Will Kirkpatrick

I’m not sure if I can really say I qualify as a blogger because I only do about five posts a week and most of them are rants on the things around me. I’d love to do more, but I can’t recommend my reviews over some on Engadget or Gizmodo because those are where true bloggers reside. I’m just here to give some friendly advise, ask question I need answers to, and give the occasional rant (which I so much enjoy).

However, if you blog at all or want to blog then there are a few good ways of doing it that I have found the best ways for me. WordPress is the core of everything I’m about to talk about so if you want to blog in some other hosting sites/servers then by all means do so. I just have nothing to say to you other than switch to WordPress you noob.

I feel so strongly about WordPress because I’ve tried almost every other option: Tumblr, Typepad, Blogger, LiveJournal, etc. They all lack something here or there and WordPress comes with a fully customizable package. WordPress will supply you with a basic personal blog or a fully decked out business blog depending on your needs. I will admit that there is a bit of a learning curve to WordPress, but I’ll explain how much worth it is.

The first thing people tend to think when building their blog is the look of it and WordPress packs themes higher than probably any other blog service. You can have it look like anything you envisioned. Then if you ever want to change it you can effortlessly swap the theme. I’m constantly “trying on” new themes for WillKirkpatrick.com because there are so many great free options that it’s hard not to see how your blog would look with more of an artistic theme. Mine can’t quite pull it off, sadly.

The biggest reason that I started a WordPress blog and have kept it this long is the ease of updating your blog. I can blog from my WordPress Dashboard, through mobile apps on my iPhone/Nokia/Android, and have some outstanding applications to write/manage my blog on any of my Macs. There is even an official WordPress app for the iPhone and Android devices to manage your site and even the comments. This is huge for any blogger I would think.

My process of blogging is a bit of back-up overkill, but it just seems to work for me. I have been told it’s odd so many times that at this point I feel like it’s unique to me as a blogger. It’s not my “process”. Love that.

I start every thought in a iPhone app called “Awesome Note” where I can manage all the notes and post ideas into folders and the “Awesome” part of Awesome Note is that it syncs your folders and content with Google Docs. I think this is a significant improvement than using a local save or published as a draft. Google Docs is now in the position to back-up all my posts, let me pick them up and add to them on any internet connected device, and share the drafts with friends who might have some notes to add. Then when I’m ready I can copy and paste it directly into the blog or better I can put it into my favorite blogging application for the Mac: Mars Edit.

I use Mars Edit to do any finishing touches the post requires, preview the formatting, and add media. It’s great for media because it actually syncs with your Flickr. Just start a folder called “WordPress” and upload images as you need them. This saves on taking up room on your WordPress sever storage.

As you finish reading this article you could have easily setup a WordPress account, picked up a snappy theme, and made your first post. It’s really that easy when you have the right tools.

I have no advice for you vloggers out there other than try to stand out in your own unique way. The internet is flooded by vlogger-wannabes and it’s painful. Be yourself and have high quality videos. Of that doesn’t work then it might not be right for you.

That’s a good rule for all internet personalities out there. Be yourself and have fun. If this blog wasn’t fun or I had to give opinions other than my own then I wouldn’t do it. I stopped lifecasting for that exact reason. It became a chore as soon as I started doing it for a living. Now I’m excited to get back into it here for the basic fact that you guys want it which makes me want to do it.

Live Update: I have just a few dates I’m still waiting to lock into my calendar then I’ll start broadcasting. I was thinking Thursdays and Sundays. Still not sure about the times though. Any ideas?