Thursday, February 15, 2007

Wouldn't You Like To Be A Pundit, Too?

You might recall that a couple of years ago, as an April Fools Day joke, several bloggers got together and did a gag on Glenn Reynolds (InstaPundit). We called it It'sAPundit.

Some bloggers continued to use it as an alternate outlet, posting stuff that didn't fit their normal blog. Others used it as an alternate way to promote their own blog.

But, it's pretty much run its course. As a joke, that is. I mean, two years, right?

Well, I've been toying with an idea for some time. And I implemented it recently. And used ItsAPundit to make it happen.

About two weeks ago, ItsAPundit became a blogging platform.

Why did I do that?

Well, during my work with my own little blog, and with others and their blogs, and with feedback obtained with work with the Alliance of Free Blogs, I picked up little things that some people liked ... and didn't like ... about many blogging platforms.

My conclusion is that many platforms have things that people like. But none satisfy everybody.

With ItsAPundit, I'm not trying to satisfy everybody. But I am trying to take what I think is a great platform -- WordPress -- and make it easy for many people.

Now, by itself, WordPress is really pretty easy. But when finding a free platform, it's hard to find a good WordPress platform that has what people like.

WordPress.com has some really great stuff, but it does have some frustrating limitations. I understand the reason for the limitations. I don't alway agree, but I understand.

Blogsome has some great stuff, but it's not how I would do a Wordpress alternative.

ItsAPundit.com is how I would do a Wordpress alternative.

Now, in the last couple of weeks, I have done very little here at this little blog to promote ItsAPundit.com. In fact, another blogger has promoted my project more than I have promoted my project. c. a. Marks (Alabama Improper) has been kind enough to promote ItsAPundit. She even has done her own alternate blog: The Improper Pundit. Thanks, Carol. I appreciate all you've done to promote ItsAPundit.

Well, doggone it, I should try to promote it myself.

And that's what this post is: my own little self-promotion of ItsAPundit.

Over there, you can set up your own blog. For free.

In fact, in addition to Carol, Sassy has also set up a blog. And Linda, who comments here (and at other blogs) regularly, has finally taken the plunge and set up her own blog. And, some others have set up blogs, too.
If you're looking to take the plunge (like Linda) and finally start blogging, consider ItsAPundit as a platform. It's free.

If you already have a blog, and want to play around with an alternate outlet (like Carol or Sassy), give a thought to ItsAPundit as that outlet.

Or, if you just want to play around for fun, try ItsAPundit. It's free.

I want it to be an outlet to make blogging easy. Let me know what you think.

9 comments:

  1. I think you need to make house calls for the computer impaired! heh I'm looking at this as a learning experience with little technical know-how! Basil tempted me and I took a bite out of the apple after resisting for a long time!

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  2. One thing I like about wordpress.com is that I can have my blog mapped to my own domain. One thing I don't like is that they may place ads at their discretion. If I could map my own domain and have greater control over the ads (through some form of revenue sharing formula, perhaps), I would be in blogging nirvana. Then again, if I had enough traffic to make an ad bit of difference, I suppose I'd be using MT.

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  3. Linda: Blogging is a constant learning experience. And fun, too. Besides, you've given in now. You might as well dive in.

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  4. Gecko Rock: Yeah, WordPress.com has some really great features. I've used their domain mapping ... and it works. Mostly. Occasionally, trackbacks sent will show up to the wordpress.com address. Sure, they automatically redirect to the custom address, but if you count links (Technorati, TTLB) then it can be frustrating.

    As for making it big, I see no reason to switch to MT. Wordpress software (like I run at this little blog) works just fine ... and is easier to set up than MovableType. WPMU (like ItsAPundit and Wordpress.com use) does restrict some features, but with standard WP, you can do ... just about anything.

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  5. You're welcome. Anytime, glad I could of help. Like I say over in my "About Me" page at The Improper Pundit blog - "you're a genious and I want to be associated with anything you do."

    You are good people basil!

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  6. People who know me think I am bright always wonder why I think I am very average. Well, basil is indeed a genious and I had to grow up with him.
    Good luck with your new venture, Little Brother (who's 6'2")

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  7. Um, so would an itsapundit blog be able to map to a custom domain name?

    Revenue idea - set yourself up as a registrar, allow users to map to a custom domain name, and sell domain registration!

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