COMPLETE BLOG REDESIGN!

So in July, I started this blog and decided that I wanted to run it a certain way with a set number of posts and journals and game reviews and whatnot. It was incredibly enjoyable and I learned a lot but I also realized that the amount of time that I was spending on it wasn't going to be upholding. With my senior year of high school starting in just two weeks, I realized I would not have as much time to post regularly like that.

Instead, I've decided I'm going to completely remodel everything I had planned for this blog. I'm going to start from the top and hopefully you guys can support me on this :)



The reason I started blogging about Go was because I am super consumed with the way Go works and brings people together. I understand that a lot of people play Go just for fun and don't necessarily look for ways to get better and that has its place. Obviously, Go is just a game and most people play it as just that. To me, however, it's a passion. It's something I use to collect myself; it's something I depend on for consistency; it's something I use to learn about myself.


Before I go on, I just want to mention that I'm not the best Go player. On a good day, I can maybe get to 6 kyu level and max out there. I have never played in a real tournament or been to Go Congress. In fact, I've barely ever played someone better than me on a real board. The one person I have played against in person is RisingStar. He ran a Go blog also a couple years ago that some people may know about. He taught me how to play but then he stopped playing as often due to school.

He told me I should kind of take over for him because I've played so often while he's not that I'm quite a bit better than him now haha



Anyway, I've been looking a different way to make this blog more enjoyable and consistent. Here is my plan for this blog that I think I can sustain. I truly hope that you guys can give me some feedback on this at some point so we can grow as family :)

1. News. Now, I don't want to make this a Go News blog but as it is something I read about a lot and research, I feel like every now and again, I can talk about what's going on in the Go world and a bit of my perspective about it.
2. Journals. I think a lot about Go. I'd like a way to document my thoughts in an organized manner because it is something I am passionate about and would love to look back to.
3. Reactions. I actually got this idea from YouTube's reaction genre. I'm personally not a fan of it but I think it applies well to Go. I'm not a high enough level to review professional Go games yet but I know a lot of people out there are and I would love to get there perspective. However, a lot of times when I'm going through games, I find myself going "what just happened...?" and "omg that move is amazing" without actually knowing what works and what doesn't. I feel like just documenting those moments over time would be a great way to help me grow as a player.
4. Reviews. So orignially, I was doing the reviews myself with little to no help from stronger players because of a lack of time. My plan for this is completely different. I'm going to get reviews with better players. If I can get them on Skype or something and record that, that's the best but for now, I think I'll be focusing on just KGS. I'll just ask them for a review and just leave all the comments in.
5. Interviews/Featured Guests. A lot of times, watching people play Go on YouTube or Twitch, I feel like there's so much more to them than just that. I like to know more about the person's background and personality before I can really connect with what they're saying and talking about. I'd like for there to be a medium for me to really reach that.

Now you're probably wondering how often each of these posts will be. That's exactly it. I don't have a schedule for this :) The news posts will probably just happen whenever something big happens and journals whenever I think of something worth sharing. Reactions, reviews, and interviews the same probably. Interviews are something I'm super passionate about currently.

I hope you guys can support this and share it out with the rest of the Go community. This is something I'm very passionate about and I want this to be something I can make sustainable throughout my final year of high school and through college as I meet new people and play lots more Go!

Of course, like any content producer, the only thing that will keep me going is some support from you guys so please follow me on twitter @alireyns and feel free to contact me by email at alireyns@gmail.com. Thanks!