Blogbuying

[skyring]

I'm getting serious about blogging. I really am. A few days ago I installed a couple of freebie download themes. I especially liked the Lifestyle theme used by Caitlin Firedragon in her Roamingtales blog but the freebie download wasn't working for me, and fiddling around didn't help. I know I've got a background in computer programming, but I'm just not the techie guy I once thought I was.

So I reverted to the Magazine theme published by the same people - big plug for StudioPress here - and although it worked fine, the appearance in shades of black and grey wasn't doing it for me. I liked Lifestyle better.

Bit the bullet and bought it from the site, painlessly through PayPal, downloaded it, uploaded it to my site, and when it was activated, Viola! It works fine, it looks good, and as soon as I've finished this post I'll get the Featured Content Manager working, I guess. Needs a little tidying up, because I've been importing blogs from here and there, but I'll get around to that.

Big plus is that by buying the theme, I'm also buying support and tutorials and future upgrades. So I'll be able to customise my blog, get it running the way I want.

And then start working on adding content, building a community, monetising the site. These journal posts will be in the minority. LiveJournal will remain my blog of choice for personal journal activities, which my LJ friends will be pleased to hear, I make no doubt.

I'm wondering, however, if I'm going to be too diffuse. I want this site to include

• my taxi blog - which I've rather let slide in recent months


• my online serial novel, which is proving very difficult to update on a daily basis, but I'm making steady progress


• my travel journal, aimed more at articles than flight logs


• my BookCrossing activities and collection of book reviews


• various jokes and funnies

I'm keen on all of the above, but I don't want to have separate blogs for each of them. I think that having them all on one site will present me as a person with multiple interests, and that there will be a degree of crossover.

I'll try it for a few months, see how it goes and then decide if I need another crisis in my blogging life.

Oh yeah. The test site is here.

Comments

[fancyhorse.livejournal.com]

It looks very attractive! I like those colors. I also like that you have different columns for your different areas of interest, and one can choose to read one or more.

[islandmomma.livejournal.com]

I think it's great. I am very impressed. It looks quite flexible, so that if you want to rejig it once you've given it a try you may be able to have some degree of separation of your interests.

Thanks for the link to roamingtales, too. When I clicked on it I found an interview with one of my favorite singers :=).....which made me wonder - is she a bookcrosser or is it just a random blog you came across?

[skyring.livejournal.com]

Caitlin's a BookCrosser - Fire-Dragon - and I've met her in Australia during my early days, then in London several times, and most recently in San Francisco, where she showed me around.

She's bright, beautiful, brainy and a BookCrosser - my perfect woman! Much like yourself, really, except you are more so.

[islandmomma.livejournal.com]

I should have figured that out, shouldn't I?! I was so taken with the random chance of finding an interview with Youssou N'Dour where I most certaily wasn't looking for anything like that!

Thank you for the compliment, cheered me up no end seeing as how I just returned from the first day back at work, feeling a bit forlorn :=)