Need HELP!

Radenau · #1 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 12:41 AM

Hi y'all,

First of all ,let me say that this is my first post on any forum.Infact, it is also the first time I have joined a forum.I stumble upon this gem through 2 create a website which I had stumbled upon as well! Lisa, you are doing a great job.A very helpful site indeed.

Okay, if anyone can give some input it would be appreciated

. I am planning to start a blog.The blog would be covering three topics , basically three things I love--football,economics & home finance and being green (environmentally aware).Do you guys think the topics are too wide and would eventually confuse readers? At the moment this site is not to be a money making site but more of a platform to exhibit my journalistic/writing capabilities.I have always liked to do research and write hence my current status as a graduate student!

On another note, is there any form of referencing on blogs? I mean, I hardly see blogs with proper referencing. I am not into plagiarising.

Well, Thank you in advance.Have fun everyone!

lisa · #2 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 01:14 AM

Hi there and welcome to WB Radenau!

If your blog is just a personal blog and you aren't concerned about making money then I suppose you could have all 3 subjects on one blog. If you think about it, that's how blogs used to look. They were just personal journals that covered a bunch of topics.

However, let's say you do decide to get more serious about it and make money. It might be a lot of work to split your blog into 3 different ones so perhaps it's best to segment now before you begin. And if you're looking to get search engine traffic from your blog, it's really best to keep your themes related.

Remember, even though these are 3 subjects you are interested in, what is the likelihood of your visitors wanting to read about all the topics. I remember reading about a full-time blogger (can't remember who) that started out with multiple topics. As the readership grew, the people who weren't interested in some of the topics would get mad when he would post on certain subjects. So he decided to create separate blogs that focus on one theme rather than having multiple unrelated topics on one blog.

As far as citing material, if you take something word for word (a definition for example) from someone's site then you should provide a link to their blog or cite them somewhere. There really is no set rule, but it's just common courtesy. I wasn't sure if you were talking about taking small snippets or entire paragraphs. For search engine (and ethical) purposes, you shouldn't copy anything word for word but if there's a small statistic you want to quote then it's a good practice to link to the blog and give the author credit.

ssmorgan · #3 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 02:03 AM

Radenau,

All the topics you mentioned are great topics.

I agree with Lisa, though. I would definitely keep the topics separate. Your intention right now may not be to make money, but if you change your mind later, it would be a major headache to restructure your blog to make it more focused on one topic.

So what are you studying?

Radenau · #4 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 03:11 AM

Thanks guys.I will keep that in mind.Wow ,you guys must be up early if your're both in the US or slept late?

I'm not into borrowing texts prefer to write in my own words. Referencing is to do with data as I am so used to academic referencing.

ssmorgan · #5 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 03:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radenau

Thanks guys.I will keep that in mind.Wow ,you guys must be up early if your're both in the US or slept late?

I'm not into borrowing texts prefer to write in my own words. Referencing is to do with data as I am so used to academic referencing.

Haven't gone to bed yet, but I am about to

As you have already noticed, citing is rarely, if ever, used in most websites. Sometimes it's not necessary, but others it's just simply ignored.

lisa · #6 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radenau

Wow ,you guys must be up early if your're both in the US or slept late?

I'm a night owl. I stay up late and sleep in.

alpha7 · #7 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 06:14 PM

May be a dumb question, but here it goes. Can you just write 2 different blogs? You could find some way to incorporate economics and home finance right? You could have a special Friday post called "Dealing With Today's Economy at Home".

Just a thought. I'm always thinking, but it ain't always pretty.

Radenau · #8 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 07:50 PM

Thanks. I have some ideas flowing already.Just wondering since at the moment I am using this as a platform to learn.Can anyone recomend a good webhost? I am still toying the idea of a website but wouldn't want to pay a lot for webhosting if its not a moneymaking site.I realise free webhosting can be dodgy at times.What would be average that you would have to pay? Is it possible to pay $10 a month?

Radenau · #9 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 08:09 PM

oops forgot to say I use a MAC with OSX.

James · #10 (**permalink**) 07-17-2008, 08:57 PM

There are many choices. I use Dreamhost. You can get hosting now for as little as $5.95 depending on how many months you pay in advance including unlimited domains and subdomains as well as email, etc. Lots of one click installs including Wordpress, etc.

I like them but bewarned that they are a wierd bunch of nerds! (Right now their opening page tells you that some robot put out this offer of $5.95 which they can't stop and please don't buy.) In other words they have fun & don't take themselves too seriously. But they are in the top 25 in size as far as I know and it is easy to relax when you are successful.

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