It’s not every day that a blog that writes about blogs gets written up on a blog writing about blogs. Such is the case right here, right now, when it comes to the TechCrunch redesign.

The gang over TC, who obsessively profile and review new Internet products and companies, have cleaned up their image with a new look. As with most redesigns, the spin is to improve navigation and increase ‘readability.’ However, only a fool would look past the real reason: to sell advertising. And you can’t really fault a business (yes, it’s a blog - but it’s big business) for optimizing ad space.

I’m undecided on the new design. Quite honestly, I need to give myself a few days to adapt before I can share my thoughts. My initial reaction is that it’s almost TOO ‘clean.’ I understand the power of white space, but the site’s header is so bare, that a new reader might have no clue what a tremendous force TC is.

Google and Apple have made white en vogue, but I’m not sold. There’s a fine line between ‘clean and simple’ and just looking like you were too lazy to hire a talented designer.

I’m on the fence with the new TechCrunch look. What do you think?

Not too many, it would seem. Silicon Alley Insider counts some 38,000 people being unhappy enough with the new Facebook design to join a group. That’s nothing, when thinking about the fact that there are some 90 million or something users… And no Beacon controversy hitting the media wires either. Fun post though, speaking of redesigns and all.

As you’ve probably seen, The Blog Herald doesn’t look they way it used to. This is intentional, luckily, and part of our efforts to get better at everything. That’s the goal after all, so let’s be frank about it.

I mentioned the relaunch with a new design when I took over as the editor a few months back. I would’ve wanted to do it sooner, but you can’t get everything you want, and besides, the poor designer’s schedule was really full. Being my schedule, I did the design, and I hope you like it.

So let’s talk a little bit about the relaunch, shall we? read more

MyBlogLog have redesigned, something dedicated users will probably have seen by now. You should check it out for yourself.

The launch post suggest that there are more things to come:

We went and completely upgraded the featured blogs by scrolling through the top 20 sites (based on number of members), and displaying a more straightforward message about what we offer; Discover, Broadcast, and Connect. You’re going to hear these three words more often from us, I’d love to hear if this description it resonates with you.

It certainly looks better, but I can’t say I’m that impressed really. How about you?

While my blogs have experienced some community link love, I’ve never been fortunate enough to have the Digg-effect overload my server like a Ritalin kid on crack sugar. I can tell you that one social site that has never sent me an iota of traffic is Reddit. Perhaps their algorithms simply don’t like me - or maybe my content just sucks. I’ll let you decide.

Showing my objective-nature, I will not hold a grudge and will tell you about Reddit’s much-needed, well overdue redesign (the first such change since 2005).

The gang at Mashable have outlined the notable changes:

- The top navigation bar has been re-styled, and now includes a link to the site’s “most controversial” stories (stories with both a lot of up and down votes).

- On the right, you can now customize Reddit based on the topics you want aggregated on your homepage. Just check and un-check the categories you want included/removed.

- Links for creating your own Reddit and submitting a link to the site are much more obvious (also on the right sidebar)

- Story links have been re-styled – it’s not a dramatic change, but it’s easier on the eyes and includes links to comments, saving, hiding, and reporting.

One thing is dramatically clear: Reddit is easier on the eyes. Since I don’t expect the site to suddenly fall in love with my content, I’ll chalk this up to putting some makeup on an average looking woman.

Has anyone out there ever experienced a bump in traffic from Reddit?