Thread: Bloggers Please Read

Bloggers,

I have been thinking about the current state of the blogging software, and how it's being used on our site. I would like to propose some changes to how the blogs operate, and the software that runs them.

This is one of those things that will have to be an all or nothing decesion. What I would like to do is kill the current blogging system, and install a totally new one.

Right now I'm thinking about Wordpress. You as the blogger will be able to customize it as much as you want, or as little. You'll be able to upload pictures into the blog, customize, blah blah blah.

The location would change a little. From the main page, we would have a link to a list of all current blogs, and your blog would be located at http://straightrazorpalace.com/insertyournamehere

You can see an example at http://wessell.net/david & yet another at http://warrenellis.com (Notice how different they are).

Please give me your feedback, and let me know what you would like.

Thanks
David

I can put in pictures! WHOOPEE!!!

I vote to change!

The current blogging system seesm messy to me. It also doesn't allow a blogger the oportunity to really create an audience. Rather, it has more of a news collum type feel where contributions could come from and be about anything. Not a bad thing, just not really a blog.

Wordpress, from experience, is worldclass in the world of blogging software. It's highly customizable but an implementation on this scale (a blog for each user) is likely to be tremendous, although I have no actual experience directly with this. My bet is that anyone here at SRT that is blogging will love to have the additional features. It's one of those tools that is simple and straight forward on the surface while under the hood it's a powerful monster. Are you a driver or a tweaker? Wordpress pleases both crowds.

Lastly, if we do move to Wordpress, I'm sure someone could write a one click type script that would allow users to vote posts up to the front page so we wouldn't loose the front page blog functionality if anyone has come to love it.

Go gettem David!!!

Bill

Bill,

All good points. I don't have any attention of loading a blogging system for every user.. Current bloggers would get it automatically, and in the future, anyone who requests it, would be loaded up..

My overall thinking, besides providing more functionality for our users is this. We are a bubble of sorts.. We do pull in a fair amount of new users, but those are people searching for us.. How much more can we grow the community as a whole, if we are 'out there'. Moving to a more mainstream blogging system will give us access to a whole new market. Not only will blogs from here, be sent out into the ether, but it will give us access to other tools and spaces as well..

Instead of using the gallery like we have now, we can switch (For bloggers at least, mabye for everyone on down the road) to a service like Flickr. That means that random people will be stumbing across our pictures, posts, site, etc etc etc.

There's something to be said for having our own little home, which we do, and it's pretty nice for the most part. There's even more to be said for gaining a critical mass and moving Straight Razors back into the mainstream.

What we're talking about, underneath it all, isn't Straight Razors.. It's data/information. The more accessible/widespread we make it, the more momentum it gains.. I'm not going to dig into the details of that on this post, it's to much for today, but that's the overview..

So if I get a yea from the bloggers (I think we have about three now) then I'll start working on it.

dw

David,

Amen! Amen I say to you!

The brilliant blogsphere has become an uuber connected network with feedback, popularity rankings and all the fixings that create viral buzz on the Internet. It's what lead me to my DE razor and ultimately here to SRP.

I like the integration of tools here. Finding someone clever to integrate the tools we ultimately select could go a long way to making things looks very slick. A topic for another time. =]

Vote up Bloggers!

Bill

I'll take options for sure. I like the idea of a seperate window too. What I think would be good is having a side bar listing all the current blogs and a link somewhere to access archived blogs. Pics would be very useful as well.

Two questions, are any bloggers against this, are there any recommendations on software?

dw

Ok then.. Who wants to go first, I'm going to migrate the bloggers one at a time..

Email me (dave at wessell dot net) and let me know.. First come first switched.

Sorry, I must have missed this thread. I'm in. Sounds good, looks good. You can switch me anytime your ready.

Count me in too. That sounds terrific