Blogger Hacks, Categories, Tips & Tricks

Monday, October 17, 2005
Get your own domain, quick...
As a follow up to the previous post (& possibly still fuelled by the apocalyptic paranoia that I was feeling when I wrote it.....), Jakob Nielsen's Weblog Useability Problem #10: Having a Domain Name Owned by a Weblog Service
Having a weblog address ending in blogspot.com, typepad.com, etc. will soon be the equivalent of having an @aol.com email address or a Geocities website: the mark of a naïve beginner who shouldn't be taken too seriously.

Letting somebody else own your name means that they own your destiny on the Internet. They can degrade the service quality as much as they want. They can increase the price as much as they want. They can add atop your content as many pop-ups, blinking banners, or other user-repelling advertising techniques as they want. They can promote your competitor's offers on your pages. Yes, you can walk, but at the cost of your loyal readers, links you've attracted from other sites, and your search engine ranking.....The longer you delay, the more pain you'll feel when you finally make the move.
Bugger!!

Oh, and hey, in an "oh the Irony" groan-worthy moment, where do you think I got this link from? Yup. My sub to blogger buzz, where they proudly announce "Don't worry!! We don’t get rid of Blogspot blogs, even if you do leave them languishing for years."

That's part of the problem!! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrggggggggghhhhhhhh!! (small pop as head explodes!!)

See SEW for a comprehensive review, and a further prompt to get your own domain.

Posted at 7:44 PM by John.
3 Comments:
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Blogger Jim Jannotti said...
*heaviest sigh in the history of sighs*

You and the writers you've sighted just may be right, John. But you know, this would be one step toward the creation of yet another medium in which one's ability to be heard is dependent on paying to be a part of the conversation.

Or maybe I'm overreacting.

If it comes to having to pay to have a blog that anyone reads, I certainly won't have one. Won't read 'em either.

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Blogger Angelsong said...
So much for Freedom of Expression....unless one has the money to purchase a domain, I think a lot of folks will be left out in the cold.

John, is there an e mail address at which I can contact you? I have a question for you, and cannot locate any other contact information.

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Blogger Fin said...
Hehe... don't worry, we proudly delete the spam that we do find. I'm sure you saw this mega list from yesterday.


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