Episode 36: Blogging Boss

Blogging as a form of digital scrapbooking? You bet!  Jennifer Wilson joins us this week to discuss the technical ins and outs of blogging. What platform we prefer and recommend, should you buy a domain name and how, and so much more. We even share some ideas on how blogging can help with memory keeping.

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You can download this episode by right clicking and saving this link.

Joining the Discussion:

Jennifer Wilson
Peppermint Granberg
Katie Nelson
Steph

From the Discussion:

Ecto blogging software for Mac

Picks of the Week:

Peppermint: Eyeleo
Katie: Livewriter
Jennifer: View pages in tree structure (internal) plugin for WordPress pages
Chronological tree view (public) plugin for WordPress
Steph: Jessica Sprague Groupon

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This entry was posted in Jennifer Wilson, Katie, Peppermint, Show Post, Steph. Bookmark the permalink.

41 Responses to Episode 36: Blogging Boss

  1. Terra says:

    Did episode 36 disappear or am I just missing it?

  2. Lissa says:

    Loved this show! I’m taking your words to heart and have been registering a domain name as I listen to you all talk about the sites to use. I just registered a domain for my family blog at namecheap.com – and I wanted to say that at the very end of the register process, it has a field for URL forwarding. I was able to enter my blogger address, and after the registration was finished, it was instantly available and pointed directly to my blog. Super easy. Now off to figure out another domain for my crafty blog. :) Anyway – great episode. Thank you!

  3. What a great episode! I was nodding all along with the discussion of wordpress, and then hosting sites– personally, I LOVE bluehost! I haven’t had a problem with them yet! What I need to figure out though, is how to COMPLETELY transfer my blogger blog to my wordpress blog– including permalinks– when other people have linked to a certain post in the past, having it completely redirect to the “new” blog. Going on the list of “things to figure out in my spare time” ;-)

    • Jennifer says:

      Alexandra – After you complete the move, you will need to add some code to your .htaccess file to make the redirects work. A quick Google search will turn up TONS of examples of how to do this.

  4. Rita Quibell says:

    I was so excited to see the title of this show because I have been toying with the idea of creating a (private) family blog for some time now. And have wanted to pick Katie’s brain about it, but was reluctant to bother her with an email request/explanation.

    But after listening to the show, I think I may have to really re-think my reasons for wanting to do one, especially after hearing that most of you don’t bother. And whether or not I really want to take on the task. However, I am NOT on facebook (the whole privacy thing) nor do I expect to be (‘but never say never’!), so I don’t get regular updates from family/friends that are far away (which is everybody). I thought that a private family/friends blog might keep me more connected, but I guess the reality is why would they bother to contribute (I’m assuming that posts/comments can happen). So, long-winded question to Katie… is it still worth doing? Or do you just post to facebook now and call it a day? Oh… and if I were to start, would you still recommend typepad? I am not a google user (gmail). I am still on AOL email, but on an iMac, so use Apple’s Mail program and Safari.

    Sorry for this long winded comment/request… am working my way forward from Digi Show earliest episodes, while eagerly awaiting the new ones. My runs & bike rides just fly by now. THANKS!!!

    (BTW-Katie … I was in PowerScrapping … loved it & will definitely buy the actions. And love that you are using PSE :)

    Shout-out to Peppermint… I thought I was the only one in the world still using a Nikon D50. Am in the market for a 50mm-ish lens (portrait lens?), do you still love your 55mm or would you recommend another one?

    Thanks again
    Rita

    • Peppermint says:

      I still love my 50mm/f1.8 – I got mine on eBay back in 2007 and I’m pretty sure that it’s several generations old. It’s the lens that’s on my camera 99% of the time. It helps that it’s the least expensive prime lens Nikon offers.

  5. Christy says:

    Hi Ladies: If you haven’t already heard…Instagram is now available for Android!

  6. Amy says:

    Hi there! I have a question but its not about this episode – its a question about how Steph organized her previews in Lightroom. I am in the middle of doing this same thing but I’m confused about the actual importing process. I think I understand how you set up the smart collection in order to begin the keywording process. But, I’m confused about how you go about actually importing your supplies. Do you import ALL of your supplies into your catalog but tag only the previews? Do you then go back and remove the non preview files from the catalog? Or do you just keep those in there? I am getting ready to do this and this issue is the one thing that is holding me back – how large my catalog will be once I import all of my digi supplies when all that I really want is the previews.

    Any help/thoughts would be greatly appreciated!

  7. Thank you so much for this – I’ve been thinking of setting up my own domain and transferring over my blog and this was so helpful.

    As for what to scrap about – having done 365 photos and feeling a bit lost. I’ve been using a schedule on my blog for the last few months and finding it so much easier as I don’t have to think about what subject to blog.

    For Peppermint – I’ve found for me – the list stuck by my monitor is my blogging boss I find having already made such decisions helps keep me accountable. :)

    Thanks again for the show – definitely going to be listening to it again and taking notes.

    • Peppermint says:

      What kind of a schedule? Now I’m curious. I’ve been working on coming up with an editorial calendar of sorts for my blog but it’s something I’d have to pick a drop-dead date and implement. And I seem to be able to push that date off indefinitely. Maybe you should be my blog boss. Hah!

  8. Amy says:

    I loved this episode and I think its inspiring me to re-think my own extremely neglected blog & start thinking through how I might revive it in a way that will make me happy and be fairly easy to do! Also, I loved the info on domains – I really need to go get one for my blog! I use blogger now which is fine for my needs but it would be nice to have a domain. Thanks for all the tips and tricks!

  9. Terra says:

    Thanks for this episode… I enjoyed hearing the differences between blogging site options for those not looking for their own domain. I know someone said they have a private blog (I think it was Katie) just for family and friends… I’m wondering how you balance creating a personal relationship with your client base via blogs & facebook without “baring all”. Is there a specific line that shouldn’t be crossed or is it just personal preference?

    • Peppermint says:

      I think everyone draws that line for themselves – although it’s very easy to be lulled into a false sense of security with regards to the Internet. I always tell people that I’m about the same online as I am in real life – except that in real life I swear more. A LOT more. More than Katie, even.

      The truth is, I’m much more filtered online than I am in real life. I tend to view the internet as something akin to a dinner party – in that I don’t typically go around talking about anything too polarizing or intimate. The only difference is that, in real life, I have much less self-control so even at a dinner party I usually wind up blurting out something completely mortifying despite my best efforts. On the Internet I can re-read something before posting it and be like “Why the hell would I post that?” and then delete it quickly.

      • Terra says:

        LMAO… I have to tell you this made my day! I definitely can make sailors blush, too! I think I try to make sure I blog/post like I’m talking to my grandmother rather than my everyday friends. Thanks Peppermint!

      • Katie says:

        you make me giggle! :)

    • Katie says:

      I do think it’s a very personal decision. I put quite a bit “out there” on my public blog, but I never share details that would pinpoint our exact location. The biggest difference for me is that I can blog in real time (as it’s happening) about our travels on our private blog because I don’t have to worry about broadcasting where we are to the world. I always wait to blog about trips on my public blog after we have finished the trip.

      I also am careful to not embarrass family members by sharing anything too personal. I really don’t have a lot that couldn’t get put on my personal blog, it’s more a matter of not wanting to bore everyone with talking about my kids all the time.

  10. coffeebabs says:

    At the beginning of this podcast you were talking about a page a day, or something in that order, that Katrina Kennedy does. Could you give me more information. I couldn’t quite get what you were talking about. Thanks! Love the show as always.

    • Rita Q says:

      I’m a LOAD alum, so thought I would add my 2cents :)…. Lain runs a ‘formal’ LOAD in Feb & May, and we (Lain’s ScrapHappy membership family/community) ran an informal one amongst us in Oct.

      I approach it the same way that Katrina K does…. set a goal of app. half of the layouts, but keep track of all the prompts. Lain gives each LOAD a theme, and within that theme sends out daily prompts. It’s amazing what those prompts can generate in terms of layouts and memories.

      I am always happy with my ‘success’ and the community is unbelievably supportive. :)

  11. Peppermint says:

    Layout a Day: http://www.layoutaday.com/

    I think she runs the Layout A Day (LOAD) Challenge twice a year? The next one is in May.

  12. Steph says:

    Yes, that’s what we’re discussing. Katrina talked about how she approaches LOAD in the Vegas show.

  13. Becks says:

    Hi I’m a new listener and glad I found this podcast! I’ve been listening to old shows after I caught up with recent ones. One topic keeps coming up and every time it does, I feel like answering lol! So I figure I’d just leave a comment here.

    Pronunciation.

    One of the FAQs is, why is template’s ending (ate) unstressed when it’s stressed in “contemplAte”? It’s very common in american english with words ended in “ate”. With verbs, you stress the A (pronounced like ey); with nouns, it’s not stressed (like eh). That’s why template (a noun) sounds different from contemplate (a verb). Same example in graduate. A college graduate recently graduAted. The pronunciations are different. Advocate is the same. It’s advocAte if it’s a verb, but advocate if it’s a noun.

    Data, is it dahta (like cat) dAta? It’s regional difference. Both are correct.

    I think there are more but these are what’s fresh on my mind. :)

  14. Bunnyfreak says:

    Love that you got technical about blogging. Having just switched my hosting I can relate to Pepermint’s sentiment about putting off moving things because of the downtime and work involved. I consider myself to be tech literate but the hosting switch was overwhelming at times. My new host was very helpful when I could articulate the proper question. This was my problem when searching for helping in google as well. I didn’t know the proper terminology to get the right type of help. I did it through it and hopefully the next time it will be easier. Anyone have any suggestions on good blogs/websites or books to get info on domain management (tech side)

  15. Melissa says:

    I was glad to listen to this edition of the show because for the first time, I have absolutely been using my blog as part of my scrapping. I find myself this year skipping an actual scrapbook page if I know that I have documented it well on my blog. Takes some of the pressure off myself to to scrap every tiny detail – I can’t keep up with that as life gets busier and busier. But I feel okay with it all because I know that it’s documented, just not on a scrapbook page.

  16. Another great episode.

    After hearing so many people rave about Live Writer (mostly Katie), I downloaded the program about 6 weeks ago. LOVE it. Seriously. It has changed my blogging experience. It’s simple and it really makes me feel like I have more control over the appearance of each post. Thanks for mentioning it so many so many times, I just wish I would have converted sooner.

  17. Joyce says:

    I was an accidental memory keeper on a blog. My husband and I lived in a motorhome full-time and we took lots of photos. Rather than stuff the in-boxes and friends and families, I put the photos on a blog and would send an email to everyone that there were new photos up. More recently I “slurped” the blog on Blurb and printed it as a book. I’m not sure I even remember the address of the blog (someone must have burdened me with their last name!).

  18. Shantell says:

    Hello. I’m a new listener to your show (thanks to my sister) and have to say that I’m really enjoying it! Thanks for your show and inspiration.

    I really enjoyed this show about blogging but had a question for you. It may seem a bit odd but this is what keeps me from blogging. How do you upload your photos?

    I have a family blog and a scrap/craft blog. Both of which are heavy in photos. I use blogger and I feel like it takes forever to upload a photos. Part of that might be because my photos are so large but I’m too lazy to sit and re-size each photo that I want to add to my blog. recently I’ve started uploading my photos to photobucket and then using the url from there to add them to my blog. I like this because when you click on my photo from my blog you can look at a larger version of the photo and seen the detail that is there. BUT like blogger it takes forever to upload. So I’m just wondering. Is there a better way to do this that still allows my readers to see a larger version of the photo when they click on it?

    Thanks.

    • StudioWendy says:

      It’s really best to resize them. I created an action that will resize to 500px for blog posts. In addition, I used Photoshop’s droplet option to convert the action to a desktop icon. Now, I just copy my photos into a temporary folder, then drag and drop them on my droplet. In a few moments, they are all resized and ready to upload. Not only do larger images take longer to upload, they will take longer for the blog to load for those viewing it if they are too big. Even if you want to offer a larger size, consider resizing to 800px or 1200px instead of leaving them at 3600px.

    • Peppermint says:

      I resize them in Lightroom. I do my editing in there then have an export setting (saved) called “Export for Blog” and it saves a 580px copy (the width of my blog) to a specific folder on my drive where I store such things. I don’t worry about people seeing a larger version really, I figure 580px is large enough?

  19. You can set up a private blog on Blogger for FREE.

  20. mum4hick says:

    I just listened to this episode and have been inspired to start a personal blog. Just wondering if I can use a digital scrapbooking paper as a blog background? I’ve read a few of the TOU but can’t tell whether it is or isn’t allowed.

    Thanks
    mum4hick

    • StudioWendy says:

      That is going to totally depend on the designer and their terms. Many do not allow that kind of use. Some do. A few require a special license. So, if it’s not clear in the terms, I suggest contacting the designer directly.

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