WordPress.com -- why I don't like it

Now I can't say why this happened to this WordPress.com blog -- perhaps it was well deserved, but I can say this has happened to many of my friends Wordpress.com blogs and even they are not sure why.

Usually some vague TOS thing -- nothing clear cut nor understandable in most cases.

(WordPress.com This blog has been archived or suspended for a violation of our Terms of Service.)

Nothing personal against them at all. I rather like their service, but it's impossible to recommend at this point in time.

TypePad vs WordPress

My two favorite blogging platforms are:

TypePad (used here):

Inexpensive (free trial via this link), no software to download, install, update etc. I believe this is the best choice for most people.

WordPress.org

Free, sort of. You need to buy Web hosting (I use Bluehost), a Domain Name (I use Dotster), download, install, and keep software updated. WordPress.org is awesome, but not for most folks who aren't either somewhat comfortable.

WordPress people will complain about this, as they have near religious fervor when it comes to WordPress -- come on folks, it's great but not that good.

I don't particularly like WordPress.com or Blogger.com for business blogs.

Here is the Blog Squad's take on it. We pretty much agree.

Movable Type goes Open Source

Movable Type, a great blogging platform similar to WordPress.org, has just released an open source version.

Although Movable Type is similar to WordPress.org  (it's non hosted, meaning you need to install it on your own Web host, and the features are quite similar), it's suffered from complex and expensive licensing, whereas WordPress.org has always been free.

Reportedly the open source version is not quite ready for prime time yet, and paid versions continue to exist.

Why would you pay for something you can have for free? Many reasons, but the biggest is usually support. Free software doesn't come with a support contract or guarantee.

This is big news for Movable Type AND users of WordPress.org -- the competition can only make WordPress better, and Movable Type will get a lot larger user community as well.

Movable Type is owned by Six Apart, who also owns TypePad (which this blog uses). Movable Type and TypePad are similar, but not identical. One massive difference is that TypePad is hosted, meaning that there is no Web host to configure or software to install -- it runs on their servers.

WordPress for Dummies - Book Review

WordPress For Dummies, a new book by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, was just reviewed by Neville Hobson and Dan York.

WordPress is one of the premier blogging software choices, and their review is quite positive.

They report it as extremely useful for both beginners as well as experienced users.

The book covers all three versions of WordPress:
WordPress.org, the version you download, install and configure on your own web host

WordPress.com, the hosted version where you can start blogging for free within a few minutes

WordPress MU, the Multi User version (I didn't know this existed, but it seems very cool!)

Their full review is here: WordPress for Dummies Book Review and is 27 minutes of audio. Interestly, in the (text) comments section, author Lisa Sabin-Wilson has shown up to discuss some of Dan's criticisms. And note that Dan IS very positive on the book.

TypePad: No "TypePad for Dummies" Needed

I use TypePad. I recommend TypePad. It's my favorite blogging platform.

WordPress.org is more flexible. It's more complex. Easy to use but setup/maintenance much more complex. It's overkill for most people. Most people don't need to buy a domain, get a Web host, and install software on it remotely -- or hire someone to do it. Since WordPress seems to be a religion, comments like these upset some people.

There is a WordPress for Dummies. Recommended for WordPress people even though I haven't seen it (Paul Chaney was involved so it must be great).

There is NO "TypePad for Dummies" -- it's designed to be simple. A TypePad book would be silly, sort of like "Drinking Beer for Dummies." I think Dummies and everyone else ALREADY know how to drink beer, and TypePad is just as natural.

Thanks to Paul Chaney for mentioning there needs to be no "TypePad for Dummies" -- he's got a new blog, on TypePad of course, at Conversational Media Marketing which is certainly worth a read!

WordPress on Speed: 17 Tweaks to Accelerate Your WP

I like WordPress.org blogging software, except perhaps for the evangelical fervor of many of WordPress' users! I'm only half joking -- it's a great platform, although not the ONLY great platform!

Rich McIver sends me 17 Tweaks for WordPress to make it faster.

Now some of these are somewhat technical, but that's WordPress.org -- it's (free) software you (or someone you hire) need to download, install, and configure on to a Web host.

Again, WordPress.org is a great platform, as is TypePad which I use. I am NOT enamored however by WordPress.com -- more later on this topic.

WordPress.com Hoses DatingGoddess

WordPress.com is a free hosted blogging service (not to be confused with WordPress.org which is similar, but software you download/install/configure to your Web host).

Recently, they shut down the popular DatingGoddess, Adventures in Delicious Dating After 40 blog with NO warning! Now this is a very popular and well done legit blog.

Customer service (if you can call it that) was closed the next day, but eventually responding with "remove the ads and affiliate links." Now I've read the silly terms of service and don't see where the hell they were violated!

My suggestion? Stick to my favorite, TypePad (or WordPress.org or MoveableType or ExpressionEngine or . . .)

Looks like the (free) WordPress.com should be avoided, unless of course they apologize to my friend the DatingGoddess.

Hey, everyone makes mistakes, even the Dating Goddess -- otherwise no one would be reading about her dating adventures:)

Blogger.com blog hacked - what do you do?

What do you do if you have a hosted blog that gets hacked? For example if your content disappears and it gets replaced by a splog (a spam blog)?

This is exactly what happened to my friend Reg of Elemental Truths. His Blogger.com blog was suddenly replaced by a bunch of political garbage.

Well, if this blog was hacked, TypePad.com does have support. But sometimes you get what you pay with, and with free Google owned Blogger.com it's very hard to even find where to send a support request, question, or plea for help.

Eventually Reg got his blog back -- the story in his words follow, and later this week we'll post how to protect your blog from terrible events like this one.

It was a sultry day. The air was host and thick with humidity. Distant thunderstorms sent little circular ripples, crashing minute breakers against the glass wall of my iced tea.

I had heard the weather was worse out west. The storms had spawned rolling black outs up and down the west coast. Even the techno-jockey fortresses which housed the accumulated work, sweat and tears of thousands of bloggers from around the world were falling over like so many delicately stacked dominoes.

Then it came. The message. It took the form of an email, cryptic and compelling.

Blogger.com update ready

Blogger.com is extremely popular blogging software with a bad rap. Although it's owned by Google, it's pretty backwards and missing some basic functionality (like categories and reliability!).

I use Blogger for my original blog, The Ted Rap, and previously reviewed Blogger and rated it "Almost Recommended."

It needed two things to move to recommended status:

ExpressionEngine Blog Software Review: Highly Recommended

PMachines ExpressionEngine is an impressive package and its users are every bit as evangelistic as WordPress users, and with good reason.

It is extremely flexible solution and includes far more functionality than a pure blogging package. It could be described more accurately as a Content Management System that does blogs extremely well.