apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

I said "Wow!" as soon as I scrolled down! I mean, wow...that is really cool! I like it a lot. I really want one!

i like apartment therapy, but i sometimes wonder if you guys that put this stuff on here actually look at the site yourself. someone already put up something about this same exact thing earlier this afternoon.

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/green-ideas/furniture-made-from-old-cars-by-joel-hester-064871

ditto to dM, and not just on this post, but in general. Every week at least 5 posts are repeated all by different posters!!

In defence of AT, even if I haven't been too happy with it lately, some of us read the "main" AT, but if someone just reads their local one, well... then there's no such repeated posts

Yeah, sometimes there are repeats within the same city. A couple weeks ago, NY posted about the Derian stuff at Target. Strange enough, the second post was a lot better. We don't get to rate posts on this site, but I would say the first post wasn't as attention-getting, while the second oblivious-to-the-first (really? they weren't in cahoots for marketing purposes?) poster gave it a more thorough examination, even prior to the event. It's easy to miss things when they're less "grab ya".*

Problem 1: not a lot of reason to read only one city. Hardly anything special about each city. Occasionally, I see a store or flea I can't visit or a scavenger I can only but admire.

plus

Problem 2: Conglomerate main site generates way too many posts per day to be casually browsable.

Equals Problem 3: Trying to keep up with the interesting posts, mixed in with (arguably) uninteresting posts, compounded by repeated posts - too many posts, not all of relevant quality or not redundant, at the very least.

Seriously, blogs are a time-waster, not a lot of people investing time to research and cross-reference here. It's recreation. It's fun to look and read and learn and share, it really, really is, but it's only recreational. Putting one's attention to a better site, like Chicago or San Francisco, and cutting one's losses with LA or New York, for example, still leaves poor DC and Boston without a lot of time for checking. The factor of hiring new bloggers for no reason all the time, paying them even a trivial amount, and not even checking their work, forcing them to say "we" about everything even when it makes no sense, it makes me wonder about the main focus of the blog, which pretends to be uplifting and practical and soul-nourishing, but which turns out to be a little tired, strange, precious, and stupefying. It's also glamorous, fun, open-minded, and contains other adjectiveful features I like (pornfully great at times), hence why I stick around. The complaint is mainly missing these portions due to the nature of AT being overly prolific as well as "fillered" with junk posts.

On the one hand, it helps people of various regions source things locally. However, this is hardly even major. Increase the power of this part somehow and you will get devotees to certain cities.

On the other hand, so many posts are about national (US) brands and stores, catalogs, websites, what have you. Any good reason those need to be partitioned off from readers in other cities? The main site just moves too fast and loses a lot of the commentary; something posted at 8am Eastern is already scrolled off the 5th page by the time I get home from work.

It's like there's a message there (I keep saying) but I wonder how much longer before they straighten out the disconnect. Most people receive information and participate in cities' posts other than their own because a lot of times, it's generic. There's no reason, I in Boston shouldn't know something Aaron or Janel etc. posts about. Most of this blog fosters global participation because we all care about homes and items that go in them. Every blogger is global unless they are highlighting a shop, event, or item that is of local interest. Every house tour, catalog, web site, or discussable concept is global, or at least national/continental (I recall stores and items in Europe and in Australia, besides the US, being featured). I and a lot of other people don't seem to get why articles of general interest are being treated like people might not have seen them if they are posted under another city.

*My friend was looking at my internet and I spotted this from across the room:
http://www.geekologie.com/2008/09/under_the_sea_fish_n_flush_toi.php
and I understand there might be somewhat of a crossover between topical blogs, but really?

Slipping very fast.

aaaaaaand back to the coffee table. It's definitely a winner. Items made out of recycled bits just keep getting cooler!

That is hot.

I agree with many of your observations, K T G, but I have to opine that solutions to the probs you ID are often related more to the blog watcher's own time management and less to the blogs themselves!

I myself check out AT every morning, if I've got time, I scan all the blogs up to those I read the previous day: if not, I don't. I see no problem with that, myself.

On the other hand, I enjoyed many of your adjectives.

I agree w/ KTG - The repeat post thing is pretty idiotic...

...and this table isn't all that great either - it doesn't even look like it came from an automobile at all - it could just as easily have been made from an old garbage can or a tin roof panel.

I think the before, with a few minor modifications, would make a very cool headboard. It would be neat to be able to recognize it as a car hood.

people, is it really such a big deal that there are a few repeats? click back and read on, or don't. not the end of the world, is it?

i am reading the "main" AT, and i am reading it from Germany, so following the logic of at least one of the above post, it shouldn't interest me at all :-D

that is a seriously great table and a very cool idea.

Yes, maike, the repeats are annoying. They are annoying because I don't think there's any reason to have the same info posted twice or more in a short frame of time from different cities - there is very little difference in the type of content from any individual city. There are differences among the quality of articles and the bloggers who write them, and that's a rather arbitrary reason to choose one city over another. People from all areas do have something to contribute, but I do have a short list of bloggers who seem to fail the concept of the blog habitually, seem rushed, and post any sort of nonsense just to get on with their day. It must be difficult to think of something new to post each and every single day, and I'm not sure why they are being paid (even trivially) for quantity over quality, but it shows.

The other part is how fast the main blog moves when all cities combine. Maybe you missed it the first time and seeing it the second time helps you catch up. Maybe you missed something else that was good that didn't get repeated. Hopefully it will be highlighted by the weekend, but there's a good chance it's gone forever. The point is, the faster day-old content falls off the end of the fifth page, the more likely it is you'll have missed quite a bit of pretty good stuff. The intermittent mediocre quality of topics and the redundancy have a lot to do with that.

I'm sorry I get so on about this whenever it comes up. It's not such a big deal on a small scale, or if it happens accidentally. I happen to have "all the time in the world" to browse this site extensively if I felt like it, and the ability to skip things if they don't seem interesting. I could just be happy and take it like it is, or stop reading it, or stop finding reasons why it should improve but no admin seems to agree or openly disagree. If this site is aligned with the goals it says it has, it shouldn't be so disorganized. I guess that's all.

well, you certainly are passionate about it. :-)

it is true that things get lost once you do not have the time to read daily (on the main site). it doesn't bother me much, but i can see your point.