This is my 4th blog and I'm still very much in the process of learning. So, I thought I would write a blog about the "process". This way, I'm hoping I can share what I've learned so far and perhaps all you newbies out there can grow with me. I'm hoping the oldies out there will look past their busyness and want to help this up and coming blogger and others for that matter.
What to write about? Ha ha! This is a blog. So far I'm thinking there are no real rules. I was considering streamlining and writing specific topics and that's all great, but I'm still stuck in the technical computer details right now. So, forget about topics because if you are an organizational freak, you may just get frustrated in the learning process of trying to organize things. Notice how disorganized my blog is?
What platform to use for blogs? I googled blog platforms. And I came up with 2 choices. Word Press or Blogger. This blog is set up on the Blogger platform. I asked friends on Facebook which they preferred and it was a 50/50 split leaning more towards Blogger for a first timer. As I'm new to blogging I can't even tell you what the discussion was. I think my search results came up with Word Press as being the best and having a lot more options and the physical look being better. I'm told Blogger is easy to use and I'm not as computer savy as the average person, and maybe it's my age, but I'm still trying to figure things out on this platform. So, let's just say, I'm glad I tried this first. From the sounds of it, I feel Word Press would have frustrated me quite a bit.
Do you have to pay? If you want your own domain name then yes you have to pay. I paid to purchase my domain name "www.theythrowrocks.com". If I did not pay I could still have a blog and it would be free but the domain name would be "www.theythrowrocks.blogspot.com". You do not have to pay if you don't care about the domain name of your blog. Even word press offers a free blog.
What is a domain name exactly? I bring this question up because while I was investigating blogs and coming up with names and figuring out what would be free or what wouldn't, the words "domain name" came up. I used to just call it a website. But I realize that "technically" those 2 things are different. For those of you who are computer handicapped as me and wonder what a domain name is. It's what you type in the bar for accessing a website. It's the difference between the "email address" and the "email".
Blogger issues I have run into so far. The biggest issue I have run into has been with protecting my real name because of the whole google interlinking between email, YouTube, G+ and all their other apps. If you want a pseudonym like myself, it's tricky. For example, my name is XYZ but my blog name and ID is "theythrowrocks". When signing up for a new account and google asks for "name", do not use your real name because that will be tied in with EVERYTHING. It'll say XYZ's blog is theythrowrocks. And then it's difficult to backtrack because I made the mistake and I had to go back to G+ and change my name and then google will only allow you to change your name once every 3 months. Google thinks of your name as a bank would. The internet is crazy as it is. You can only do the best to protect yourself. It's easier to start off right. Use a clever nickname for your google official name and then things will be smooth.
Where to purchase domain names? I bought my domain from Go Daddy.com but I've heard of a lot of other sites that sell domain names. Sell is really the wrong word. You can only "lease" domain names for up to a maximum of 10 years and then you have to re-lease it. But yes, there are other places to get domain names. I just don't know which ones.
How to upload and host the blog? Again, I googled how to upload a blogger blog into a go daddy domain. I tried following directions as best as I could. I ran into a road bump when blogger did not recognize my site and gave me more information to add to my go daddy domain. But I managed. Google hosts the blog for free. Apparently hosting is just the place where the blog is stored and accessed from. When someone goes to the domain name, the blog will show up. Or something like that. I do not pay for hosting. I guess I could if I wanted full control, but then again, I'm not too sure how that would work. I know this is not the best information but at least you know that you are not alone in your confusion if you are confused. If this is too basic for you, I apologize. I did not mean any offense to anyone. Just sharing my thoughts.
Until next time,
TTR
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