The AppsLab

Jake,

I think primarily there are two things which can improve the traffic flow :

1. Changing the template/theme of the page. Personally I find that although it's really cool and soothing, it's over simplistic which means from a visitors point of view that it has not much to offer.

The layout has to be more concrete and contemporary and dynamic, because as of now it looks more of a retro style with static content.

Don't know how much of a change is possible at all.

Of course the concern about feed traffic going down is more of a content issue and for that -

2. Open up the space for more writers, I think we need more types of articles from different people on a wide ranging topics, rather than read what a bunch of you 'big hammer' guys want to make us all read [:P].

Again the content can be moderated.

HTH,
Shishir

how about sending the entire article through the feed? I hate having to click the (more...) from Google Reader.

First and foremost, I'm subscribed to hear what Oracle is doing or at least interested in regarding web 2.0 and related technologies. If you were Apple, Sun, SAP or (shudder) Microsoft, I would not care. It's hard due to privacy and strategy concerns, but I would like to hear more about your progress and successes.

Second, I like AppsLab's take on computing and applications, i.e. "top 10 reasons Java", etc. It wouldn't hurt to get more posts from the rest of the group or more writers / guest writers from time to time. (Can't believe Jake hasn't experienced writer's block yet.) I'd specifically like to get recaps of the events you sponsor/advertise in your "Events" widget - that would be huge.

Third, I like the variety of other topics you point out. That's one thing that drew me to blogs is to see what interests other people I have respect for. For example, comments and reviews on gadgets, workspace, humor, etc. There could always be more of these. :)

Matt K: I have to leave this to Rich. The [more] thing is pretty standard for feeds, but I wonder if we can syndicate the entire post and use it only for the site.

Shishir: Sorry to disappoint, but 1) I doubt Rich will want to change the UI anytime soon and 2) there are only 4 of us (yeah, we added another developer) and this is AppsLab. Opening up the space to other writers isn't an option.

I hope to have more Oracle-related topics soon.

Thanks dudes.
Jake

Matt: Good stuff.
1) We're sharing what we can. I'm sure you understand. This is the reason we're here at all.
2) Rich is up to his neck in Rails, but he keeps dropping hints about "needing to blog". It will boil over eventually. Same thing with Paul, only he's fighting politics. We have a new developer, Anthony, and I hope he'll be contributing here soon-ish. Per conferences, Paul is generally the conference attendee. So, look for him to review when he attends. We're using upcoming to show if one of use is attending. This is an imperfect system so far. Plus, I think we all have general disdain for conferences, and they cost money. q.e.d.
3) Thanks. I've fallen behind on feeds, but I'm always on the lookout for interesting stuff. I'll keep it coming.

Jake

Jake,

Since you asked for feedback, I'll chime in here, but mostly to just agree with Matt above. As an Oracle employee I come here to hear what Oracle is doing in the Web 2.0 space. My guess is that most people both internal and external come here for the same reason. There's a million places out there to read about Web 2.0 in general so trying to grab eyes can be difficult. As Oracle has very strict policies with regards to discussing futures, the challenge is even greater. Thus, we probably all tend to comment on iPhones as it's at least something we can all share opinion's on.

Looking at the AppsLab -> About page:

"Oracle AppsLab is a think-tank developed to drive adoption of new web patterns and technologies across Oracle’s business and products. We’re a small group dedicated to living and breathing Web 2.0. This blog is our space for sharing our ideas."

The real question is how do we share ideas without exposing Oracle's product directions. And like the $.99 ring tone charge for a song I've already bought, I'm at a loss (no pun intended).

jack

I second the request for full articles in the RSS feed...

I would also like more updates on the status of AppsLab projects, especially Connect and IdeaFactory.

Thanks,

Adam

Adam: WP doesn't send the full post if we use the [more] tag. We use that to keep the blog page more fresh. So, it's a trade off; maybe someone knows a WP plugin to get around this?

Project updates are first on our list, just haven't been able to share many recently.

Jake

jack: You're like e.e. cummings with the lower-case on purpose thing, or you're just super lazy. I can relate to both.

Aside from the all normal reasons we can't talk turkey here, our team's priorities shift like they're built on sand, more so now that OOW is coming.

I'm always thinking of what we can share, sometimes removing the details to protect the innocent. That won't change. Just hang on, we're in a dry spell information-wise due to shifting priorities.

Jake