Technogeekery Show #1: Blog Basics and Beginnings

Click HERE to leave Chassy Cat a RAVE REVIEW at iTunes for her Podcast O’ TechnoGeekery.

Should I, or shouldn’t I start a blog?

Undecided? Check out Top 9 Reasons to Start a Blog at About.com.

If blogging is a go, then keep on reading! If not, off you go then…

1. Pick a HOST.
Find a decent blogging provider which appeals to you.

Chassy Cat’s Favorite FREE Blog Hosts:
Blogger.com *can be used with Google account
WordPress.com *not to be confused with WordPress.org, which offers the blog platform for free but requires the purchase of a host service and a registered domain name.
These sites offer pre-made blog templates and push-button publishing and don’t require much Technogeekery at ALL.

(For a more in-depth look at blogging platforms, visit Choosing a Blog Platform)

2. Make Your Blog PRETTY.
When you sign up at Blogger or WordPress, pick a ready-made blog template from the gallery and get started personalizing it: add photographs, list the books you are reading, music you enjoy, your like/dislikes, whatev. It’s all about you, baby. However… be smart! Don’t give out too much personal information. No one wants a blog stalker. No, seriously.

3. To Be, Or Not to Be… PUBLIC.
Decide whether or not you want your blog to be private or personal. Do you want freaky-deaky Joe Public reading your blog and viewing your pictures, or do you only want your friends and family to be able to read it? Both Blogger and WordPress offer privacy options, so you are good to go either way. Unless, of course, you are planning on lambasting said friends and family in your blog, in which case you are screwed.

4. TESTING, TESTING… 1,2,3….
After you’ve set up your blog, write a few posts to test it out. Remember, spell check is your friend. Then, refresh your blog every two minutes to see if anyone has commented on your post. Not that I do that.

5. Don’t LURK, Be SOCIABLE.
Visit other blogs! Comment! Leave your blog address! It’s your virtual calling card… which, how very 18th century aristocratic of you, right?!

DARE TO BE YOU.
If you are feeling super daring, you may want register your own domain name and point it at your blog (more on “pointing” in a later podcast! hey! that’s what we in the biz call a TEASER! note it!). Register a catchy yet philosophically deep name for your new blog—such as “dontputyourlipsonit.com” or “ironekillz.com” or “ilovebooks.com” or “grandmasdiary.com” or “tomkatfanatic.com”—and ring up everyone you know to tell them the URL. Remind your less Technogeekery savvy friends and family that “diaryofaslacker” in your blog’s address is spelled “all one word.”

OR, you could jump into the 21st century and EMAIL your blog link to everyone. Yep. That’s always an option.