Welcome to our new home on the web!

While we’re very excited about our new and improved home, we’re still trying to get acclimated to our new surroundings. There’s a TON of work still waiting, some clutter to clean up, but the work load just got a little less now that I can focus all my blog time here instead of trying maintain the old blog as well.

While I was able to transfer all the old posts over with a couple of clicks, you may notice that the majority of posts aren’t formatted the same way. I’ll get to them eventually and I’ve already reformatted several of the more popular posts. I also need to dig into some “code” to make a few changes and tweaks to make this blog look and feel like I want.

It will come together in due time, and after only a weeks worth of work starting from scratch, I felt it was at least a good foundation to work from.

I didn’t mention this on Friday, but honestly feel that WordPress absolutely smokes Blogger. With what I’ve been able to uncover thus far, it makes Blogger look like child’s play. There are far more features and add-ons with this current format that you just can’t get with Blogger.

When I first saw the WordPress developer site, (WordPress.org) I caught a phrase down on the bottom right hand corner that read “Code Is Poetry”. For someone who enjoys playing with code, although a novice compared to some, I’ve really enjoyed learning and playing with these new CSS and PHP type files. This type of structure, and how all the pieces work in unison fascinates me.

Don’t let this intimidate you if you’re thinking about using WordPress however. They make it very easy to add widgets and plugins for anyone who can follow simple directions. WordPress can be very much a “plug and play” type application. However, you can get as intricate and complex as you’d like for anyone who has desire to dive in and create something truly unique.

 

The biggest advantage of using WordPress is that I manage the site and the content on my own server. I initially wanted to host this with my current domain service (GoDaddy.com), but while doing some research I found unlimited bandwith and storage with a company called BlueHost that I’ve been very pleased with. (BlueHost claims they’ve been rated best customer service 2004 thru 2008 and I can certainly see why.)

 

I did run into a small bug when transferring all the content over from Blogger, and you may notice that the vast majority of the comments did not make it to the new home. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve unpacked from a move and think to myself, why did even bother packing this? Either Blogger or WordPress didn’t feel the comments were worth packing, so I took it as a sign. The way I see it, I brought only the best with me, and left the rest of the crap at the old domain.

 

Speaking of comments, you may notice that they have been enabled once again. Now that I have the type of control that will allow me to manage some of the loudest and most obnoxious commenter’s that frequented the old blog, I’ve decided to enable them again. In order to comment you will need to register and you will also notice that I have a “rules” section on the blog that everyone needs to follow in order to participate here.

 

Here’s the beauty about all this. I can block any user name that doesn’t follow the rules. If they decide they want to sign up under a different user name and continue to ignore the rules and annoy others, the IP address can be blocked.

 

Another nice feature that I’ve wanted for some time, but couldn’t because of the antiquated template I used, (not Bloggers fault) is the “Add To Any” button to link you to me when you find something you like. Dislike also works well, and from what I’ve seen, I’d rather people actually link back here, so they can get the real scoop instead of some of the mouthing off I’ve seen.

 

The RSS Feed has been updated as well. While I couldn’t transfer you’re old subscription from Blogger to here, I have upgraded the FeedBurner account and feed for this blog to enable e-mailing to your in box when I post something new here.

There are other tricks I have up my sleeve, and based on all the research I’ve been doing and what I’ve been learning along the way I’m willing to bet I haven’t even begun to figure out what I can do with this puppy. Now that I’ve moved in, every time I open a door, there is a new feature that will benefit how I communicate with you.

Buckle Up folks, it’s going to be a fun, fun ride!

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Tags: Blogger Choice Awards, Blogging, Blogspot, WordPress

This entry was posted on Monday, November 3rd, 2008 at 12:01 am and is filed under Blogging, Home Based Business, MLM Myths, On-Line Marketing, Posting, T. Harv Ecker. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.