You've likely seen this doing the rounds and, always one to write meta posts, I thought it was time to jump on board.
The challenge started out on Bear Blog but Kev revised the questions to be more generic so that anyone could get involved.
So let's get on with it.
Why did you start blogging in the first place?
I built my first website in 1995 and had a number of other blog-adjacent sites over the next few years. They have all been lost to the mists of time. I've always been a bit of a geek so followed a number of early blogs, sites & forums, and thought I wanted a bit of the action. It seemed the natural progression from what I was already doing. I had access to an MSDN account through where I was working and built a mini network at home so, in 2003, decided to dive in with something self-hosted.
What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
The blog uses my own custom CMS called (b)log-In – the name is a contrived amalgam of 'blog' and 'inline'. Inline, in this context, refers to the way just about everything is done inline, directly on the page. For a few days at the end of 2000/start of 2001 I built on an idea I'd had for the previous incarnation of the blog and it grew into a full platform. I wasn't entirely happy with what I was using before so wondered what would happen if I created my own. It uses PHP and a MySQL database, taking a number of pointers from WordPress.
Which leads me on to...
Have you blogged on other platforms before?
My first proper blog (started in 2003) was self-hosted on a server in my dining room. Over the 5 years of its life it used different versions of Microsoft SharePoint Portal Server or Windows SharePoint Services.
Yes, SharePoint!
I had been learning ASP so was able to heavily customise SharePoint to make it a fairly serviceable blog. It wasn't perfect but I re-wrote and integrated an ASP forum for comments. Sig Weber, a very clever chap, created an add-on that generated RSS feeds for SharePoint lists which meant the basics for blogging were all there.
I continued to tweak and improve things (the switch to WSS happened in 2006) but eventually became dissatisfied with what it could, or rather couldn't, do. My wife had been using WordPress for a while and, in 2008, eventually persuaded me to make the move. The new blog began with a multi-column look but became more minimal over time util, in 2016 I adopted a very simple theme, made it single column, and removed most of the bells and whistles.
I became increasingly annoyed at the ever growing bloat in WordPress so designed a series of custom page templates that completely changed how the front end worked. My goal was to never use wp-admin unless absolutely necessary so made everything from posting to editing to media uploads available directly on the page. This made things so much quicker and easier and inspired how (b)log-In works.
You can see an expanded version of this history in this post.
How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that's part of your blog?
As mentioned, everything is done directly on the page. I click a '+' button to write a new post and it loads a text box – everything is written in Markdown. This can be saved as a post or draft. Editing is also directly on the page: I double-click a post and it opens in a text box ready to update. Again, file uploads are done directly on the page via a form.
I also have a private notes page on the site that operates in the same way. Sometimes I'll write in notes if it's something that might take a while then hit a button to post directly to the blog from there – like this post.
There is no dashboard for posts/comments etc. Even comments are managed inline.
When do you feel most inspired to write?
There isn't any particular time when I'm most inspired. I write whenever something rattles around in my head long enough to warrant it. Recently that has usually involved music, mental health or messing about with the site itself.
I tend to write a number of posts in the bath as that is where I seem to do a lot of my best thinking. It's probably being immersed in hot water that relaxes me so my mind can wander.
Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
Posts only sit in draft while I'm still writing them. As soon as I have finished I will post them. This often means I have to go back and correct typos etc. but I'd rather get thinks out of my head and out in the world.
What's your favourite post on your blog?
This is a tricky one.
A glib answer would be any post I manage to write as I have struggled lately.
In one respect my favourite could be the one on 6th Jan 2021 announcing that I had switched to (b)log-In. The confirmation that my own platform worked felt amazing.
Alternatively, some of my posts on mental health could be contenders. I believe that things can only get better, for me and society as a whole, if we share our stories, talk about mental health and help to reduce the stigma that, sadly, still exists.
Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
I'm always tweaking things, squashing bugs and making slight visual changes. I've thought about a redesign but don't know where I would take it – most likely things will happen gradually and organically rather than in one go.
Now that I've got my own platform that works exactly how I like I doubt I'll be switching to anything else. I've built a couple of other systems, just as experiments, so would never say never but I'm happy with the way things are.
The site already includes the blog, notes, and my public/private feed reader so I'm not sure what else I would add right now. New features get added when I'm inspired by something I see out on the web and want to bring back to the blog.
Dan thought he was the last person left on Earth to do it. Nope! 😆
I can't think of anyone else to tag so will just end with: if by any chance you haven't taken the challenge, why not give it a go.
