When I first started blogging, I made the mistake of thinking that my blog was another chance for me to simply tell people what I thought on things. It was a written form of a lecture. I considered putting my sermon notes on the blog. For a season, I would copy the Oil Change on the blog each day. I even had “comments” turned off.
I’ve changed my mind on why I blog. While many of my posts are still “teaching” in nature, I have allowed my blog to simply be a window into my life. Whatever I may be thinking or feeling may eventually end up in a post. In some ways, that goes against the suggestions of successful bloggers, who argue that you need to keep a very focused purpose to your blog.
I guess my “focused purpose” is to expose a little of my own journey for those who care to read about it. Now, that can see a little self-absorbed, and maybe it is, but this is what I’ve discovered: people have come to feel they know me a little better because of my blog. I’ve had people come up to me and ask how my daughter is doing in Costa Rica — people I hardly know, except through a bike rally or two.
Some churches use blogging to keep their members up to date on church events. Others use their blog to promote specific ministries. All are good and valid, but not my purpose.
How I do it
So, how do I blog?
Well, I started out using Google’s free utility, Blogger. I quickly moved on to WordPress. It’s also a free program and comes in two versions. One is a web-based utility that is decent, and fairly feature-rich. The other is a program that you would load onto your server and run off your own site. The server-version is likely the best blogger program on the market. So, why am I not using it? Because when I first set up my website, I put it on a Windows server instead of a Unix server, and WordPress server requires a Unix server. It would be too much of a hassle to switch now, so I’m out of luck.
I ended up choosing Typepad. While it is a paid program, the features it provides, and the templates it offers are excellent. I certainly love the interface, and also appreciate the iPhone utility that is available.
The most important thing one must keep in mind if they are going to blog is keeping it fresh. A blog needs to be updated at least a couple of times a week. Anything less, and you’re probably waisting your time.
Having said all that, I think blogging may be on the way out … and I’ll explain why tomorrow.
