It is with great humility and pleasure that today, January 5th 2013, I launch the next version of 49ersParadise.com. I have always strived to build a community of kaizen (continuous improvement) and that “any 49ers fan can call home”. This next step in our evolution is designed to further both of those notions, while still holding true to the roots of ‘Dise. We remain fast loading, clean code, full of all the features you have grown to love, and compliant across all operating systems, browsers, and the likes (if you notice differently let me know please!). Two years ago I sensed a transition in web development to a more touch friendly environment - and we moved 49ersParadise.com in that direction. Today, we continue to move towards a touch-based environment, but also have taken the community aspects to a whole new level. Two years from now (or sooner), I hope we look back at these changes with the same fondness.
In all honesty, this remodel was supposed to be finished at the start of this season, but working 3 jobs, and supporting a young and growing family pushed the project completion date out. I thank you for your patience as I challenged myself with new coding experiences, and advanced my understanding of what ‘Dise could be - to bring you fans the best 49ers environment possible. I am happy to be able to have been able to cram through the 49ers bye-week and get this done before our first playoff game! That being said, the secondary pages on the site still need to be updated, I am aware of this and will make the tweaks as time permits. In addition, there will be minor tweaks to clean up some of the code further to bring even faster response times. This too will take place over the coming weeks!
49ersParadise.com has taken to a tiled layout, that is the biggest cosmetic change you will notice. The tile border colors have been chosen intentionally to help you fans become comfortable with the site.
Gold - 49ersParadise.com’s Extra Point
Dark Red - 49ersParadise.com’s Forum
Black - 49ersParadise.com’s Hot Off The Press
Dark Blue - 49ersParadise.com on Facebook
Red - 49ersParadise.com on Google+
Light Blue - 49ersParadise.com on Twitter
Pink - 49ersParadise.com on Flickr
If you have not figured it out yet, this is the biggest change to the community... complete integration with the wider networks of which 49ersParadise.com is a part of. This will allow me and the staff to bring all you fans even better coverage. Expect great conversation topics on Facebook, free short articles and hangouts on Google+, and gameday and huddle conversations to take place on Twitter. Of course, continue to send your 49ers photos to gallery@49ersparadise.com to be added to our Flickr gallery. The site is now truly the centerpiece to the entire ‘Dise community, and the 49ers community at large.
I strongly recommend getting a twitter ID if you do not have one yet. This will allow you to participate in conversations that formerly took place in the Huddle, and now will follow the hashtag #4NP. A google+ ID will allow you to take part in live video chats which I hope to hold all year, especially during the games!
All of this would not be possible without all of you in this community, and all of the staff who help keep the site running smoothly. We are in our 17th season of covering the 49ers and are very proud to be the oldest 49ers fan site on the net. That would not have happened without your donations and our subscribed members. Thank you. We do need 5 new subscribers to bring the site to the break even point. If you can afford to help sustain the future of 49ersParadise.com in this way
I would encourage you to do so by clicking here and following the simple instructions. As little as $3 a month can go a long way. This also helps keep advertisements on the site to a minimum. Thank you again for all of your support fans. Now let’s go get that 6th Super Bowl!