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What’s New, Magoo?
Changes at The Inspired Solo,
and Some Plans

By Sheryl | May 2, 2008

I’ve been inspired!

My one-week experience at Twitter has really broadened some horizons for me. New friends, both the followed and the following, have shared their thoughts, their creations, their likes and dislikes, and with each little tweet came another site to look at and get ideas from — even if it was the idea that “boy, that really doesn’t work at all, does it?”

So, I’ve been inspired to make some changes, and a few plans. (NB: be sure to read the very last paragraph of this post — I promise it’s worth your while to do so because I’m giving away a prize, and you have an opportunity to tell me what it should be!!)

The Changes

If you’re reading this on our site, you’ve probably already noticed most of this. But if you’re using RSS (good for you!), you might like a primer:

A Few Plans

I’m going to keep mum on many details. These plans are big and the actor in me wants to keep the drama going for a while longer. (Also, a few I’m not sure are technically feasible yet.) But some broad strokes follow.

The big plan is a total site redesign. I’ve loved using this amazing theme that Cory Miller did for me last year, but given the plans, a redo was sort of necessary. Cory was the first designer I approached when I decided to go for it; unfortunately, Cory told me he and his company are more focused on website templates now, less on the WordPress blog theme market.

So, I’ve contacted another designer I’ve worked with in the past and whose work is, in a word, impeccable. I haven’t finalized anything yet with that designer so I’ll refrain from mentioning names, as well as details.

But I can say this: the result, if it goes as planned, will be a more readable, accessible, aesthetically dynamic, and content-stuffed site that will, I hope, become the destination of choice for solo lawyers on the web. I’m after no less than an explosion of the “Inspired Solo brand,” if you will, but in a way that answers the needs & wants of solo lawyers and those who are planning to become solos, while keeping the Inspired Solo philosophy intact.

When to expect all this goodness? Well, I estimate the redesign itself will take 3-4 weeks, more or less. As for the rest of the planned changes, the additional content will continue to be added in the interim; the new features (including video and podcasting) will probably debut informally prior to the redesign unveiling, more regularly afterwards.

You can also expect another TIS survey in the next week or so. I really want the input of practicing solo lawyers as well as those who are planning or thinking about solo practices of their own — it’s vital, in fact, to this site’s utility. Yes, I have my own plans and ambitions for TIS, but this site’s for you guys, after all. I want you to tell me what you want to see on these pages.

So to that end, I’m going to be giving away a pretty cool prize in a drawing, as a thank-you for taking the survey. I haven’t decided what that prize should be, and I’m even going to give you guys a chance to vote on that too: use the comments section to this post to tell me what I should give away in that survey! Touch iPod? Amazon gift certificate? Netflix subscription? Peet’s coffee sampler pack? Let me know! I don’t promise to use the most often suggested prize, but I do promise to consider all serious suggestions, and do what I can. (Trip to Paris is out. Sorry guys.)

Topics: Meta, Solos Generally |

4 Responses to “What’s New, Magoo?
Changes at The Inspired Solo,
and Some Plans”

  1. Jonathan Ginsberg Says:
    May 3rd, 2008 at 9:39 am

    I vote for the Touch iPod.
    With regard to the site redesign, I personally have no problem with your current site - it is more attractive than about 95% of the blogs I visit. Note, as well, that I generally read blog feeds thru my iGoogle page and rarely actually visit the blog. I wonder if my experience is the exception rather than the rule.
    Finally, it might be interesting to create a page where you and your readers can identify our favorite and most functional plug-ins.

  2. Sheryl Says:
    May 3rd, 2008 at 2:50 pm

    One vote for Touch iPod - check.

    I totally, totally agree, Jonathan. I think (as I’ve said before) Cory did a fan-damn-tastic job. He really “got” what I was trying to do with it. And I have no intention of reinventing the wheel entirely. I am hoping the new designer can take what’s here and move it into the next phase. But I’m up for a total re-do, too, if it fits the content/structure plans better. Keeping an open mind.

    As for the RSS vs. website stats, right now I’m running about 30% RSS, 70% website readers. I really am kicking myself — I should have noted those statistics before I launched the RSS 101 series. It’d be interesting to see if and how they changed before and after that series.

  3. Craig Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

    I would be willing to toss in a free annual subscription to a state-specific legal forms database to help out. e-mail me for details.

  4. Sheryl Says:
    May 15th, 2008 at 1:28 pm

    Dude. Craig, that would be awesome. I’ll email you, and thank you and FormsPass/US Legal very much.

Comments

  • About

    Sheryl Sisk Schelin is the writer/blogger/lawyer/coach behind The Inspired Solo. She lives, practices, writes and blogs from her home on the banks of the Intracoastal Waterway in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

    The Inspired Solo is for every law student and practicing attorney who dreams of a solo practice, wonders about hanging a shingle, or just wants to know more about what life as a solo practitioner is really like.

    Much more than just a legal business blog, The Inspired Solo is about The Power of One and how you can tap into that power to create the law practice, and the life, of your dreams.

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