Let me share some Sunday thoughts about developing my blog. My ideas so far are:I want to
- graduate from the idea of only writing positive things about Ghana into telling my personal stories, related to Ghana or not, being uplifting or not.
- be able to express myself better though the design of my blog, so leaving blogger and moving to wordpress.org is an option.
- refresh the look of my blog to inspire myself (and possibly others as well).
- show my readers I am serious about blogging.
- add new categories of content.
- change its name and URL into something simpler (I tried on the new name "Urban Africa" some time ago here, but wasn't satisfied with it).
What do you think? Does the name of a blog matter? How it looks? How its posts are categorized? What topics it presents? What URL it has?
Pic: Climbing higher.
14 comments:
Hi Kajsa,
I'm a beginning blogger, but here is what I think, for what it is worth!
To me the name of a blog is its "business card" and should give me, the reader, the instant understanding of what the blog is about. The same for the URL, really. So, looking at mine, I made a big mistake with LIFE IN THE EXPAT LANE
www.lifeintheexpatlane.blogspot.com
Where I went wrong I think, is that many people who would be interested in my blog stories, have no idea what "expat" means and I've lost them with the name. Too late now ;) Having spent so much of my life as an expat, it never occurred to me that it wasn't an ordinary word everybody was familiar with . . .
Of course it's tempting to use something artistic or unusual, but since the actual content is what readers come for, I think it's better fishing them in with a relevant title.
And when it comes to layout, I like the uncluttered look, but it's not easy when you want to add all those bells and whistles you think the reader likes or wants .. at least I have trouble keeping it uncluttered ;)
Good luck!
Miss Footloose
Hi Miss Footloose,
Thanks for your two pesewas :-)
I agree with you! There should really be some info when signing up for a blog about the importance of a good URL. Mine - in French - was maybe cool when I lived in PAris, but it was always too long. and impractical.
However, I think YOUR URL is catchy - plus expats know the word "expat" and are probably likely readers of your lovely posts anyway...
URL and blog name should ultimately be so clear that it draws people to a blog. But once one has started reading, maybe it doesn't mean all that much?
Girls- I think people will get to a site in other ways as well. My address has nothing to do with the name of my blog but I do have that address covered and possibly in the future I will change over.
I like the everyday stories of life in West Africa because I think they tell the most. And I like it told with out fluff and if someone is pissed so be it.
I would enjoy some high life music for instance - not hip hop but the real thing. and where to go to get some really good palm nut soup.
Yea- tell it like it is - good or bad funny or not it's the internets ya know. Looks aren't that important cuz I have no taste. Have fun and it'll be just fine!
Thanks One Fly for your comments. I will have fun!
But for us who do have taste...don't you think looks are important? ;-)
"graduate from the idea of only writing positive things about Ghana into telling my personal stories, related to Ghana or not, being uplifting or not"..I'm with you on that, Kajsa. And also I think the look and feel of a blog matters.Think of it as a dress on a woman. A bad one can make even an attractive woman look terrible. Of course in the end, you fall in love with who the person is or in this case, what the blog is really about, but if it is not packaged properly, you won't even give it the first look over...
Best of luck with revamping the blog. Thinking of self-hosting and a new design myself so i'll be looking to learn from you.
Does wordpress has more tools than blogger? Well I don't know much. I think the content is more important and once people get used to the high quality content they would always come. The name of the blog can draw people but the content would either keep them or not. Like we say in Twi: (transliterated: your beauty would get you a marriage but your character would determine if would work our or not).
To Esi and Nana, thanks for your comments and support!
Maybe the benefits of wordpress/self hosting vs blogger could be a topic to be discussed at the next ghanablogging meet up?
Of course looks are important. Know of several bloggers who went to word press and came back to blogger. I used it at another site and did not like it as well but think it was because I was not as used to it.
I would try to find something better in the way of a title URL that IS available.
I once left blogger. I came back. Running!
Go go go higher!!!
Looking forward to the "new" blog! I think I speak for more than myself when I say we would love to read more about your life and personal experiences, uplifting or not! :-)
I have been reading your blog on and off for over 2 years . I like the way you write , and as song by TLC
Don't go chasing waterfalls
Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to
I know that ypu're gonna have it your way or nothing at all
But I think you're moving too fast
a little change here there ,that's cool but nothing dramatic
@Dave, why did you come back?
@Edward - its the only way to grow :-)
@Yngvild, thanks
@Praley - thanks for staying with me over the years, I promise I will stay true to the core of the blog. Do you have a blog too? Blogger won't allow me to see your profile.
Migrating to Wordpress is not as crazy as it seems.
Wordpress is THE blogging platform. Blogger.com is a joke. I left it 5 years ago and never looked back.
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