Hey! What happened?

yes, the website is changing. Not to this blog, mind you, but to a new site design!

Here's what happened and what is happening...

We switched webhosts from Near-Time, as they are changing their services to a new model. Notice was given to us about a month ago, and with that the process of receiving all the files from them was done over the next week. From there, a new webhost was found and set up, and...

I looked at this as an opportunity. While BrickJournal.com had some good things about it, I wanted to see more.

For those wondering about the subscription for the site, it's gone. The subscription was meant for a premium level of accessibility for the website and its contents, however, it was a failed experiment. The site generated a very small amount of revenue, but not enough to support the site and any content I wanted to use as enhancements. The revenue gathered was used for support of the site, but it ultimately declined to a very low level and shut off entirely by Near-Time.

So, the site as we know it is now gone. The content is now with the new webhost, but will have to be reconfigured for something new.

So what is going to happen? In the next couple of weeks, there will be some new construction going on with the website. Instead of a blog like page like it formerly was, BrickJournal.com will look like, well, a website. There will be a section devoted to the current issue with exclusive content, such as video and photos that didn't get in the magazine. A second section will have the current news items that we get from LEGO and other sources, such as DK Publishing. And a third section will have exclusive content on the site, such as video and instructions. And that's just the beginning...

And now is an opportunity for you. What would you want to see on the new BrickJournal site? Drop a line here - I'll be watching.

And I'll be putting updates on the website design - a basic design has been decided, and now refinements are going on. As we closer to launch I will be posting some layouts.

So when is launch? The goal is to have the site set up and running to cover the Festival of the Masters in Florida, in about two weeks. As new sections are completed, they will be added.

Excited? I am!