If i started a blog who would read it?

[mosschops30]

Have been thinking about this fr a while.
I started a little project thing about part of the West End of Newcastle, have loads of info and pics but dont know what to do with it.

Thought about a little book but no idea where to start. Local paper is letting me write a short piece and a specialist website will publish some of my pics and link to a blog if i did one.

Is this the best way to go? I dont want a daily thing, just somewhere i can put down all this info. Who would read it?

[faeriefruitcake]

I would if you mention Metallica

My friends mum started one and loads of people who are interested in her cuddly toys read it. Friends & family?

[ilovedarthmaul]

I would! Sounds interesting. What abt a facebook page too where you get a fact each day? X

[mosschops30]

Thanks for the support and suggestions
would a fb page be easier/better?
There is one already for photos of the west end which is great and lots of people share stories on there.

The main things i want to get across are the history of the area, what the high rise blocks were originally intended for, how they declined in the 80's, changes made to try and improve the blocks, the regeneration plan, how and why it failed, the people who live there, little annecdotes etc etc. plus i have pictures of inside and outside when they were emptied, pics of the new blocks and will continue taking pics as the old blocks come down and the landscape changes.

Would fb be better for this type of thing?

[MmeGuillotine]

I think that would work well on typical blog sites like Wordpress or Blogger. If it is mainly pictorial then you could give Tumblr a go too as the emphasis there is more on pictures than text.

'Urban decay' blogs are VERY popular so don't hide yourself away on Facebook. Not many people would look there for reading material - it's best used as a support to blogs that are hosted elsewhere. :)

[mosschops30]

Thanks mmeguillotine you sound like you know what youre talking about.
Is wordpress easy to follow?
Can i set up different 'bits' like pictures, history, stories etc or does it just go on one thing?

[MmeGuillotine]

Oh yes, Wordpress is very easy.

Posts follow each other chronologically but you can put them in different categories so people can search for stuff that interests them. I write a history blog on Wordpress - will link so you can see how it looks and the different categories and stuff. :)

madameguillotine.org.uk/

[mosschops30]

Thank you, i will have a look at yours later when i get chance.

Does it talk you through the setting up process?
Can you keep it private until its ready?
How do you get blogs 'out there'?

[MmeGuillotine]

No, it doesn't really hold your hand all that much, but it's really simple to set up a Wordpress blog and getting it looking professional. There's some nice themes for more photographic blogs that change colour to match the most recent post and stuff like that.

Yes, you can lock the blog until you're ready to let people see it.

Haha, well, the best way is to find other blogs that you like and add them to your blogroll, leave comments and build up a relationship with the writers. I have a feeling that most blog readers are also blog writers tbh so making contacts within the blogging community makes a lot of sense. You should also sign up for Twitter and make a Facebook 'page' too which you can keep updated with news about your blog and new posts and stuff like that.

There are all sorts of etiquettes to using Twitter and blogging but most people are nice and welcoming to new bloggers and always happy to explain things - it's competitive but ultimately we all want the same thing, which is for blogs to be taken seriously and the only way we can do that is by all working together. :)

[mosschops30]

Phew! Sounds a nightmare. I cant use twitter but i do use FB so thats an option to link to blog.
Also a voluntary site which produces archive from the area will link and maybe the local paper will let me put my blog at the end of my article, if i ever get round to writing it!

[Tianc]

Marking my place, because I was really interested when you mentioned this project before.

[mosschops30]

I will announce it on MN if i ever get anything done.
I am off work atm with 2 slipped discs so no excuse

[mamabearwithme]

I think it is a brilliant idea - if you have an itch you need to scratch it. Are you on twitter? if you follow people with similar interests on twitter and get them to check out your blog you will have followers before you know it!
As mentioned above - wordpress is soooo easy to use - defo recommend it. I am on it and a complete idiot about technology and internet and stuff, but I manage it fine.
Good luck - let us know how you get on

[mamabearwithme]

ARG! Sorry just read your comment where you quite clearly said "I cant use twitter". Sorry for asking you again.
But...
My friend in advertising told me if I wanted people to read my blog I really really needed to try and get back on twitter. I HATED it before - felt like all I ever read was celebrities telling each other how great they are and what time they would meet them in the pub. Dull. But, i went back, persevered and have met several other very well known bloggers through it and my blog has defo grown through it.
FB is good if you want people you already know to read your blog and if thats what you are happy to stick with cool, but if you want a wider audience I recommend doing other social networking too.

[mosschops30]

mama yes thats what i think about twitter, i dont even understand how it works though.
I wouldnt know how to find people that liked urbex or west end history. I can only find slebs and even then dont understnd the whole # thing!
Maybe dd can help she loves twitter.
Will look at wordpress if i ever have 5 minutes

[mamabearwithme]

Do you read magazines/ articles from people with similar interests to you? Those journo's/ writers will ALWAYS have twitter accounts. They will either be at end of article or you can google them and find it. Search for them on twitter and start following. Any of their tweets will appear in your news feed (sort of like your news feed on FB) and you can reply to them....they will soon start to notice you.

[mamabearwithme]

Me again. Sorry I am sort of keeping on but listening to you you sound so similar to me (similar fears/ concerns/ questions etc) when I was thinking about blogging. I kept putting it off, "oh who would read it" and "I dont have time to see a blog up" and "where do I start".
Wordpress is so easy to set up. You log in. You choose a blog template. You type. And when you are happy with what you have written you can make the page available for all to see. It is brilliant.
Anyway, best go. You will be sick of hearing from me.
Best of luck.

[MmeGuillotine]

Don't bother with the celebrities on Twitter - they are boring as hell. Loads of us on here use it and will happily add you back so you have (relatively!) normal people to talk to. :)

[mosschops30]

Not at all mama i need all the help i can get. I have a quiet weekend ahead so i will have a look at wordpress and try and get something down, at least make a start.
I know a few people who may be on twitter with an interest in similar stuff or related.
I need a crash course in twitter
is there a whole MN community on twitter then?

[mamabearwithme]

There is there is. Once you are on twitter look me up and i will happily follow you. There you go - your first twerp!
HannahLMSmith
Once you start with one person you know with similar interest you will soon have a whole network. It is like a ripple effect.

[mosschops30]

Great thanks

[mosschops30]

I get the feeling i may be making a lot of HELP posts over the weekend.

Is it wordpress.com im using for a free blog rather than wordpress.org which looks like it creates a web page type thing?

[mosschops30]

Well ive started

have set up a page, done my first post and uploaded a header picture (well ok dh did that bit).
It doesnt look colourful or inviting, although im not sure it should be as its a pretty grim place with a big heart

now im not sure when i should make it public? Theres no point in keeping it private forever, but should i wait until ive got some more pics on there (thats another thing where do i put them all), and put on some stories and a bit of history, or shoud i just make it public now?
Then how do i broadcast it to people?

So sorry for do many questions, told you i was useless

[mosschops30]

Can you do your wordpress blog from an ipad?
I dont seem to be able to even see my page from the ipad.
Everything else i did today on dhs laptop. If i can only work on that then its going to be a long journey!

[TheCamelsHump]

Ooh, that sounds really interesting (I live in Washington) (As in, me personally, The Camel lives on the internet :) )

If you want any more promotion, if you can do a few kind of condensed posts (that would be interesting to the general reader) we would be more than happy to put them on The Camel's Hump, with a link to your full blog if you like.

[mosschops30]

Wow thanks camel. i will deffo come back to you on that when i have a clue what im doing
am totally ignorant about this sort of thing and so worried that im going to let myself down by making it look completely unprofessional