Does Anyone READ Our Blogs?

We're required to post a blog a day by management. Personally, I feel my time would be more beneficial if it was spent in the forums, but I won't get into that discussion here.

I just want to know, do any of you actually click on "Blogs" in the community section and read our daily entries? I ask because, unlike the forum area, there is no "views" number to tell us how many times a blog has been viewed. As it is now no one comments on them, which leads me to think no one is looking at them.

There is some neat stuff there; mini editorials, new products, events, news, and so forth that you might find interesting.

Thanks!

Mark  
Mark Houlahan
Editor
Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S auto
1990 Mustang 347/AOD
1998 Escort 2.0L SOHC/F4E-111 Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto

Yeah I read them on occasion. You know the trouble I have with them, and in fact the trouble I have with most magazine articles is they dont really tell you which color wire, which fuse or the real trick to getting this part to go on. They are quickie once overs which are about as good as the manual which always says things like, "remove the bumper" but doesnt tell you three of the nuts are in completely inaccesible areas and you will need a 15 inch flex extension to get to them while your standing in your head. I think most of us are competent guys but in every job there is that one "key" to getting it done and thats what I want when I look at your articles. Is it truly simple, or is it a 2 hour garage nightmare for the guy who doesnt have special tool number 100012578 ???  

Blogs? We have blogs? OMG!!!!

Nope never have read them......guess I will go look for them now!  
Member of COUGAR CLUB OF NEW ENGLAND (#25) www.necougarclub.com
Member of DODGE TRUCK WORLD (Maine Chapter) http://dodgetruckworld.tenmagazines....ry.asp?id=4871

2006 Ford Mustang
1970 Mercury Cougar (19,300 miles )
2003 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quadcab
1994 S-10 Blazer Tahoe
1968 Mercury Cougar DGS (Parting Out)

Retired Navy (Submarine Service) E-7 MMC(SS)
USS Simon Bolivar SSBN-641 (B)
USS Henry M. Jackson SSBN-730 (B)
USS Gurnard SSN-662

Shipfitter @ Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Building Aegis class destroye

Mechanical Guy, the blog area is strictly small newsy items, press releases, and small editorials, it is not meant to be a full tech story on how to install something. That's not what a blog is.

We strive to ensure our readers are aware of any "gotchas" with tech stories, which is why we do most of the work ourselves so we can experience it and comment about special tools, skipping the book's instructions for a certain step, etc.

Steve, are you being serious? I really need to know. If you didn't know that this site had a blog section that speaks volumes about how people access the site and know what info is here. Let me know...

Mark  
Mark Houlahan
Editor
Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S auto
1990 Mustang 347/AOD
1998 Escort 2.0L SOHC/F4E-111 Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto

Haven't been, but will try to remember to check them.  Looking now...hmm, led me to latemodelrestoration.com in interest of their $700 short block assemblies.  I see a lot of engines labeled "Mustang" and the description "Give your tired Chevy a new heartbeat! Budget minded shortblocks are the way to go for a replacment motor or are great for a classic application. Our economy short blocks are just the ticket for that budget build! "  Give me an "internet schlock-house" kinda feeling.

The generic web layout for the magazine web site(s) don't really lend it's self for exploring or getting directed to fresh content.  That and the site responds so dang slow, even on a 45m connection.  Unless you go to that section, you have no idea there's anything new.  Blogging would be better if it was somehow integrated with the forums, but the site template isn't built like that AFAIK.

Hey - I commented on one of your blogs.  Sorry I blew the "no one comments" thing.    
1967 Falcon 4 door 351C-4V
1970 Mustang 351C-2V
http://raceabilene.com/kelly/hotrod
Owner built, owner abused.

Seriously, I've never even looked at them.  This forum gets so little traffic that I'll just browse through, look at the "active posts" box and be on my way.  If the blog box was higher on the page, I would have seen it before you pointed it out.  Now, I will probably glance there for any catchy titles.  

Good Morning Mark,

Sorry to scare you and yes, I am being serious. The other posters on this thread all make valid points and I agree with them, but some of it you have heard from me before.

My favorite place on here is the forums. I did not know we had blogs and after looking at them last night I saw a few interesting items. This morning I perused the rest of the site, opened a few articles and looked for things that pertained to me.

I look for articles that are relevant to my 1970 Cougar or my 2006 Mustang (v-6). So, usually my sojourns here are brief, as I don't actually find many articles that may mean something to my FoMoCo cars and my visions for them.

There is so little traffic on this site, that the forums sometimes go days without a post. Every now and then you get a spammer or a loony on here to liven things up.....but generally it is a ghost town. People post problems, 2 or 3 of the same people respond every time and that is the last you hear of the new poster.

I have posted pics of my Cougar in the reader's rides section of the forum and I'll bet I am the only one who has ever even seen them!

I know I sound negative and I do not mean to be. I love my cars and the car hobby. The magazine is great, the forum is good, but could be much better. There needs to be more interaction and tech articles, how to articles and such.

Did you ever see the show some years ago called "Shade Tree Mechanics"? My definition of a shade tree mechanic is someone that performs mechanical tasks in his driveway laying on his back in the dirt or grass or in oil and grease. These guys had a garage and lift capable of hoisting a greyhound bus into the air! They had a black and white tiled garge floor that my kitchen would be envious of!!!! Power everything and they bought the highest dollar ticket items to center their shows around. Shade tree mechanics my ass!

My point is this. Most guys cannot afford to buy a chromed blower or a new crate engine or take their car to a custom body shop for a frame off rotisserie restoration. Simple tech. Everyday kinds of things that everyday kind of guys do and can afford. Dress up items, which are probably the biggest dollar items for new Mustang owners. Carpet and seat reupholstery or leaf spring changes or how to set up a new carb and timing how to's for the younger guys with older cars, especially if they have always been around HEI, EFI, computerized types of vehicles all of their lives.

Sorry for my rant. I am going to strive to navigate the site a little more thoroughly from now on.

Enjoy the weekend,

Steve  
Member of COUGAR CLUB OF NEW ENGLAND (#25) www.necougarclub.com
Member of DODGE TRUCK WORLD (Maine Chapter) http://dodgetruckworld.tenmagazines....ry.asp?id=4871

2006 Ford Mustang
1970 Mercury Cougar (19,300 miles )
2003 Dodge Ram 4x4 Quadcab
1994 S-10 Blazer Tahoe
1968 Mercury Cougar DGS (Parting Out)

Retired Navy (Submarine Service) E-7 MMC(SS)
USS Simon Bolivar SSBN-641 (B)
USS Henry M. Jackson SSBN-730 (B)
USS Gurnard SSN-662

Shipfitter @ Bath Iron Works in Bath, Maine. Building Aegis class destroye

Thanks for the feedback guys...

Steve, I understand where you're coming from and I don't take it personaly, really...

I've had the same frustration. Someone will register, post a question, get an answer, and never come back. I try to encourage them to at least post back if the answer fixed it (to help future readers) but often to no avail...

I know our wonderful search feature doesn't help much in finding the stories you want either...

Again, thanks for the feedback, and hopefully this will go somewhere and make people act on it!

Have a good weekend...
Mark  
Mark Houlahan
Editor
Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S auto
1990 Mustang 347/AOD
1998 Escort 2.0L SOHC/F4E-111 Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto

Just a heads up for those reading the forum and this thread, the blogs can be found through this direct link:

Modified Mustangs & Fords Blogs

Thanks!
Mark  
Mark Houlahan
Editor
Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S auto
1990 Mustang 347/AOD
1998 Escort 2.0L SOHC/F4E-111 Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto

I'm new to the forums, but I've been a casual reader of the magazine for some time. I'm in a different situation-I own an '89 Econoline (hey, they're cheap, and I have 5 kids). I do try to read the blogs, if only to find info that might relate to my vehicle. There isn't a great deal of material that focuses on my van, but I try to find stuff that will work.  

I am brand slappy new to this site and just signed on. Do the blogs contain info that extends from your articles? I have been trying to find info on compatible parts for a couple of the cars you mentioned in an article a cfew months back about different potential hot rods, like my '78 Cougar (351M) and '84 Merc (302). Things like saying" It's on a Fox platform" for the Merc don't tell me much as I am fairly new to building anything.Any directions? If the blogs tell me stuff like this, I am all over it.  

I read them, but I don't think I count.

Mark, are you telling me that Source Interlink, the empire that it is, doesn't have a way to track page views on the blogs?  

Maybe they're afraid to? LOL  
Mark Houlahan
Editor
Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S auto
1990 Mustang 347/AOD
1998 Escort 2.0L SOHC/F4E-111 Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto

I mostly look at the right of the page and see the active blog list and if anything seems interesting I read it.  I also spend most of my time looking at the forums to see if anything new is happening.  I do really enjoy most of the things on the site and check it usually once a day or so.  but as with the others I would like to see more activity.  possibly it would be good to have a page in the magazine with some of the website content to encourage people to check it out?  

We do run a "Web TOC" (table of contents) in most issues, showing expanded coverage of stories, web only stories, our wallpaper, forums, etc. but if a last minute ad comes in to the magazine, guess what gets cut first? Any sort of "house ad" (which is the web toc, the recycle your magazine ads, take a kid to a car show ads, etc. get yanked...

The dollar wins again my friends...

Mark  
Mark Houlahan
Editor
Modified Mustangs & Fords Magazine

1965 FFR Roadster 427W/TKO-600
1966 Mustang 289-4V/C4
1968 Mustang 4.6L Three-Valve/5R55S auto
1990 Mustang 347/AOD
1998 Escort 2.0L SOHC/F4E-111 Auto
2002 Explorer Sport Trac 4.0L V-6/5R55 Auto