Archives for December 2010

I've now been writing this lousy blog for just over five years. I've been inconsistent with updates and style, and it's felt like a terrible burden at times, but I really like doing it.

Over that time, I've experimented with a few names, a few hundred designs, and multiple platforms:

1. WordPress

I was really excited about WordPress as people really seem to like it. It's free, it gave me an excuse to get some hosting, and I thought I'd relish and learn from the freedom of being totally in control. Meh.

I found it incredibly hard to find a decent theme, and I never did find the time to build my own. Also, I felt like I was always updating software. 

Turns out it wasn't for me.

2. Posterous

So then went from overly complex WordPress to Posterous for the promise of simplicity. The thinking was that I would spend less time tinkering and more time writing. And for the most part it worked. The problem was that I found myself just reposting stuff I'd found elsewhere, adding little to no value to it. Also, I missed having a decent editor to work in. Email just wasn't cutting it. The other problem was that it was missing a lot of features that full blogging platforms support, things that I like to have, you know, like archives.  

3. Typepad

So after all of this, I've come back to where I started out: Typepad. I really like it and I feel at home again…I think they offer a great product.

I'm sure I've lost a number of RSS subscribers during my bumblings with Feedburner, but I'm fairly confident that no one else has really noticed my moving about. 

The good news out of all of this is that like every other kind of experimenting on the Web, I feel like I've learned a ton about how everything works. 

And that's half the battle.  

Media Boy-1996

Nontroppo-2003

Media Boy-1996

Nontroppo-2003

How Buzzfeed’s Jonah Peretti categorizes the role of the different platforms:

– Google is what you’re looking for when no one is looking; how to’s and entertainment related searches trend quickly.

– Facebook is a public space; it’s what you want your friends to know about (politics, humor, social causes, cool stuff, charity).

– Twitter is content that you’re proud of; more top-down, since its influences include a culturally savvy audience, celebrities, techies, and generally smart people, or perhaps people trying to be funny.

(Via Mark Lewis)