Life beyond LJ

[jadesfire]

I'm working my way through comments and emails, so please bear with me for the moment. My mood is still on the floor and I have almost no energy, so it's taking me a while to type them, then I have go back and take out the typos.

And just to give me more to reply to, I was wondering if anyone out there uses a blogging platform other than LJ, and if you do, which one? For a work project on Web 2.0 tools, I've been keeping a Blogger blog going, and if I'm honest, I can't stand it. I find the interface awkward, the lack of threaded comments bizarre and the whole site difficult to navigate. The only thing it has going for it is that I can use my Google account, which isn't without its own problems for keeping my fannish life well away from my professional life.

So what places do you use? No need to link me to them unless you want to (see separation note above ;)) but what platforms do you find good? Wordpress? Typepad?

I'd like to keep a non-fannish blog going once I finish with the work programme, but I want to keep it somewhere that doesn't make me want to throw things at the screen every time I use it.

For thanks in advance, have an article about an early Turkish temple, Ambigram magazine (if you like art/design and don't know what that is, just click the link. Trust me, I'm a librarian), and Giant George, the world's tallest dog.

Comments

[white_hart]

My knitting blog is on Wordpress, and the interface is OK - I like it better than Blogger, anyway.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

One of the frustrating things is not being able to see too much about a platform until you're actually registered! I've heard good things about Wordpress though, so it's moving up my list :)

Thanks.

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

I don't know what platform the GoFugYourself (http://gofugyourself.celebuzz.com/) girls use, but their site seems fairly user friendly, for them and for commenters. As you know, I don't have the first clue about anything even resembling technical, but I'm assuming it will say somewhere on their site what platform it is?

(Edit - Also, just an aside, but the GoFugYourself blog never fails to cheer me up. It's like, a lesson in how to attack the argument and not the person, because they always, ALWAYS comment on how beautiful someone is, how smart they are, how nice they are, how talented etc etc... before laying into the hideous trainwreck of a dress that they're wearing. I like that about them :))

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*pets you* I can't see any attribution, so I suspect it's custom-built for them. It's their website rather than a blog that I could recreate.

Cool site, though. There went the rest of my day ;)

[miss-zedem.livejournal.com]

*beams* It's fun, isn't it? Bitchy, but in a nice way. Feminist commentators hate it, but I think it's great :)

[greyias.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I don't have any suggestions, but I had to pop my head in to say: "That icon *dies*"

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*beams* It's awesome, isn't it? I've decided to stop worrying about the appropriateness of icons - I have some great icons and it seems a shame not to use them!

[greyias.livejournal.com]

I concur. Appropriateness is highly overrated.

I use this one to make the person behind the computer go O_o

[phoenix64.livejournal.com]

I've had some limited experience with a joint blog on Wordpress and it didn't entirely suck.

And hey, you can always create more Google accounts. I have more email addresses than sense but I really think it helps keep everybody in their own corner.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

That's a second verse for Wordpress, thanks.

Heh, yes, I do have 2 Google IDs, but my computer gets so confused and keeps trying to sign me in as the wrong person. I have enough problems that when using Chrome, LJ previews my posts as though I'm signed in as heretoutopia, which is ironic considering I've never signed *in* under that name using Chrome. I don't mind too much about having my fannish email address attached to the blog, but I am really starting to hate Blogger.

[rustydog.livejournal.com]

I've used Wordpress for my teaching blog for several years. It doesn't thread comments, which is not ideal, but since I use that blog mainly for outgoing communication and not discussion, that's okay for me. I like the ability to set categories (as well as tags now, I think) and I don't have a problem with the interface. It's been pretty intuitive for me.

[nightporters.livejournal.com]

I'm following this with interest. I'd like somewhere to talk God stuff and here isn't really the place. I can talk about it in the abstract but not the nitty gritty.

[jadesfire2808.livejournal.com]

*nods* I know what you mean. Wordpress is coming out a winner right now, but I've seen some good sites done with Typepad as well.

My big thing is I want a wider block of text across the screen. My Blogger account only has a narrow strip down the middle and it drives me batty.