Okay Geek Farm
New Okay Geek - The blog we've always wanted (Announcement)
Brandon Davenport
Three years ago I started a new blog, and for months I had absolutely no clue what I was doing. There was no sense of it going anywhere because it was basically me rambling on (incoherently) about technology, all by myself. Quite literally, it may have been the worst technology blog on the internet and knowing that I was just going to throw in the towel, but not a moment too soon I noticed something important. All of the worlds most loved blogs and publications all have one thing in common, and that’s a team. I didn’t see myself as a leader and I had no concept of running a 10 person team. I also didn’t know we’d be here together, 3 years later, with something this amazing to show everyone.
The blog we’ve always wanted
This is what will soon be Okay Geek. It’s honestly the most incredible thing we’ve created, and it’s not going to be too long until it’s available for everyone! We have torn apart everything, and completely started over leaving old design habits, old technologies and old thinking in the dust. We’ve spent weeks trying to understand how to make the best blog we could, and learn about all of the new web technologies at our disposal — but at the same time, keep what makes Okay Geek so awesome.
Top 6 new features coming to Okay Geek
All new design — We’re not talking about a new theme or a modified template, this is an interface built from the ground up. Created completely from scratch. We have re-thought what Okay Geek should be, and what it needs to be is more accessible, more usable and much faster. We also needed a blog that was better suited for a broader audience, and something that would be inviting to new users. We also needed to develop accessibility features, and bake them into the new Okay Geek so more people could enjoy what we have to offer. There’s never been a blog like this before.
More content — For the past few months, content has slowed on Okay Geek, but for a good reason. We are a small team of people who need to get a lot done in a very small amount of time. We needed to cut back on writing articles, just so we could bring the New Okay Geek to everyone by the end of the year. We can assure you though, we will be back in full swing very soon, and we’ll also be bringing back the podcast, refreshed and better than ever (and with more content, we’ll have lots to talk aboit)!
The new sidebar — When you visit a blog, there is usually a sidebar that contains all sorts of things like widgets, ads, promotions and featured content. The frustrating part is how large it needs to be to show off everything you want people to see. It just feels clunky. We re-imagined the sidebar and created a new system we call Panels. What panels do is allow us to create a very small and compact sidebar that allow readers to access our most important features at anytime, anywhere on the site. The main content flies by effortlessly while the sidebar stays in view, ready for the user at a moments notice. Another great thing about the new sidebar is we can add, or change panels depending on what’s important in the moment (special events, announcements, etc.).
HTML5 Video & Audio — Today, browsers don’t need Flash to play video or audio, so why are we still using it? It’s slow to load, heavily intensive on your computer, and is the majority cause of browser crashes. Furthermore, most websites don’t embed HTML5 video by default, but we’ve done something about that. The new Okay Geek supports true HTML5 video, and allows you to enjoy it without the need of joining “beta trials” on Youtube and Vimeo.
Control over content — We wanted to give people better control over what they’re reading, and bring some fresh ideas to the table. Using things like shortcut keys, Panels and more, we’ve been able to create faster ways to interact with content, and navigate the many pages of Okay Geek, and using the new sidebar, everything you need is just pixels away.
Accessibility features — The internet is an awesome thing, because it houses the most diverse population in the world. It doesn’t know race, disability or religion and everyone is welcome, regardless of who they are. We want to make it possible for more people to enjoy our content like everyone else, so we help people with reading disabilities, formatting requirements, or sensitivity to certain language by providing custom tools, and if you’re lucky enough not to need them, you don’t see them.
Information & Questions
We are wrapping up development on the new Okay Geek, headed for a mid-November release. Again, we can’t express how excited we are to bring this to everyone, and how thankful we are to have the very best readers in the world! For three years, we’ve worked our butts off, and tried to find a place on the internet just for us. The New Okay Geek will be a milestone in our exsistance on the internet, and when we say you’re going to love it… trust us!
