ColinAke.com…until I write a book.

I recently joined a starting meetup group of bloggers in Atlanta - the Atlanta Bloggers Meetup… It’s an interesting group with a wide range of bloggers, from beginners to people who have been blogging a while, to people like me who start and stop without notice.  Last time we were given homework - write a post about our blogging platform.  So, for those of you who either blog or want to blog, here’s my plug of WordPress and why I like it.

WordPress makes it easy to start blogging.  Whether you’re using WordPress.com - hosted blog solutions (yourblog.wordpress.com) or WordPress.org if you’re hosting it on your own server, WordPress is easy to use. WordPress.org is VERY easy to install (famous for the 5 minute install) and it’s quite the platform beyond that.

WordPress has TONS of plugins. From comment systems (IntenseDebate is the way to go) to stat counters to SEO optimization to spam filters, WordPress has got it going on. Frankly, you can find almost any plugin to modify your WordPress install into a photoblog, podcast, or any other popular blog format.  I think you should have the following plugins, at least… StatCounter, IntenseDebate (currently in private beta), FeedBurner (RSS feed tracker), Akismet (spam killer), and MyPageOrder (lets you order which pages show up in navigation where). Beyond that, make your own stuff up - but if you need it, it’s probably out there.

I think WordPress makes it easy to blog. Easy to write. Auto saved drafts. Always updating, always purchasing new technologies that make blogging easier. And it’s not THAT incredibly hard to modify themes, which, by the way, are readily available… There are billions of free varations out there.  Ok, maybe not billions, but a bunch.

So go start a blog. The trick is consistency, something you should know by now that I’m not good at.

Let me know if you need WP help.

Colin

IntenseDebate is the comment system I employ here at ColinAke.com - if you’ve commented on a post you’ve probably noticed it.  I love IntenseDebate - it threads comments, emails people and brings them back to the site, and improves the comment experience.

I’m currently involved in testing their new WordPress plugin. It’s got some kick-butt features that make it VERY attractive for bloggers, and though I’m not at liberty to disclose those features, let me say that if you haven’t switched over to IntenseDebate, you’ll want to when this new plugin comes out.

In the meantime, comment on as many posts of mine as you can and see if you can figure out some of the new features for yourself. ;)

One of the things I like about IntenseDebate is their great customer service. Michael Koenig is their support dude and is probably one of the easiest support guys to get a hold of.  He’s on Twitter (so is ID) - he’s on Email.  He’s really helpful and generally fast to respond (He does have to sleep some - he’s not superhuman). Anyways, if you run a blog and want a better way to manage your comments, check out IntenseDebate

Colin