Got Blog? Software and Services

[pzarquon]

Are you a blogger? Thinking of becoming one? What tools do you use and why? What else is out there?

There's blogging software, stuff that requires an installation on your PC or on a webserver. Wordpress, Movable Type, and Expression Engine are some of the big ones, but there are dozens of smaller, sometimes specialized packages using PHP, Perl, Ajax... anything you like. The sky is the limit when you roll your own, but the downside is often the installation, configuration, and upgrade hassles.

Then there are blogging services. Sites that host your blog, and let you publish your stuff through a web interface, anytime, from anywhere. You may lose some customization abilities, the ability to tinker, and even risk losing your stuff to a shutdown or crash, but on the other hand, they're easy to use, and often come with a whole community of other users ready to devour your writings.

For blogging services, Blogger is the 800-lb. gorilla, acquired by Google and on the verge of a major upgrade. Of course, with everyone addicted to MySpace, the blogging features built in are also immensely popular. The folks behind the Wordpress software launched Wordpress.com, where you can have a Wordpress blog without dealing with PHP and servers. And the folks at SixApart are all over the map. In addition to Movable Type software, they run Typepad, a paid service, they bought LiveJournal, which has a distinct community and format, and they're about to unveil Vox (which I mentioned testing here), which will be free and include all sorts of bells and whistles (that users of other SixApart products had to pay for, or don't even have available).

Of course, there are hundreds of blog hosts... some were existing sites that added blog features, others are kind of bloggy but actually offer different or additional content or formats. Xanga has a devoted following, Multiply is like the swiss-army-knife of personal publishing (and thought to be the model Vox is copying)... there are blog sites just for Grateful Dead fans, just for sci-fi nerds, just for politics...

It doesn't help that "blog" (i.e. weblog) covers all kinds of content, from personal journals to political analysis to industry news to multimedia. It could be anything.

Whatever your interest, whatever your style, whether you want to run your own or use a blog host, there's something out there for you. So let's talk blog... not just what you write (or would write), but how you get it done.

[Konaguy]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

I got into blogging in October 2005 and blogging away since then. My impetus
was I can only write one letter to the editor a month to the papers. I felt constrained by that rule.Hence my foray into blogging. On top of that I'm
deeply concerned about the future of this state.


Blogger has been decent blogging service.
I took the plunge and upgraded my Blogger account on Monday to take advantage of the new beta services Google is introducing. Thus far I've been pleasantly impressed.

[Menehune Man]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

Thanks for starting this thread! And thanks to pzarquon and Konaguy for all your advice thoughout my journey's aboard the Hawaii Threads Boat.
I really do enjoy being a part of this family.

I'll study up and am excited about learning the ins and outs of Blogging before "I jump in with both feet".
I want to make it turn out well and interesting to others too.

Mahalos!

[scrivener]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

One of the very early free services was Diaryland, which has been free from the very beginning and, while not as bell-y or whistle-y as some of the newer services, has always had a place in my heart for the spirit that launched it.

[1stwahine]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

I started Blogging by accident. I was new to the Internet and happen to come across HawaiiStories.com. I submitted an application to Ryan on why I wanted to Blog. The rest is History. On August 5, 2004 ~ Lynn's Lair was Born. Word Press has changed since I first started. It is much easier to use and the "Spam Karma" is awesome! http://www.hawaiistories.com/lynn

Being part of HawiiStories.com gives you an opportunity to be featured everytime you post a story. Every post is also automatically listed on the Main Page of HawaiiStories.com!!!

I also own my own Domains. AuntiePupule.com and TutuPupule.com. Both are from GoDaddy.com. It's easy to use and the services are great. I've had no problems.

Blaine is my Webmasta for both.

Currently, I have three Bloggers under my wings. I do it as a service cause it was done for me when I started out. Something like Fast Forward.

TutuPupule.com is still not launched. I haven't decided what I'm going to use it for.

Blogging gave me the opportunity to leave my Legacy for my grandson, Antonio. Now theres Kiana too. It has blossomed into something much bigger than I ever imagined. I recieve emails from all over the world. Making people laugh seems to be my talent Online. My naughtiness, eccentric behaviors (Bi-Polarness), Rants and Raves has gained me quite a number of readers!

Auntie Lynn

P.S. I would like to add. I don't write everything about My Life. Somethings are ment to be kept PRIVATE.

[mel]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

I had a blogspace at Blogspot for the longest of time, but it was only in May of this year that I decided to use it a lot. Now I have 2 blogs there:

Mel's Internet Universe Weblog
Mel's Internet Universe Flickr Blog

My question on the Blogspot blogs are:

1. Will I lose my current layout and formatting if I upgrade to the new Blogspot services? I noticed that once you change, they won't let you go back to the old format. I already have a gmail account and I also notice that going to the login page almost forces me to change by having that account and password set as the default over my current one with a different username and password.

2. Are we going to lose any of our archived content with the switch?

It is a good thing that I started as late as I did on that site without having to worry about 1 to 3 years worth of archived blog entries.

Besides Blogspot, I am also still fiddling with a couple of Wordpress set ups on 2 of the domains I currently run. Wordpress is as easy to use for the enduser (blogger). It is dealing with some of the formatting that is kind of troublesome, like trying to get rid of the default text on the title banner and using a logo graphic instead. I am also having that problem with Blogspot.

And yes, pzarquon, I still have the code to fix this stuff in WordPress, but frankly I haven't had time to try it yet. Has anyone created a Kubrick-like template for WordPress that already ditches the default title banner text?

[pzarquon]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

One of the very early free services was Diaryland, which has been free from the very beginning and, while not as bell-y or whistle-y as some of the newer services, has always had a place in my heart for the spirit that launched it.

Ah, yes, Diaryland. A bit maligned for the whole 'bunnies and kittens' thing, but definitely a veteran in the personal publishing space. There was also Diary-X, a less 'bunnies and kittens' service started by a friend of mine... but a catastrophic server crash killed it instantly, leaving thousands of melodramatic adolescents without their volumes of outpourings.

Diaryland is most definitely a diary host, rather than a blog host (which makes sense, since it predates the word 'blog' and the whole weblog content model). While that's great for what it is, it doesn't support interoperability and interactive features that most other systems do, like feeds, trackbacks, and API support.

I would like to add. I don't write everything about My Life. Somethings are ment to be kept PRIVATE.

Considering what you do freely share, Aunty, I shudder to think what it takes to cross the line into unwritten territory!

Will I lose my current layout and formatting if I upgrade to the new Blogspot services? [...]Are we going to lose any of our archived content with the switch?

I don't think anything will disappear, and I don't think anything will change insofar as your blog's presentation. While there is a substantial conversion going on, it's largely behind the scenes. Konaguy made the switch with his blog, and while he changed his template, it looks like all the goodness is still there. Here's a tour of the new version.

Has anyone created a Kubrick-like template for WordPress that already ditches the default title banner text?

This only requires taking two lines of code out of the 'header.php' template -- the ones that displays the title and subtitle. But if you want something that looks the way you want right out of the box, there are several, several free 'drop in' themes that can get you going instantly.

[Konaguy]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

One big change when I re-built my blog was the blog postings are now instanteous (unlike when my account was through Blogger). Whew..I changed my template. But what a huge pain..I had to fix the text formating on my new and old blog postings .

[Menehune Man]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

I've gotten some ideas together and would like to make my Blog "Menehune Man's World" in 3 sections:

1) My World... Adventures, encounters, failures and triumphs.
2) My Thoughts... My view of the world through rose colored glasses.
3) My Poetry... The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.

Is there a way to set one up so there's different departments?
Or are all a continuous linear string of posts like "My Space"?

Please bear with me, I know so little about computers. I have self learned quite a bit over the past 2 years.
From being a complete illiterate to the "Menehune Man" in all it's glory.

[1stwahine]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

Please bear with me, I know so little about computers. I have self learned quite a bit over the past 2 years.

I was wondering why you Bold all the time.

Menehune Man, You can make your Blog anything you want it to be. When I first started blogging, Ryan told me, your Blog is your "Living Room" on the internet! I took him seriously. hahahahaha

To give you an idea ~ check out some Blogs at our sister website. http://www.hawaiistories.com

Good Luck

Auntie Lynn

[pzarquon]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

Is there a way to set one up so there's different departments? Or are all a continuous linear string of posts like "My Space"?

Most decent blogging setups (which does not include MySpace -- ugh!) allow categories that can then be browsed independently. So, you could have a blog with categories or tags related to personal stuff, geek stuff, work stuff (not recommended!), food stuff, whatever. Easy as pie. Actually, probably easier.

[Bard]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

I used WordPress for quite a while, but got tired of maintaining it myself, and I had a lot of friends on LiveJournal to whom I'd like to have "friends-only" entries. So I moved over there now. Both seem like fine ways to keep up with people, though I haven't gotten the time to build something to vacuum my entries off LJ and copy them locally, for my archiving and to show on my own web site

[idvfilms]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

I like Blooger for the ease of use and setup..but I also really enjoy Wordpress

[Eric]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

I've been blogging at HawaiiStories.com for almost 2 years now -- hard to believe it's been that long. Ryan has been super helpful in hosting me and the other HawaiiStories tenants and giving us WordPress tips.

One thing that I worry about sometimes is backups. What if something bad happened and the host server had a complete meltdown and lost my blog entries? I don't keep backups of my stuff; maybe I should. Are there blog-specific tools for that?

A friend of mine who's kept online journals for years, and who has suffered more than once migrating from one publishing platform to another, now uses Movable Type so that she can store the originals of all her journal entries locally in her very own MySQL database and publish directly from there. That way she has archival copies, and they're easily portable to other platforms without laboriously copying them over one entry at a time. You realize the importance of this once you accumulate your first few hundred entries.

[Bard]

Re: Got Blog? Software and Services

Eric, one way is to get a blog that has an RSS feed (WordPress included) and then subscribe to your own feed using a newsreader type application on your computer. Vienna is a good one for Macs, not sure what the good one is on PCs right now. You can usually set it to keep copies indefinitely. Restoring them after a crash is something else... maybe Movable Type would be a good idea after all