Some exciting changes at the Small Business Owner blog.
Introducing The Pulse!
No-one goes through their entire life with the same hairstyle – and neither do we here at the Small Business Owner blog. Thanks to you, this blog has been such an incredible success that it’s getting a fabulous new makeover!
The team at MYOB has loved bringing you the latest thoughts from the wordsmith de jour, Paul Hassing – so much so, that we’ve cleared some space on our website and custom built a brand new platform!
It’s called The Pulse, and we’re very excited to introduce it to you. It’s launching tomorrow night, but we thought as loyal Small Business Owner fans, we’d give you the first sneak peek (glamour shot above). 
It’s going to be a hub of news and social media – think of it as your one-stop-shop to get your finger on ‘the pulse’ (excuse the pun) of everything business owners are keen to know about. We’ll have a section for business owners, one for accountants, and also some space so you can get insights, tips and views from our team, as well as a sneak peek into life in the MYOB offices.
We’ll also have plenty of new authors to introduce to you. We’re positive you’ll like them as much as Paul.
But what does this mean for Paul and his delightfully entertaining posts?
Absolutely nothing! Paul will continue to provide the Tuesday and Thursday posts you know and love, and, like always, he’ll be around to chat and respond to your comments.
For now, we’ll also be leaving the Small Business Owner blog live, so you can revisit all your favourite posts whenever you like.
We like to think of it like moving house. We’ll miss the place that’s been our home for the last few years, but we’re pretty excited about moving into brand new digs!
So now it’s time to pack those boxes.
We’ve spent plenty of time tossing around ideas about the best way to transition to The Pulse. Until we realized that the best part of the Small Business Owner blog is all of your amazing insights, knowledge and experiences. So who better to help us?!
While we’ll keep Paul’s pieces here for a few more weeks, we’ll also be posting them on The Pulse. Eventually, we’ll move across there permanently. We’ll let you know well in advance before that happens, and make sure to post plenty of links here at the Small Business Owner blog so you can find us.
So, without further adieu, we open the floor to you all.
Have you ever made the move to a new blog or website?
How did you do it? What worked? What didn’t?
How would you think the blog should move into its new digs at The Pulse?
Emma Mulquiney | Online Editor MYOB
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Nice one, Emma! Just one quick question. Will all the beaut comments we’ve gathered over the years migrate along with their respective posts? As you know, the posts are merely the spark to some ripper debates. So I’m keen to know if all our magic threads will be preserved.
That’s a great question, Paul! We’re a bit divided over this one.
Should we a) migrate the comments to preserve the conversation, or b) leave them were they are and start some brand new ‘ripper debates’ – after all people commented on a post at the Small Business Owner blog, not The Pulse, is it right to move it all across??
What say you all?
I see our past posts as indivisible from the debates they triggered. I feel they should be preserved verbatim to honour all contributors.
If, down the track, we wanted to revisit some topics, we could always rejig and repost articles and open them to a new commenters.
This would respect the old while welcoming the new.
This is just my view, so I also really want to hear what our community thinks.
If the posts come across so should the comments. Often you remember someone saying something via a comment on a post you visited. When you go looking for that comment, you start looking for the post first. So the happy couple shouldn’t be split.
Emma looking forward to seeing new site. Are you going to cover other aspects than just tactics like social media?
I agree that if you move the posts over you should also move across the comments, otherwise the posts would look pretty lonely. I think people commented on the posts regardless of what the blog’s name was.
G’Day Emma ,
Sounds interesting. But which pulse are you talking about: peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas or one of those exotic ones that appear on Asian cooking shows? Maybe its a heartbeat or throbbing caused by something entirely different.
I ‘fit your bill’ as I moved my offline business to online 3 years ago. I started a blog only last year. I’ve been through the changes. But the basics still apply.
You need a clear and specific business focus and a definitive and narrow target market. From what you’ve written, I don’t know if you have these. It’s not clear from your email. One thing that I’ve learnt from over 30 years in business is that perception counts: the perception of clients and customers not ours.
‘Small Business Owner’ is a good name for your current blog. “The Pulse” could be an episode of Masterchef, a bad joke on Gray’s Anatomy or the title of a late night French movie on SBS.
Emma, you did ask.
Regards
Leon
Thanks Leon! I do hope you’ll join us over at our new blog, as your comments never fail to make me laugh! I can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure (?) of watching Grey’s Anatomy…but I’ll take your word on that one!
Absolutely agree with you in terms of perception. Which is largely why we’ve put the ball in your court to hear your thoughts – even if they are about peas and beans
Susan – we absolutely are! Social media will be just one of our topics, we’ve got some incredible contributors on board to discuss marketing, sustainable business, HR, technology, the web, sales…the list is endless!
G’Day again Emma,
I wasn’t joking. “The Pulse” is a dreadful name. May I suggest “The Throbbing Lentil.” It would, at least, have novelty value.
“The list Is endless” That’s the problem.
Make sure you have fun. It’s your money.
Best Wishes
Leon
Unfortunately Leon, it’s a little late in the game to be changing the name as much as we do love ‘The Throbbing Lentil’! Perhaps we can sign you up to write a post of the same name?
Thanks for your well wishes.
Emma – great work on updating the site. Despite being the blog I engage with the most, the ‘Small Business Owner’ definitely needed a design to match the fantastic content.
Regarding comments – I whole heartedly agree with Paul that they should be brought across. The way I see it, your not changing the community, you’re just changing the house where they meet – so you don’t need to delete the memories.
In contrast to Leon I think you’ve picked an apt name – the great thing about this blog is as Paul pointed out, the original post is only a small part of the end result, which gives it a ‘live’ quality – hence ‘the pulse’ works well.
Cheers
Dan
Well done, MYOB team. My bag is packed & I’m ready to follow you.
I’m also doing a site redesign at the moment. The structure was done for me, but I’m slowly going through a bit content re-write. No hurry for this, so it’s taking longer than it could have, but lately I’ve tried to tackle a page a day. Feels like progress, without the opression of a rapidly approaching launch deadline.
-Sonia
Thanks to you both for stopping by!
Dan – we’re glad you’re on the same page as us with the name. We think our new blog will be an ‘ever changing beast’ as you’ve identified, and we’ve tried to pick a name that reflects this. Definitely time for a refresh and update!
And Sonia, we’re really looking forward to seeing you at The Pulse! As a fellow ‘new website builder’ you’ve no doubt got first hand experience at the work involved. Your softly, softly, no deadline approach sounds much nicer, though
Thanks to you all for the feedback regarding comments. We seem to have a clear community consensus…
Just as well you still have Paul, otherwise there would have been trouble!
He is the best blogger on the Net.
Thanks to MYOB for such a great site.
We’re feeling the love of the change Emma…
Struth! I’m starting to get a warm tingle myself. Thank you, Malcolm!
Malcolm – Paul will be the first thing we unpack at the new place!
They say that change is as good as a holiday, so we are really grateful for all the ‘change love’!
I know the consensus has been passed, but one more for the pot that yes, the comments belong to the posts ~ As Paul says there have been some great debates and discussion beyond the initial spark of what he wrote -
It also sets a precedence for those coming in fresh to your new site that this is a place that’s alive and has a community -
Suggesting you sweep ‘us’ out with the old… well! Excuse me
Very exciting news. I can’t wait.
And, yes, keep the comments. It’s what sets your blog apart from the pack.
Hi everyone – I’m Julian & I work with Emma – I’ll be helping out with the NZ version of ThePulse! Do you have any idea or suggestions for topics you’d like to see us cover?
Hi, Julian! How about expanding our coverage of rubber-band abuse in the public domain?
Forgive me if I missed something obvious, but what is the URL for The Pulse?
Emma,looking forward to the unveiling of the new site.
I think it would only enhance the new site, rather than detract from it to have posts and comments all nicely tucked in together in their new home. Good foundations are positive building blocks to move forward with.
Do we have to do anything to ensure we get the new publication or just hang around and wait?
Winston – you can sit tight until tomorrow morning! The Pulse is going live tonight, so the URL and plenty of links so you can all pop across and check it out will be posted here.
Really looking forward to seeing what you all think!
Hi everyone…we’re very proud to announce that The Pulse is now live! Head over, check it out, and make sure you let us know what you think. We’re so excited to hear your thoughts!
http://myob.com.au/blog/
I say, Emma. It looks rather swish. Very nice work!