There's an increase in outdoor blogs, it seems I find weekly new, interesting blogs, and thus I thought to set out and share some unsolicited advice on how to write an outdoor blog, which also might be appreciated by those who are thinking about starting one. This obviously will represent my open and free approach to blogging about my passion, and thus shall be known as a subjective treatise on "The Art Of Outdoor Blogging".
Blogger versus Wordpress
If you start a blog, and after you have thought about a name, you will need to decide where to open your blog. I'm on Blogger for the simple reason that I prefer the draft editor to the one on Wordpress. As I spent the most time writng, an easy to use draft editor is important to me, and Blogger has a lot of new, interesting things coming. Wordpress does a kickass job, though, and has many things which I'd like as well. In the end it is a matter of taste and preferences, and what friends and acquaintances might recommend you. I recommend Blogger.
Pro Tip: Make sure to use draft.blogger.com as your dashboard, as it allows you to access all those very useful features like mobile optimization and Template Designer.
Self-hosted vs for free
If this is just a pastime, go for the free option. It saves you HTML5, CSS3, and a whole other bunch of troubles to learn and understand if you host yourself. It also, ähem, doesn't cost you anything. Self hosting means you will at least spend for a web hotel and the domain name, and possibly for some other technology which you might need if it doesn't come standard. Downsides to free hosting: On Wordpress you might get Ads on your blog, and Google might control even more of your life. If you're a scared person, then self-hosting is the way to go.
Pro Tip: Support your local web hotel provider, and if possible get one which cares about the environment. Data centres are energy hungry monsters which consume vast amounts of electricity. You want to hike in the outdoors, make sure your web hotel provider thinks about that too.
Your own domain
Get it. 12$ on Blogger, 13$ on Wordpress. It is easier for your readers to remember you, and 12$ are a dollar a month so it ain't a big investment, though it will increase your readers and "brand awareness". Just think about it, if you tell the guys at the campsite that you're writing a blog, it is easier for them to remember it if it is a short name without a ".blogspot.com" after it. Getting the blog to run on the new domain is also super simple on Blogger and Wordpress, with lovely instructions for all us non-geeks.
How many posts per week?
Easy answer: As much as you like. Better answer: Two to three max. I'm not reading blogs which update daily (don't have the time), not to mention those which update multiple times per day. It is annoying. The quality isn't there. It often feels like there is just a post for the sake of posting something, even if you got nothing to say.
If you have a lot of stuff to share, join Twitter (Yes, you definitely should join Twitter, at least to share your new articles!) or get a Tumblr/ Posterous account and go ahead. For me, and for many others, blogs are about quality posts which are well written, accompanied by good photos. The chances that one can produce that on a daily basis are very low. Quality over quantity, that should be your motto.
What to write about?
Backpacking! Packrafting! Bikepacking! Snowshoeing! Skiing! Hiking! Your feelings when outdoors! Gear!
Usually outdoor bloggers write about a combination of the above. I think with new blogs and current blogs evolving we might see new, innovative ways of looking at our passion and how to communicate it. Write about what interests you. Writing about something you have no interest in means that likely no one will be interested in it, either. If you're passionate about something, you'll have no problem writing about your passion =)
Photography
I strongly believe in accompanying blog posts with beautiful, well composed photos. I also know that I am not alone with that thought. They loosen up the story and help to illustrate your trip, experience, idea, or a piece of gear. A good photo for me is at least sharp, has a decent resolution and size (I'm rarely interested in clicking photos to enlarge them, so please spare me thumbnail-sized photos). Fraser, Peter, Chris and Joe all make good photos - be inspired by them. And if you're really motivated, try video. Picasa or Flickr are the best for hosting and integrating your photos in your articles; I use both and don't yet have a favourite.
Comment moderation
A much discussed topic in the outdoor blogsphere. I find comment moderation the worst thing if you want to get comments, foster communication and create a community. Nothing is more annoying than to read "Your comment is awaiting moderation" after you made the effort to write something. I am no longer commenting on blogs which have comment moderation, period. I know the arguments and dismiss them. Spam filters are excellent, Spammers on outdoor blogs few, and if the odd spam/ nasty comment comes through, you always can delete it. What you lose by enabling comment moderation is comments and easy interaction with your readers.
Pro Tip: Get Disqus as your comment tool. It is super easy for your readers to sign in (much easier than the Wordpress/ Blogger comment tools) and sharing is also super simple for them. How to install Disqus on Blogger.
Mobile optimization
If Responsive Web Design is nothing new to you, then I don't need to tell you more. If you can't imagine what that means, then let me explain with a look at this photo:
As you can see, there's a bunch of different screen resolutions to be found among my readers, and that's only people accessing Hiking in Finland from their computers. But the important bit here are the well over 600 visits (and growing) each month from mobile devices, and especially the iPad is very strong there, with over 350 visits. The rest is from iPhones, BlackBerries, Android phones and even Nokia phones ;) It is fairly easy to enable the mobile view for your blog when your on Blogger and Wordpress, and it doesn't affect your normal site at all - but it makes your site, when viewed on a Smartphone, a joy to navigate and read!
Pro Tip: If you're a geek, get your blog running on Less Framework. 'nuff said!
Stats don't matter - but are nice! Google Analytics and Mint are a nice and easy to use tools to see where your readers are coming from, what they are reading, how long they stay, which resolution and OS they have, and a lot more stuff. Google Analytics is free, Mint costs $30. I use the former. Blogger and Wordpress both have some quite decent analytics tools, but if you want more information, then you should try one of the above.
Flattr
Since I got to know Flattr I have been a supporter. Let me explain Flattr with this video:
Flattr is thus a bit like a PayPal donation, just easier and more private. It shows that you value the time and dedication the writer has put into his article and blog, and it shows the writer that his articles are liked and he is motivated to write more. Its flattering! I urge you, if you have a blog or are going to start one, to install Flattr. It is a nice way to show you liked the free content someone created.
Feedburner
A simple RSS tool for your blog is Feedburner by Google. The beauty of it is that it allows your readers to choose their RSS reader of choice to read your blog. I find it superior to the Wordpress/ Blogger RSS tools, though it is not as accurate as Google Reader in giving you the exact amount of subscribers (in case that matters ;).
Feedburner allows your readers to use a multitude of RSS readers to read your blog.
Sharing is Caring
I came up with the The Week In Review simply because I wanted to share great articles which I have found, and drive traffic to some worthy articles and blogs which otherwise might be overlooked. I do this occasionally on Twitter, though as not everyone who reads here is on Twitter creating a once a week post which highlights the best seemed like a good idea - and judging from all the great feedback from you ladies and gentlemen, I was right =)
I'd encourage you to link and spread the word about blogs and articles you have enjoyed in your posts. This might take the form like Phil did it in his last post, or a ReTweet on Twitter, a Like on Facebook, a Stumble Upon or just telling your hiking buddy in the bar about that thought provoking post you read and he should have a look at.
Pro Tip: Sharing is Caring!
Ultimate Final Wisdom
YMMV. That is an abbreviation for "Your Milage May Vary". It means you might have made very different experiences. Which is possible. You're you. I am me. We are different =)
There's an increase in outdoor blogs, it seems I find weekly new, interesting blogs, and thus I thought to set out and share some unsolicited advice on how to write an outdoor blog, which also might be appreciated by those who are thinking about starting one. This obviously will represent my open and free approach to blogging about my passion, and thus shall be known as a subjective treatise on "The Art Of Outdoor Blogging".
Blogger versus Wordpress
If you start a blog, and after you have thought about a name, you will need to decide where to open your blog. I'm on Blogger for the simple reason that I prefer the draft editor to the one on Wordpress. As I spent the most time writng, an easy to use draft editor is important to me, and Blogger has a lot of new, interesting things coming. Wordpress does a kickass job, though, and has many things which I'd like as well. In the end it is a matter of taste and preferences, and what friends and acquaintances might recommend you. I recommend Blogger.
Pro Tip: Make sure to use draft.blogger.com as your dashboard, as it allows you to access all those very useful features like mobile optimization and Template Designer.
Self-hosted vs for free
If this is just a pastime, go for the free option. It saves you HTML5, CSS3, and a whole other bunch of troubles to learn and understand if you host yourself. It also, ähem, doesn't cost you anything. Self hosting means you will at least spend for a web hotel and the domain name, and possibly for some other technology which you might need if it doesn't come standard. Downsides to free hosting: On Wordpress you might get Ads on your blog, and Google might control even more of your life. If you're a scared person, then self-hosting is the way to go.
Pro Tip: Support your local web hotel provider, and if possible get one which cares about the environment. Data centres are energy hungry monsters which consume vast amounts of electricity. You want to hike in the outdoors, make sure your web hotel provider thinks about that too.
Your own domain
Get it. 12$ on Blogger, 13$ on Wordpress. It is easier for your readers to remember you, and 12$ are a dollar a month so it ain't a big investment, though it will increase your readers and "brand awareness". Just think about it, if you tell the guys at the campsite that you're writing a blog, it is easier for them to remember it if it is a short name without a ".blogspot.com" after it. Getting the blog to run on the new domain is also super simple on Blogger and Wordpress, with lovely instructions for all us non-geeks.
How many posts per week?
Easy answer: As much as you like. Better answer: Two to three max. I'm not reading blogs which update daily (don't have the time), not to mention those which update multiple times per day. It is annoying. The quality isn't there. It often feels like there is just a post for the sake of posting something, even if you got nothing to say.
If you have a lot of stuff to share, join Twitter (Yes, you definitely should join Twitter, at least to share your new articles!) or get a Tumblr/ Posterous account and go ahead. For me, and for many others, blogs are about quality posts which are well written, accompanied by good photos. The chances that one can produce that on a daily basis are very low. Quality over quantity, that should be your motto.
What to write about?
Backpacking! Packrafting! Bikepacking! Snowshoeing! Skiing! Hiking! Your feelings when outdoors! Gear!
Usually outdoor bloggers write about a combination of the above. I think with new blogs and current blogs evolving we might see new, innovative ways of looking at our passion and how to communicate it. Write about what interests you. Writing about something you have no interest in means that likely no one will be interested in it, either. If you're passionate about something, you'll have no problem writing about your passion =)
Photography
I strongly believe in accompanying blog posts with beautiful, well composed photos. I also know that I am not alone with that thought. They loosen up the story and help to illustrate your trip, experience, idea, or a piece of gear. A good photo for me is at least sharp, has a decent resolution and size (I'm rarely interested in clicking photos to enlarge them, so please spare me thumbnail-sized photos). Fraser, Peter, Chris and Joe all make good photos - be inspired by them. And if you're really motivated, try video. Picasa or Flickr are the best for hosting and integrating your photos in your articles; I use both and don't yet have a favourite.
Comment moderation
A much discussed topic in the outdoor blogsphere. I find comment moderation the worst thing if you want to get comments, foster communication and create a community. Nothing is more annoying than to read "Your comment is awaiting moderation" after you made the effort to write something. I am no longer commenting on blogs which have comment moderation, period. I know the arguments and dismiss them. Spam filters are excellent, Spammers on outdoor blogs few, and if the odd spam/ nasty comment comes through, you always can delete it. What you lose by enabling comment moderation is comments and easy interaction with your readers.
Pro Tip: Get Disqus as your comment tool. It is super easy for your readers to sign in (much easier than the Wordpress/ Blogger comment tools) and sharing is also super simple for them. How to install Disqus on Blogger.
Mobile optimization
If Responsive Web Design is nothing new to you, then I don't need to tell you more. If you can't imagine what that means, then let me explain with a look at this photo:
As you can see, there's a bunch of different screen resolutions to be found among my readers, and that's only people accessing Hiking in Finland from their computers. But the important bit here are the well over 600 visits (and growing) each month from mobile devices, and especially the iPad is very strong there, with over 350 visits. The rest is from iPhones, BlackBerries, Android phones and even Nokia phones ;) It is fairly easy to enable the mobile view for your blog when your on Blogger and Wordpress, and it doesn't affect your normal site at all - but it makes your site, when viewed on a Smartphone, a joy to navigate and read!
Pro Tip: If you're a geek, get your blog running on Less Framework. 'nuff said!
Stats don't matter - but are nice! Google Analytics and Mint are a nice and easy to use tools to see where your readers are coming from, what they are reading, how long they stay, which resolution and OS they have, and a lot more stuff. Google Analytics is free, Mint costs $30. I use the former. Blogger and Wordpress both have some quite decent analytics tools, but if you want more information, then you should try one of the above.
Flattr
Since I got to know Flattr I have been a supporter. Let me explain Flattr with this video:
Flattr is thus a bit like a PayPal donation, just easier and more private. It shows that you value the time and dedication the writer has put into his article and blog, and it shows the writer that his articles are liked and he is motivated to write more. Its flattering! I urge you, if you have a blog or are going to start one, to install Flattr. It is a nice way to show you liked the free content someone created.
Feedburner
A simple RSS tool for your blog is Feedburner by Google. The beauty of it is that it allows your readers to choose their RSS reader of choice to read your blog. I find it superior to the Wordpress/ Blogger RSS tools, though it is not as accurate as Google Reader in giving you the exact amount of subscribers (in case that matters ;).
Feedburner allows your readers to use a multitude of RSS readers to read your blog.
Sharing is Caring
I came up with the The Week In Review simply because I wanted to share great articles which I have found, and drive traffic to some worthy articles and blogs which otherwise might be overlooked. I do this occasionally on Twitter, though as not everyone who reads here is on Twitter creating a once a week post which highlights the best seemed like a good idea - and judging from all the great feedback from you ladies and gentlemen, I was right =)
I'd encourage you to link and spread the word about blogs and articles you have enjoyed in your posts. This might take the form like Phil did it in his last post, or a ReTweet on Twitter, a Like on Facebook, a Stumble Upon or just telling your hiking buddy in the bar about that thought provoking post you read and he should have a look at.
Pro Tip: Sharing is Caring!
Ultimate Final Wisdom
YMMV. That is an abbreviation for "Your Milage May Vary". It means you might have made very different experiences. Which is possible. You're you. I am me. We are different =)
"Getting the blog to run on the new domain is also super simple on Blogger" - not always! I spent three weeks with my blog frozen in cyberspace cryogenics when I tried exporting it to my custom domain. I wish I had the patience to try again ;) At least my little corner of cyberspace is mine now though so I can try again one day!
And thanks for flattering my humble photography, especially in the same sentence as people like Fraser, Chris and Petesy who are all massive influences on my own photography along with your good self, Dr Jordan and so many others. Actually, talking of Chris, his Photography Brain Dump is worth reading to anyone looking to improve their outdoor photography. Two of his suggestions to getting good photos that anyone can do (especially if, like me, they can't afford an expensive camera) are firstly, keep your camera close at hand because if it's buried in your pack in a protective case you just ain't going to use it. And secondly: shoot, shoot and shoot and shoot some more! The law of averages says you have to get at least one good image!
Great post Hendrik. Got me thinking about a few things.
I completely agree with you on Blogger vs. WordPress. I have both, and find Blogger's editor more intuitive, and like that I don't have to keep logging in all the time. The comment subscription system on WP involves too many processes: a link, an email, another link, a confirmation... just lemme subscribe forcrissakes. I also like the "followers" widget in Blogger - it's nice to put a face to community members. While stats don't really matter, I find that knowing people actually read and follow my posts gives me more motivation to write, and to try to write well.
Excellent post Hendrik, thought you may of mentioned the RSS Full Posts that a few of us have discussed on Twitter. I found my self nodding my head to everything you said. The important one about the number of posts, I gave up on several sites recently that were posting constantly. I need to post a bit more though ;-)
Oh, yeah, I forgot that RSS Full Post thing - had it in mind and then it slipped - might need to edit that in later on! Glad to earn your nod of approval, Steven =) Your "Evolution of Footwear" post was great, looking forward to the Keen A86 review ;)
What a great post Hendrik!. Wordpress wins out for me as it is so much more flexible and customisable, but not having used blogger, I can't really compare. I host myself as I love to learn new things and to tinker, as well as getting my blog exactly how I want it to look. The fact it took me nearly a year has been half the fun :-) BTW For those Wordpressers who want to ensure that their site looks good on a Smart phone I can seriously recommend WPtouch as a plugin. In terms of the photos, I am not quite sure I like to just have the ones in the post, as I do like to make them larger to look at, particularly when they are as good as Frasers for example.
I love the final comment, and agree wholeheartedly. Thanks to you and all the other outdoor bloggers who have opened my eyes to lead me down different paths and routes (either physically or in ways of thinking) that I may not have chosen.
Great post and full of great tips for someone like me who is just starting out and trying to contribute to outdoor blogging. I do love that sharing is caring and have been lucky enough to have a couple of my http://walkwithtookie.com posts featured in your weekly round up. I just now need to find the time to write stuff up on a regular basis. Here's hoping I can. Looking forward to your next post.
Personally I use posterous but we all like different sauce so that's cool :)
This was a great post Hendrik! Informative and well thought out, I doubt many who have followed you on Twitter fail to realise your love of blogger, which I too share for it's ease of use for writing and getting content down. I have removed my Disqus comment format due to people trying to post comments from their phones. The comments were published (I was notified of them) but the comments failed to appear in the Disqus comment stream. Worked very well for other 'regular' comment entry though so I will resume when Disqus sorts it's life out!
Blogger is fantastic and the way to go. I also think Twitter is a superb way of connecting. Getting right into it now. Your point that Quality over quantity is totally correct. Why not post twice a month? Does it matter every week.
Excellent post Hendrik. Good to see lots of nice little tips, tricks and comments brought together in one post. It has certainly made me look at a couple of things on my site. My current design is four years old now and I've been thinking about a re-design for a while so the link to Less Framework is really helpful. I self-host on WordPress but have no idea about the editor as I like to use Mars Edit, a Mac desktop editor that brings me direct Flickr integration and other handy things. Otherwise, I think the main thing is for people to blog their own blog and as it develops they'll find a niche, settle on a style, and build an audience.
Hendrik, I have not been able to do much blogging lately or read many blogs ( and I know you would not say it) but your blog is a great example of the art of blogging. Thanks for some of the tips Mark
Thanks for the advice. The Less Framework looks nice. I found the Whiteboard Framework which maybe interesting for self hosted wordpress blogs and already integrates the Less Frame work inthttp://whiteboardframework.com/
Once again, great post dude. I really appreciate this one. my blog is new, so I am constantly trying to figure out how to make my blog better, and I must admit that I have used yours as point of reference. Great content and super photos! it is always entertaining to read over your post.
I am on Wordpress so I will have to figure out how to get some of this stuff on there. I am not that computer talented. I just kind of learn as I go along. Now my blog is at a point though that I am afraid that I may destroy it by doing certain things, so I am more hesitant to try new stuff. oh well..I will see.
Really good point, Michael! The Whiteboard Framework for WP is a very nice theme for the Wordpress community out there and saves them the trouble of implementing Less Frameworks themselves!
I just got an email from Flattr that they are changing their requirements by getting rid of the initial need for credit. That makes it a lot more attractive to me, so I might finally get around to adding it :)
I agree on PTC - I often give up on trying to comment, which is a shame as it's a great blog.
A good decision, I knew the news would come out at some time, but I didn't think it happen so soon! Looking forward to Flattr some of your content =)
I spoke to Peter at some point about it, and to be fair it is "only" a username and password but I have a few WP accounts and sometimes get them mixed up and then can't be bothered to find the right account to comment.
Thank Gareth! Blogger is very flexible as well, if you know HTML and CSS then you can tinker also as much (or little) as you want with it. But if you host yourself, then WP has its advantages. btw, check out http://whiteboardframework.com/ which was mentioned also here which has the Less Framework already integrated.
I like to click some photos to check some details. Though if it is thumbnails or fairly small sized I am not bothering, as usually photos open in a new tab or window or application which I annoys me.
btw, your comment on the Week In Review last week (logged in as Yeti), did you post that from a phone? As it didn't show up in the Disqus comments, but I got an email about it.
Lets say I stick with Blogger because I am here, but I also do like them =) Switching blogs, with all comments, content, SEO rankings, etc is a bunch of work for which I don't have the time.
I lost a few comments because of posted via Phone on Disqus, though I reckon the guys and gals at Disqus are working on making it work! There's only few people really commenting via phone for me, so I reckon it is a pay-off I am ready to take.
I'm no geek myself Chad, but http://whiteboardframework.com/ is a good start if you're on Wordpress and want to make your blog more "responsive" Also Gareth's recommendation for WPTouch above is worth looking into as a quick fix to get your blog looking good on smartphones!
I think if one lives in Japan or Iceland, one can't take bad photos. Especially the latter country has pretty awesome light and scenery that taking a bad photo isn't made easy!
I also really like your minimalistic layout, Fraser. You are, btw, judging from the stats the only reader using Opera on a Mac to read this blog - maybe I should make a special badge for you! You'll need to explain my "preference for minimal compositions" a bit better - examples?!
Excellent tips, very applicable to food blogging, too!
I'm a Wordpress.org girl, have been for years. I'm a coder and a taxonomy geek (aka librarian), so the flexibility of self-hosted WP blogs can't be beat or my projects...particularly when combined with a highly customizable framework like Thesis. Plus there is such good integration with all of my social channels. But, I do agree that the Blogger posting interface is much easier, which I why I run my Mom's blog off that platform, and usually steer new bloggers that way until they might need something more complex.
One more key feature I'd add to this list is a print-friendly version (either via a plugin or separate linked css). I'm both an outdoors and a food blogger, and the lack of a print-friendly version is my **main pet peeve** with most other food or outdoors (particularly hiking blogs that do trail write-ups) blogs. I like to be able to print trail write-ups (and recipes) to take hiking (or into the kitchen) with me... yet some of the best most detailed hiking blogs force their readers to waste paper and ink printing out unnecessary items like blog headers, footers, sidebars and comments. I just want the main basic content with attribution. I use a plug-in on my blogs that allow my readers to omit headers/footers/comments/etc.. omit images altogether, or select which text/images to print out.
I am typing up one now, on my first trip out for some time. My wife has had major problems with a very rare condition called CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) after breaking her leg some 15 months ago, she has had 13 separate procedures/operations since her accident and she is going into hospital for another operation tomorrow, so as you can imagine it has been difficult to do as much walking/blogging as I would like. However family comes first and my interests second at the moment ! Mark
Lots of useful tips that I agree completely with. The one thing I am not so sure about though is making your blog mobile friendly. Mobile browsers are getting cleverer - and certainly on Android phones and tablets, line length is automatically reduced to fit the screen size whilst maintaining a readable font size, but the browser can still render the page correctly, letting the visitor browse your site in full. There are obviously other factors to consider, like download times for mobile browsing, but I am not sure having a mobile version should be the default position. If you have a look at your stats, you should be able to spot devices with higher bounce rates implying a mobile version is necessary.
Thanks again Hendrik, I am going to take a little look at my better halfs blogger account on the back of this. I agree wholeheartedly about going elsewhere when you click on a photo, it is so frustrating, even if you go to someone's flickr or picassa account. It's why I use wordpress' own image facility and the Lightbox 2 plugin so that they pop up as an overlay on the actual page you are on, without taking you elsewhere.
natureadrift, end2endtrailsupply, Grant Ritter, Frankie Outdoors & sbrt - Thanks for the comments, and glad to hear you found it useful! May your blogs blossom!
Also on the iPhone the sites they're rendered completely, but it is tiny and not nice to navigate. I rather have a fast loading mobile version, and switch to the normal version if needed, instead vice versa. Different tastes we have, and both have their raison d'étre =)
Hei Bush Hippy - nice to see you here! I use a few cameras, at the moment I am switching back and forth between a Panasonic Lumix GF2 and a Sony NEX-5 - see the links above! They're fantastic lightweight cameras which make splendid photos.
I have never thought of a print-friendly feature, though it is a good point you make, Colleen. I like the button you have on your site, that looks great. My solution for at least recipes is to load the page in question on the iPad and take it to the kitchen - also saves some trees! as for trail write-ups - well, not many here in Finland available, so not really a need for me, though I can see how it could be useful for people in the USA and UK.
Thanks for your concern. I am glad to say that the operation was not so involved as I first thought it would be. So crossing my fingers, I think Mary will be better soon and CRPS will not come back. I hope you have not had a similar problem in your family. Mark
That is great to hear, that the operation wasn't so involved. We had no similar problem in the family - knock on wood - but the reasons were on the other side of the spectrum. More about that in the future ;)
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Very good, Michael! The framework for WP Whiteboard is a very nice theme for Wordpress community there and saves them the trouble of implementing Less frames itself!
Hiking in Finland is licensed under a Creative Commons license. If you want to use or reference anything you see here, please contact me.
You're going out on your own responsibility. If you try out something that I write about here, and it goes horribly wrong, don't come crying to me. Know your limits. Use common sense.
or Panasonic Lumix GF2
. They're both excellent cameras which make splendid photos.
"Getting the blog to run on the new domain is also super simple on Blogger" - not always! I spent three weeks with my blog frozen in cyberspace cryogenics when I tried exporting it to my custom domain. I wish I had the patience to try again ;) At least my little corner of cyberspace is mine now though so I can try again one day!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for flattering my humble photography, especially in the same sentence as people like Fraser, Chris and Petesy who are all massive influences on my own photography along with your good self, Dr Jordan and so many others. Actually, talking of Chris, his Photography Brain Dump is worth reading to anyone looking to improve their outdoor photography. Two of his suggestions to getting good photos that anyone can do (especially if, like me, they can't afford an expensive camera) are firstly, keep your camera close at hand because if it's buried in your pack in a protective case you just ain't going to use it. And secondly: shoot, shoot and shoot and shoot some more! The law of averages says you have to get at least one good image!
Great post Hendrik. Got me thinking about a few things.
I completely agree with you on Blogger vs. WordPress. I have both, and find Blogger's editor more intuitive, and like that I don't have to keep logging in all the time. The comment subscription system on WP involves too many processes: a link, an email, another link, a confirmation... just lemme subscribe forcrissakes. I also like the "followers" widget in Blogger - it's nice to put a face to community members. While stats don't really matter, I find that knowing people actually read and follow my posts gives me more motivation to write, and to try to write well.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Hendrik, thought you may of mentioned the RSS Full Posts that a few of us have discussed on Twitter. I found my self nodding my head to everything you said. The important one about the number of posts, I gave up on several sites recently that were posting constantly. I need to post a bit more though ;-)
ReplyDeleteOh, yeah, I forgot that RSS Full Post thing - had it in mind and then it slipped - might need to edit that in later on! Glad to earn your nod of approval, Steven =) Your "Evolution of Footwear" post was great, looking forward to the Keen A86 review ;)
ReplyDeleteI think the new Blogger Draft Editor will really switch things up. From what I have seen it looks really good, more space, nicer colours.
ReplyDeleteI really like PTC's blog, but the WP comment thing drives me mad at times :/
And a good point on the Followers widget, though you also can get that working on WP (Sam has it, and iirc also Phil).
What a great post Hendrik!. Wordpress wins out for me as it is so much more flexible and customisable, but not having used blogger, I can't really compare. I host myself as I love to learn new things and to tinker, as well as getting my blog exactly how I want it to look. The fact it took me nearly a year has been half the fun :-) BTW For those Wordpressers who want to ensure that their site looks good on a Smart phone I can seriously recommend WPtouch as a plugin. In terms of the photos, I am not quite sure I like to just have the ones in the post, as I do like to make them larger to look at, particularly when they are as good as Frasers for example.
ReplyDeleteI love the final comment, and agree wholeheartedly. Thanks to you and all the other outdoor bloggers who have opened my eyes to lead me down different paths and routes (either physically or in ways of thinking) that I may not have chosen.
Great post. I'll have to look into a few of the tips closer.
ReplyDeleteGreat post and full of great tips for someone like me who is just starting out and trying to contribute to outdoor blogging. I do love that sharing is caring and have been lucky enough to have a couple of my http://walkwithtookie.com posts featured in your weekly round up. I just now need to find the time to write stuff up on a regular basis. Here's hoping I can. Looking forward to your next post.
ReplyDeletePersonally I use posterous but we all like different sauce so that's cool :)
This was a great post Hendrik! Informative and well thought out, I doubt many who have followed you on Twitter fail to realise your love of blogger, which I too share for it's ease of use for writing and getting content down.
ReplyDeleteI have removed my Disqus comment format due to people trying to post comments from their phones. The comments were published (I was notified of them) but the comments failed to appear in the Disqus comment stream. Worked very well for other 'regular' comment entry though so I will resume when Disqus sorts it's life out!
Blogger is fantastic and the way to go. I also think Twitter is a superb way of connecting. Getting right into it now. Your point that Quality over quantity is totally correct. Why not post twice a month? Does it matter every week.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Hendrik. Good to see lots of nice little tips, tricks and comments brought together in one post. It has certainly made me look at a couple of things on my site. My current design is four years old now and I've been thinking about a re-design for a while so the link to Less Framework is really helpful. I self-host on WordPress but have no idea about the editor as I like to use Mars Edit, a Mac desktop editor that brings me direct Flickr integration and other handy things. Otherwise, I think the main thing is for people to blog their own blog and as it develops they'll find a niche, settle on a style, and build an audience.
ReplyDeleteRe: "Less Framework", thank you for the tip! I have been taking the suggestion you made some days ago about mobile optimization to heart - I promise.
ReplyDeleteHendrik, I have not been able to do much blogging lately or read many blogs ( and I know you would not say it) but your blog is a great example of the art of blogging.
ReplyDeleteThanks for some of the tips
Mark
Top tip that about WPtouch - thanks! I've installed it on my site - only problem is that embedded Flickr photos don't get resized... To Google I go!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the advice.
ReplyDeleteThe Less Framework looks nice. I found the Whiteboard Framework which maybe interesting for self hosted wordpress blogs and already integrates the Less Frame work inthttp://whiteboardframework.com/
Once again, great post dude. I really appreciate this one. my blog is new, so I am constantly trying to figure out how to make my blog better, and I must admit that I have used yours as point of reference. Great content and super photos! it is always entertaining to read over your post.
ReplyDeleteI am on Wordpress so I will have to figure out how to get some of this stuff on there. I am not that computer talented. I just kind of learn as I go along. Now my blog is at a point though that I am afraid that I may destroy it by doing certain things, so I am more hesitant to try new stuff. oh well..I will see.
Thanks again!
Really good point, Michael! The Whiteboard Framework for WP is a very nice theme for the Wordpress community out there and saves them the trouble of implementing Less Frameworks themselves!
ReplyDeleteYes! More bloggers on Twitter please!
ReplyDeleteAh. You're too kind! :)
ReplyDeletegreat summing up and sharing of infos, thanks!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post Hendrik, thank you for sharing your experience !!!
ReplyDeleteI just got an email from Flattr that they are changing their requirements by getting rid of the initial need for credit. That makes it a lot more attractive to me, so I might finally get around to adding it :)
ReplyDeleteI agree on PTC - I often give up on trying to comment, which is a shame as it's a great blog.
Thanks for the tips, I really didn't know about pages and getting your own page domain. cheers
ReplyDeleteJoe, if you want I can take a look at getting your custom domain working. I did so for a few blogs I own, and didn't encounter any problems.
ReplyDeleteA good decision, I knew the news would come out at some time, but I didn't think it happen so soon! Looking forward to Flattr some of your content =)
ReplyDeleteI spoke to Peter at some point about it, and to be fair it is "only" a username and password but I have a few WP accounts and sometimes get them mixed up and then can't be bothered to find the right account to comment.
Thank Gareth! Blogger is very flexible as well, if you know HTML and CSS then you can tinker also as much (or little) as you want with it. But if you host yourself, then WP has its advantages. btw, check out http://whiteboardframework.com/ which was mentioned also here which has the Less Framework already integrated.
ReplyDeleteI like to click some photos to check some details. Though if it is thumbnails or fairly small sized I am not bothering, as usually photos open in a new tab or window or application which I annoys me.
Kiitos!
ReplyDeletebtw, your comment on the Week In Review last week (logged in as Yeti), did you post that from a phone? As it didn't show up in the Disqus comments, but I got an email about it.
Posterous is cool, I just signed up to tumblr last week but haven't got around using it heaps yet. Maybe Posterous next!
ReplyDeleteMy next post will bring back winter ;)
Lets say I stick with Blogger because I am here, but I also do like them =) Switching blogs, with all comments, content, SEO rankings, etc is a bunch of work for which I don't have the time.
ReplyDeleteI lost a few comments because of posted via Phone on Disqus, though I reckon the guys and gals at Disqus are working on making it work! There's only few people really commenting via phone for me, so I reckon it is a pay-off I am ready to take.
Have you seen the new views and tools coming? Really sweet stuff which will make writing even more of a pleasure!
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the comment, Martin. You were my inspiration back in 2009 to start outdoor blogging myself!
Also look at http://whiteboardframework.com/ if you want to make your life a tad easier!
ReplyDeleteYour site doesn't look like it is four years old, Nick. It is simple and timeless, in my opinion. I like it.
ReplyDelete"Blog your own blog", really great quote!
Thanks Mark for the kind words! Quality over quantity, I am sure when your next post comes it will be much the better for it!
ReplyDeleteI'm no geek myself Chad, but http://whiteboardframework.com/ is a good start if you're on Wordpress and want to make your blog more "responsive" Also Gareth's recommendation for WPTouch above is worth looking into as a quick fix to get your blog looking good on smartphones!
ReplyDeleteI think if one lives in Japan or Iceland, one can't take bad photos. Especially the latter country has pretty awesome light and scenery that taking a bad photo isn't made easy!
ReplyDeleteI also really like your minimalistic layout, Fraser. You are, btw, judging from the stats the only reader using Opera on a Mac to read this blog - maybe I should make a special badge for you! You'll need to explain my "preference for minimal compositions" a bit better - examples?!
Glad you find it useful, Daniel! Happy implementing and blogging =)
ReplyDeleteNoted.
ReplyDeleteExcellent tips, very applicable to food blogging, too!
ReplyDeleteI'm a Wordpress.org girl, have been for years. I'm a coder and a taxonomy geek (aka librarian), so the flexibility of self-hosted WP blogs can't be beat or my projects...particularly when combined with a highly customizable framework like Thesis. Plus there is such good integration with all of my social channels. But, I do agree that the Blogger posting interface is much easier, which I why I run my Mom's blog off that platform, and usually steer new bloggers that way until they might need something more complex.
One more key feature I'd add to this list is a print-friendly version (either via a plugin or separate linked css). I'm both an outdoors and a food blogger, and the lack of a print-friendly version is my **main pet peeve** with most other food or outdoors (particularly hiking blogs that do trail write-ups) blogs. I like to be able to print trail write-ups (and recipes) to take hiking (or into the kitchen) with me... yet some of the best most detailed hiking blogs force their readers to waste paper and ink printing out unnecessary items like blog headers, footers, sidebars and comments. I just want the main basic content with attribution. I use a plug-in on my blogs that allow my readers to omit headers/footers/comments/etc.. omit images altogether, or select which text/images to print out.
Colleen @ Greene Adventures
Yes, it was posted from a phone.
ReplyDeleteI am typing up one now, on my first trip out for some time. My wife has had major problems with a very rare condition called CRPS (Complex Regional Pain Syndrome) after breaking her leg some 15 months ago, she has had 13 separate procedures/operations since her accident and she is going into hospital for another operation tomorrow, so as you can imagine it has been difficult to do as much walking/blogging as I would like. However family comes first and my interests second at the moment !
ReplyDeleteMark
Hey up Hendrik
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips. Now I know what I have been doing wrong.
All the best
Steve
Fantastic post.
ReplyDeleteGot a lot of great info from this post. Been added to my bookmarks for future reference.
Thanks for posting.
Lots of useful tips that I agree completely with. The one thing I am not so sure about though is making your blog mobile friendly. Mobile browsers are getting cleverer - and certainly on Android phones and tablets, line length is automatically reduced to fit the screen size whilst maintaining a readable font size, but the browser can still render the page correctly, letting the visitor browse your site in full. There are obviously other factors to consider, like download times for mobile browsing, but I am not sure having a mobile version should be the default position. If you have a look at your stats, you should be able to spot devices with higher bounce rates implying a mobile version is necessary.
ReplyDeleteExcellent post! As a new outdoor blogger this information really helps me see how it is done!
ReplyDeleteExcellent post, Hendrik! Lots of great info.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tips, today I learnt how to make pages on my blog. Cheers
ReplyDeleteThanks again Hendrik, I am going to take a little look at my better halfs blogger account on the back of this. I agree wholeheartedly about going elsewhere when you click on a photo, it is so frustrating, even if you go to someone's flickr or picassa account. It's why I use wordpress' own image facility and the Lightbox 2 plugin so that they pop up as an overlay on the actual page you are on, without taking you elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteJust Keeping it Real! ;)
ReplyDeleteMaybe not minimalist, but definitely simple and unfussy:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hendrikmorkel/5649495214/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hendrikmorkel/5599898579/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hendrikmorkel/5585379228/
https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/GsCl-O6Tv08zifBBQhwLYgaHJjYRDRV4S5g4VqcfkwU?feat=embedwebsite
natureadrift, end2endtrailsupply, Grant Ritter, Frankie Outdoors & sbrt - Thanks for the comments, and glad to hear you found it useful! May your blogs blossom!
ReplyDeleteAlso on the iPhone the sites they're rendered completely, but it is tiny and not nice to navigate. I rather have a fast loading mobile version, and switch to the normal version if needed, instead vice versa. Different tastes we have, and both have their raison d'étre =)
ReplyDeletewonderful info, thanks so much for sharing! what kind of camera do you shoot with?
ReplyDeleteNice article. You talked me into removing comment moderation on my site. I'll see how it goes.
ReplyDeleteThat's great. Let me know how it goes for you, if you see an increase in Spam or an increase in comments!
ReplyDeleteHei Bush Hippy - nice to see you here! I use a few cameras, at the moment I am switching back and forth between a Panasonic Lumix GF2 and a Sony NEX-5 - see the links above! They're fantastic lightweight cameras which make splendid photos.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found it useful, Martin!
ReplyDeleteI have never thought of a print-friendly feature, though it is a good point you make, Colleen. I like the button you have on your site, that looks great. My solution for at least recipes is to load the page in question on the iPad and take it to the kitchen - also saves some trees! as for trail write-ups - well, not many here in Finland available, so not really a need for me, though I can see how it could be useful for people in the USA and UK.
ReplyDeleteMark, that sounds painful and not nice at all. I hope your wife gets healthy soon and gets rid of the CRPS.
ReplyDeleteFamily comes indeed always first, which is also the reason I haven't been out much lately.
Thanks for your concern. I am glad to say that the operation was not so involved as I first thought it would be. So crossing my fingers, I think Mary will be better soon and CRPS will not come back.
ReplyDeleteI hope you have not had a similar problem in your family.
Mark
wao what an idea buddy
ReplyDeleteThat is great to hear, that the operation wasn't so involved. We had no similar problem in the family - knock on wood - but the reasons were on the other side of the spectrum. More about that in the future ;)
ReplyDeleteThis article is novel,Custom Soccer Jerseys I really love it. I also have some ideas written in my article, you can have a look if you have the interest.argentina soccer jersey We can also discuss different topics.
ReplyDeleteVery good, Michael! The framework for WP Whiteboard is a very nice theme for Wordpress community there and saves them the trouble of implementing Less frames itself!
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