Blogging

I’ve gotten some questions on how I went about migrating from Blogsphere to WordPress, so I wanted to share here in case someone else was in the same boat.

Basically I stood on the shoulders of others.  I followed the directions laid out by Mitch Cohen in these blog posts here and here.  He used some code from our mutual friend Matt White to export the posts and comments into a format that WordPress can use.  Another friend of his had some code that cleaned things up, and then I simply imported everything.

For me, categories didn’t quite come over correctly, so I deleted them all and started over.  I decided to manually go through and clean everything up after the fact.  It’s still something I need to finish up.

As for comments, they did come over, but I wanted to use Disqus instead.  Disqus is a good service for comments that allow people to login with various accounts like Facebook or Twitter.  Pulls in the avatars and everything.  So, I installed the Disqus WordPress plugin and now suddenly all of my comments were gone on the blog and replaced with blank Disqus areas.  Well no fear, you can simply export your comments from WordPress into Disqus using the Disqus tools and then they all show up.

The URL’s to the emoticons got converted to text only, so you’ll have to go back and edit those if you need to as well.  Otherwise it just looks a little messy.

Next, I always used FeedBurner for my RSS feeds, so I just pointed it to the new feed here and I was done.

I’ve added some plug-ins like Jetpack and WordPress Mobile, but I’m still looking for other good additions.  Also, I need to find a nice theme I like as the default one (while easily readable) needs some style…

One last cool thing I did was import some REALLY old Blogger based blog posts.  You see, I had written a private blog for awhile before going public and using Blogsphere.  I still had them in Blogger and it was easy to export to a format for bringing into WordPress.  It was kind of nice to see the old diary entries and incorporate them into the overall blog here.

Anyway, I hope that helps you out if you are in the same boat.  It was really a lot easier than I thought it was going to be, so don’t be scared of diving in!

Hello all. If you are seeing this, then I actually did quite a bit correctly in my blog move. I decided to move to WordPress and host it through my own webhost. It was just time to move on from Blogsphere and investigate different technologies.

I do want to thank Declan and all the contributors over the years to Blogsphere. It facilitated my blogging addiction for nearly 8 years. That’s no small feat and I’ve always liked the software.

That said, I needed a change. Something to kickstart the blogging habit again, and I think this is it. I’ll be keeping the old blog up for awhile, but all of the posts and comments are now here too. I plan on setting up some re-directs so the google juice on my posts will follow me here at blog.roling.com.

Right now, the site is very raw. I need to settle on a theme and get all the info in place that I want to utilize. So over the next couple months you’ll hopefully see some nice re-designs on the site. If you are a reader via RSS, nothing much will change on your end 🙂

Thanks for sticking with me so long folks. I plan on being around (now on WordPress) for a long time to come.

Well folks, I’ve come to a crossroads of sorts. For nearly eight years, I’ve had my blog on Blogsphere running on the Domino platform. I’ve loved it, but as blogging and social networks have grown, there are so many other options out there that I could maintain and keep up-to-date with a little less work on my end. It’s obvious that due to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and now Google+ that I have less time to spend on blogging in general and blogging maintenance in particular. In addition, as the pointy hair grows, I think it’s good to look at all the options available to me.

So with that said, I really think it’s time for me to switch platforms.

So, the million dollar question is, which one? I have a good hosting company, and I could install WordPress, Drupal or Joomla rather easily. I also already have Tumblr and Posterous accounts that could easily be converted. I want whichever platform I choose to have the following:

• Good mobile apps for iOS
• Ability to utilize good commenting systems (like Disqus)
• Easy to maintain themes
• Ability to customize and add plug-ins
• Ability to hook into all the major social networks

Next, the billion dollar question is, Do I attempt to migrate all of my old data, or do I just start fresh?

This is the harder one. Many of my technical Domino posts still get hits every single day. So as a resource, it’s a good one. In addition, I’ve always looked at it as a diary of my past. Something I can look back on and see where I was in my life when I posted. So migrating makes some sense, but then the new blog would have all new URL’s. So do you move and hope Google figures it out? Or do you leave the old site up and start a new one? It’s a hard decision, and I’m not sure which way I’ll go.

So, my loyal readers, what do you think? Do I abandon this house and leave all my belongings behind with a note where to find me now? Or do I attempt the migration? And lastly, which platform would YOU choose? Thanks for any help you may be able to offer!

Hey baby. Yeah, I know it’s been quite awhile, and I’m sorry for leaving you hanging for so long. It’s just that I’ve been so busy lately… I know, I know, that’s never an excuse, it’s just the way it is. Work has been insane, I’ve been travelling a lot, and I haven’t had time to devote to us, and for that I’m sorry.

What’s that? Facebook and Twitter? C’mon honey, you know that you and I were never exclusive. Those two don’t have nearly as in-depth of a relationship and you and I do. Our love goes way back. It’s just that they are there mostly to have fun. They just want a quickie once in awhile, and I can actually fit them in. They don’t demand so much of a commitment. And it’s not that I don’t value OUR commitment, I do, I really do. It’s just that I truly haven’t had time. And quite frankly, I can slide in 140 characters once in awhile much easier than I can with you.

That’s not a knock on you at all. It’s me. I’m the one with the diminished time. You’ve always been there waiting.

I’ll come back around, trust me, I will. I hope you’ll wait for me. I think we may have to look for a new house to spruce things up too. Been hearing good things about Woodpress Woods, Joomla Junction, Posterous Prairies and the Townhouses at Tumblr. Maybe we just need a change to get that spark back. I dunno. But hang in there babe, we’ll work this out in the end. I know we will.

Love always,
Grey

Wow. Time flies when you are having fun I guess, and I’ve definitely had a lot of fun here over the last seven years. On Sept. 24th, 2003 I posted here for the first time, and it really changed a lot of things for me.

Blogging has obviously always been a personal creative outlet for me, but even more than that, it allowed me to join a community of professionals centered around Lotus Notes and the companion products. I’ve made so many friends through this medium, and for that I am eternally grateful.

My blogging has slowed down this last year as I’ve been sharpening my pointy hair, but I’m not ready to let the blog go by the wayside just yet. It’s been too good to me to abandon any time soon.

So thanks to all of you that still subscribe, or who continue to show up here on a regular basis. I’m honored to have you around…

…can’t you hear me screaming?

Sorry for the song lyrics, but I thought that the Queensryche line was apropos. It’s certainly been awhile since I’ve posted here, and even though I feel neglectful, I’m not going to apologize this time. Explain maybe, but not apologize.

These past couple months have been spectacularly busy for me professionally. This is actually a good thing, an awesome thing in fact. I come to work every day and hit the ground running, and hours fly by. I’d much rather do that than be bored, but sometimes it gets hard to catch my breath. In fact some days, it gets so hectic, you might actually hear me screaming.

🙂

Years ago, I would blog during my train ride commute. I had an hour ride each way, so that worked out splendidly. But then I decided to start driving to work (to coincidentally claim back some lost time and flexibility from my commuting hours) So I lost those two hours a day where I could put words to the screen. So then, I had to write during the evenings, or weekends, or maybe over a lunchtime once in awhile at work.

Well now, due to diet and time constraints, I generally eat lunch at my desk, and don’t spend a lot of time having a lunch. So once again, another avenue for blogging has gone by the wayside. This pretty much leaves the evenings, and quite frankly, I’ve been trying to devote those to my family as much as I can.

Thus, the silence.

It doesn’t mean I don’t have things to say, or opinions on things, just means that the blog has been put at a lower priority than other things lately. I can normally get what I want to say out there on Twitter and Facebook, so I haven’t felt the itch as much to blog. Also, my Zen attitude towards things has really kept me out of many of the dustups that have occurred in the Lotus community. I just don’t have a need to get into virtual pissing contests where no one really wins.

Maybe it’s my age (which I’ve really been feeling lately) or maybe it’s the trading in of my Notes Admin client for the set of pointy hair, I dunno, but I’m seeing things differently. Better and more productive in my opinion, but different.

That said, typing this right now, I realize how much I miss getting my thoughts into this virtual diary of mine. So expect to see me kind of ramp up again. IAMLUG is coming up next week, Notes 8.5.2 is on the horizon, I have some long flights which may be good for writing and there’s more personal things brewing. So for those of you who have stuck around, thanks. I’m still here, and plan to be for a long time to come.