Friday
Jun042010
Time management and focusing on the CONTENT
So it looks as if Inkygirl's been hacked again (if you missed reading about the first one, see this post). This time the hack is more subtle (no malware) and only noticeable in search engines. If you try entering "inkygirl" in Google right now, here's what you get as the top hit:
Chris Pearson encountered the same hack and posted a solution, but it didn't work for me. I admit to being frustrated, especially after Jeff spent so long cleaning up after the first hack, and all the time I've been spending on repairs as well.
And this has got me thinking more about time management issues. In the early days of the World Wide Web, I was as excited about the tweaking/design of my websites as I was about the content.
I've always tried to have good content but I also admit to spending a ton of time tweaking templates, looking for useful plug-ins, playing around with different Wordpress features.
As more and more people started using the Web, however, inevitable security and hacking issues have increased. This last incident (or incidents) has prompted me to seek another blogging platform. I would much MUCH rather spend more time writing and creating than tweaking and admin.
Yes, I realize that any platform I choose will have its security issues. But whereas I used to want total control over my site's design and features, now I'd rather find a service that will do most of the behind-the-scenes work (including putting out security issue fires) so I can just focus on the content.
Some of you have suggested Tumblr and Blogger. I've tried both sites and they're easy to use, but I have to confess I'm hesitant to commit to any free hosted service that doesn't have a clear business model, just in case they decide to start charging (like Ning just did) or worse, shut down without warning. Not as much of a problem if you only have one blog, but I maintain quite a few, not just for myself but for others as well.
I plan to consolidate some of my blogs/sites and cut down on the number of domains I use. I'm thinking of reorganizing most of my own blogs under one personal site and one work site rather than have the scattered all over the place.
I'm looking for a service that won't roll out new versions unless they're rock solid and thoroughly tested, will let me modify CSS if I want but also have templates so I don't have to do much appearance set-up, has as little downtime and glitches as possible, and good customer service.
Right now I'm checking out Squarespace and Typepad. If any of you have had experience using either of these services, I'd love to hear about it.
Friday, June 4, 2010 at 8:52 AM
Reader Comments (13)
I use Squarespace for the undergraduate lit mag I advise. Unbelievable. Easy to use, multiple blogs, forums - and you can go as crazy as you want with css. You'd love it!
Blogger is still my choice for multiple blogs right now, but when the time comes - it will be Squarespace for me.
Good luck!
I have a site on Hostbaby; not free, but not outrageously expensive either. They're an offshoot of CDBaby. You can do tweaking of existing templates or provide your own files from scratch. (I just use one of the standard templates.)
beyond doubt, Wordpress is the best blogging platform out there. I don't think any other platform would be any more secure than Wordpress currently is. I don't think Blogger is going to ever charge for its service, it would be a good choice if you insist on security and focusing just on content.
I definitely don't recommend Blogger. They treat their bloggers capriciously. I see Leslie Fish has finally gotten out from behind an "adult content" warning, but I don't know what it took. Others have been less lucky.
Just wanted to offer my sympathy. I have had some horrid fights with spam over the years, both on my blog and within my online communities. They are just huge time sinks, and have cut into time when I would rather have been doing almost anything else.
Good luck in your search for a platform which allows you to stay sane.
I've been on Typepad for 5 years with my Flogging the Quill blog, and have had no problems. www.floggingthequill.com
Hi,
I generally don't post but I wanted to comment and tell you that it doesn't look like your site has been hacked again.
What it looks like is that Google just hasn't updated its crawl since you were originally hacked. If you click on the second link in the search results, the one w/ teh spam advert, it brings you to your actual post.
So right now it appears your site is just fine. It's Google that's being slow to update. If it's not back to normal in a few days, maybe ping them to get the Googlebot to drop by, or even send a URL update request.
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I use several blog and sites I use. I use an application to manage them all and find that moving things around disorientates my followers, therefore I researched what sites worked best for my purposes.
I'm sorry you're having even more problems!
I use Blogger but I can see why that isn't suitable for you. For a start, the customer service is non-existent, which is fine for a free service but clearly not what you want!
I hope you manage to work out something that sets your time free for other things!
I agree with Ajith R, that wordpress is the best platform out there to blog with. There is a possibility of being hacked into no matter which platform that you use. The great thing about Wordpress is the fact that it is so versatile and customisable. You need to choose a platform that is suitable for your needs. Most of these platformsa have a trial period so that you can use and test out their service and what they provide. Try them out to see how which one suits you best.
I third (fourth?) the opinion of WordPress. All of my sites, blogs or not, use WP.
Mine run smoother (and take less maintenance) once I cut down on the plugins and addons. Bells and whistles may be pretty but they suck bandwidth, time, and energy.
If you do decide to consolidate and close out some domains, do NOT let go of the domain name! Keep them for at least two more years past when you notice people are still trying to reach them.
I currently use Typepad and, so far, I have had not problem. (Though I have only been blogging on Typepad for a few weeks).