This is one of a series of posts answering some questions about a life of blogging that started (I believe) via Tom Woodward, (maybe via this blogger) but that I first saw via Alan L, Sarah H and Martin W through a renewed push to return back to blogging spaces and away from corporate social media platforms. I am breaking down the series of questions into different blog posts.
Q: What platform are you using to manage your blog and why do you use it?
I have long been using Edublogs, and the reason is simple: I started here and have found it relatively stable (after some growing pains), and it’s part of a community of educational blogs, mostly at the University level. I arrived at Edublogs at the start of my blogging life when Jim Farmer was just creating the platform. Back then, I could email him directly and get a response, quickly, and even with the quirks of growing pains way back at the start of it all, Jim was always helpful. Later, Sue Waters took over from Jim in many of the daily operations, and she was great, too — an educator who was helping to run a blogging platform for other educators. Nowadays, I have no idea who is running the company. But I haven’t needed any help, either, so I suppose all has been fine.
And so, since I started here with my first blog post (7,445 posts ago!), I have remained here, mostly out of “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” mindset. Or laziness. I’ve used a few Edublog sites over the years for my classroom — sometimes, I would pay for premium services and sometimes, I’d go with the free version. We still use a free site for our daily homework blog for students and families. It works fine. I’ve never moaned and groaned about the annual cost. Edublogs has worked out for me over the years.
Which is not to say I have not tinkered for various projects on other platforms. I’ve used WordPress for a Daily Connect site (inspired by the DS106 Daily Create), and for the CLMOOC website (hosted by my friend, Karen F). I tinkered with Blogger at an early point and use Write.As for my daily poem writing. The Manila platform was where I started this whole blogging thing, way back (which I wrote about in an earlier post). There might be others that I have forgotten.
Simplicity and stability are the things I have looked for over the years, and Edublogs has provided that. Which doesn’t mean it might not be time to pick up stakes and port my blog elsewhere, soon, and finally establish a ‘Domain Of My Own’ as many online friends in DS106 and beyond advocate, instead of being hosted by the Edublogs network platform.
More on that possibility to come. (Update: since I wrote that sentence at my old blog, I’ve moved over here to my blog space)
Peace (on the platform),
Kevin
7000 posts?! Amazing, I am still in the hunt for 4000, damn you are prolific—the Dickens of bloggers! Also, you take me through some old gold blog history with this post. One of the folks working at Reclaim now, the amazing Jason, came over from Edublogs more than a year ago and worked with Sue Waters for many years. He was a huge fan of hers and I have to say she trained him well because he is aces. I think the idea of simplicity at the core of things is definitely key for any project, and while I am an advocate of owning your own domain, nnot at the cost of it becoming a burden. There is always a balance to strike, and writing regularly and being engaged is the real point of it all. You epitomize those values for sure!
Thank you, Jim, for the kind words and for all that you do out in the DS106 world.
Kevin
Jason was very helpful in my migration to here.
Kevin