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Starting a blog

dayday 9,611 Posts
edited January 2008 in Strut Central
I started posting over at www.dirtyscience.net with Exile, Blame One, Revok and Sever, but I wanted to start my own. I know a lot of you guys have one and I was looking for some advice on the easiest way to set one up.

  Comments

  • GaryGary 3,982 Posts
    blogger.com is the easy.
  • JuniorJunior 4,853 Posts
    If I could go back and start again I'd definitely use http://wordpress.org/. Although Blogger has caught up a lot over the last couple of months I still think Wordpress gives you more freedom to make your site unique with out much hassle.
  • funky16cornersfunky16corners 7,175 Posts
    If I could go back and start again I'd definitely use http://wordpress.org/. Although Blogger has caught up a lot over the last couple of months I still think Wordpress gives you more freedom to make your site unique with out much hassle.


    Huge cosign on Wordpress. Flexible and reliable (which Blogger is most definitely NOT).
  • pcmrpcmr 5,591 Posts
    If I could go back and start again I'd definitely use http://wordpress.org/. Although Blogger has caught up a lot over the last couple of months I still think Wordpress gives you more freedom to make your site unique with out much hassle.


    Huge cosign on Wordpress. Flexible and reliable (which Blogger is most definitely NOT).

    Defintely, best and easiest to use for the freedom you get

    I am running 3 blogs seemlesly on it

    great for their freehosting or as a prgm
  • On_the_Red_ClayOn_the_Red_Clay 1,728 Posts
    all you need in my experience:

    a wordpress blog
    a photobucket account
    serverspace (either something like divshare or your own)

    feel free to pm me w/ questions if need be.


    b/w


    only helping if your blogging doesnt interfere (sp) w/ future releases
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts
    If I could start over - I probably would have gone with Wordpress too but at the time, blogger was the main game in town so I went with them.

    I've been mostly happy with Blogger - it's easy to start with them, it's free, and over time, they've improved their various tools. However, design and feature-wise, I'd still have to give the nod to Wordpress.

    Either way, you'll do alright. Blogger's not bad at all, it's just "not as good."

    My only advice to you: don't do a black background.

    Re: photobucket - this is good if you're expecting low volume but PB caps how much bandwidth your images can suck up in any given month. If you're really trying to go big with this, you probably can't avoid throwing down some money, at some point.

    OOPS: I just saw the site and noticed it already has a black background. Oh well.
    Here's the thing: it may look slick but white text on black is harder to read.
  • sabadabadasabadabada 5,966 Posts
    dont do it, its not worth it. Its easier to just criticize other people's.
  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    If I could start over - I probably would have gone with Wordpress too but at the time, blogger was the main game in town so I went with them.

    I've been mostly happy with Blogger - it's easy to start with them, it's free, and over time, they've improved their various tools. However, design and feature-wise, I'd still have to give the nod to Wordpress.

    Either way, you'll do alright. Blogger's not bad at all, it's just "not as good."

    My only advice to you: don't do a black background.

    Re: photobucket - this is good if you're expecting low volume but PB caps how much bandwidth your images can suck up in any given month. If you're really trying to go big with this, you probably can't avoid throwing down some money, at some point.

    OOPS: I just saw the site and noticed it already has a black background. Oh well.
    Here's the thing: it may look slick but white text on black is harder to read.

    Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll be starting my own blog (or website - finally) now that I've registered a domain. It will be a different layout than the dirty science one.
  • Jonny_PaycheckJonny_Paycheck 17,825 Posts
    dont do it, its not worth it. Its easier to just criticize other people's.



    Is it piles dr? im afraid not, its dolo!



    yeah saba, thats why your ass be so sore. My blog leaps from snow covered peak to snow covered peak, its ascent ever higher. All the while your pitiful site sinks into the bog, hopeless and pathetic, soon to be a grave without a headstone. Thats why you mad. Im krs and you Pm dawn, and your ego is the front row. Youll never be dolo

  • sabadabadasabadabada 5,966 Posts
    dont do it, its not worth it. Its easier to just criticize other people's.



    Is it piles dr? im afraid not, its dolo!



    yeah saba, thats why your ass be so sore. My blog leaps from snow covered peak to snow covered peak, its ascent ever higher. All the while your pitiful site sinks into the bog, hopeless and pathetic, soon to be a grave without a headstone. Thats why you mad. Im krs and you Pm dawn, and your ego is the front row. Youll never be dolo





    Poor Dolo. Will he ever win?

  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    I know naaaaaaan about HTML, CCS, etc and I've been trying all day just to change the damn header in wordpress with no luck. I might have to hire someone to do this schitt for me
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    I know naaaaaaan about HTML, CCS, etc and I've been trying all day just to change the damn header in wordpress with no luck. I might have to hire someone to do this schitt for me

    It's not so hard man. A wordpress site is built of several PHP documents. Header, footer, side, main body, etc..

    They all come together to form one HTML-ish document. The reason it's done this way is so that it can all be controlled via forms. All you need to know is that CSS effects all of those php documents just like one big HTML document.

    So, all you really need to know is a bit of CSS to change the layout of your site. Css is a simple language, and if you'd like to just learn it in one lump sum i'd reccomend downloading the LYNDA CSS tutorial from isohunt or wherever.

    - spidey
  • GaryGary 3,982 Posts
    What is your blog about?
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts
    Hm, the code function is not acting right.

    I just remembered that I've written down some CSS explanations for some dudes I've taught. This might help you.

    http://www.sendspace.com/file/a8v0bx

    - spidey
  • dayday 9,611 Posts
    Hm, the code function is not acting right.

    I just remembered that I've written down some CSS explanations for some dudes I've taught. This might help you.

    http://www.sendspace.com/file/a8v0bx

    - spidey

    Thanks man, I'll check that out. Just when I think I've got it figured out a bit, I change something and it all goes to shit. Hopefully I can put it back the way it was.

    What is your blog about?

    I don't know yet
  • dayday 9,611 Posts


    My only advice to you: don't do a black background.

    doh!

    I couldn't help it, man. It looked too plain all white!

    Btw, Blogger is 1,000,000 X eaiser to deal with than Word Press. It might not have the flexibility of WP, but after trying to learn code and messing the page up, I gave in and went the other route. I'm not trying to become an IT tech
  • Controller_7Controller_7 4,052 Posts
    P-Moist in the corner of your blog logo.
  • mannybolonemannybolone Los Angeles, CA 15,025 Posts


    My only advice to you: don't do a black background.

    doh!

    I couldn't help it, man. It looked too plain all white!

    Btw, Blogger is 1,000,000 X eaiser to deal with than Word Press. It might not have the flexibility of WP, but after trying to learn code and messing the page up, I gave in and went the other route. I'm not trying to become an IT tech

    This is just me but I thought it looked better with a white background. Your text is already on the small angle and it's harder to read that against a black background...plus, a gazillion folks out there have a black background so yours will just end up looking generic.

    But at the end of the day, it's your site and if you feel it like it is, roll wit it.
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts

    Re: photobucket - this is good if you're expecting low volume but PB caps how much bandwidth your images can suck up in any given month. If you're really trying to go big with this, you probably can't avoid throwing down some money, at some point.

    I just pay for photobucket. Only $27 for a year and they do it in
    3 payments of $9, pulled from my paypal every 4 months, which feels
    pretty painless. I've never had any problems with their service in
    over 2 years.
  • SoulOnIceSoulOnIce 13,027 Posts

    Btw, Blogger is 1,000,000 X eaiser to deal with than Word Press. It might not have the flexibility of WP, but after trying to learn code and messing the page up, I gave in and went the other route. I'm not trying to become an IT tech

    Yeah, I know people cap on Blogger, like it's
    the AOL of blogging or something, but they have
    really improved considerably, especially since
    being bought out by Google. The new drag-n-drop
    template builder is so simple and allows for a
    decent level of customization, especially if you
    aren't looking to learn and use code too much.

    I just revamped my blog for the new year, and was very happy with the
    improvements they have made in the adaptability/design area. Also, people seem
    to complain about their reliability, but I've been running 2 blogs on there
    for over 3 years, and have had no problems whatsoever, although I did cut out
    my blogging for most of 2007.
  • dayday 9,611 Posts


    My only advice to you: don't do a black background.

    doh!

    I couldn't help it, man. It looked too plain all white!

    Btw, Blogger is 1,000,000 X eaiser to deal with than Word Press. It might not have the flexibility of WP, but after trying to learn code and messing the page up, I gave in and went the other route. I'm not trying to become an IT tech

    This is just me but I thought it looked better with a white background. Your text is already on the small angle and it's harder to read that against a black background...plus, a gazillion folks out there have a black background so yours will just end up looking generic.

    But at the end of the day, it's your site and if you feel it like it is, roll wit it.

    Yeah, I definitely thought about that, especially after looking at the blogroll and seeing 90% with a black background, but the consensus from folks who've read it is it looks better that way. I can't believe I'm discussing BLOG COLORS.

    Anyway, thanks to everyone for the help. I'm not really trying to make this a big deal, just as an alternative to myspace until I get a website up and running.
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