BlogSolid - Ideas for better blogging

Dealing With Blogger's Regret

October 25th, 2007

By Imar

I’m sure we’re all familiar with the inner conflict known as buyer’s regret or buyer’s remorse. That slow panic rising from deep within your gut as the question begs an answer: “did I make a mistake in paying half my salary for that thing I just bought?” Oops.

Blogger’s regret is very similar. In a brave/foolish/ignorant moment you posted an entry that you really just shouldn’t have published…  Watch out for these logic-defying pitfalls: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Basics | 13 Comments »

Start a WordPress Blog on Your Own Site – Part 3: Installing WordPress

October 22nd, 2007

By redwall_hp

Welcome to Part 3 in the WordPress DIY series. If you plan on installing your first WordPress blog soon, you have come to the right place! To help you navigate this tricky exercise, Blogsolid called on the expertise of the enigmatic redwall_hp from Webmaster-Source.com. “WordPress can be installed in five minutes” is a commonly stated advantage of the popular blogging software. Unfortunately, it’s not entirely true. I may be able to install WordPress in five minutes, but I’m fairly experienced with it. Beginners could take up to half an hour, and that’s after planning. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Power | 34 Comments »

FOMO

October 18th, 2007

By Imar

It’s a tough age we live in. You’re expected to have several careers, a quality family life, keep fit, travel, try everything at least once and somehow find time to blog it all. You probably find yourself dreaming of a simple life somewhere far away in a time long forgotten… only to be jolted back to reality by your ringing cellphone and the realisation that you’re camping outside the Apple store two days before the release of the iPhone. Sound familiar? Don’t worry, you’re not alone, these are symptoms of FOMO – the Fear of Missing Out.

Here’s the theory: if you can build a blog that is so good, people will fear missing out on your next entry, they will have no choice but to subscribe. I know, it sounds so crazy it just might work! But where do you start? Here are my top five ideas for cracking open a big can of FOMO in your blog: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Growth | 4 Comments »

Start a WordPress Blog on Your Own Site – Part 2: Why WordPress?

October 15th, 2007

By Imar

In part one of this five-part series on WordPress DIY, we took a look at finding web hosting. What I really enjoyed is that readers gave their two cents’ worth at the end. When reading blogs, I often find that some of the most valuable content is found in comments. I’m hoping this trend will continue, so I’m going to keep this brief and then open the floor to you…

When deciding on a blogging platform, there are roughly 3 categories to choose from: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Basics | 15 Comments »

Blogging's Deadly Sin: The Pause

October 8th, 2007

By Imar

There are several unwritten no-nos in blogging, but I’m sure that many of you would agree – there is no greater sin than pushing your keyboard aside, and not blogging. Everyone knows that building a successful blog takes time and diligence. Even more important than posting frequently, is the quality of content. Attracting an audience and enticing them to subscribe is key to the growth of your blog, so you can’t afford to miss a beat! What would happen if you hit “pause” and stopped blogging – just for a while? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Growth | 18 Comments »

Exclusive Interview: Michael Pinto of Fanboy.com

September 26th, 2007

By Imar

You know the feeling when you’re just aimlessly surfing the web and all of a sudden you strike gold? Well, that happened to me one day… I stumbled upon a blog filled with fantastic news about comic book heroes, space travel, arcade games and cult movies. The great thing was, fresh content just kept coming day after day. I was instantly hooked.

Ladies and gentlemen, I bring you Michael Pinto – the man behind fanboy.com.

Welcome to Blogsolid, Michael. During the last few months, your blog fanboy.com has made a fanboy out of me. How did fanboy.com come about and how long have you been blogging? Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Growth | 7 Comments »

WordPress 2.3 Launches

September 24th, 2007

By Imar

The hype surrounding WordPress version 2.3 launching today (September 24th 2007) did not quite reach Snakes on a Plane level, but WordPress fanboys and fangirls the world over are quite excited. The wildly popular WordPress is described as a “personal publishing platform”. This is a fancy way of saying cool blogging software.

There are promises of many great improvements, but as far as I can tell, there are two main features to look forward to in WP 2.3: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Power | 7 Comments »

Start a WordPress Blog on Your Own Site – Part 1: Finding the Right Host

September 20th, 2007

By Imar

So you know a little about designing websites and you know a thing or two about blogging. Now you want to start blogging on your own website, or convert your old site into a blog. Everyone else seems to be doing it, so it can’t be that hard, but where do you start? This series will contain a few ideas about how to get going with your very own WordPress blog.

Decide on a web host

I suggest you start doing some research about web hosting even before thinking of a name for your website. Consider the following: Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Growth | 32 Comments »

Blogger.com Launches Blogger Play

September 17th, 2007

By Imar

Blogger.com launched a new feature today. They call it Blogger Play.

All the newest photos that get uploaded to Blogger.com blogs around the world are presented in the form of a never-ending slideshow. You can pause the slideshow and view information about the blog the photo belongs to. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Basics | 2 Comments »

That Ugly Blogger Navbar

September 17th, 2007

By Imar

I received a comment from Greta asking “Do you know how can i remove the ugly Blogger toolbar?”

Hi Greta.

You are able to ditch the Blogger navbar if you are hosting your Blogger.com blog on your own domain and publishing via FTP. If that sounds like Greek to you, don’t worry, read on. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in Solid Basics | 16 Comments »