What blogging platform do you use?

#1

Post by mtr » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 6:02 AM UTC

Inspired by the recent post about "What's your blog?", what blogging platform do you use?

We started a (WP hosted on WPengine) blog for our startup at http://blog.octanenation.com/ and there are some behind-the-scenes posts that I would like to write that I don't think would fit well on the 'business' blog, similar to what Patio11 has done.

Where do you blog about these things? I'm not crazy about hosting/installing/maintaining a WP installation. Though I'm active on FB it's too closed and not the right 'vibe'.

What do you suggest? Tumblr? Blogspot? Wordpress.com? etc?

Thanks for all the suggestions!

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#2

Post by michaelpinto » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 6:21 AM UTC

Don't think of a platform: First think of your goal, then select a platform.

If you're a startup and you want a branded official news source then it's hard to beat a WP install on your own domain. Can you use another platform? Sure you can, but don't over think it because you should be working on your product.

If you're looking to reach a community, then think about who is the community that you want to reach? Then pick the platform based upon that. Want to meet tech geeks into Android? Well G+ seems to be the place. Want to meet hipsters who love to swap images images? Tumblr seems to be a good place for that. So play on the playground where you want to make some friends.

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#3

Post by mtr » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 6:35 AM UTC

michaelpinto wrote: post #2

Don't think of a platform: First think of your goal, then select a platform. If you're a startup and you want a branded official news source then it's hard to beat a WP install on your own domain. Can you use another platform? Sure you can, but don't over think it because you should be working on your product. If you're looking to reach a community, then think about who is the community that you want to reach? Then p…

Some good points. Our 'branded official news source' is already up and running on a subdomain using WP.

I was thinking of writing blog posts that go into more detail about the technology stack we're using, A/B tests, customer acquisition strategies etc. These types of blog posts don't seem like a good fit on the official blog.

Your comments about focusing on the community vs platform/technology is a nice practical insight. Cheers

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#4

Post by gdiaz » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 6:43 AM UTC

Have you thought about the WP install on your own domain, then seeking input/thoughts from people on the appropriate linkedIn group or g+ community?

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#5

Post by orangethirty » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 12:08 PM UTC

https://github.com/orangethirty/marketing_bits/blob/master/o...

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#6

Post by eduardordm » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 3:07 PM UTC

http://www.squarespace.com/

It is AWESOME.

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#7

Post by jonascopenhagen » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 4:04 PM UTC

I use a homemade one (written in PHP) that writes static files to the disk. The fact that I use static files means a post of mine was able to survive ~ 24 hours on the front page of HN even though my website is on a shared host.

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#8

Post by ante_annum » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 4:59 PM UTC

michaelpinto wrote: post #2

Don't think of a platform: First think of your goal, then select a platform. If you're a startup and you want a branded official news source then it's hard to beat a WP install on your own domain. Can you use another platform? Sure you can, but don't over think it because you should be working on your product. If you're looking to reach a community, then think about who is the community that you want to reach? Then p…

Actually, I think tumblr is a solid blogging platform for those uninterested in swapping swag images with scene kids. It's free, supports markdown, has a super clean editor, and had image hosting. I add my own extras to the themes, and roll on happy.

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#9

Post by ante_annum » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 4:59 PM UTC

michaelpinto wrote: post #2

Don't think of a platform: First think of your goal, then select a platform. If you're a startup and you want a branded official news source then it's hard to beat a WP install on your own domain. Can you use another platform? Sure you can, but don't over think it because you should be working on your product. If you're looking to reach a community, then think about who is the community that you want to reach? Then p…

Actually, I think tumblr is a solid blogging platform for those uninterested in swapping swag images with scene kids. It's free, supports markdown, has a super clean editor, and had image hosting. I add my own extras to the themes, and roll on happy.

Re: What blogging platform do you use?

#10

Post by gregcohn » Fri, Jan 25, 2013, 6:28 PM UTC

eduardordm wrote: post #6

http://www.squarespace.com/ It is AWESOME.

would you mind elaborating on what you like about it? We're currently using posterous, and very unhappy with it.