Comments on: Avoiding Blogger.com

By: Scrivs

Scrivs — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 02:51:38 +0000

I do think running the software for the backend is one thing and using the software for your backend and frontend (urls and whatnot) is something else. In the case of spike magazine and some 9rules members it actually works out because they put forth the effort to keep the domain and make the site their own so in those instances I admit to having no beef.

By: Chris Mitchell

Chris Mitchell — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 02:46:15 +0000

@scrivs: Nice to get a reply! My previous post showed there are people running professional sites using Blogger as their backend. So I don’t think your argument stands up. Certainly having your own hosting etc gives you more flexiblity – I’m not arguing with you about that. My point is simply that you *can* run a decent, professional blog and make money using Blogger and people are doing just that. (I assume making serious cash from your blog is the definiton of professional here). Clearly most professional bloggers prefer and advocate getting their own domain, hosting, WordPress etc – but none of those are *necessary* to making money from blogging. It’s a widely held belief that you need all that stuff but that doesn’t make it true.

By: Jamsi

Jamsi — Fri, 02 Dec 2005 00:17:33 +0000

Domain name and webhosting packages are cheap as chips these days. Domains cost $6.99 and hosting packages from as low as $3 a month. If you want to get into professional blogging, this is the only way to go about it!

It also gives you a good excuse to learn how to setup wordpress, and exercise your HTMl and CSS skills! Something ever pro blogger should be skilled in!

By: Scrivs

Scrivs — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 18:23:31 +0000

Snobbery? Nothing like that at all. I think if you just want to write for writings sake then blogger would suit you just fine. However, if you wish to take things to a more professional-level I don’t see it’s service as being viable. That’s the point I am trying to make.

By: Chris Mitchell

Chris Mitchell — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 07:02:13 +0000

I’m surprised at your blanket snobbery Scrivs. Yes, there are thousands of bad blogs on Blogspot but there are some gems too – Quick Online Tips (pchere.blogspot.com) runs on Blogspot and is an excellent blog – it has over 1000 Feedburner subscribers too. I reckon they must be making good money. Certainly it’s great content. It’s not about the tools, it’s about the execution. It doesn’t matter how much you spend on hosting, design, domains etc if you don’t know what you’re doing. Plus new bloggers should be encouraged to worry about content first and web design etc second. Blogger still offers the quickest way to get started.

And no, I’m nothing to do with Quick Online Tips. Or Blogger, for that matter…

By: themaxx.ca

themaxx.ca — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 06:14:59 +0000

Because of the steps involved in getting a domain, hosting, building your own template or even installing a pre-made one is out of reach to many. That means, anyone who wishes to start a blog but lacks the required skills for setting the whole thing up will end up on blogger.com and similar sites. Right now, wordpress.com has that coolness to it that people who despise blogger.com end up opening their accounts there. But wait and see. We’ll get tired quickly of these same looking blogs hosted on wordpress.com just as well.

By: Lea

Lea — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 01:26:35 +0000

I think you are reading too much into it – sure, pros will look at it and sneer, but ‘other professional bloggers’ isn’t our market (well, perhaps except for ‘blogging’ blogs like this… :)). Our market is joe public.
I find it likely that your average joe will approve of a ‘blogsomething.com’ subdomain, they will look at it and go, ‘ahh, blog, ok I know what I am dealing with’ and read the content with more confidence. If they are more confident, they are more likely to click those income-generating links.
So for a blog aimed at the average user, these addresses just fine.
There are reasons not to – the arguments about control are strong negatives – but ‘it doesn’t look professional’ probably isn’t true in general.
IMHO

By: Kyle

Kyle — Wed, 30 Nov 2005 01:10:08 +0000

Just a note, I know Matt’s said that TLD’s are a priority for wordpress.com, so they’ll be there shortly. In fact, there’s even a FAQ for it.

I do agree though, I dislike blogger blogs. Don’t know if it’s some unfair prejiduce, but they just seem like “lack of effort” to me.

By: Gary Miller

Gary Miller — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 22:55:16 +0000

I see your point, Scrivs, but I think the Blogger platform works pretty well for what it is. I personally have my blogs hosted away from Blogger and just use their system to create them. I’m not sure how much of the info is still at Blogger, but I do know that I have all the posts, archives, and sitefeeds on my hosting server. I have pretty much tweaked the template to my liking. I have also played with WordPress a bit and I like it. I just wanted to get the ball rolling while I tried to learn the craft.

Thanks you guys like you, Darren, Nick, and the host of other Pro Bloggers I’m learning something new everyday.

By: Scrivs

Scrivs — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 21:07:22 +0000

Maybe I have just seen too many bad Blogger sites in the past and now I am tainted, but really would you trust a free service with something you are trying to make a living out of?