January 31, 2008

A Thumbnail of January's Posts

I decided to make a monthly archive, so you can easily skim through and read what you are interested in. In the archive I will give brief descriptions and links to each of the posts from the months. Also, at the end of the archive I will write about what has occurred during the blog in the month.

I Have Trust Issues- This was my first post on the blog and it was one where I really expressed all the emotions I've been feeling lately. Maybe you can relate to having trust issues due to betrayals. Or maybe it can help you understand why one of your friends has trouble with trust.

Fashion and I = Oil and Vinegar- This was my friend Isabel's first post who is no longer writing here. She goes into detail about how she feels uncomfortable wearing the latest fashions, because she doesn't believe she has the right body type to wear them. Everyone has something about their body they wish to change no matter how physically attractive they are.

My Mask of Serenity- Have you ever felt like you have a wall hiding your emotions? I feel this way every day when I'm at school. When I get home all my pent up emotions I ignored burst out of me. I know this isn't the right way to deal with my emotions, but I don't know any other way. Any ideas on how I could stop being this way or do you experience the same thing?

Exams- This is the final post by Isabel. She wrote about concerned about her grades, because there is a correlation between good grades and a good paying job. Have you ever felt the stress to get good grades?

Why Freshmen Shouldn't Date Upper Classmen- I'm always revolted when I find out there is a male upper classman and a female freshman going out. I feel pity for the freshman, because she is inevitably going to get her heart broken. The two of them are on two completely different levels and it just isn't fair to either of them.

Why Going Outside Your Comfort Zone Is Worthwhile- Whenever I go outside my comfort zone I am terrified. However, I go through with it, because I remind myself of these listed reasons. Whenever you feel nervous about going outside your comfort zone you can remind yourself why it is worth it.

Isabel Is No Longer a Writer For This Blog- I began this blog with two authors and now at the end of month I am the only one remaining. To have a blog you need passion and time. Isabel had neither of those. I also wrote some changes the blog would have. Have you ever parted ways with a business partner or blog contributor? Did things turn out the way it did for me and Isabel.

Three Reasons I'll Never Use Myspace Again- I was an avid Myspace user twice. Each time after deleting my accounts I promised myself to never use it again. I'm glad I kept my promise the second time. It hurts me to remember how I petty I was when I used Myspace. I had internet fights over that I posted in bulletins for the entire world to see. It was immature of me and I'm glad I'm no longer using it. An Unsuspecting Notebook linked to this post and expanded on it. Check out the post on their blog if you want a good companion article to this.

A Letter From A Child I've Never Met Is Making Me Appreciate Life- One day I got home and received a letter. This letter was from a girl I sponsor that I’ve never met or even wrote to once. She drew me a picture and took the time out of her day to write to me with love and kindness. Her selflessness made me realize how much I could learn from an elementary school student who doesn't even speak the same language as me.

I can't believe this blog was created less than a month ago! This blog has gone through so many changes. I began this blog with two authors, but now there is only one left. I began this blog on wordpress.com, but decided to move it to blogger. I did this, because wordpress wouldn't allow me to utilize entrecard. The blog has gone through numerous changes, but as the month comes to a close I am content with the posts and the blog in general.

I wrote about some changes in the post talking about why Isabel is leaving. However, I have one more I want to add. I want to get my own domain name. This goal doesn't have a time limit, but eventually I want to reach this goal. I want to recoup the costs of my blog, so I need some advice. Should I go for it now and take a loss, or wait until I'll be able recoup the costs?

6 comments:

Chungyen Chang said...

I'd say wait until you get some more readers, then get a domain. Your blog is still very new. Work on getting lots of content before anything else, because content is the reason people visit blogs. Don't take too much on at once. :P

Selene said...

I'm leaning towards waiting to get my own domain, because I'm sure I'll lose money the first few months. However, I'm worried I'll lose readers and traffic rankings if I wait until the site is more popular.

Chungyen Chang said...

From what I've heard, redirecting from a domain with blogger is very simple. I don't think you'd lose any readers.

Anonymous said...

I don't understand how you lost money on wordpress and blogger? Aren't these free platforms?

As for moving into your own domain, it would depend on your end goal. I started my blog right on its own domain from the get go because I wanted to play with the technology and also monetize for later. If these things are not important to you, stay on blogger. But the fact that you are questioning it makes me believe you should move now.

Why wait for later when you're going to do it anyways? You're going to lose your hard work of SERPs and PR versus only taking a month hit. Remember that the age of the domain counts in this area as well.

Anonymous said...

Oh never mind, are you worried about trying to make money right from the get go as you move onto your own domain?

If I understand your concern correctly, let me just say that it's hard to monetize anyways. Yes, the transition to move your readers would likely be seamless, but what advertiser would want to advertise on a blog with no PR, no Alexa, no SERP, etc.?

You'd be effectively starting over again and now you're talking about opportunity cost that you could have made money if you had only moved sooner.

My 4 cents :)

Selene said...

Thank you for your advice C-squared and Mariam. I'm still not quite sure what to do, but your guidance has helped me a lot. :)