And I was looking for a true reader ..

For anyone who likes the popular meme http://engrishfunny.com, this is for you.  Just some friendly spam, captured by Akismet (thanks Akismet!).

It was a very nice theme! Just wanna say thank you for the data you have apportioned. Just continue writing this kind of post. I will be your true reader. Thanks again.

My true reader

I like the “wanna”.

Getting the hang of it

The post-by-email feature in WordPress seems powerful, though I am no expert. These features may be par for the course these days. But based on what I saw last time I reviewed TypePad, Blogger, etc., this seems more straightforward. For example, creating a poll from within an email is easy:

Easy peasy.

WordPress post by email help file really helpful

That was easy – found the Post by Email support page. I’m really liking this feature, as I think this is a lighter weight way to post to WordPress, and it seems to offer all the important options. It will also convert multiple pictures into a gallery (see below) and I can send it as a draft, add categories and tags, delay posting, change publication settings for the post, insert a poll… basically the most important things that you do from the WordPress admin pages. Of course (light bulb slowly flickering on to full strength) I can always save a future post as a draft in my email program.

Haven’t heard back yet from Posterous. Sent two emails from admin. Zip.

[Follow up after posting.. one of the images didn't show up, not sure why.  And the Posterous gallery is nicer, but the thumbnails below aren't bad.  I never thought the WordPress gallery and media library were particularly intuitive.  And it really takes a long time to post from the WordPress admin.]

[Follow up 2 - This is where the WordPress admin is showing some roughness - one of the thumbnails never showed up, might have had something to do with the size.  When I reinserted the image into the post, it deleted the other images.  I might have some something to cause that, but it didn't seem like what I tried to so (insert an image again) would delete the originals I had already inserted.  It was in a different area of the post too.]

WordPress spam protection is a definite plus

In the comparison between WordPress and other platforms, there is one thing that WordPress does very well – spam protection. Built into every WordPress.com account is Automattic Kismet (Akismet for short). You pretty much just set it and forget it. Spam comments are automatically identified and routed to the spam folder, relieving the blogger from tedious trudging through thick mucks of enlargement and herbal remedy offers.

Nicely done, WordPress, and thank you!

Post by email

I’ve been looking for the absolute easiest way to post. Being that I am both impatient and lazy at times, I need to be able to zap off a thought that needs preserving before it vanishes forever.

We’ve all been there – you have a great idea, no pen or paper handy, so maybe you think of a couple keywords. Trouble is, sometimes I remember the keyword but not what it stood for. “So why did I pick asparagus?”…

So I am testing out Posterous again. I had first signed up when I read the original piece posted at TechCrunch, but didn’t continue much past an initial test. But now that they have received additional funding, I think it’s time to check it out again. Sounds like they will be here to stay for a while.

But in the meantime, going to see how easy this post by email feature is with WordPress.

There’s a picture above this, and a couple links here and there. Same questions as with Posterous – how do I email a draft, and how to control categories and other details?

Preserving The Now

I’ve been thinking about jumping into the lifestreaming pool lately, but the biggest question I have is, will these sites be around in 100 years?  Because the main reason for me to do it would be to pass something down; if I wanted to keep memories to myself I could use my own shorthand; save some comments and pics here and there, just keep a blog with some attachments.  That would work fine, assuming my memory stays pretty sharp, because I would understand the context of each post.  But for people down the road to really understand “what it was like” way back when, they need to know the context too, and my question is, how to make sure that’s preserved.

For example, we just got through two of the biggest snowstorms (and the only two of that size in one week that I can remember) over the past few weeks.  So, I thought that would be a great thing to blog about, so 10 years from now when I reflect with my kids, I will know the dates and sequence of events.  Sure enough, there are two wikipedia articles (one for each storm) so I can just link to them and all set.  But wait – - the whole nature of wikipedia is that it is editable and will change over time.  Hopefully for the better, but you never know.  The point is, it’s out of my control, so how do I preserve what’s up there now?  OK, well, I can print it to PDF.  That works great, but I don’t really have a good integrated viewer for my blog (I know there are some out there I just haven’t found yet..).  More importantly there are other formats I might want to embed.  So, I’m thinking Scribd.  Perfect!  But then I’m back to the question, will it last?

One option is to just assume that since everything is being backed up, copied, re-posted, commented on, and logged, that the original news stories surrounding my life will be accessible in the future in an easy to navigate way.

Kind of like one of those “On this day 50 years ago” newspaper front pages that people give each other for their 50th birthday, but way better.

I guess there is no way to guarantee that a site I trust my memories to will be around when I am old and gray, but I want it to be around for at least the next ten years (and not to disappear without enough warning to transfer all my content out).  And seeing some of the turnover in the tech industry, that’s not a sure thing.  But some things we just have to assume will stay around.  Like PDF viewers and JPG viewers.  So for now at least, I’ll keep storing an extra copy of important attachments that I blog about (which also gets backed up) in addition to posting them on an appropriate service; one that looks stable enough to be around for a while, like Scribd.

Babbl The Blog

After building a basic microblog engine, then trying out StatusNet for a few months, I’ve decided to use Babbl.org for my blog. Really, what could be more appropriate?

Babbl Not Taken, I Guess This Isn’t A Common Name

Just did a quick comparison of Tumblr, TypePad, Vox, Blogger, Moveable Type, and WordPress.  I have been using WordPress on Bluehost for a few blogs, but decided to sign up for WordPress.com and see how it looks.   Tumblr looked good but read some comments regarding closed environment, no native comments, and seo.  Hard to say after less than an hour of research, but I know with WordPress I can get everything out if needed.  Plus there is something that really works with the whole WordPress outlook.  Everything is open source, good spam filtering, great success story.. so WordPress it is.