New Blog Design Drives Traffic to Older Posts?

I hope everyone in the U.S. had a happy Thanksgiving (and for viewers living in other countries, a happy Thursday and Friday!)!  Some of you might have noticed that I made a radical change to the blog layout.  I went from using a linear focused blog (eg. 4 articles in a vertical row on a page) to utilizing one that is much more dynamic, providing the reader instant access to any of my blog posts.

In the old format, people who visited the blog would view the first couple of articles; however, they rarely looked at any of my older blog posts.  I felt that many (probably most) of my older blog posts might still be valuable (eg. still relevant) to readers.  However, I could not find a way to bring these older articles to a viewer's attention using the old format.

Hence, I decided to try the current, dynamic format.  The new blog design still favors my most recent blog posts (the posts move in chronological order from the newest in the top left to the oldest in the bottom right); however, it posits the older posts front and center on the screen. Visitors no longer have to dig through the archives to find older posts.

After a few months, I will be able to determine whether the new blog design is more effective than the previous one in increasing traffic to my older posts.  I will provide an update...

Elect Anthony Hopper as U.S. President in 2016

U.S. President Looking Out from Oval Office-Microsoft Office

I took a few moments to envision myself (Anthony Hopper) running for president in 2016 and actually having a chance to win.  What would my campaign speech look like?  Well, I have pasted a first draft of it below (in purple font) and titled it: "Elect Anthony Hopper as U.S. President in 2016."

It is worth noting that many of my frustrations/concerns with the current elected leaders who reside on Capitol Hill (and in the White House) will not be fixed (in fact, cannot be fixed)--they are byproducts of our socio-economic system.  I am fine with that...In fact, I will probably vote for Republicans and Democrats (members of Congress, senators, president, etc.) who fall far short of my ideals (and frustrate me greatly), though I might opt for a third-party candidate or two as well...

So without further ado, here is my speech.  What do you think?

 

Elect Anthony Hopper as U.S. President in 2016

I hope that you will vote for me for president when you go to the polls on Nov. 1, 2016.  I promise you that, if elected president, I will work with Democrats and Republicans to solve our country’s most pressing problems.  I know you have heard that phrase time and time again; however, I mean it.  I can work with both parties because I am a true independent.  I have much more flexibility than either the Republican or Democratic candidate.  I can do what I think is right for the country without worrying about offending my base.  More than either of my competitors, I would be able to represent all Americans. I realize that we must compromise on issues if we are going to get anything done!

I also promise to put the country’s needs above my own self-interests.  I will use the best available data and expert opinions to inform my decisions, and I will not shy away from putting forth legislation that is unpopular if I think it will benefit the nation. Additionally, I am willing to change my views on an issue if new data comes in demonstrating that my previous position was erroneous.

If we want our children and grandchildren to live in a prosperous country, we must be willing to think long-term.  We cannot shy away from passing legislation that will benefit us over the long-term, even if those bills may not do much to benefit Americans in the here and now.  We must also be proactive in finding solutions to endemic problems like illegal immigration and Social Security.  We cannot keep passing the buck on these issues!

If you elect me as the next president of the United States, you will not always agree with my decisions.  None of you will be happy with me all of the time.  Many of you will criticize me for changing my stances on issues-for being a flip-flopper.  That is okay, as long as historians look back on my presidency and say, “He always put the country above himself.”

I hope you will vote for me on Nov. 1, 2016.  If you are unhappy with the current gridlock on Capitol Hill, you can make a difference! You can vote for Anthony Hopper for U.S. president.

My Week 9 NFL Picks

I haven't had a chance (or really much incentive) to review the ESPN, Yahoo, Fox, etc. sportswriters' picks in today's NFL games.  With that said, I thought it might be interesting to see how many NFL games I can pick correctly without doing any specific, in depth research for Week 9 (apart from what I do to set my fantasy football team lineups).  As a caveat, I have been keeping close tabs on most of the NFL teams throughout the season as part of my fantasy football research.  I know (more or less) how each team has done so far this year and have at least some knowledge of each team's strengths and weaknesses.

Ok, so here it goes...My picks for this week (using Yahoo's NFL schedule).  My picks are in boldface.  Let's see how I do...

Miami vs. Indianapolis

Buffalo vs. Houston

Baltimore vs. Cleveland 

Denver vs. Cincinnati

Chicago vs. Tennessee

Detroit vs. Jacksonville

Arizona vs. Green Bay

Carolina vs. Washington

Tampa Bay vs. Oakland

Minnesota vs. Seattle

Pittsburgh vs. New York Giants

Dallas vs. Atlanta

San Diego vs. Kansas City (game has already been played-San Diego won)

Philadelphia vs. New Orleans