I’m already tired of my design here at Brewing Thoughts. I don’t know if it’s because I spend so much time here, or because I’m a designer and designers tend to get restless with their designs. For whatever reason, I’m getting a little bored with the vibe here on my blog. I like the clean look, but it’s not as “friendly” looking as I want it to be. I want people to want to hang out here for a while when they come visit, and for some reason this design isn’t very inviting. My banner probably shouldn’t be so thin. My sidebar seems a little distracting. My other pages aren’t very interesting anymore (I haven’t been updating them).

I realize with the convenience of RSS readers (if you don’t know what those are, you need to go here) there is the tendency not to actually go visit every blog and “hang out” for a while. These days, it’s all about getting the information you want, and getting it fast. I understand this, but I admit, since getting my RSS reader, I’ve felt myself loosing a little of that sense of community. I don’t visit the actual websites of my friends’ blogs very much anymore. I haven’t been commenting as much on my friends’ blogs either. RSS is a fabulous tool for someone like me, because it keeps me up-to-date (every ten minutes) on everything regarding design, Macs, work stuff, my friends’ blogs, etc. I have over 50 websites on RSS, and that saves me hours of mindless web browsing.

So what does this have to do with my blog? Nothing really, except that RSS may have some side-effects for me, though it’s benefits are far greater. I just have to be better at commenting and staying connected with my digital community.

So, getting back to the design of Brewing Thoughts. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to do a good redesign right now. I’m too busy designing websites and blogs for other folks to be able to spend the energy on my own blog (especially since this design is only a couple of months old). But when I do find the time, I think I’m going to go in a different direction. I think the days of the “Now Brewing”, “On The Shelf”, and “Music” pages are numbered. Though these pages were fun in their novelty initially, they really don’t serve any purpose. Sure, it’s fun to tell people what you think about coffee, but that could certainly be offered in a typical blog post. The same logic could be applied to the other pages. Maybe I will have second thoughts whenever I find the time to redesign.

I think the focus of this site should be blogging and photos. In fact, I’ve really taken photography up as a hobby lately, so I might put photos at the forefront of the site (though that would conflict with the idea of “Brewing Thoughts”). Do I dare change my domain name? We’ll see. The truth is, I would really like to feature my photography more and in a better format than just Flickr badges. There are some really cool plugins out there for photos, so that will have to be a priority.

I’m also contemplating changing the focus of my blogging, or either creating another blog. I’m spending so much time in the graphic/web design world, my thoughts and ideas are becoming more and more consumed by that realm. This is why I haven’t had a whole lot of theological posts this year so far. I have tried not to post about design and trends in web development either, because I know that would bore most people. I know most people come here to keep in touch with Katy and I, and participate in some funny discussions or theological or political debate. So my gut is telling me to try starting another blog focused on the design/web stuff, but I’m afraid that I’m not prolific enough and I might risk burning myself out on blogging like my friend Walt.

I know most people have other stuff on their minds these days, but this is the stuff I think about. There are so many new and exciting things happening on the web right now, and I want to be a part of it. I want this place to be exciting and inviting for people. I want my digital community to grow. I want Brewing Thoughts to always be fresh. After all, nobody likes stale coffee.