tell me about blogs... (m)

[northy]

how do you find a place to host one? does it cost? are there different kinds with different features? what is the point of a blog versus, say, facebook? is a blog the same as an on-line journal? or is it totally different?

how do people find your blog? why do they find your blog? do you want people to find your blog?

every so often i think about starting one, but i have no idea what i would write about or why i would want one... and in any event, i suspect the novelty would wear off pretty quick...

n

[Tiger]

My .02!

how do you find a place to host one? does it cost? are there different kinds with different features? what is the point of a blog versus, say, facebook? is a blog the same as an on-line journal? or is it totally different?

how do people find your blog? why do they find your blog? do you want people to find your blog?

every so often i think about starting one, but i have no idea what i would write about or why i would want one... and in any event, i suspect the novelty would wear off pretty quick...

n

There are two main blog hosting sites that I know of, Blogger, and WordPress. I've only used Blogger, it's pretty easy to use. I have been unable to custom design mine, though! It's free, and they do provide different design templates and lots of gadget apps that you can add.

Mine is a quilting blog - and - even after a year it seems that hardly anyone reads, or has found my blog! I think that posting pics of my quilts on Flickr, with a link to my blog has added some viewers to my blog. Also, a sewing website hosted a "Giveaway Day" which I particpated in. They linked to the hundreds of other bloggers who gave away something, and from that I got 100 comments! Not too sure that many (any?) of those people have come back, though!

I would love for people to find my blog, as what I do (quilt) is pretty solitary, and I don't have any other friends IRL who do it. It would be great to get more feedback on stuff I'm working on, and of course, feedback on stuff I've finished would be nice, too!

Even though I'm unread, I've still enjoyed doing it - I've gotten a *little* better at taking photos because of it, and it's a nice record of my 'process.'

Have fun if you try it!

[emzeegee]

Here's my take on it...

Hosting is free, the two most common are blogger and wordpress. I do it on blogger and paid someone (like $75, not a lot) to customise mine - but you don't have to. Blogger has loads of options for customising - colour, etc. There are features in so far as you can add widgets, uploads pics and video, etc.

It's nothing at all like facebook in so far as it's not as immediate. People don't know you've blogged unless you lead them there or they are subscribers. Basically a blog IS an online journal, the name comes from WEB LOG, shortened to blog. Really, that's the crux of it - it's just a journal, that's it really. So if you were already a journal writer (and want people to read it) then I'd blog. If not, I'll be honest, it's sometimes a bit of a chore.

If you want an audience, you need to spend time cultivating one... comment A LOT on other people's blog (leaving a link), mentioning it to people you think might want to read it, and so on. Some people really will find you organically when they search for a topic on Google and it spits out a blog post you wrote containing that phrase or word. If you don't want to be found you can just set the whole thing to private, and then it's truly like writing in a diary. If not, then leave it public. Eventually some small amount of people will find you - but if you want more, it's up to you to help direct traffic (like the other example of the free stuff website.)

By saying " I have no idea what I would write about or why I want one", you're answering your own question! I wouldn't really bother. It can be a way to find like-minded people (by having a theme to your blog - food, a hobby, kids, etc).

For me personally I use it as a means of documenting my life (for me and my kids) and practising my writing (because someday I'd like to get paid for it and it's a good way to get started).

Happy to answer any other questions you might have!

Michelle
http://emzeegee.blogspot.com

[LauraG1]

I use blogspot and it's easy to use. I started it years ago to keep grandparents who live away updated with pictures and what their grandson was up to. It was so much easier than trying to send them pictures or even remembering to email them, so I just posted in one spot, and they all check.
It's a journal...I found I liked the writing part and never knew that. It was fun to think of subjects, and it gets a creative side going.
Laura

[zmaditto]

Oo Oo!! I *love* quilt blogs (fellow solitary IRL quilter...my specialty is 'what was I thinking?' quilts) Care to share a link to your blog? I will oo and aah (and attempt to copy) your creations!

Lisa

[Frances1]

how do you find a place to host one? does it cost? are there different kinds with different features? what is the point of a blog versus, say, facebook? is a blog the same as an on-line journal? or is it totally different?

how do people find your blog? why do they find your blog? do you want people to find your blog?

every so often i think about starting one, but i have no idea what i would write about or why i would want one... and in any event, i suspect the novelty would wear off pretty quick...

n

I've used Typepad for several years and found it works well for me. I have a personal blog/photo blog as well as a blog about Hershey (which I started because I found that most people arrived at my personal blog by Googling Hershey). I don't have a lot of time to leave comments on other blogs, but viewership of both my blogs has grown steadily through the years.

You do need to have a commitment to blogging to gain readers, though. And it can definitely be a pain to keep up through all the ups and downs of life. But after closing a publishing business after 15 years, I had this pathological need to publish...and blogging fills that need for me.

So the bottom line for me? I blog for myself. If others find my blog useful, that's a bonus!

Frances

[northy]

i guess i'd just be blogging for myself... (m)

i constantly have these ideas for mini-essays or maybe they're just rants... not looking for anyone to read them - just for a creative outlet mostly...

tx!!n