Thinking of Starting a Bl...

[GSZX1337]

A bluh... blaaah... a blo... a weblog. I can't get myself to take off those first couple letters. Joking aside, I'm thinking about starting a blog. I've been mulling this idea over for a couple years now and with the new year having arrived I think now's a good time to start it. I'm wanting to start this blog because I want to share my random bits of knowledge with the world and hopefully make some money while I'm at it. I think it'll also make for a good central hub of sorts for my other content.

Part of what I was mulling over is just how I'd go about producing the blog. Should I go with a dedicated blogging platform like tumblr, Blogspot, or WordPress? I know (X)HTML and CSS with a smidge of JavaScript so maybe I should make my own thing? Perhaps I could use this as an opportunity to learn how to use Joomla or another CMS. Since I'm looking to monetize my blog I can't use Destructoid's Community Blog. Any ideas for this would be appreciated.

As for what the blog would focus on I have some ideas for features below:
1. Console FPSes with a mouse - As we all know, there's a shit ton of FPSes available only on consoles. This feature would focus on how these exclusives would play when my main barrier for entry is removed. I might also focus on the various ways to use mice to play console FPS games.
2. Old games with modern controls - This would mostly focus on getting old DOS shooters to use the WASD control scheme with mouse look. I've fiddled around with quite a few of said shooters and I would've killed for a guide on how to get my desired control scheme.
3. Celebrating Gore - This is the only feature so far that I have a title for. What Celebrating Gore would focus on those games that appease the violent maniac inside. Those games that glorify and revel in violence. Those games that your parents told you to never play. The entries would pretty much be an overview of the game, its history, and why it's so brutal.

Of course these aren't my only ideas, just the ones I can picture the most clearly in my head. I have some other ideas relating to creating a PC Gaming/Emulation set-top box, game version comparisons, reviews of games I like that seem to be universally hated, general geek/nerd stuff, etc. I also have some ideas for YouTube videos I might turn into written features. So, does any of this sound like stuff you'd be interested in reading?

TL;DR - I'm looking to start a blog and I'm not sure how to go about it and if my content would be interesting.

[Valkyrie-Favor]

Write some content first, then think of the best way to organize it. Making your own site will give you the best control over the layout, and come with some other advantages:

-Easy to move between hosts
-Far better organized than a regular blog
-You can keep a backup on your machine

Of course, doing it yourself will be more work and you might lose out on search engine optimization or whatever.

Go take a look at hardcoregaming101.net and culture.vg - those are some great ways to put together a site. HG101 makes it easy to find new stuff without making it difficult to find the old, and it's very easy to navigate. Note the placement of images. They're near the relevant text, but never interfere with it. Attractive and completely unobtrusive. Far superior to what you'll get with a regular blog layout. They do have an "oldposts" page and a search engine if you're interested in digging.

culture.vg organizes its latest content by category on the left, with a small column for moneymakers (books) on the right. Below that are pictures that just fill up space - games the writers are now playing, apparently. The real draw here is the top bar, emphasizing the timelessness, organization, and cohesion of icycalm's articles. Rather than reporting on random games past and present, he wants you to grok his approach to game criticism. There's even a "read.me" pull down menu indicating where to start before you peruse the rest of the site!

Both of these superb layouts would be pretty lame if they didn't lead to some great articles. I can't tell you if your content would be interesting because there is none yet. Start with that - maybe just post them on the racketboy forums!

[CRTGAMER]

1. Console FPSes with a mouse - As we all know, there's a shit ton of FPSes available only on consoles. This feature would focus on how these exclusives would play when my main barrier for entry is removed. I might also focus on the various ways to use mice to play console FPS games.

Maybe post right here on Racketboy in the Guides section?

Look for the SmartJoy Frag for the PS2 and Xbox. It gives an option of using a Keyboard and Mouse or Trakball. Some of the PS2 console FPS games also have USB Mouse and Keyboard capability.

[tintinmayo]

If you're planning to make money off the site, get your own host and domain. Avoid dedicated blogging platforms like blogspot or wordpress's free blog hosting, since ad networks don't accept blogs hosted on them (or vice versa, the blog hosts won't allow you to use advertising on your blogs). You're also at the mercy of their policy changes. A lot of early blogspot users found this out the hard way, when blogger deleted their blogs out of the blue, as part of a crack down on affiliate marketers.

Best bet is to get your own host, your own domain, and then install Wordpress on it. That way you get the best of both worlds - some semblance of freedom (no arbitrary policy changes will result in your blog getting deleted, and in worst-case scenarios you have the option to move and take your domain name with you.) while also giving you a turnkey solution for publishing content.

Wordpress also has a lot of nifty plugins, but try to test them out first, one at a time. I know a webmaster who once went crazy on plugins and ended up wading through conflicts, which brought his front page down for a week, while also accruing hundreds of dollars overcharge on bandwidth because one misconfigured image plugin kept loading high resolution images multiple times per session.

[flojocabron]

Now that I have a laptop, I'm thinking the same too!

I've had this idea for a while once I get a new computer again!

I'm going to be a total noob on this.

A friend of mine likes blogger cause you have the power of google behind it. And he said you can get some small revenue from them?

Is this true?

I want to get the ball rolling.

I'll post random stuff, but mostly video games and eventually some magazine scans (once I get a good scanner).

I would like some help too please! I'll keep an eye on this thread too!

[Valkyrie-Favor]

Eh. I guess Wordpress is well suited to random things, but at least keep backups of your stuff on hard drives and have a site map.

[GSZX1337]

Write some content first, then think of the best way to organize it.

Maybe post right here on Racketboy in the Guides section?

I suppose I've been going about this backwards. It makes sense to write some stuff and post it here so that I know people will actually read it before I mess about with setting up the blog, getting an adsense account, buying a domain name, etc.

I think I might post a write up from each of my proposed features to see how each one is received.

Speaking of features, I thought of another potential addition to the blog. I often have lengthy thoughts about issues concerning video games and other nerdy things. I could use this blog to post (for lack of a better term) essays for these opinions. Some things I'd post essays on would be: Games are programs, originality is overrated, and

Look for the SmartJoy Frag for the PS2 and Xbox. It gives an option of using a Keyboard and Mouse or Trakball. Some of the PS2 console FPS games also have USB Mouse and Keyboard capability.

I've been thinking about picking one of those up. Now that I have an oXbox as well I should put this higher on my "Shit to buy list." I know about the USB mouse functionality on the PS2. I should find a list of those games and see if any of them interest me.


Making your own site will give you the best control over the layout, and come with some other advantages:

-Easy to move between hosts
-Far better organized than a regular blog
-You can keep a backup on your machine

Of course, doing it yourself will be more work and you might lose out on search engine optimization or whatever.

Go take a look at hardcoregaming101.net...

I actually wrote for them a couple of times.

and culture.vg

I haven't been there. I'll try to have a looksee before I post here again.

those are some great ways to put together a site. HG101 makes it easy to find new stuff without making it difficult to find the old, and it's very easy to navigate. Note the placement of images. They're near the relevant text, but never interfere with it. Attractive and completely unobtrusive. Far superior to what you'll get with a regular blog layout. They do have an "oldposts" page and a search engine if you're interested in digging.

I am planning on using HG101 as a model of sorts of how to organize my writings.

Making your own site will give you the best control over the layout, and come with some other advantages:

-Easy to move between hosts
-Far better organized than a regular blog
-You can keep a backup on your machine

That's the primary reason as to why I was considering making my own design. There's also free scripts that I could use to add functionality to my pages instead of coding that shit myself.

Of course, doing it yourself will be more work and you might lose out on search engine optimization or whatever.

Yeah, web coding can be a real pain in the ass sometimes. As for the SEO, I've read a bit about it and I think I can optimize my design.

If you're planning to make money off the site, get your own host and domain. Avoid dedicated blogging platforms like blogspot or wordpress's free blog hosting, since ad networks don't accept blogs hosted on them (or vice versa, the blog hosts won't allow you to use advertising on your blogs).

Hmm, I was under the impression that you could monetize the free blog stuff. Oh well, it's not like hosting this stuff is going to cost a lot.

You're also at the mercy of their policy changes. A lot of early blogspot users found this out the hard way, when blogger deleted their blogs out of the blue, as part of a crack down on affiliate marketers.

I didn't think about the policies and didn't know they screwed early Blogspotters. Though I would still be beholden to whatever advertiser I go with. *shrugs*

I think WordPress is a good option. I think it is much more flexible and stable than Blogger.

Best bet is to get your own host, your own domain, and then install Wordpress on it. That way you get the best of both worlds - some semblance of freedom (no arbitrary policy changes will result in your blog getting deleted, and in worst-case scenarios you have the option to move and take your domain name with you.) while also giving you a turnkey solution for publishing content.

I've considered this option as well. It's easy and efficient, but the DIYer in me wants to code it. I thought that a CMS to might be a good middle ground. I don't know much about CMSes so I'm not sure if I can do that. I might just shut him up and go the Wordpress route.

Thanks for the help so far guys. I'll keep an eye on this thread to see if anyone has any other suggestions. I'll also post updates here when I start writing.

[KalessinDB]

Personally, I would suggest getting your own domain and just using Wordpress on that. Dreamhost, who I buy hosting through, has it set up to 1-click install Wordpress for you. There's no need to reinvent the wheel, and some of the Wordpress layouts are infinitely customizeable -- ESPECIALLY if you know a little HTML, etc. And then you can still monetize it, since you're not using their free hosting.

[jeffro11]

If you want some free webhosting for about a year just to try this idea, let me know. I have a web server paid for with basically nothing on it. Unlimited databases, subdomains, all that stuff!

[GSZX1337]

...Dreamhost, who I buy hosting through, has it set up to 1-click install Wordpress for you.

Hmm, I heard about Dreamhost really fucking Noah Antwiler (Spoony) over. Made me kinda leery of them. Then again that was quite some time ago, so I guess I could give them a try.

There's no need to reinvent the wheel, and some of the Wordpress layouts are infinitely customizeable -- ESPECIALLY if you know a little HTML, etc.

Interesting, perhaps I've dismissed Wordpress too quickly. I suppose I could customize the layouts to give the personal touch without it being too much of a pain in the ass.

If you want some free webhosting for about a year just to try this idea, let me know. I have a web server paid for with basically nothing on it. Unlimited databases, subdomains, all that stuff!

Wow, thanks for the offer! If I get anywhere with this idea I'll definitely contact you.

I already made a post here on the forums with a how-to on how to get an old DOS FPS working with WASD here. I think when I make these for my blog I'll have more pictures and maybe a video or two. As for my other two ideas, I'll play with my Splitfish EdgeFX some more to see if I can make it work any better. It doesn't seem to work very well with Killzone. As for Celebrating Gore, I'm not sure what game to start with.