Magnus said...

Hello David. I can offer you personal help and training free of cost. The only condition is that I want you to try something much harder than Typepad. I will help you setup your domain on a hosted server using WordPress, ftp and install themes, add SEO, add adsense, plugins, etc etc. Give you the FULL experience. It will be harder and will take more of your time but you will learn much more. Maybe then you can convince the other employees to switch from Typepad.

Let me know if you don't want to and I can still help you although I will need to either temporarily get your TypePad user/password or setup a free trial account as I haven't used TypePad in a long long time. With that being said I am sure there are many Typepad templates available that you can easily install to get started.

Apr 3, 2008 6:53:08 PM

abelle | Only in Silence said...

I don't use typepad, so I don't think I can give you any more advice other than . . . . . exchange links with friends, even those who are not your friends yet (raises her hand)

Happy blogging, David ;o)

Apr 3, 2008 8:33:50 PM

Gen said...

I visited your blog:) I hope you can post interesting topic in there. Anyway, I stumbled your posts, from dashboard in PPP.:) Sorry...I do not have any advice but I just wanted to say to u, goodluck!:)

Apr 3, 2008 9:54:49 PM

Immomsdaughter said...

I think Magnus' offer is great. You really should consider it ;)

Apr 3, 2008 10:49:33 PM

Cyn said...

Hi David,
I'm "Caprica" here.

Hi Magnus and to all as well! :)
Magnus' offer is great. You really should consider it
Magnus is probably one of the most generous posties I’ve yet met.

I am a long-time TypePad user and a WordPress.org user of about 5 months.
I :heart: WordPress, honestly, but for a beginning blogger especially, TypePad rocks!
If I may say so, TypePad is super “dynamic” or soon will be. Full disclosure: I’m beta testing something exciting in regard to TypePad.(!)

Magnus, maybe you may agree with me, TypePad and WordPress.org are completely different blogging systems, don’t you think? But the cool thing I notice about both, especially right now, is that each one has seen the best qualities of the other and they are becoming more alike—in good ways! Though I realize they don"t want to change totally--just use the good stuff.
A beginning blogger loves TypePad because it is easy (soon will be fully dynamic) and they are the friendliest bunch of people this side of PPP/IZEA.

I’ve had a fantastic user experience at TypePad almost completely trouble-free for going into five years. There were a couple bumpy moments in it’s infancy but again, the Customer Serve: outstanding!(I know. I sound like a commercial but I’ve never done paid work for them, though I did get a free t-shirt once.lol.)

My suggestion is to stay with the TypePad blog for now. There are basic blogging things to learn before jumping into the (for a person like me) daunting world of taming WordPress.
Keep your TypePad blog at it at least 6 months and I’m pretty sure magnus would find it hard to say “no” if you had questions about learning WordPress and all that goes with it.

I’m still very much getting used to WP.org and I’m at it every day. It’s just not easy for a mostly right-brained person like me. But it’s fun!

And I love my WordPress blogs, maybe even more than my TypePad blog.
They are quite nifty, though in their growing pains stage.

Whew, that was very long,
I can answer any question you have about TypePad “Plus” account and you’ve probably already seen where you can access help from the dashboard at the landing page and other spots.

Cheers!
Cyn

Apr 4, 2008 3:08:51 AM

SamratHacks said...

Add my Blog url in your friends list...
:)

Apr 4, 2008 5:50:24 AM

Ashley said...

I'm not here to offer any advice. Only to let you know how extremely entertained I am that you used the word "badonkadonk."

Apr 4, 2008 8:24:34 AM

meritt said...

I don't use typepad either... but welcome to the blogging world! ('bout time).

Apr 4, 2008 1:14:08 PM

JMom said...

I was going to say, and Magnus has said it already, you need to host your own domain. You should know that by now, being around PPP ;-)

Apr 4, 2008 1:54:39 PM

Marianne said...

Congrats on your new blog. I am also a Typepad blogger. Love it because it is so easy to use.

One of my favorite blog tools is statcounter from statcounter.com. This lets me keep an eye on my keywords, where my readers are coming from, etc. and its free! Yay for cool free tools.

When I first started I put some fun widgets (you can find them right from Typad) on my sidebars and now I have ads in there. I use Widgetbucks, have a nice PayperPost pay me to blog widget, etc.

As far as SEO I am sure no expert! But the more you blog, the more search engines will have to pick up so just keep posting about what interests you.

Marianne

Apr 4, 2008 2:30:40 PM

Magnus said...

@Cyn "Caprica"

Thanks girl. You know I love you. I am going to put you in my "9" :). Still getting used to calling you Cyn.

If you are really making a decision between TypePad and WordPress one thing that stand out to me is that you have to pay for TypePad but WordPress (the software) is free. People seem to get confused between Wordpress.org or .com? (a hosted solution) and doing things themselves with the free Wordpress software. Sure you have to buy your own domain and pay hosting but if you are going to do that with TypePad you may as well have a little more flexibilty and control.

David says he is going to take me up on his offer and I have sent him an email and a message with some initial instructions. As soon as he gets back to me we will bang this thing out and get him up and running fast.

By the time we are done David will hopefully know how to use ftp, use cpanel, use fantastico, change nameserves, use a hosting account, upload and activate plugins and templates, work in the code, and configure WordPress software.

Apr 4, 2008 2:40:11 PM

malyn said...

You already have great advice, just want to add a lil. The first advice seems to be great plus it's free. You should browse other bloggers site more often to get ideas and stuff, that's how I learn how to add stuff in my site. Definitely join some networks and have other bloggers link you. Good luck

Apr 4, 2008 2:55:10 PM

Cyn said...

(Magnus said)By the time we are done David will hopefully know how to use ftp, use cpanel, use fantastico, change nameserves, use a hosting account, upload and activate plugins and templates, work in the code, and configure WordPress software.

This is excellent!
It should be fun.

And Magnus my friend, I :heart: you, too. I much prefer Caprica so please, feel free.
And I'm in the "9"!!!
Excitement!

Apr 4, 2008 5:51:36 PM

Almanac Queen said...

Take it easy, one thing at a time. I had no experience whatsoever in blogging months ago. I bought my own domain after trying out free hosted blog for about 6 months. If it's free, give it a test drive. You'll pick up in no time. And understand as you go along. There is no expiry, enjoy your blogging journey! Once you're ready, you just move on another step. There are many bloggers out there ready to help and they offer good advice and tips on their blogs.

Apr 4, 2008 6:29:01 PM

techie said...

Switch to Wordpress and I'll help you. It's better than Typepad.

Apr 4, 2008 8:01:19 PM

Money said...

Wordpress is better than TypePad..

Apr 4, 2008 8:18:24 PM

Lisa Russell said...

Congratulations. I wasn't sure what to write when I first started blogging and the more I wrote, the more ideas I had. Every mundane thing about life was suddenly better because I was seeing the humor in it and writing about it in my head as it happened.

My favorite widget is my countdown timer, on the top corner of my sidebar. I'm currently counting down to our Portland Vacation. I've gotten a lot of email invites to lunch and people meeting us at the Zoo and on our travels because of it.

Good luck and have fun with your blog.

Apr 4, 2008 9:24:14 PM

Nabin said...

Nice!

Few things you could do may include including my blog in the blog-roll!
:)
Keep Blogging!
ALL THE BEST!

Apr 5, 2008 1:36:03 AM

Kilroy_60 said...

I would, of course, suggest that you get five good posts written and then submit them to the Soup To Nuts progressive dinner blog carnival.

Soup To Nuts is one of a kind and, I think, the best spot in the blogosphere to connect with other bloggers.

Will look forward to check you out.

Cheers!

Apr 5, 2008 7:14:54 PM

Kilroy_60 said...

Me again...on a more personal note.

My PageRank got zapped again...back to ZERO because, from all indications, I'm doing Pay Per Post posts.

8-(

There would be no need for me to care about my PageRank other than that it is important to get opportunities. The word on the street was that Pay Per Post was going to stop using PageRank as a criteria for opportunities; do you know when that's going to happen?

Apr 5, 2008 7:24:54 PM

constance said...

my blog had a miserable rank of 1. and within 2-3 months was stripped down to zero. PayPerPost had already started with Real Rank cos sometimes you see they require not page rank but Real Rank percentage. Perhaps they may extend to only Real Rank in future?

But, i still care about Page Rank cos now I hardly get opps.

Apr 6, 2008 6:36:04 AM

entertainment ground said...

welcome to the blogger's world and good luck.. I too don't have any suggestions, but gradually you'll learn everything and soon you'll be helping others.. good luck once again

Apr 6, 2008 2:13:36 PM

david said...

David,

Just keep finding interesting things to write about like 'crack women' (lol!!!) and forget about the sidebars and other stuff. It's all about writing stuff worth reading.

Best,

David

Apr 12, 2008 10:19:58 AM

John Sullivan said...

Wow you been there a yr? I agree with the first brother Magnus and use Wordpress.Any service that makes you pay is old hat.In fact to be honest now that I think about it do I want to get paid to write anything for anyone just to get paid? Not me I also don't want to join any MLM,downline trip either.
I got to believe in something whether it's in the fantasy world on here on in real life.I keep it real.
People are begging me to mention them,this is a cool site looks great and should be a hit.
As for Blogging yeah people will help you all day long but you have to pay your dues son work from a paid to your own and set it up yourself,You'll feel a lot better about it and when you do that No one can tell you jack about what to write say etc.I like that. Good Luck I'll be watching :)
PS You already have an awesome job what more do you want?:)

Apr 15, 2008 2:45:48 PM

diordna said...

Hello David,
I visited your site and it is a wordpress blog, not typepad. So if you mention that in your post, you might got more responses as there are many Wordpress bloggers. As far as help, I dont think you will need it once you are in it. There are many help and many plug ins available. My advise is before posting get your feet wet by changing themes, adding plugins etc. Good luck.

Apr 17, 2008 9:12:37 PM