I stopped over at Blogging the Boys the other day and noticed my buddy Dave H. had up a post about the new website and giving a little explanation of everything, and thought that would be a great idea for us. Thanks Dave! For loyal CSC members, bear with me if you already know all this. You may learn something too.
At the top left is your navigation area. The welcome guide has the generic SB Nation introduction. You can also edit your profile and settings here. Upload an avatar and show your personality. This is also where you can quickly put up a FanPost or FanShot. Finally, you can set the way you want the blog to read, narrow or wide. FYI: I do all my posts in wide.
The sections area is below that which has separate pages with its own info on it. I can create a section with anything in there, so if you have any ideas, let me know. I have already put all-time stats and Voodoo info up there at a couple readers' requests. This post will go into the Tour of CSC section for easy finding. Interviews will go under that section...you get the point. It makes it easy to find those special posts.
Also on the left sidebar is my email address to contact me and all of our RSS feed info. To get each post in your email every day or get posts on your My Yahoo!, Gmail, My AOL or whatever feed, just click there to subscribe. It makes it easier for you to get the latest info directly to you.
The entire NFL standings are below that, and yes, they will be updated once we get closer to the season. Clicking on any team will lead you to a page with more info about the team. And below all of that is the current injury report which will be updated within the season.
Underneath all of that is the CSC blogroll. Those links hook you up to other sites about the Saints where you can get more information, including fellow Saints bloggers.
On the right side at the top directly above the ad is the search function. It's easy to miss, but it has just been revamped and it is awesome! When you search for something, you have the option to find results within CSC or within all of SB Nation and on top of that you can search within the main section, FanPosts, FanShots etc.
Below the advertisement is the FanPost section. Old school CSC faithful may remember these as Diaries. New name, same great taste. While it doesn't look like your average message board, thats really all it is, just like your other favorite Saints websites. If you want to start a conversation without waiting for me to start it, this is where you can do it. I know it might not be that great if no one comments, but traffic and membership is growing steadily and with that, the FanPosts will become more relevant. If you like a specific FanPost, recommend it. If it gets 4 recs, it will get put to the top for all to see. Don't forget also that at any point I can take one and put it right on the front page of site like an actual post. So if you get on there and write a rant the length of War and Peace, I can promote to the main page.
Below that I've got stories that I choose to feature, and underneath that is a feature poll. I will change that regularly. Vote often.
FanShots, the sister of the FanPost, are directly below the poll. This is one of the cool new features of 2.0. This is where you guys can quickly put up a picture, video, link or quote from the net. Find an article or a cool site about the Saints? Put it up here so we can all check it out. Got a picture you found, or a personal picture of you at a game, throw it up. Read a funny or pertinent quote, paste it and post it. It really takes two seconds and allows all readers of CSC access to even more information.
The next game and 2008 schedule are below all of that, in which every team is linked to a page with more info about the team.
I hooked the right sidebar up with RotoWorld, ESPN headlines and ESPN Saints widgets that are all updated and interactive.
Finally, the complete roster sits at the very bottom right with each player name linking to a page with player info. I believe player stats will show up on that page as well when the season starts.
When the season starts, we will be able to have open game threads. One of the great new features on the new 2.0 platform are the auto refreshing comments which make the threads like real time conversation. This is one of the things I can't wait to try out!
Don't forget about the other football blogs in SB Nation. Just as CSC gives you the latest news on the Saints, all the other SB Nation sites do the same. There will be more interaction with the other blogs when the season starts. Go ahead and sign up for other blogs and interact with other communities as well.
I want to thank all current CSC readers and encourage you to keep participating and helping make this a great community. The more you continue to participate, the more it will encourage the new readers visiting for the first time everyday to also participate. Comments also encourage more discussion and create brand new topics for discussion.
Feel free to comment to this post with any questions, comments, or concerns.