If you’ve visited Rattle.com in the last few days, you’ve noticed a big change. Inspired partially by the ease with which I set up my own website, I’ve shifted Rattle to a blog format as well. The blog format is ideal for a literary journal — especially as a supplement to our already robust print issues. Blogs are easy to update daily from anywhere in the world (that’s the whole point), and a poem is the perfect size for a post. No one wants to read 200 pages on a computer screen, but one poem at a time, piecemeal, is perfect for the PC. The goal is to have readers tuning in every day for a little poetry along with their morning cup of coffee.

The new format also allows a few very nice features that my meager web design skills wouldn’t have allowed. As you can see with Sunday’s post, we can now embed those audio files right next to the poems, so you can read along and listen to the poet’s own voice with one click. The calender allows for easy navigation. The RSS feed goes out automatically, which saves me time. All new content includes a comment function, so we’re instantly more interactive. And since the transition, the Mets have been beating the Phillies. Who could ask for more?

I’m actually surprised I haven’t seen other journals adopting this format — most blogs are relegated to to the realm of quickie commentary and mini-editorials, rather than dispensing real content. I predict we’ll see much more of this in the future.

To set up the WordPress blog, I also had to switch host servers from the overpriced, insecure, and inconsistent Valueweb. Needless to say, that move was a long time coming. I don’t know if you remember our hacking issues from last spring, but the problem really was Valueweb’s php engine, and I should have just switched servers then. It just seemed like too much work — but in fact, it was hardly any work at all. Go figure.

So not only is Rattle.com more useful for online readers, but it should perform better, with quicker downloads and less downtime. Enjoy your daily dose of Rattle! I’ll take mine with a little cream and sugar…