, but it wasn’t all that much. And I agree it is kind of annoying. Now I’m going to try a new placement at the end of the post to see how that works.
      
      Reply
    2. Nick Barnard
      
      Oct 23, 2015 at 2:11 pm
      
      Wow you’re right…
      
      Now we need to think of what we should ask for his next trick.
      
      Reply
Kilroy

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:45 am

Brett,

I would like a news roundup, with the caveat that it would be much more of a value-add if you threw in a sentence or two of commentary/analysis after each link (think of it as your first reactions, quick take, etc). I think that would have the potential to really start some discussions in the comments.

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Sean

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:11 am

News round-up please. And if it’s not too much something like Kilroy asks for. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too time-consuming.

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1. SEAN
  
  Oct 23, 2015 at 3:26 pm
  
  Ditto.
  
  http://www.seattletransitblog.com & http://www.streetsblog.com have this feature & it works well.
  
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Jason from Postmatic

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:12 am

Hey Brett,

Just a heads up that we’re going to be rolling out support for digests in Postmatic over the next few couple of months. If you enable it your users could choose if they want posts delivered by email daily, or a recap at the end of the week. It’s coming along nicely.

Jason

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DesertGhost

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:23 am

I like the idea of doing whatever you think is best given the news or lack thereof. Maybe you can save yourself some time during a really slow week by letting the readers take over the space (with appropriate limitations) and make comments on issues they think are important at that given time.

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zmiko

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:29 am

News round-up would be great

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Leslie.Scott

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:35 am

Newsy roundup

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bham181

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:35 am

news roundup

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Stu

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:37 am

A news roundup with quick commentary on items would be huge; I think it would be great to see what catches your eye and why, and also, where/what sources you tend to read and find good content. You could also highlight a specific item for further discussion in the comments, a “link of the week” or something like that.

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mailbox4now

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:46 am

Roundup!

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austinflyguy

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:48 am

Yes, the new round-up would be more interesting.

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EJJ

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:48 am

Thanks Brett,

I like your weekly “Topic”, and perhaps that can be incorporated into the new round up.

The danger is that the the round up may duplicate material that we already get – but let’s give it a shot!

Thanks for asking!

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Oliver

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:55 am

Both!

Leave Friday as is, and post the roundup on Saturdays. Could include Cranky-related stories to not lose the current Saturday “feature”.

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David SF eastbay

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:56 am

I like it the way it is

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Stevemvhs

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:01 am

Yes, that sounds like a great new idea! I’d love to see a roundup.

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budge48

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:11 am

blockquote, div.yahoo_quoted { margin-left: 0 !important; border-left:1px #715FFA solid !important; padding-left:1ex !important; background-color:white !important; } Prefer a news roundup

Sent from Yahoo Mail for iPhone

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broadcreek48

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:12 am

I would enjoy a newsy roundup of relevant links.. Long live Cranky!

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Hawk

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:13 am

The Cranky Flier | Topic of the Week: Should I Change This Feature?

I like it the way it is.

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nostephenson

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:19 am

I personally subscribe to your posts by email and therefore do not see any comments on the weekly topic. But I read every email because I like your perspective snd comments. Therefore I think I would find value and interest in seeing and reading the news links you suggest. I would suggest you write 1-2 sentences why you selected the article and if you have any comments to share on the article.

I imagine the topics would be aviation focused but I would be open to general business or small business articles as well.

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Southeasterner

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:30 am

News Roundup on Wednesday and Topic of the Week or guest post on Friday.

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Jack

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:32 am

Another vote for the news roundup. You’re the expert, so I’d prefer your recommendations for industry news over Google’s. A sentence or two of commentary is great, too.

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dmrenn

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:38 am

I’d like the “newsy roundup” with links you like. I find anything you write about to be interesting.
Thanks for all the “Cranky “writings !

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1. Hawk
  
  Oct 23, 2015 at 8:45 am
  
  If the news links are in the Friday issue and are a recap of the week most of it will not be new news. The experiences and opinions you write about are of more value to me
  
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Steve Zwerin

Oct 23, 2015 at 9:00 am

I vote for a roundup with a quick comment or two from you (if possible), as well. I appreciate your expertise on these types of issues. Thanks!

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robert.odell

Oct 23, 2015 at 9:03 am

I like your idea of a “links I like” weekly update. I’m sure you know of many that I would never see, but would like to, as I have the same interest in aviation as you do. Thank you.

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Chicago Chris

Oct 23, 2015 at 9:12 am

I would prefer the roundup, but you could just as well include it as part of your “Cranky on the Web” where you share articles you’re quoted in. It already acts like a roundup for me.

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PatrickDee

Oct 23, 2015 at 9:27 am

In as much as variety is the spice of life, I’d go for the “links I like” as you have greater access to such items and the rest of us can take a peak or not. Thanks.

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catherine.burnett

Oct 23, 2015 at 9:44 am

Thanks for asking, Cranky!

I like the “topic of the week” instead of a news-y round-up. Selfishly, I get a ton of aviation news in my current role, but the topic that you select for Friday is often one I might not have stopped to read about/ponder if I missed it in my scan of headlines.

I would probably not even look at your news-y round-up, because I probably have already seen those same articles.

Enjoy your weekend!

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Alan

Oct 23, 2015 at 10:11 am

I think the newslinks are a great idea. Might there be a way for your loyal followers to send suggestions to you, or would that just overwhelm you?

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Howdy

Oct 23, 2015 at 11:08 am

rown-em-up, cowboy!

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spetro

Oct 23, 2015 at 11:39 am

I like this idea?

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flyplayne

Oct 23, 2015 at 4:41 pm

Kind of like the “newsy” idea. Thanks-Joel

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KauaiHaole

Oct 23, 2015 at 5:08 pm

I am not much for commenting, but I like news round ups. Go with will of majority, or as you wish since it is your blog :-).

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Sanjeev M

Oct 23, 2015 at 6:11 pm

Seeing the comments here is much more interesting. Too many other sites also do a news roundup with links floating around. If you want to do a news roundup on Friday (with some brief commentary), then make Wednesday a “Topic of the Week” for discussion.

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Mark68

Oct 23, 2015 at 7:01 pm

I like the roundup idea

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Doug Swalen

Oct 23, 2015 at 8:55 pm

No opinion. I just wanted to say how very Meta of you to have a Topic of the Week be about the Topic of the Week…

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Quincy

Oct 23, 2015 at 10:29 pm

New Roundup! I’m curious to see what you read. :) Love your blog btw

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Phil

Oct 23, 2015 at 10:42 pm

My vote goes to a news roundup please.

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Leslie in Oregon

Oct 23, 2015 at 10:47 pm

I would prefer keeping the Topic of the Week as is (I relish the discussion it stimulates), and adding a news roundup as another aspect of your “Cranky on the Web” feature. Thanks for asking!

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AJ

Oct 24, 2015 at 2:22 am

News roundup sounds like a plan.

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Cedarglen

Oct 24, 2015 at 4:12 am

Not a big deal, but I always scroll past it, looking for individual posts that I may have missed. IMO, it is simply not necessary and appears to be space-filling fluff.
That said, CF’s unique posts are usually relevant to my interests and some of the best written in the field. Your posts are extremely well written, Brett, easy on the eyes and on the brain, simply because you write well. (Ahem, a rare trait among AV bloggers!) Write it, give it a reasonable title and smash the POST button, moving on to something else or, God forbid, running your thriving business. C.F. is one of my favorite blogs… -Cg

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Jmfarrey

Oct 24, 2015 at 5:25 am

I think the news round up would be an interesting read.

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JayB

Oct 24, 2015 at 10:12 am

I read your blog because I find it simply interesting…your choice of topics, your take on things, your judgment, plus the fact that you seem to draw some pretty good commenters. For me, that’s all I need.

No need to fill any voids. Current “Topic of the week” comes across a little bit forced.

I’m sure there is an awfully lot of stuff you see and read for which you simply don’t have the time to make post on it. How about an ad hoc post like: “Potpourri–Some Stuff I Found Interesting–Maybe You Too?” Like once a month, but with no fixed timetable.

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Andy

Oct 25, 2015 at 9:10 am

Could we do both? Also, thank you for making the comments section look much better.

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David

Oct 25, 2015 at 9:16 pm

I really like the idea of the news roundup!

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Nick Barnard

Oct 26, 2015 at 2:24 am

I’m going to say yes. I want both.

I think a full blown newsy round up is a bit too much. Seattle Transit Blog does it, and the conversation gets unwieldy since there are so many topics. (The conversation at Seattle Transit Blog is often unwieldy..)

Its my recollection that most of the topics of the week have a link to an article, or if they didn’t could have a link to an article.

What I’d suggest is picking one to four articles a week, writing some of your signature pithy comments about each, and posting them each IN THEIR OWN INDIVIDUAL ENTRY. Yes, this would take up a bit of screen real estate on the homepage and perhaps would have to have some tweaking there, but this’d have the advantage of splitting the conversation topics out so its easier to follow one individual conversation..

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Eric in ICT

Oct 27, 2015 at 11:29 am

I like the Roundup idea; kind of a “news through Cranky’s filter” mantra

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Greg Dykstra

Oct 27, 2015 at 1:40 pm

I’d be a fan of a “weekly clips” type of aviation-news aggregation!

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