I’ve spent the last few weeks with Posterous, a relatively new blogging platform from Sachin Agarwal and Garry Tan. The result is both a modest record of my travels and a powerful enthusiasm for the service.
Posterous is going to be huge.
I’ve used every blogging platform I’ve found, including (but not limited to) WordPress, Typepad, MoveableType, Squarespace, Vox, Livejournal, Blogger and Textpattern. The easiest among those are the hosted solutions, like Typepad, Livejournal, Blogger, Squarespace and Vox (Note: Typepad, Livejournal and Vox are all products of Six Apart). WordPress and MoveableType are (usually) self-hosted and require the blogger* to create and link to a database.
After installation is complete, they all require additional fiddling. Customizing the layout, design, colors, graphics etc. takes time. Adding something like an image gallery is even more time consuming, and typically requires a plug-in which you must find, upload, configure and test on your own.
By contrast, here’s how you create a complete blog with Posterous: Send an email message to post@posterous.com. That’s it.
Here’s how you create a full-featured, thumbnailed photo gallery with built-in navigation on Posterous: Email your photos to post@posterous.com.
Want to post a video? Same thing. It’ll even encode it for you. Send nearly any codec you want.
It’s brilliant because there’s nothing to learn. Everyone knows how to send an email message. Additionally, there’s nothing to download, install or configure. You can use the email client you already know; the email client you probably have with you all day via your laptop, phone or iPod. Additionally, you can have Posterous notify your other accounts, like Facebook and Twitter, each time an update is posted.
I oversee many bloggers at my day job and some are more technically savvy than others. We use WordPress, which I love, but does pose a challenge for some of the writers. However, they’re all proficient with email. If I could simply tell them, “Just email your posts and pictures to this address and you’re done,” they’d fall down with gratitude and relief.
The sticking point right now is the lack of customization. If I’m going to embrace Posterous for work, I’ve got to be able to customize the CSS and other layout features. But that’s an extreme case.
For the vast majority of people, Posterous is a very desirable option. Sachin and Garry took an incredible idea — get out of the way and let the blogger write via a familiar and nearly ubiquitous tool — and executed it wonderfully. I can’t wait to see where this goes.
*Some web hosting companies provide a one-click install for WordPress and MoveableType.
Very clever idea from SixApart. They’re offering free pro-level Typepad accounts to out-of-work journalists. Those who sign up will also receive promotion on SixApart’s Blogs.com, membership in their advertising program and more.
When I sold cars, we called this “The Puppy Dog Close.” Who’s going to say “No” to a puppy they brought home? No one, of course. SixApart is giving journalists an opportunity to do what they love, perhaps via a new medium, with lots of support. I’m betting they’ll have a slew of new paying customers 1 year from now.
It’s great to see a company create an opportunity from an economic downturn.
Recently, I’ve heard lamentation in the blogosphere. Incredible, I know. But this isn’t the usual bitching about poorly trained baristas or the new Star Trek trailer. Instead, bloggers are upset about the perceived diminishing role of the personal blog.
Consider the winners of recent weblog awards, and you’ll see 300lb gorillas like Engadget, Boing Boing and Gizmodo. Each has a team of skilled writers and editors who work for pay. Large corporations like Whole Foods and Starbucks* run terrific blogs as well. How’s a guy with a Typepad account and a sack full of opinions to compete with that?
Let me tell you right now, this is not a post about SEO. It’s not about the Oh My God Top Five Tips For Bloggers Ever Finally Revealed! You’ll find no unnecessary bold meant to get your attention, or lists with
- Ideas
- Brainstorms
- Demonstrations
- Concrete answers
I could tell you to include an image with every post, conveniently list popular posts and display your orange RSS icon prominently. I could, but I won’t because none of that will amount Jack Squat if you don’t know what the hell you’re trying to acheive in the first place.
Before you type a single letter, you’ve got to ask yourself the question, “What exactly am I trying to achieve with this blog?” I mean, sit down with a pencil and a piece of paper and figure it out. Write down your answer. That’s your purpose for cluttering my display with your pixels. Next, list the goals that will help you realize that purpose.
Finally, and this is the most crucial step, reconsider your answer regularly. Every few months at least. You’ll probably find that it has changed. Here’s what I mean.
When Merlin Mann started 43Folders, his interests were personal productivity and the GTD system specifically (correct me if I’m wrong, Merlin). He built a decent following and produced great content. Then he reconsidered and switched gears:
“In light of some new directions I’m taking with my work, 43 Folders is changing focus and approach from being the ‘blog about productivity’ that many readers may view it as today.”
Were some people bummed? Yeah, probably. But who cares? Merlin knew that if he trudged along, writing what his readers expected, the whole thing would become drudgery and the content would suffer.
His interests and passions shifted. His life’s focus changed, and his blog went with it. Today, 43Folders is just as fantastic as it’s ever been because Merlin took the time to define exactly what he wanted 43Folders to be, and let that definition guide his content.
“But, Dave,” you say. “43Folders has a staff of writers. It’s the very type of blog we’re complaining about.” Simmer down. I’m getting to it now.
Daring Fireball is a great example of a successful one-man show. John mainly writes about Apple, Inc. I’d dare say that his purpose is to share his opinion on Apple’s products and practices, with a maraschino cherry of general nerdery on top. It works because John is a good writer, but also because he’s true to his blog’s purpose.
So John has found a niche: the tribe of Apple fanatics. What if you want to write about a broader topic? Check out my friend Liz’s Motherhood Is Not For Wimps. Liz shares real-life stories from her life as a parent. A pretty broad topic, no? But it works because there is a huge number of people who find her stories funny, uplifting and ultimately relatable. Liz knows that her goal is to share stories of motherhood with her readers.
Like we saw with Daring Fireball, you’ll find no staff at Motherhood Is Not For Wimps. No corporate back end. Just a passionate, focused writer.
Want to go for the combo? That is, a single-person blog that has gone through the gear-shifting that affected big ‘ol 43Folders so positively? Fine.
Shawn Blanc made a name for himself by writing insanely detailed reviews of popular Macintosh software. Before that, he wrote an equally exhausitive series on freelancing. Today, you’ll find posts on technology and brief blurbs about interesting pieces of software. Shawn’s focus has changed, and thank goodness. He could have forced himself through more mind-bending reviews, but his heart wouldn’t have been in it, and that would have been obvious.
Here’s what John, Shawn and Liz have in common with The Big Boys: Focus and direction. A plan. Engadet is about the coolest gadgets on the planet, and only those gadgets. Motherhood Is Not For Wimps is about beautifully-written, honest stores that engage parents everywhere.
So, there’s the question. “What exactly am I trying to achieve with this blog?” Write it down. Define the goals that will get you there. Now you’ve got a plan. Finally, review that plan at regular intervals and never be afraid to abort the mission. Your blog (and your readers) will be better for it.
Here’s my final bit of unsolicited advice. If your heart’s not in it, don’t do it. “I want to be like So-And-So, and So-And-So writes about Topic X, so I’ll write about Topic X, too. Then I’ll be like So-And-So.” Now you’ve contracted First Year Songwriting Major Disease.
When I was at Berklee as a songwriting major, I suffered from the First Year Songwriting Major Disease. That is, everything I wrote sounded incredibly like the music of established musicians I admired. No one wanted to hear how closely I could mimic Sting’s style, and I’m uninterested in your impression of So-And-So. Read their work to hone your skills (grammar, style, usage, etc.), but don’t succumb to temptation. I want to hear your voice.
If you’re passionate about the the most effective odor eaters for rental bowling shoes, kick my ass with your knowledge and skills. Screw So-And-So. When it comes to stinky footwear, you are THE MAN. Now go out there and rock it.
*I really want a Gold Card. Mail me one and I’ll love you forever. Seriously, I’ll even alter my son’s (or daughter’s) middle name. For real. Come on, send me a Gold Card, or The Baby Jesus will cry.
I manage 8 WordPress blogs. Creating timely backups for all of them is a pain. So, today I put an automatic solution in place that results in hands-free, off-site storage of weekly backups. Here’s how.
You’ll need a paid Backpack account (the free account does not offer file storage) and the WP-DB-Backup plugin. First, we’ll set up Backpack.
One of the cool features of Backpack is that each page has a unique email address. Anything sent to it gets posted to that page. We’re going to take advantage of that feature. First, create a new Backpack page with a name like “WP Databse Backups.” Note the email address in the page’s footer. That’s the address we’re after.
Now it’s time to install the WP-DB-Backup plugin. As usual, just drop it in /wp-content/plugins on your server. Next, activate it via the “Plugins” page of your WordPress control panel. After that, click “Manage” and then “Backup.”
There are several options for you to fiddle with. For our purposes, look at “Scheduled backup.” Select “Once Weekly” (or whatever schedule you like) and place the email address you got from the Backpack page in the field labeled “Email backup to.” Finally, click “Schedule backup” and you’re done.
There you have it! Automatic, off-site backups of your WordPress database. Since each backup has a unique name based on its creation date, you needn’t worry about overwriting anything. Have fun!
