A Change is Coming: Plans to Switch Over to Wordpress Soon

I’ve been avoiding this decision for a very long time because just thinking about it makes me want to run and hide under the covers (and catch a quick nap), but I’ve finally decided to port the contents of this blog into a self-hosted Wordpress blogging platform. I imagine that it’s going to be a very tedious, and messy process.

The first time I dealt with this delima was when I first decided to blog a couple of years ago. I kept going back and forth between Blogger and Wordpress, and I’m not ashamed to say that the technophobe in me was intimidated by Wordpress, so I chose Blogger instead. I didn’t need yet another excuse to put off blogging, and I found the Blogger platform very easy to learn. I’d heard many expert bloggers refer to Wordpress as "the more professional option", but that’s not the reason for my decision.

I spent 10 weeks blogging over at ProfitableMommyBlogging.com. Those 10 weeks really forced me to get to know Wordpress better and I became much more comfortable using it, and you know what? I really do like it. The platform really is user friendly, and honestly, there's a plugin for just about everything. I won't bore you by discussing the SEO benefits.

TheBlogCoach.org and a couple of other interesting posts have been discussing the problem of Google deleting legitimate blogs as a result of an enthusiastic search to find and eliminate spam blogs. I’m honestly not too fearful that my blog will suddenly be deleted by the Google spam seeking bots. I don't want anyone else using Blogger to be uncessarily fearful of that either. That's not the point of this post. As usual I'm just passing along information that may be of interest.

I’ll continue blogging here, taking my time and aim to have this process completed by Fall. In the meanwhile, here are a couple of other posts on the topic you may find interesting:

The Blogger Status
WARNING: Reports of Legitimate Blogger/Blogspot Accounts Being Deleted Without Cause

Do Unto Other Bloggers as You Would Have Them Do Onto You?

Amy Derby at Write at Home's Monday post, "Stupid Blogger Netiquette #407 (The Great Platitudists of Blogland Strike Again)", started with a question someone recently asked her: "Would you read my blog even if I didn't read yours?" Hmmm, I'd never really thought about it much until she brought up the subject. Two rules of netiquette Amy mentions:
1) It's rude not to respond to every single comment
2) If a blogger comments on your blog it's only polite to return the favor.

I'm no blogging expert (I'm sure you're not shocked by that), but I have noticed that most guides to blogging suggest that you should always make a point of posting on another's blog as a courtesy when they take the time to post on yours. I try to do that when I can, but can be hard considering I can only allow so much time in my day for online socializing. I LOVE reading blogs – not just writing blogs – but I usually post only when I have something meaningful to contribute. Now that's not to say I'm not guilty of leaving a "great post!" response because I'll admit that I have. But I meant it. Really!

I never want anyone to feel obligated to post a comment on my blog any more than I'd wish to pay someone to do so. I understand why experts recommend commenting on blogs as a way of driving traffic to your own. I have found some pretty cool blogs that I now frequent because some really nice people stopped by to leave comments. I'm an introvert, but I do have a social side so I love taking part in discussions both online and off. I do try like the dickens to respond to comments left by those who stop by.

I'll comment on a blog it's because I find a particular topic interesting, and I continue to visit (often lurking about…) because I am fascinated by the way a blogger thinks and I want to know more about what they have to say. It's genuine, whether they decide to comment here or not. If you don't read my blog, even though I read yours, that's okay. It's all good. :)