[ad#post_ad]It’s a new year again, and just like car models are redesigned for each year, so too has it become an annual tradition to redesign GM-Volt.com.
This redesign, however, is by far the most radical and transformational of any before it.
Now that the Volt has actually become a purchasable item and the first consumers have already begun taking them home, it is very important to shift the voice from mine alone, as an ambassador of sorts, to yours – Volt owners, those considering owning the Volt, and everyone else.
The long-lived blog itself is taking a step back from the limelight. At the top of the main page you will find a slider with the latest five posts. You may no longer necessarily find a new one there on a daily basis anymore, but more intermittently.
What you will find all across the entire front page are the latest new threads started by our forum members in real-time, constantly with new news. Each new thread will appear as a mainpage article now, and if any topic or news story is of interest to you, simply create the thread in the forum and it will appear at the top of the front page immediately.
Over time some of these posts will become popular both in terms of pageviews and number of comments, and soon we will have display listing those the front page as well.
The blog will still operate as your are used to and you may certainly continue to comment on the posts. However it would be best if you haven’t already done so to register a forum account so you can both comment and discuss the user generated threads, as well as to publish your own. The forum is also filled with features such as personal messaging, a homepage, custom avatars, and individual photo albums. You can even choose to ignore someone if you so desire.
I too may often publish new stories using the forum as well.
This new version of GM-Volt.com marks the beginning of its fourth year of operation and has required a long period of planning on my part and implementation on the part of our GM-Volt.com programmer.
I sincerely hope you enjoy the new format as it is now more a place to hear the voice of many than simply my own. Plus if you want to get a brand new story out on the front page immediately, now you can do so.
I know change isn’t easy and the new design could upset some who are used to calling this place home, but hopefully you will see it is for the better.
Guideline to starting your own stories are to try to choose an appropriate short descriptive title, and include your own writing outlining your own perspective on and interest in the story you are posting. Spam won’t be tolerated.
If there are any comments concerns or bugs feel free to email me: chevyvolt@gmail.com
[ad#postbottom]
Enjoy!
This entry was posted on Sunday, January 9th, 2011 at 9:45 pm and is filed under Volt Nation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
-13
Jan 9th, 2011 (9:50 pm)(click to show comment)
+5
Jan 9th, 2011 (9:53 pm)Hi new GM-Volt.com.
Glad to meet you, I wonder what this will do to my daily addiction.
+4
Jan 9th, 2011 (9:54 pm)I will dearly miss daily articles by you, Lyle. OTOH I know there are a lot of great folks on here who will create some wonderful threads.
+4
Jan 9th, 2011 (10:04 pm)WARNING: Among the known side effects of Chevy VOLT ownership is the inability to continue daily blog posting as the joy of driving a VOLT is simply too great to ignore:-)
Lyle, congratulations on V4.0. You have built this site into an amazing community that will continue propelling the VOLT and the EV movement forward…. we are all grateful.
+4
Jan 9th, 2011 (10:04 pm)I really appreciate this site. It has been great watching the development of the Volt. These pages have brought hours of education and fellowship. Thanks Lyle!
+2
Jan 9th, 2011 (10:19 pm)Well now, this is different! Great job keeping the site fresh, Lyle. I think every iteration has improved the ‘stay and read’ value for newcomers.
The post carousel definitely gives the feeling of accessing professional, hot-off-the-presses information. Love it.
Even if we don’t get something new everyday, we’ll still read em – there’s never any shortage of comments, besides. I think we’ve all appreciated the expanded blogger crew at every step, as well. So many folks will be launching their own Volts in the next year, I think that aspect of the site will be quite important.
NPNS!! =D~~
+1
Jan 9th, 2011 (11:19 pm)Well, change is an inevitable part of life, so I’d better accept it, but….. how does one return back to the last thread on Cadillac and iits upcoming plug-ins?
+1
Jan 10th, 2011 (12:24 am)Well, it sounds like the daily visits might be tapering off. You’ll have to start a new blog for the fuel cell range extended Volt that will come out in 2040. Oops did I say that out loud? Congrats on 4.0. Its been a good ride. Thanks for all your work.
+1
Jan 10th, 2011 (12:56 am)Sounds like a good idea to me. It’s kind of strange that almost no one who posts on the main page articles posts in the forum and vice versa. The forums are a lot more fun to post in than most people realize as each thread has its own topic and the conversations can go on for weeks or months instead of just one day. I think so I’m glad there will now be some bridging of the two.
+2
Jan 10th, 2011 (4:31 am)Thanks Lyle for your continuous efforts to make this blog, THE BLOG.
Happy new year to you at the wheel of your Volt and to all of you.
JC NPNS
+1
Jan 10th, 2011 (4:49 am)With any luck, you will find yourself as addicted to posting, as we are to reading them, Lyle.
Happy New Year.
+3
Jan 10th, 2011 (7:26 am)i want the cadillac converj. it was such a great concept and i loved it very much among any other cadillac.the converj had some great aerodynamics and was the best design than the volt itself.
Jan 10th, 2011 (7:26 am)Interesting new format. It should increase the forum traffic and content tremendously. I like the slider for the 5 most recent home page articles. I think (don’t khow if the programmer will appreciate this) a few sliders could really have a big impact:
-Recent Home page articles as is
-Most popular home page articles
-Most recent commented home page articles
-Most recent commented forum posts
-Most popular forum posts
Some of this has been around in list format but I think the more detailed slider is an improvement.
+1
Jan 10th, 2011 (7:57 am)Wow this was a bit of a shock to see. It makes sense though.. Now that tr Volt has officially launched, time to hear others chime kn, and time for Lyle to enjoy other things. Hes given this site quite a dedicated amount of attention. Ern if his articles aren’t daily any more, I’ll still enjoy the ones he does write.
Thanks Lyle!
Jan 10th, 2011 (8:03 am)I don’t really know if I like this.
The old format had a feel of “thought of the day”, and the posts were somewhat related.
This format will be much harder to keep in touch with the daily posters, as the posts will be all over the place. And I don’t have that much time to look at many different threads to see what nasaman, Tag, loboc, and all of the others have to say every day. I do have a business I am supposed to run every day………….
I understand why Lyle is doing this, as now that the Volt is out, he can’t keep writing daily posts commenting about what the Volt will do, and calling GM execs to ask questions, etc.
But since I still have almost a year to wait to be able to order a Volt in my local area, it will be hard to keep the level of interest that I have had over the past 3.5 years. And this new format appears to be geared toward Volt owners, so my posts will not have a lot of relevance in that regard.
Or am I missing something?
JMHO
Jan 10th, 2011 (8:23 am)I like the new format. However I agree with your comments. Besides focusing more on Volt owner experiences, I expect a shift to articles and posts on Voltec variations of other GM products. I know, hard to wait for another year, but I think you should expect yours before the end of 2011.
Join thE REVolution!
+1
Jan 10th, 2011 (9:48 am)A Goodbye GM-Volt Daily Lyle Comment Haiku
No need for Facebook.
I conversed with Volt fans here.
A new beginning.
See you all in the forums!
Silently motoring in my #135,
-Book
Jan 10th, 2011 (10:42 am)First impression is I don’t like it, I will see if I just get used to it or it really starts to annoy me.
+1
Jan 10th, 2011 (12:20 pm)Well-received. About ten years ago I rotated two somewhat researched weekly columns for an engineering website just under four years. So we know the pain constant deadline entails. And you’re doing this stuff daily!
Visited my profile for the first time since register in Aug 09-nothing posted and its been visited 53 times – wow.
Anyways, I’ve been thinking about doing my own site aka Statik, maybe this is a step that way. It looks as if this thread is passed by VOLT making NAIAS car-of-the-year.
Jan 10th, 2011 (12:41 pm)It will take some time for us old “stick in the mud” guys to get used to the new version of the site but, as in most things, we will eventually come around. I will, I am sure. I can see some of the benefits already and I understand the reasoning and the need for the changes. Like most people my age, I am somewhat resistant to change until it comes over me like a wave. I will get there.
Great job, Lyle and thanks once more.
Jan 10th, 2011 (12:48 pm)Do you have any plans for an alternative front page for mobile users? (The old format worked well, but the new one makes it much slower to view recent stories if you’ve missed a few days, for example.) Thanks for all your effort over the last few years.
Dave
+2
Jan 10th, 2011 (12:53 pm)Thanks, Lyle, for all your efforts over the years. I like the new design and will continue to visit for my daily dose of Volt news. By the way, I will be visiting my local Chevy dealer soon. It is time to put my money where my mouth is and order one of my own…even thought I know it will be quite awhile before I can get one…
Chaim
Jan 11th, 2011 (11:37 am)Good-bye gm volt. It was great while it lasted.
When I read the sentence I know change isn’t easy and the new design could upset some who are used to calling this place home, but hopefully you will see it is for the better I sort of cringed, as this phrasing usually is a put down. I hope it was not meant that way. Change may be work out well, but as the athletic director of U Mich recently said, “we learned that change can be very expensive.”
Hope the new site does well.
Jan 11th, 2011 (12:50 pm)Lyle,
It would sure be nice to be able to go back the entire week in the selection-slider up on top.
I really like to new organization. It’s really the nicest format I’ve ever seen on the ‘net.
-2
Jan 11th, 2011 (1:29 pm)I do not like the new design. The old one was much better.