Be The Change You Wish To See On The Web

February 23, 2011 | 32 Comments


Hello Dear Readers!

Just wanted to give you a heads-up on a few recent changes on The Sweet Beet.

1) New Font: The old one (the retro courier typewriter font) was long on personality, but a little short on readability (especially on mobile devices). In the font world there IS such thing as too much personality, so the new one has less character, but easier to read characters.

2) Logo: Same logo, just rearranged the pieces a little to make more room at the top.

3) Recipe Section: Many people have asked for a section that just shows recipes. Now you can click on “Just Recipes” in the upper nav bar.

4) Ads: I’m thrilled to have been welcomed into the FoodBuzz/Federated Media Ad Network. What this “welcome” entails is ads on the site, which means the clean, spare look I’ve always loved, won’t be quite as clean and spare anymore.  Some of the ads you’ll see will be for their own site (FoodBuzz) and some are for third party advertisers. Sadly you won’t see many (ok, any) ads for farmers markets, but you will see ads for other products, some which you may like, some which you may not like at all.  But it is these advertisers that allow us have this place online where we can converse about the things we care about. So I welcome all of them.

Please send any feedback you might have – The Sweet Beet is growing rapidly and your ongoing input is incredibly valuable.

Cheers!
Michelle

The photo above?  It was taken at the DooNanny festival in Alabama, where people come to discover art, music, food and novel kitchen attire.

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  • http://www.thedevinekitchen.com Steph

    Your growth and your new place at FoodBuzz is a testament to your value in the food blogging community! I think this is really cool – whatever it takes to keep you in my inbox, I welcome and celebrate it.

  • Michelle

    You’re so sweet! Thank you Steph – the conversations and learning that happens here is so enriching and rewarding and I have a feeling we’re just at the beginning…

  • jenny

    agreed agreed. im very happy for you and cant wait to see what grows from this. when do the changes kick into gear?

  • Cindy

    Thank you for keeping us in the loop. It means so much that you care enough to share and explain your changes – especially the part about adding ads. Go for it!

  • Michelle

    Earliest – end of day tomorrow, latest Monday!

  • http://katzinn.com meezermom

    Love the photo! I show my art at several music and art festivals around the country and hadn’t heard of DooNanny. Looks like it would be fun.
    I haven’t had a problem reading the font, but I’m not on a mobile device. I also like the idea of the recipes section and look forward to checking it out. As for the ads – its the way of things and very rare to find a site that doesn’t have them.
    It’s nice to hear The Sweet Beet is increasing in popularity -well deserved. Kudos to you!

  • Michelle

    Here’s the link to the Doo-Nanny site… http://doo-nanny.com/
    It’s quite a trip!

  • http://katzinn.com meezermom

    Thanks Michelle – I’ll check it out. Maybe I can work it into my spring loop south.

  • http://www.girllovesdog.com Jess Mahler

    rock on Michelle!

  • Steve

    Michelle, Well it looks like you are ‘getting all grown up’ now that you have advertisers. Good on you and your site. As another poster said, “keeping us in the loop” means alot. This simple act of transparency means more than you know. Write on young lady, write on…….

  • http://www.ittybittyfoodies.com Cheryl – itty bitty foodies mama

    Good luck Michelle and wishing you all the best! I’m happy to see the site grow!

  • Liz Sarnik

    Michelle-
    LOVE the Sweet Beet. I look forward to seeing what’s in store for the future.

  • dawn

    I am sooo happy for you… The Sweet Beet is a new find for me.But i love the whole concept. Yes I am a recipe junkie but I “dig” the commentary and the conversation that follows. Keep up the good work and I look forward to the up and coming… Good Luck!!!!

  • http://www.culture-connoisseur.blogspot.com Hannah (Culture Connoisseur)

    Looking forward to the changes. Although, I have to say that one thing that drew me to your site was the simplicity of it. I didn’t expect to find so much good info in such a simple blog. It was pleasantly surprising and it keeps me coming back. But I’ll come back when its revamped too…cause it’s a great site.

    Keep writing and we’ll keep reading. :-)

  • Michelle

    Thanks Hannah. I assure you the content wont change one bit. Just a little more advertising-infused color.

  • http://christimider.com christimider@yahoo.com

    Change is one thing we CAN count on!
    Congrats!

  • Debbie Edge

    Well, I have to admit that I read this particular blog with mixed emotions.
    I’m somewhat sad to hear that there will be infiltrates of advertising as I really enjoy reading just what I have come here to read. On the other hand, I want you to be able to continue and in making this choice, I know it will help pay the bills :)
    As previously mentioned, thank you for letting us know ahead of time and congratulations on making the next step!

  • http://hudsondesign.us Allison Culbertson

    Rock-on. Love the simplicity of your current site- but a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do! Glad the powers that be have found you. Sorry for the clichés… Keep up the great content and photos!

  • Liz Wald

    Great to let everyone know about the changes – I’ll be sure click through a few ads too so that you can continue to provide this super content (and the wonderful photos). Onward!

  • http://prasadabeauty.com Lisa G

    Should be interesting to see the changes but wanted to say I LOVED this original style with font and your layout and your photos! :)

  • Michelle

    Me too — part of why the font is so lovely is that there are parts of the characters that are very thin which makes for thought reading. The eye-strained among us had begun to speak up … The layout really wont change at all (just some ads joining the content) and the quality of the photos will never change! Promise….

  • dooles

    You rock, your site is so stupendous, your photography, wit, sincerity all shine. oh yeah, your topics are fantastic too for those of us trying to be thoughtful and figure out this confusing food world of so many mixed messages, congratulations on the readership and ad explosion! so well deserved.

  • Michelle

    Thank you my dear fan Dooles! It is so gratifying when something you love and are so deeply passionate about, is also something that OTHERS are so passionate about!

  • http://978-685-5655 Brian

    That font had to go. I do love the blog and the simplicity of it so I’m curious why you went the way of advertisers versus some sort of online donations or maybe a kickstarter campaign (you could collect your writing into a book). If you don’t want to delve too deep into your business that’s fine. I’ll continue to check in even if if I don’t find it as homey.

  • Michelle

    I think you’ll find the changes pretty minimal and do nothing to detract from what you enjoy about the site! Thanks for your input!

  • naomi

    Congratulations on making it to the “big time. I love Sweet Beet for its’ info, gorgeous photos, and sweet brevity! I have told all the friends i have about Sweet Beet and they like it too.

  • http://www.suzyeats.com Suzy Eats

    Congrats! All the changes look great.

  • Michelle

    Thanks so much Naomi! Really appreciate the support!

  • http://www.cleareyedsky.com Liz

    The site still looks great :)

    I love your writing style and content. I’m glad opportunities are coming your way!

  • Michelle

    Thanks Liz !

  • LB

    Keep up the great work! I love reading your posts and recipes and if ads means I get to keep coming back for more than I welcome them too!

  • Michelle

    Thx LB! Yours and everyone’s support is super appreciated!!!