Welcome to the launch of VoV 4.0! This site has grown up right in front of my eyes. From its humble beginnings on Blogger in October of 2007, to its debut launch on WordPress in December of 2008, to entering its third full year of existence, Voice of Valeri has seen so many changes that have helped this site grow. So here’s another.
Off the bat, you’ll notice the new theme. I think this looks a lot cleaner than the previous one, and it allows me to get the sidebars back that was missing from version 3. Also, you’ll be seeing much more advertising on the site. This will help pay for the costs of running the site, and more money coming in means I can put more into the site to make it even better.
We’ll start with the top banners of the site. Nothing has really changed here, as you can still access the VoV media pages, as well as the post categories for more specific browsing. VoV’s live TradeCentres, Wrestling Reviews and Playoff Previews are all there, untouched, in all their glory. On the far right, there are three icons: one for RSS feeds, one for Facebook and one for Twitter. More on that later.
Let’s continue by going north-south. The top of the site now features a nice, flashy screen that shows you the last five articles published. This will allow readers to see images that may spark interest, rather than having to read the excerpts and titles to see if anything in the post might draw them in. Below that, you’ll see the three latest Instant Classics. If you don’t know what the Instant Classics are, definitely give them a read. Below that, you’ll also see the three latest Top 10′s. The ‘More News’ section will show the last 10 posts, in any category, that were published that you may have missed, as well as an ‘older entries’ button to see what was published before that.
Continuing, you’ll see two brand new widgets: one for the VoV Facebook Fan Page, and one for the VoV Twitter feed. Feel free to post on the VoV wall, or Tweet us or any of the team members. Both pages are updated constantly, so you can expect responses back quickly.
On the right side, you’ll see a new donations tab. I’m not going to hold this site hostage to donations, but any money that comes in will be put towards making the site better: paying for bandwidth space, purchasing new themes, renewing the URL every year, etc.. If the donations end up becoming a respectable amount, we can open up a contest of sorts: for, say, one month, all the VoV reader donations that are sent in will be matched by the site, and donated to a charitable cause.
Below the donations tab is a Subscribe button, which will make VoV.com even more accessible through social networking sites–speaking of which, VoV works and loads great on BlackBerry, iPhone and Android devices. Give it a try! Further down is a monthly calendar. Missed what I posted two days ago? Just click the day number and see what you missed. Speaking of social networking, there’s also a FormSpring widget on the side, where you can ask the VoV team questions which will be featured on editions of The Peep Show. It’s more convenient than clicking the old ‘Widgets’ tab to say the least. If you’d like to read articles from months past, you can scroll through the Archives and see what happened on this day three months ago.
The Peep Show also saw some changes, as this new banner (above) is brand-spanking new. You’ll notice that the older articles do not have images attached with them, since, for some reason, they won’ carry over from the previous theme. So, if you think I’m going back and re-publishing 1,933 pictures into posts, you’re on drugs.
Speaking of FormSpring, here’s a taste of the fun you may have missed from there:
Q: Is vlogging something that you’re interested in starting up in the near future? Maybe an Iphone app for VOV? I enjoy being connected at all times.
A: Yes and no. I’m definitely open to the idea, but I really want to avoid making it cheesy/poor quality, which will be tough to do. I think podcasts may come before vlogging. It’s more a matter of finding time than it is topics to do it on.
Q: Hey Marc! I absolutely love your work on VOV! I think you should start doing “vlogs”! or pod casts. They would be a lot more entertaining than reading stuff. I hate reading! xoxo
A: Maybe if you learned to read, you wouldn’t hate it so much.’
Q: How many copies of Backdoor Into Chyna will you be Pre-Ordering?
A: Disgusting. Can I use a negative number? I didn’t see the first one, but picturing Chyna naked ruins the prospect of getting a woody for 50 years.
Q: wondering if you know where the deuces go when you flush them down the pipe.
A: Straight into Coldplay and U2′s recording studio.
Q: ive been following your posts for a while now and i was just wondering if your face is as beautiful as your writing?
A: You know it tuts.
Q: Did we just become best friends?
A: Yup!
Q: Do you wanna do karate in the garage?
A: Yep!
Q: WHAT DO YOU CALL A DRINK THAT HAS 2 SHOTS AND A PINCH OF SALT??? A BIN LADEN
A: Ha! Nice.
Enjoy the new site. We’re really excited for the launch of VoV 4.0. It’s going to bring lots of changes, better performance and a better experience for VoV readers. As always, thank you for your continued viewership, as VoV.com would not be what it is today if it wasn’t for the Peepulation. If you don’t know…NOW you know!