8/16/2003 11:12:00 PM
Although I like the concept of using TypePad, a hosted MoveableType system, I have no desire to pay $5/month to blog (their minimum amount). I only tried the beta once, and didn't immediately see an ability to really create my own layout. Due to many other things going on, I completely missed the opportunity to get into the product. I also missed my chance to get 3 free months by signing up. I think there's a lot of potential, but I don't think it meets my needs at this time.
Through a combination of events, I am now using Blogger Pro. I finally found a good list of the template tags. I still prefer to create my own RSS feed. The automated one doesn't use a summary; it uses part of the content. You don't have to use a javascript hack to post archive links on your main page, but that doesn't let you choose the format. So I'll stick with what I have there, too. So what DO I get from Blogger Pro? Well, at the moment, it prefills my RSS blog with
<title></title> <link></link> <description></description>
which saves me 10 seconds from doing cut and paste.
Other features which I may or may not use:
- Upload files
- Ping weblogs.com whenever I post
Not a long list, is it? Two features I would like to see are Comments and Trackback. I'm not a fan of having to use another site to host my comments, especially since eNetation seems to be unavailable at this time. LiveJournal's commenting system is very nice, but I don't plan to move my mozblog over there ... yet. I have an average 65 visits per day. Site statistics are provided by SiteMeter. I've been using it for years, but there's probably a better one out there. I guess that's a third feature I'd like to see added. Without Trackback, I never know when someone mentions my blog. If I actually remembered to check my site statistics more often, I might bother to pay for it.
