It's been a relatively hectic month around here. You may have noticed some changes around the site. There are, of course, the ads at the top of every page -- we've signed on with the Burst! Network, a kind of DoubleClick for the little guy. Of course, this doesn't mean we're actually making any cash -- that would indicate some degree of success, and that kinda runs counter to the whole trend we've established here at Goats.
Burst! sells each site individually to sponsors so that the people paying the bills for the ads are guaranteed a more targeted campaign, one that reaches out to the kind of audience they feel would benefit from their services or products.
We haven't sold any ad space so far -- the ones you see running on the site are from their default campaigns. So, I'd appreciate it if you, as an audience, would try to be a little more desirable. Really work on those demographics. Together, I'm sure we can all become better corporate citizens. Don't think of it as selling out -- think of it as really, really selling out.
But seriously, folks, do remember to visit our sponsors, especially the ones that look like they might actually shell out some cash.
The other change you may have noticed is that Goats now has a slicker look and feel. I figured it would be a nice way to celebrate the one year anniversary of Goats. In addition to new graphics, we also rebuilt the perl templating backend of the site -- you shouldn't notice anything significantly different, but it's pretty sweet on this end.
There'll be some additional changes coming in the next few days, most notably in the navigation in the archives section. The list of comics is getting a little unwieldy, and although it's going to stay that way, we're going to add some supplemental interface tidbits which should make it easier to get around in there.
The other change which I hope you'll see before too long is the addition of Goats: The Store, which should open with a selection of a couple of t-shirts. We've wanted to do this for some time now, and now is the time. There were some other large hurdles to get out of the way first (like designing a site for a friend of mine), but the process is finally underway.
I've looked into the possibility of accepting credit cards online, and unfortunately, the costs are somewhat prohibitive for someone of my limited financial status. However, I'm in the midst of designing a neat mail-away form generator, so hopefully that will take some of the pain out of the process. Keep an eye out for the store later this month. I had originally intended for this month's readme to touch on the fact that I've spent over an entire year of my life working on this strip now. I had anticipated something manic, or brooding, or insightful, something asking that question that needs to be asked of ourselves every once in a while -- why. But I find that I've spent most of this column discussing trivialities; perhaps it's a bit too premature to ask such a question. Perhaps i'm simply tired, in need of some sleep.
I'm going to get some rest now.
-jonathan rosenberg, cartoonist extraordinaire
april 07, 1998