Seven Choices: Take Your Pick! (As you look at my blog. . . . . )

My "Just Show Up" policy is obviously not getting me here, is it? But today, I thought I'd start out by reading some recent posts on the other blogs that I follow. And having done that, I AM here, relaxed, enjoying a break from preparing for a demonstration on Saturday, and going to take a moment to write a short blog post.

As I logged in, I briefly studied once again the new format one sees when they log onto my Blogger page. You are presented  with a row of titles: Classic, Flipcard, Magazine, Mosiac, Sidebar, Snapshot, and Timeslide. You can click on any one of them and see the recent posts in a different format in each one. I think the titles are  reflective of each "look"--

1."Classic" is standard, straightforward, and traditional. You see the photo and the post in a single glance and the look is very simple and basic. I think this view is the closest to what most people expect when they look at a blog. You see the date, the post, the photo or photos in a rather self-contained, book page type of way.

2. The second format is called "Flip Card" and it presents you with a screen full of small thumbnail like photos. Each is dated in a caption and if there wasn't a photo with the post, you will see instead, the title of the post. It's an interestingly different presentation, I think--you can pick one that looks interesting or one that looks appealing. At the top of the screen you are allowed to sort them by "Recent", "Date", "Label" (Tag), or "Author".

3. The third choice is "Magazine" and it is sort of like browsing through a magazine and it looks much like "Classic" although the most recent post is at the top of the screen, highlighted and larger than the posts that came before it. The previous posts are shown smaller, with a partial post accompanying each photo.

4. The fourth presentation is called "Mosiac"and it shows random sized images covering the screen, with the newest one shown first--photo AND partial post--and then the photo only for the others. If there was no photo, it shows a partial post in its space. An interested look that is much more random, with no dates showing anywhere that I can see.

5. "Sidebar" is the next format and it shows a sidebar on the left side of the screen with a list of post titles and a small thumbnail if a photo accompanied the post. By clicking on the title in the sidebar, you are taken to that post, with its date and labels shown below the post.

6. The sixth format is called "Snapshot" and the page looks like an album page of snapshot photos, taped on the page. Each has a photo and title of the post (just like a photo caption) unless there is no photo in which it seems as though it doesn't appear. Hmmmmm. I'm not sure about that but I do like the look of this page. It's very clean and simple and you can choose the one that catches your eye first and skip around from one to the next, if that strikes your fancy!

7. The 7th and last format is called "Timeslide" and it seems to be the one with the most obvious chronological structure. It shows the most recent one (highlighted and larger) in a column on the left, with photo showing. The second column is posts that happened prior to the one on the left. Then, there is a third column that goes back even further.

What I'm not sure about is whether only I can select how I wish people to see the blog or if YOU can click on any one of the seven views and make it YOUR choice. I've tried to check for myself on other blogs but I don't find any that have used the layout that I chose so I can't be sure what you see and what you can select. If you explore my blog and can enlighten me in a comment, I'd love it! Thanks!