Inspired by Amanna’s recent site sleuthing, I have a few new blogs to share with you!

• Cenarion Labs
  I really like the name of this blog. Authored by Idahoe of Nordrassil (US), Cenarion Labs immediately gives you the impression that its subject matter will be treated seriously. And although it’s only been around a couple of months, it already has a nice theorycrafting post on the attack table as well as an interesting piece on what effect the change from 24- to 48-hour auctions will have on the WoW economy.
• The Forest Cat
  The Forest Cat is an example of the unfortunate result of a blogger appearing to be enthusiastic to share her experiences with the rest of the world only to discover the rest of the world can’t hear her. Whether due to a lack of encouraging support early on or in-game mitigating factors, Keilacat of Bladefist (US) started out prolific (with 22 posts in August alone) only to mew softly in October with only 3. I’m sad I didn’t see this one earlier, but there’s enough here to enjoy reading for a while. And if you get a bug, go ahead and make a few comments. It can only help, and maybe she’ll decide to start writing again!
• Moon Queen
  Aethel from Defias Brotherhood (EU) enjoys both the Balance and Restoration aspects of playing a Druid, depending on whether she’s currently raiding. At first glance, she appears to be somewhat of a number cruncher (there are numbers in a table — what more do you need) so I am excited to see what she comes up with.
• WarMama
  The “mama” stands for “mother” as in “mother who also plays World of Warcraft” and blogs about it. Baila of Shattered Hand (US) enjoys both the DPS and tanking roles afforded to us by the Feral spec. She also relishes in how scared we Night Elves are of her chosen avatar when first visiting (go see, but be sure to bring a change of britches). (Credit to Leafshine for finding this blog first.)
• White Whisker
  Referring most likely to the one of the long, coarse hairs that adorn her mouth while in Cat Form, White Whisker includes topics on gear comparison, class changes, and end-game content. The writing is great, and I particularly enjoyed her take on “wife aggro”. (Credit to Amanna for finding this blog first.)
• Witch Doctor
  This is one of those blogs that makes you want to spend the weekend redesigning yours. Witch Doctor has a fun design and colors that convey the personality of its author, Kesela of Nagrand (EU). Normally I shy away from featuring blogs that haven’t been updated in a month or more, but I have hopes that this one won’t waste away like so many others.

Have a blog you’d like me to consider featuring? Feel free to Submit a Link via the form on my blogroll page. Overwhelmed by the size of the Druid community? Consider using Google Reader to keep track of us all!

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• Andrige’s Tree of Life Wallpaper
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One of the downsides that I didn’t consider when deciding to make the switch from Blogger to WordPress was the negative effect that this would have on the traffic I receive. I still monitor the visitor stats generated by both blogs and have watched the numbers steadily fall from my Blogspot.com blog as they have risen on my WordPress blog. Oddly enough, my Blogspot.com blog still receives about 50 returning visitors every day. I’m not sure if those people are just really confused or very nostalgic. ^_^

I’ve recently begun to contact other blog authors gracious enough to link to my site that I still use my old address. (Those of you who don’t list e-mail addresses or provide contact forms make this endeavor especially hard, by the way!) I also spent a couple of hours updating all of my previous posts to ensure that none link to my old site. I am hesitant to remove the content from my Blogspot.com blog altogether since that site does still generate traffic for this one, even if it’s no longer updated. I also recognize that there are still direct links out there to individual articles and would rather not disappoint the people who follow them. These links are also why I’ve decided against adding a meta refresh to the header of my old blog.

Oh no! Not again.

What this boils down to is an overall reduction of the “Reputation” that Resto4Life has built up within the blogosphere. I tried to make my switch a vocal one at the time, but there’s just no way to ensure that the “credit” afforded to my old blog be transferred to the new one. To give you an idea, my Technorati rating (a measure of how often linked you are) for my Blogspot.com blog is 54, while this site is currently rated 36. You may say, “bah, why do you care?” It may seem vain, but if blog authors didn’t care about building and maintaining a healthy level of readership, most of us probably wouldn’t be writing. And so I watch my stats and examine my incoming links, tweaking things that I hope will help. It feels a bit like nursing a potted plant. Those haven’t typically lasted more than a few days in my house, however…

In a general effort to continue improving, I’d like to take this opportunity to solicit some feedback from visitors. I’m curious about what you enjoy reading most here at Resto4Life and if there’s anything that you would like to see more of. I’ll try to take any suggestions you have under advisement, though I can make no promises regarding gnome pr0n (that’s a whole different blog altogether). For ideas, here are a few of the topics that I try to include (feel free to add your own if you think I missed any):

• Analysis
  While these posts don’t always contain math, graphs, and spreadsheets, they would include any post that examines a particular caveat of our class in some detail, be it a talent, spell, or Druid-specific item.
• Class/Spec News
  While I don’t cover every change to the Druid class (I try to leave the Feral and Balance changes to their respective moguls, for instance), I do try to mention anything of note that I find for healing Druids. This is fun for me since I often read about these changes in places where it’s unlikely to find intelligent discourse regarding the changes. By posting them here, I get to hear your impressions.
• Community Spotlight
  This includes any Druid-related items created by someone else that I want to share with you. This includes new Druid blogs I as I find them in addition to things like PvP videos and Featured Artwork.
• Blog-Related Posts
  This generally includes new tools or features I’ve stumbled upon (or created) and think other authors might enjoy. This includes posts like this one.
• Player vs. Player
  I’m certainly not a great PvP player, but I do enjoy it (sometimes … with a lot of tequila, lime, and salt). Moreso, I enjoy writing about it. Do you like reading about it?
• Macros and UI Stuff
  Even if you tell me you hate this sort of thing, I’m not sure I could give it up. I’d probably still write these articles and tuck them away in a dark, cobweb-filled corner. I love the UI in World of Warcraft and think everyone can benefit from tweaking their interface to suit their playstyle.
• Personal Interest Stories
  I’ve hesitated to write too much about Phaelia or my in-game experiences, both because I wasn’t sure if that would be well-received and I’m not sure if they would be particularly interesting. On the other hand, I know that some blogs thrive on sharing intimate details of their gaming. Is this something you sometimes like to read about?
• Mailbag Question and Answer
  Readers often send in great questions whose answers beg to be shared. These are generally short posts that don’t require any math (thankfully) that I enjoy putting together.

If you would like to give me your opinion on your favorite types of topics, please feel free to comment below. Or if you’d like your opinion to remain a secret, feel free to use the Contact form.

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