A Dear John letter… to WordPress.com
Dear WordPress.com,
When I met you, it was love at first sight.
You were so buff and tawny and easygoing.
You looked just like Channing Tatum.
You held my hand and whispered encouragement. You took me to the beach for sunset picnics and told me you’d never met anyone so funny.
I spent all my free time with you, WordPress.Com. I thought about you constantly… And then you gave me the blog-equivalent of an engagement ring: you featured me.
I swore my everlasting devotion and fidelity.
I ran around addled… high on blog-crack and screaming nonsense at my husband. Actually FRIGHTENING him— by charging into the kitchen and screaming—THEY PICKED ME AGAIN.
I loved you so much WordPress.Com.
How could I not?
You’re so strong and handsome and nice.
You’re so kind and generous and supportive.
On top of being easy to use, you have a fantastic community. You organize parties and have a welcome committee. You offer pastries and make sure everyone has nametags– so no one feels alone, or socially awkward.
At first, I loved you so much, I didn’t even see your flaws… I didn’t even notice your love was kind of smothering… That it was slightly restrictive and controlling.
I didn’t even know you were limiting my widgets and blogging-gadgets.
But? Then?
I don’t know how to tell you this… someone else caught my eye.
It’s your twin brother– WordPress.ORG. He looks just like you. But he has some, errr… impressive attributes that you don’t.
I know I said I don’t care about stuff like that… But I lied.
And? Frankly? I am a total sucker for any man that stern.
I tried to resist… Because I know .ORG will never love me like you do, .COM.
But he has toys. LOTS of toys. And. Um. Secret weapons.
Plus? His car is so shiny and fast.
.ORG can do things for my blog that you can’t.
But, even knowing all of that .COM? I’m so hesitant to leave you. Why?
Are you the blog-manifestation of that guy Jeff I dated?
The one I couldn’t leave because he was SO nice.
And all my friends were like—LEAVE HIM? Are you INSANE??? He is SO NICE.
And you’re like, God—I KNOW. He is SO TOTALLY nice.
And months go by, and you start to find the way he drinks water irritating. And in your head you’re like—UGH! WHY do you drink water like that? Why do you clear your throat like that? Why do you adjust your tie like that? Why do you drive like that? Why do you order coffee like that?
But he’s SO nice. And he goes to the gym. And it shows.
And all your girlfriends tell you horror stories of their boyfriends up and deciding to become monks (true) or move to India (true) or becoming evangelical preachers (true).
But then I went to WordPress Camp.
Sidebar:
Here is where I remember that not everyone has a blog. And that I should offer a brief explanation of what WordPress is.
WordPress is a program for blogging. Like if you wanted to type a document on your computer, you could use Word in Microsoft.
WordPress has two versions. .COM and .ORG.
WordPress.COM is the easy version. They do everything for you, except write the content. The same way you open up Word on your computer, and don’t give any thought to HOW that happens. The only drawback to .COM is that the options for customizing it are limited.
WordPress.ORG is the same exact program, but YOU have to do the behind-the-scenes stuff to make it work. You have to install the engine, hook up the fuel lines, calibrate the spark plugs. But there are no restrictions to your modifications.
This allows you to do lots of other stuff—to soup it up.
To tailor it any way you want… To make it go faster. To paint it any color. To fill the entire engine with glitter and candy.
To build your own bat-mobile.
Going to WordCamp was my introduction to what I could be doing with my blog.
If I switched to .ORG.
I learned that .COM is like riding a bike. Simple. Fun. Efficient.
But you can trade that bike in– for the rocket ship of .ORG.
For Free.
I didn’t ask myself– do I NEED a rocket ship? Because OBVIOUSLY I need one.
Especially if they’re just GIVING them away.
You would have to be stupid to not take a free rocket ship.
Plus, I hate when other people have better, shinier stuff than me.
I am so so so so grabby.
And everyone at WordCamp was talking about fancy widgets and plugins and hacks and monetizing.
No one was there to make friends. Or “like” my blog. Or “follow” me. Or come and leave me a comment that validated my wit and charm.
The .ORG bloggers were there to learn. To improve. To channel their widgets into world domination.
And there is nothing I want so much as world domination.
And a butler.
So I came home, and I was all like—I MUST GO TO .ORG.
Akin to saying, okay. I will now commence building a rocket ship. In my garage. With this cardboard box. Also? I will use string and duct tape.
It didn’t take me long to realize I am lacking the engineering-background required to build a complex, electronic-panel-thingy that will actually launch my box into space. Never mind the small factors like how I will access oxygen or rocket fuel.
If I’d had any true understanding of my absolute lack of knowledge… about what access to the framework of a website actually means? I would have saved myself a month of 2012. I also would have saved myself mental anguish and wanting to punch my computer… and I would have just gone to the mall instead, and looked at shoes.
I’ll tell you what though—ignorance has been the impetus for nearly every project I’ve ever gotten involved with—including this house.
So I made a test site. You know, because I don’t already spend ENOUGH time on the internet… I NEED a whole other project.
Except? Is this English? Have I downloaded the wrong language?
And it told me to open the installer-file via the easy-install file.
And so five minutes in, I was already like—YES. BUT. WHERE?
Three words that sum up my entire experience.
You know this feeling—the intense rage of technological confusion.
I was filled with boiling, all-consuming frustration.
I WANTED to give up. I wanted to go read a book.
I wanted to just watch cat videos on youtube.
Except, I am so totally perverse, once I am convinced I need something… I can’t give up until I reach total, absolute, insane aggravation.
When I want to gnaw my own face off.
Further perversely, this extreme focus only applies to things I don’t actually need… I’ve never been driven to learn Greek, study the solar system, or even master the skills to make fire; so I can impress my teammates when I finally get on Survivor.
Paul was like– why don’t you take a break?
And I was like: DO NOT EVEN TALK TO ME.
I am LOOKING for someone to strangle– it can be you, if you like.
But I also got far enough to realize that my blog does random awesome things in .ORG. When you click on one of my photos in the test site, they pop out in a magic slideshow, and you can scroll through them all.
Do I need that? Obviously. Why? I don’t know. Because it exists?
That’s a Benary Giant Zinna.
If my first personality trait is grabby acquisitiveness? My second is indecision… I bring a level of vacillation to my life that you have never seen before.
I am all or nothing. And being forced to stand somewhere in the middle and figure it out from there is impossible for me. I need black and white, good and bad.
I need to feel like the choice I make is the BEST choice. Which is actually pretty rare—that there is a blindingly obvious path in life.
Paul likes to say that I am the exception to the rule of how people prefer free will. And that I would have been better off in communist Russia. Where you do not have to make a choice about what kind of paint or potato to choose, because there is only one of everything.
Random awesome cat photo I found while searching for batman stuff.
Now, I’m coming to the point where I have to decide: do I leap off the .COM cliff?
- Do I trade in my footie pajamas for a sleeker, widget-i-er version?
- Are the gadgets and web-bling worth it?
- Do I voluntarily remove myself from the .Com directory?
- Do I eschew whatever new readers I might have acquired via the .Com party?
- Do I pass up the .0000000001% chance that .Com will feature me nine more times?
Incase you hadn’t figured it out? My third controlling personality trait (behind grabby acquisitiveness, and paralyzing indecision) is fear of change.
I hate new things. I hate new experiences.
I even hate New Years.
It’s your lucky day! There’s a SEQUEL to this post. Because it wasn’t long enough already…
January 2, 2013 @ 8:50 am
Victoria, welcome to .org.! Happy to have you.
January 3, 2013 @ 8:38 am
Hey! Thanks! Sorry you went to spam jail… that happened to three other comments on this post. Weird, since the spam filter is usually amazingly accurate.
January 2, 2013 @ 8:57 am
“Except, I am so totally perverse, once I am convinced I need something… I can’t give up until I reach total, absolute, insane aggravation . . . . I need to feel like the choice I make is the BEST choice.”–you are always SO totally on the mark! Sure have been there my whole life, fear of change and all. Also, complete refusal to accept the notion that there is anything that I cannot figure out how to do with enough stubborn persistence.
I will be interested in how you work this out, though I’m pretty sure I know the answer!
January 2, 2013 @ 9:07 am
HEY! You followed me on Twitter! I love you! Someone explained one key thing about its importance for bloggers… and I finally did it. I felt like an UTTER idiot doing my first tweet…
My husband is so tired of listening to me waffle about switching. You would literally think the fate of the world hangs in the balance… figured I’d offer up my angst here. What else is a blog for?
January 2, 2013 @ 11:49 pm
‘Course I did–your wit is a perfect fit for Twitter and also so much better than some of the overt marketing on there. Your hubby sounds like a great blogger support and co-renovator! My daughter and I loved your post because we have lightly considered the .org vs .com issue but haven’t really delved into it yet. I think it is a big step because of the time investment, so I totally get your angst about switching!
January 3, 2013 @ 8:41 am
If I go… I’ll be trying to drag all you other people with me. I will tell you how awesome it is and that you need to come on over…
January 3, 2013 @ 8:53 am
I await the details!
January 2, 2013 @ 9:11 am
I’m just incredibly impressed that you are investigating this, learning it, and– if I’m reading this correctly– leaning toward doing it. You’ll be a programmer in no time. I’d say your incapacity to make a decision is really only matched by your total capacity to emerge yourself in a new experience, train yourself to become a real expert, and produce polished and classy and original results!
Also, I think you’re a born competitor. You will not let this new, tougher platform make you feel like less than BATMAN!
I have no doubt you’ll triumph over .org!
January 2, 2013 @ 9:27 am
I definitely should have explained the .org difficulty by saying that if you wanted to set up a blog and make NO changes to the theme, it would be doable. Maybe still confusing, but tolerable… However? Why would I do that? I want to keep my theme, and move stuff around. Which is just… ugh.
On one hand, I think learning new stuff is good. On the other, had I spent that time actually writing stuff, you could argue that might have been just as good for my blog…
Although, I did appreciate the opportunity to paste myself next to Batman…
January 2, 2013 @ 9:36 am
But the challenge sounds interesting… and definitely yet another way to explore your creativity and express yourself.
Still, I relate to the frustration and that feeling of wanting to gnaw your own face off. This happens to me frequently. My ambition… technological, writing, home repair and otherwise… often outpaces my ability to keep up.
And loved Batman. Also, I think you’re more Liz Taylor.
January 2, 2013 @ 9:53 am
I am definitely Liz. Have you ever read any of Richard Burton’s letters to her? Amazing… I was all like—hello? Paul? You need to step up your game.
I feel like I am so distractible from my real goals… sometimes it’s hard for me to tell if something I’m absorbed by is a real interest or just a dive into the deep end of random OCD.
January 2, 2013 @ 9:17 am
I’ll follow you anywhere. Just leave a forwarding address.
And get your butler to make me a bowl of wonton soup. I forgot to eat breakfast.
I applaud your bravery. I am not willing to try to soup up my bike for a batmobile because I would spend ALL FREAKING DAY tinkering. I would. This is why I never got deeply into photo editing. Too much fun on stuff that wasn’t my actual job.
You might be afraid of change. I am a compulsory new-stuff-addict. So I have to limit my new stuff.
I have to share your post with my world. Again. Because even if you never get freshly pressed again? I will still think you’re amazing.
January 2, 2013 @ 9:43 am
YES. I am a tinker-er too. An OCD one… the whole time I was moving the margins .0045 inches, I was like—REALLY? Is this REALLY a good use of my time? Is this REALLY the important part of your blog? (I’ll tell you what though, I will do ANYTHING to avoid writing… Hello? Pinterest?)
Part of me resisted investing time in switching, but at the same time, I really do feel that world domination is a reasonable goal to have… and that some fancy widgets might help.
I can’t vouch for Alfred’s wontons. You might be better off with oatmeal.
January 2, 2013 @ 9:21 am
Victoria,
I say, you’re young, go for it. I will only offer this one teensy, little piece of input…as I watched my high-paid, very intelligent son attempt to change code so that my pinterest account would default to my Facebook blog account instead of my personal Facebook account which he was unable to achieve, I thought to myself…clearly, I’m too old to learn this bizzaro language that lurks behind every thing we do on our blog sites.
I’m impressed that Google featured you, not surprised, but impressed. I too would have pledged my allegiance to .com from here to eternity for that little feature. Keep us posted, no pun intended.
xo,
Karen
January 2, 2013 @ 9:48 am
At this point I am leaning towards switching… but just a few days ago I felt equally strongly in the exact opposite direction. A few days ago I felt like I should be spending the time working on what I’m good at… instead of spending endless time figuring out how to get a pinterest shortcode, so you can get a pin it button right under a photo in a post.
I’m not sure why this seems important, since aside from my Christmas bows, I get no traffic from Pinterest. But, I saw it on another blog, and I was like—I MUST HAVE THAT.
I would offer to try to help you switch your account… because in my head, I’m all like—it CAN’T be that hard. But I actually know that it CAN be that hard.
Did you make sure to log out of your personal FB, and then try switching your Pinterest link?
January 2, 2013 @ 6:46 pm
Yep, and because I hate to inconvenience anyone, even my most obliging son, I almost said skip it. But he wrote in code and such and still couldn’t get them (pinterest) to change the default. Kyle said he has actually had some contact with them and that for all of their notice and acclaim, they are really slow in adding or improving some of their features. It’s okay.
I saw that a blog or two has a little icon next to each image for people to conveniently pin. My question is would that mean it would link back to their site? That would be truly cool. If you figure it out, let me know.
btw, I thought the bat cat was your cat for a moment…and then I thought, yikes, Victoria has gone over the edge with her posts. 🙂
Karen
January 2, 2013 @ 7:22 pm
If I had the photoshop skills to give my cat bat-masks I totally would.
That cat is awesome for obvious reasons, but it also looks nearly identical to my own, so is twice as awesome to me…
I did figure out the Pinterest shortcode. As far as I know you have to be self-hosting. It’s just a pin button. No different than the one I have installed already in my browser that I would use to pin something without the handy little button. Same thing… guess it’s just a reminder to people.
January 2, 2013 @ 9:49 am
Okay, since I started with .org, I guess I don’t know the difference. But let me tell you if I can do it, you certainly can. Without a butler…
January 2, 2013 @ 10:06 am
Well, either way I definitely need a butler…
I’m finding my challenges are involved in the minutiae of the changes I want to make. I think I could set it up, but the details I want to incorporate that I see on other blogs seem to be designed by pros… which I am not!!
January 2, 2013 @ 12:03 pm
Here is your comment. Love your cat photo! Have a great and happy new year.
January 2, 2013 @ 3:43 pm
I know. Bat cat is the greatest thing I’ve seen on the internet. Possibly ever.
Happy New Year!
January 2, 2013 @ 4:56 pm
Thanks, you too. http://www.segmation.com
January 2, 2013 @ 12:18 pm
You are brave!! My husband is a computer engineer, he speaks multiple languages of code. And I am using W.com. Because I am terrified he will try to teach me his ways. And I have NO. IDEA. WHAT. HE’S. TALKING. ABOUT! I get confused in the “Text” tab when I’m trying to achieve a table of images. But… I so badly want a batmobile blog.
Can I just be your cheerleader until I get up the gumption (or the free time) to try it myself???
January 2, 2013 @ 7:02 pm
Do you want to trade husbands?
Seriously? If I were you, I would lock my husband in the basement until he built me the MOTHER of all blogs.
Also I would prohibit him from ANY explanations. In return, I would offer him something irresistible… Like being exempt from actually having to listen to me, and then later recall later what I told him in great detail about some totally uninteresting (to him)…
January 2, 2013 @ 8:10 pm
Haha! Sure! I have laundry list of “honey do” items that my husband hasn’t gotten around to yet. He’s quite handy, but Paul seems to accomplish things at a faster pace. Or maybe you need to teach me your secrets about how to convince your husband that that picture needs to be hung RIGHT. NOW. or the world will end. Surely, you employ much more convincing tactics than I do!!
He has promised me, at the very least, a logo. :fingerscrossed:
January 2, 2013 @ 8:30 pm
He does my requests quickly because he does *not want* to do them. That makes almost no sense to anyone who hasn’t actually met him… but he is like some kind of machine when it comes to project-stuff. And he wants to get any little stuff out of the way immediately.
I guess so he can focus on the bigger stuff, but also because he sees it as something he can get done *right now*. Whereas I look at things and think—I can do that tomorrow… or next week… or never…
Logo one day… batmobile the next.
January 2, 2013 @ 9:44 pm
Yes, we are all about the baby steps around here 🙂
I just keep coming up with ideas, but don’t actually know how to *do” anything. Like build a bookshelf or put up a tile backsplash.
January 3, 2013 @ 8:43 am
Hey… someone has to come up with the fantastic ideas. Someone has to implement them. Teamwork, right?
January 2, 2013 @ 1:07 pm
I’m still trying to stop laughing long enough that I can eat my breakfast at 1 pm our time this afternoon so I can try and write a witty comment. How I’ve missed your blog entries. Please don’t leave me to read happy entries of “it’s so easy I just whipped this up overnight” ever again for that long. I don’t care if everyone needed you to bring 10 casseroles over for Christmas. I need your humour in my Reader already.
Which is one negative to WP.org. You shall no longer be in the Reader. Unless people manually put you in theirs. I know. The travesty. It’s then and only then do you discover how many “readers” you actually have. When you leave it.
I say go for it. BUT and a huge but, get help with the initial transfer. That was my biggest nightmare/headache. Now that I am here, I am contemplating a whole overhaul for things like a Project Gallery, widgets etc. It’s not even that I can’t learn to do that part, I just do not have the freakin’ time to do it all by myself and continue to post blog entries.
I am already like can I just take off the entire month of March and concentrate on a blog fix up. I am strongly considering hiring a p/t web person to do this for me. Like you I just cannot even process having to do this and I am already over on the dark side. And you know what? That’s ok. Because I am not a web designer. Nor did I spend years in college. I can budget out a TV production for you in my sleep and count ever last cent and expenditure, but math in terms of computer language is a whole other level of incomprehension.
And that is OK. It is ok to hire people to do it for you. It’s not a failure. If everyone was good at everything, people wouldn’t have these things we call “careers” and specialties. Or in my case I just call them bakers for every time I burn my cakes.
But again, you must post more. No pressure.
January 2, 2013 @ 7:18 pm
I so wish you lived next door. Having to type out all this stuff is so time consuming.
Christmas kicked my ass. Blogging about it, specifically… I am like the slowest. Blogger. Ever. Or something, because I cannot for the life of me juggle more than two things.
I just totally bailed on posting the last two weeks. (We’ll see how world domination goes without me even being involved) I am beyond confused how anyone has time for all this stuff—and I do not even have children!
I know I told either you or Stacey this already, but I’ve felt for some time that WP is totally insulated. I feel like I’m on a little island of bliss here… and like I’ve forgotten there is a whole other internet out there.
I don’t even use my WP reader (or any reader for that matter,) I just subscribe via email to the people I read, so I tend to forget about stuff like that. I’ve come to terms with losing “followers” I have no idea who is actually reading my blog, so maybe it’s just that they seem imaginary and I won’t miss them until they’re gone…
I’ve been reluctant to spend any serious money on this because my enthusiasm is tempered by the awareness that it’s probably (likely?) a pipe dream. I am such a waffling undeciding person about everything, so this is just another opportunity to make myself nuts…
BUT the design end of it is SO time consuming! Like you said, it’s impossible to do both well. (Why did I not study computer programming or whatever this would be called????) I thought I would get so much done by giving myself permission to not post for a few weeks… and essentially I still got nothing done. Except exploring the Pinterest widget I described in my comment to Karen…
January 2, 2013 @ 7:24 pm
Victoria, Victoria… you don’t have to be a superhero to do this!!! I almost didn’t put in my two cents because you already know how I feel about it. I do think that it will probably drive you crazy if you don’t take the leap… (just put on a cape, some cat eyeliner and jump!) The great thing about it all is that if it doesn’t work out, you can come right back.
Don’t over think it. Don’t worry about .com or .com readers. If they love you and enjoy what you present here they will follow. How many blogs do you read regularly that aren’t wordpress.com?
I know.. me too… lots of them! Nothing can keep me away. 🙂
I have to assume that your test site has been going well and that you’re probably leaning toward the change. If there’s something you want to change about your theme, let me know and I can probably tell you what to do. I’d be happy to provide you code, teach you the change, or just tell you where to start. I don’t want you to be afraid of it. It’s so fun!! I know you already know that my offer of FREE and never-ending help always stands… so holler if you need anything. Once you get it all set the way you want it you’ll be surprised how little you think or worry about it. MORE TIME!!!! More time for other things. You can tweet, pin, face, and write more awesome posts… hopefully with more hot superheroes! And cat pictures, of course.
You said to another visitor: “I think I could set it up, but the details I want to incorporate that I see on other blogs seem to be designed by pros”. Let me know what you want… you can totally DO IT!
Good luck and email if I can help.
January 2, 2013 @ 8:53 pm
A lot of this was a rehash of what I’d already said to you… but felt like I had/was spending so much mental energy thinking about it, that it was time to write a post about all my indecision. I clearly didn’t even explain it well, since a .com blogger above, thinks they are on .org…
I am more than leaning towards it… I’m committed to switching. But I am such an over-thinker.
I want this:
That’s a mock-up that I made in Keynote (where all the *real* graphic designers do their work, you know).
Why I have gotten stuck on these small things is irritating… and also the way I am about everything: able to ignore the bigger picture in favor of one tiny thing.
This is in no way my idea… I’ve seen it on other blogs, and emailed two of the designers who are credited… for a quote– one is only taking on full-scale design projects, and the other I haven’t heard back from.
Clearly this is not life or death. And also the kind of thing I might end up abandoning in favor of something else. But it’s a good example of what I cannot create myself…
I’m pretty much ready to move past it. I spent a lot of time on little stuff like that, which I’m not even able to make, and haven’t spent enough time redesigning the things I CAN fix…
January 2, 2013 @ 9:06 pm
So you just want some smaller “social” buttons for quick links.
No problem. I can make that for you. Let me know and I’ll create some for you.
January 3, 2013 @ 10:07 am
Not just the small, social buttons… but also incorporated in the same container with a subscription feature, dark background, colored text…
I cannot imagine that it wouldn’t be time-consuming for you to build something like that. Right? I mean, it cannot be that easy… can it?
I did find a small-button widget, which is what I’m planning to use, but I like the combination with the subscription.
I was hoping that theoretically, one of the designers I emailed would already have the code, since she put it on another site and she would just have to change color/font… and therefore wouldn’t be too expensive. One of them says she will call me today, so we’ll see what she says…
January 3, 2013 @ 10:14 am
Yes, it’s pretty easy. Good luck with it and with the big move.
January 2, 2013 @ 8:28 pm
Hi Victoria. I found your blog quite by accident but love it. 🙂 I emailed you privately, but thought I would leave a hello.
Keep writing…
January 2, 2013 @ 9:01 pm
Hey! Weird timing… I literally just emailed you back.
Thanks for leaving a comment here, though… you know, us bloggers count them as gold. 🙂
January 2, 2013 @ 10:08 pm
Exhausting…is it not? This reminds me of the process that I went through when I chose WP.com. It CAN make one go bonkers! Entertaining post!
January 3, 2013 @ 8:36 am
I count myself lucky for having chosen WP in the first place, since when I was getting started, I considered Blogger… I know you CAN switch from Blogger to WP, but I’m not sure I would have been motivated.
One of the things I learned at WordCamp is that Blogger owns your material? (That’s paraphrasing, it may not be ownership exactly, but your rights to the blog are different.)
January 2, 2013 @ 10:09 pm
So true story… my first major controlling trait is procrastination and I have literally been putting this off since Alex @Northstory made the switch. Now I have ten days to move my husband’s blog to .org and I can’t help but find something else more fun to do… like working on end of year taxes. 10 days is enough time to build a rocket from a cardboard box… right? I REALLY want a rocket and a butler. Well, mainly just a butler…
January 3, 2013 @ 8:24 am
My eyes got all wide at the ten days part… You may be my twin.
Sure. Ten days. Is totally… um. Fine. No problem. I tell myself that I “work better” with a deadline. Which is true… but only because I will NOT do it prior to the deadline, so it’s not really the same thing.
Now I’m curious why your DH is going to .org. I mean, aside from the obvious batmobile-related reasons.
January 4, 2013 @ 7:13 pm
Well… mainly I want all the bat gadgets for my blog. His is up for renewal first, so I might as well figure it out with his too. I’m still procrastinating. Next week is going to be an interesting week… tears, yelling and all around grumpy behavior. I should probably stock up on wine now…
January 5, 2013 @ 1:25 pm
That’s smart… plus, if his explodes, you’ll know what went wrong and how to avoid it with yours.:)
January 3, 2013 @ 6:47 am
Reblogged this on The Wordy Photographer.
January 3, 2013 @ 8:36 am
Hey! Thanks for the shout-out!
January 5, 2013 @ 5:21 am
.org is totally not an option for me, as I’m seriously technically challenged and i just do not have the time to learn how to program. Good luck though, if you decide to switch over. I have a feeling if you don’t give it a go, you might regret it………or always wonder ‘what if’. 🙂
Btw the way…..loved the Batman connection.
January 5, 2013 @ 1:27 pm
You’re right… by this point, I’m set on switching. I’m excited for the ways I’ll be able to glam-up my stuff. But overwhelmed by HOW to do it.
I will be incredibly glad when it’s over!!
January 5, 2013 @ 11:34 am
Make your link easy to get to from all of the old links! As you have already indicated, it’s only time 🙂
January 5, 2013 @ 1:27 pm
Only time… and a nervous breakdown or two. 🙂
January 5, 2013 @ 10:47 pm
I was terrified you we were going to say you were quiting and am elated you are not.
January 6, 2013 @ 10:47 am
No, no… no fear of me giving up a platform in which to discuss the most banal aspects of my life.
Just the wish to have shinier toys.
January 6, 2013 @ 6:57 pm
Hi! I’ve been working with WordPress for over 10 years. All day, every day. I support nearly 100 sites. So I can say with great authority that in the long run, you’ll be SO much happier if you switch to .org! (Control. Control is good. And plugins. And themes. Choice is good. Ohh! Shiny!) And lots of webhosts have a one-click install, so you don’t have to really fiddle with the technical parts; just press the button, tell them the name of your new blog, and *poof* there it is.
January 7, 2013 @ 8:31 am
For some reason Akismet has gone spam-crazy with this post… I’ve been amazed at how it’s never made a mistake… until this week. You’re like the fourth person sent to spam-jail!
I am a control freak, so *more* control is definitely appealing. I think I would have found the process easier if I was just choosing a theme and not altering it. Instead, I’m trying to re-create the one I have, and some of the changes I made to my .com through the custom css upgrade, are not controlled in the same spot in .org… and finding those files has been a headache.
I did find that writing this post about my anxiety kind of resolved it for me…
January 7, 2013 @ 9:43 am
You are delightfully wacky.
I have not yet set up my blog, and I have no tech background. Do you think that starting with .com Is a better idea for a beginner?
January 7, 2013 @ 12:51 pm
That’s a great question. I’m not an expert on it, and you would probably get any number of different answers depending on whom you asked…
.Org doesn’t have the same social hub as .com… .Com really has a great community. Other bloggers will find you, and you’ll feel like you make some “friends.” Which really makes a difference in not feeling like you’re just sending your thoughts out into the ether.
BUT you can still join .Com’s meet-and-greet by making a .com account. You’ll have to do more of the legwork to “meet” people, but you can still get in on it.
.Com is a great introduction to blogging. But I think I could have accomplished the same thing with .org, and I wouldn’t be in the position I am now… I should say that I learned a lot with .com, and met a lot of great people. BUT I really want to make sure I did everything I could to be successful in a way that I felt was limited by .com…
January 9, 2013 @ 10:38 pm
I love this post. If you need any help of any kind, email me. Because this is brilliant. 🙂
January 9, 2013 @ 10:40 pm
Oops. Stupid phone cut out my email address. It’s [email protected]. Happy to help, always. 🙂
January 10, 2013 @ 10:29 am
I went to your WordPress site. And since I *literally* could not understand any of it, I know for sure you are EXACLTY the person I need to be best friends with. THANK YOU!!
Then I went to your other site and was thrilled to see your use of the F word. This is not at all related to WP, but I need to tell someone how I am ashamed to have abandoned it. I’ve consigned myself to the ranks of non-profane blogs… my grubby need to be liked has absolutely wiped out my true personality.