Hawkblogger.com 2.0
Nearly a decade ago, a colleague at work suggested I take my annual Seahawks season preview emails, sent to friends and co-workers, and turn them into a blog. I knew absolutely nothing about blogging, but I did have a print journalism degree and an insatiable hunger to talk, write, and debate about the Seahawks. Getting setup on Blogger was the quickest and easiest way to get going.
For years, it was hawkblogger.blogspot.com until Softy Mahler shamed me into buying a domain. That felt about as professional as I was ever going to need until the past 3-4 years when the site exploded. We went from a couple regulars to well over 100,000 people and over 500,000 views per month. The restrictions of Blogger were starting to become restrictions to what the site could become.
Building community
I want Hawkblogger.com to be a place where a community can gather and post their own topics and opinions. When sports is at its best, total strangers become best friends. I want that to happen on this site. That is why we have added the ability to post in our new forums. You will need to register and create a profile, but everyone can create topics and lead discussions. Over time, I would love to see moderators to help foster the right kind of feel and make sure it is a comfortable place to gather. If you are interested in being considered as a moderator, please drop me a line on Twitter or Facebook.
Better organization
One long scrolling list of posts stops being a logical way to navigate when you have over 2,000 articles. The new menu system is meant to help tackle that. It is still a work in progress, but when done, it will give you quick access to the content you are looking for.
It will also allow me to add more dedicated resource pages. For example, I will be adding a page on the Seahawks salary cap, a free agent big board, and much more. You may notice the five-year roster outlook is not up yet. I will get back up and available soon.
You can also search Hawkblogger.com effectively for the first time! This should hopefully help find that post you’ve been trying to share with your friends to prove you were right!
Modern and mobile
Reading Hawkblogger.com on a phone has been an adventure, and not a good one. The majority of people are reading the site on their devices and the templates on Blogger were awful. The hope is this new design will work better wherever you are reading. Expect some older posts will look a little wonky, but it should get better the rest of the way.
You will notice more imagery throughout the site. Seattle is an amazing place to live. I am not just proud of our Hawks, but of the place we live. I will be looking for chances to show off our great home via images. If you have pictures to share, let me know and I would be happy to consider them.
More to come
It will take me a while to get the feel for this new space, and what it is capable of. Expect it to grow as I learn. I have hopes for more video content, and more writers creating more to read. Enough about the site. You came here to read about the Seahawks. Time for me to go write. Welcome!