Blog Questions Challenge
I’m making it a habit copying Kev.
Kev recently posted a Blog Questions Challenge that seemed like a fun idea. So, I thought I’d run with it for the first post of 2025.
The questions are:
- Why did you start blogging in the first place?
- What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
- Have you blogged on other platforms before?
- How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?
- When do you feel most inspired to write?
- Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
- What’s your favourite post on your blog?
- Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
So, let’s just jump right in and see how this whole thing falls out.
1. Why did you start blogging in the first place?
That’s a really good question. I’ve been blogging in one form or another since before it was called that. In 1994 I got my own personal webpage that I could do with as I pleased. I had a landing page (of course), and then there were several subpages I had that were used as informational pages and hosting my personal thoughts on things that I read. I think these pages were my first “blog” pages, so I guess the answer to the question is I started blogging to respond to things I read online and have a place where people I knew could read my thoughts on things if they cared.
2. What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
Right now my blog is a Jekyll site. The files are hosted on GitHub and the site hosted through Netlify. I chose this platform two reasons. It’s easy and it’s cheap. Also, Kev posted a how-to that walked through the entire setup and it saved me a couple bucks off the iteration of my site that preceeded this one.
3. Have you blogged on other platforms before?
Yup. Lots. I started out writing straight HTML into emacs. I’ve gone through several different iterations like Wordpress and write.as before settling into the setup I’ve got going on right no(https://jekyllrb.com) site. The files are hosted on GitHub and the site hosted through Netlify. I chose this platform two reasons. It’s easy and it’s cheap. Also, Kev posted a how-to that walked through the entire setup and it saved me a couple bucks off the iteration of my site that preceeded this one.
4. How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?
I write in vim almost exclusively. I keep trying to find a better way of doing it, but I always come back to vim.
5. When do you feel most inspired to write?
Usually when I’m reading something someone else has written. I rarely feel the need to write something when I’ve read something I agree with. This is why my page was called Linux Rants for the longest time. I’d read something I disagreed with, and I’d feel the need to respond. That’s built in to our modern social media platforms, and many sites have comments sections, but all of that is under the control of someone else. I can spend hours and hours researching and writing a response to an article to have the site delete it seconds after posting. I even had one site go and edit my responses so it showed up as a response from me, but the content of that response was nothing I posted. To make sure my words are mine and they stay where I put them, I write them on my own page rather than in the comments of someone else’s site.
I also feel “inspired” to write when I come across fun little challenges, so there’s that too.
6. Do you publish immediately after writing, or do you let it simmer a bit as a draft?
Immediately. I publish that thing then I go to my site to make sure it shows up. Then I read it and find all my mistakes. I go back and fix my mistakes and then publish those changes immediately. Then I check to make sure it shows up on my site. Then I realize I didn’t find all my mistakes the first time, so I do all that over again. Usually several times before I’m “happy” with it. I probably should leave things as a draft longer so I can do all that before I publish it, but I don’t. More often than not, my posts are things that are on my mind, and I can’t get them off my mind until it’s on the page. I’m just not much of a “sit and wait” type I guess.
7. What’s your favourite post on your blog?
This one. It’s always my most recent.
8. Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
I’ve been kicking around the idea of a revamp. I like simple.css, but I’ve been thinking about personalizing things a little bit more. I’ve kicked around the idea of moving back to write.as as well, simply for it’s social media ties. That’s probably not going to happen though. I like having my files stored locally and in GitHub and less on someone else’s server. So, I guess “plans” might be a little bit of an extreme word for what it is I have. Let’s go with vague inclinations rather than plans.
Day 32 of the #100DaysToOffload Series.
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