Estranged Theme

Estranged is the latest classic Performancing theme for WordPress that reflects a no-nonsense, straightforward look. The theme was developed in collaboration with designer Thord Daniel Hedengren of BloggerTalks fame. Thord has worked on developing and/or overhauling several other Splashpress Media blogs and services, such as the Eatonweb Blog Directory, Jack of All Blogs, Blog Network Watch, Blogger Jobs, and the upcoming Audival, and did some improvements to the Blog Herald look.

Estranged is a two-column theme that features large, standout headers, and easy-to read body and link text. The color scheme involves subtle shades of grey and red, with a bit of orange, and these add to that simple yet eye-catching look. The proportions of the columns and the headers are just right, making ample use of the rule of thirds popular among those in the visual arts. Contrast is just right–having adequate readability, but not at the cost of being too much of a glare. The theme also makes adequate use of white space, so the blog doesn’t look cramped.

Estranged is suitable for both personal and professional bloggers who prefer a clean looking theme with enough space for the essentials. The right sidebar is wide enough to accommodate square ad space (text links or images) up to 250 pixels in width. This is great for bloggers who would rather not stuff in too much information, but would rather present essential information in blocks. This is due to the fact that there is only one sidebar, and that the footer does not support lists or longer content than the copyright statement.

Estranged is set for release as this September’s Performancing theme for WordPress.

I’ve been thinking a bit about blog networks, and the way they’re structured of late. A friend and I have been discussing this for months on an “on/off” basis and one thing strikes me every time I look at a network: There is room for much improvement in structure.

Let me start by saying that I do not run a blog network, so my thoughts on this need to be taken as just that, my thoughts.

The Problem

What kind of visible structure do you think of when you think about a blog network? A loose collection of links down the side menu right? Perhaps under category headings?

At best, some networks seem to have a focus on an audience sector, and their blogs, still all linked down a side menu, are at least vaguely related. But even this approach, which to me is far better than the “no relationship other than owneship” approach, seems to be crying out for some kind of better way to organize and (warning, buzz word coming…) leverage the power of the group.

One Solution

So, as I said earlier, I’ve been giving this some thought, and would appreciate your thoughts on what I think would make a more efficient structure for a blog network.
Example: Auto Network

To pick something as “light” as i can, so we dont risk anyone thinking im singling out their network heh.. let’s imagine we’re going to set up a network of blogs on the broad topic of Auto. Those blogs would include:

* Ford Blog
* Nissan Blog
* Sports Car Blog
* Family Car Blog
* City Car Blog
* Truck Blog

Note: It’s only an example, it’s not supposed to be complete
And a nice pretty picture of the car network…

Now, if you’ll excuse my dreadful artwork, and the fact that i only just realized I know nothing about cars! heh. you’ll see what I think could make a good structure for a network.

Here’s how it works

How It Works

* Each satellite blog posts exclusively within it’s very tight niche
* The Hub Blog reads all of the satellite blogs, and rewrites the story to be a little more general, as opposed to simply copying it
* The uber blog credits the satellite/specialist blog, providing readers with a way to connect from the content (which is arguably the best place for a link) to the specialist blog, and subscribe if that’s their passion.

The idea is to create many small, tightly focused blogs within a broader niche, that feed the uber blog - you sit an editor or 2 on each satellite, and have 2-4 people work on the uber blog - the uber blog would also cover more “industry news” type stories that may not relate to any particular model.

So enthusiast readers get specialized blogs, and general interest readers get the best of those stories (not all!) in the uber blog. Making the network much tighter, and more attractive a buy for advertisers.

Make Sense?

Really just a thought i’d been playing around with. Something to help start a discussion on the topic of blog networks and structures, so do let me know what you think.

And feel free to pull it to pieces, i won’t mind…