[Please note that I copied and pasted this post and the two previous ones from another blog, which makes this post make a bit less sense. I’m leaving it as it is for the sake of consistency, but I am very excited to have upgraded to a site that seems to have more potential! The other points, pictures and advertising, are still things that I need help with.]
When I was an adolescent, before I ever even had a Facebook account, I had a blog on Xanga that I posted on faithfully. Then with time I switched over almost completely to microblogging. There were other differences then, too. First and most obviously, I had absolutely no ambitions to keep the blog anonymous. Everyone in my church was on Xanga and I had a built-in audience. I wasn’t writing to build community; I was writing for the community that I already had. Now I’m sad to say that my old Xanga blog has been taken down and in order to revive it, I would have to download the archives and convert them to either a WordPress blog or Xanga 2.0, neither of which I have been successful in my attempts to do. It would only be for old times’ sake, anyway, as the contents of this blog would be totally different from the contents of the ancient one. But it seems that those years were the heyday of blogging and it took less effort to produce one. Now, returning to the blog scene after all these years, I have some questions that I hope some readers will have answers to!
First, is this even the right platform? I usually post from my mobile phone and I chose this because I read that the Blogger app was the easiest to use on mobile. I’m confused because my blog ends in .blogspot.com but the app is Blogger, so is the name of this platform Blogspot or Blogger? I also did some follow-up internet searching after I got this blog and another article disagreed with the first one I read, stating that Google had stopped updating Blogspot/Blogger and its future as a site was uncertain. I don’t want to get invested in this platform only to lose all my work. Are my worries justified?
Secondly, where does one get pictures for a blog? I don’t have access to a camera even on my phone (all cameras have to be disabled upon entry to the ward due to incredibly strictly-enforced, no-nonsense HIPAA regulations), and there wouldn’t be much to take pictures of around here anyway except my rose of Jericho plant. (No offense to the plant; her name is Rosa and she is just the best of plants!) I got a picture for my first entry by typing “sunrise” into Wikipedia as my understanding is that all photos on there are completely copyright-free and safe to use. I’ve never been at all good at producing my own art (there were no drawing classes at my homeschool, I’m afraid) but I need to either learn or come up with a source of pictures that are legal to use. Any tips on how to do either would be much appreciated!
Finally, how does one promote an anonymous blog? Obviously cost free methods would be ideal, although I could spare a few dollars on some sort of cheap advertising if it would help. I’ve searched online and everything seems to be about promoting a blog for business purposes, not just to see who’s out there who wants to connect. I’m looking for community, not planning on making a profit. Obviously I can’t use social media without giving up anonymity. And having been absent from the blog scene during critical years, I don’t know what people usually do to get readers.
Many thanks to my readers for their input and I look forward to reading your comments!
