Good luck!

@ Phaedra – Thanks so much for the support! Have fun at the rally!

@ Corinna – Thanks as well! Have fun at the rally too!

I think a lot of the questions you’ve posed should be considered entirely differently as you’ve suggested.

Deciding to ‘expose’ your real self online isn’t something to take lightly. I had long cultivated an alias online and it was only after I started meeting a lot of the online bloggers/social media rock stars in real life that I realized I there was actually very little about me online which made it difficult to interact with some of these people since I knew so much about them but the reverse wasn’t the case. Not that my site is a huge diary of myself (it’s really just a geek blog). I had bought my domain and used it privately for development purposes and mainly bought it so that I’d have it when/if the time was right to use it. When I started getting back into photography, I figured it was a good time to start using my full name on a site since I wanted to be known as a photographer and wasn’t quite ready to be labled “retrocactus” anywhere my photos appeared. Since then my blog has evolved (I hope) a little from just photography stuff in content (and it may revert back to just that at some point) – but at least the stake is in the ground.

You should definitely buy your domain name(s) if they are important to you. They can be had for next to nothing these days (usually around the cost of a latte if you shop around) so there really is no excuse to grab a few and park them if nothing else. I also think you’d be a lot happier with a WordPress site hosted on your own (shared) server to start….there are a lot more advantages and the cost is also negligible these days. You may also get your domain(s) free with some hosting packages. When I signed up for Bluehost (which hosts many of my sites), part of the package was a free domain registration. Two hummingbirds with one stone if you will.

Don’t worry about the coding parts required out of the gate to set up a hosted WordPress site. Many hosts provide simple, one click WordPress installs that require that you know how to click a mouse button. At least it will be enough to get you up and running about the same as your current setup and you can take your time learning and tricking out your site later. You should also be able to import your current site directly into WordPress using an import script that is included.

I wouldn’t worry about monitizing your blog….it’s hard to do and done incorrectly, you’ll just piss off your readers. A lot of people read sites via RSS readers anyways so spending a ton of effort on ads would probably be pointless….at least in my experience – I’m sure others may disagree. If the purpose of your site is to get ad revenue then focus on that. If the purpose is to get your writing out there, then focus on that. The $/rewards will come if what you’re doing is worthwhile to others. I make more money off hosting referrals than any kind of ads I’ve tried on my sites. (Ping me if you want a referral

Lastly, everyone will assume I’m going to steer you towards a Mac computer….and I will. They aren’t for everyone but don’t believe the garbage that they are too expensive, hard to learn or not compatible with everything. Cost is relative to what you are doing with your computer over the life of it. If you just want to surf the web, check email and Facebook and do a little blogging, sure that $600 Dell laptop will work just fine. There really isn’t much in the way of software that is truly unique to a Mac anymore….the same stuff (or at least very similar) can usually be found on both PC or Mac and even Linux these days. What is unique is the user experience. It’s just better on a Mac. Playing with it for 10 minutes at Future Shop won’t convey this…you really need to have one and use it for awhile. My advice would be to start with one (perhaps a laptop like a MacBook) and try it out. If you buy it from London Drugs, you’ve got 15 days to return it if it doesn’t work for you. Full money refunded with no restocking fees. I usually tell people to give it a week and if you don’t like, can’t get used to it, just return it.

So far, I don’t know anyone that has returned it.

So in closing, it sounds like you have a lot to consider which hopefully is exciting. Good luck and let me know if I can help.

@ Gus – Thanks for the kind words and the pointers. Will have to look into that!

This year I did purchase my own domain name – Gusdigtal.com and to be honest it didn’t cost as much as thought it would. For $10 you can buy your domain name for a year. Granted I also had to match it up with my WordPress.com account and pay another $10, but what the hell.

I have thought of going onto WordPress.org and getting my own server, but that would require a monthly fee and I would have to know more about coding I fear. I would love to do more with my blog site and make it more personal and reflect who I am, but like everything these take time.

I’m glad I got to meet you and I DO enjoy reading your blog.

Also, to be a great blogger you do not have to be a geek at all. Some excellent bloggers have others that all the coding, all the site modifications (or use free services ie. they’re still on blogger), and their only involvement with the blog is writing unique and interesting content for their readers.

However, I know that you have a true interest in Geekdom (I can see how excited you get when talking about hnad-coding HTML) so I know your decision will include these factors.

In conclusion, I totally think you can meld the environmental world with social media. NetSquared proved this even with the demos by DeSmogBlog, GreenPages, happyfrog etc. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it’s something you love to do because that will come through in your content. Otherwise there’s no point in labouring over something and pressing yourself to learn things that you ultimately don’t really care about.