Does anyone use a blog? Looking for effective ways to share images and such

Burl Source

Burl Source

Joined
Dec 7, 2008
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I am trying to figure out ways to share images and information without having to build more pages on my website. I was thinking if there were ways that I could easily post them when the whim hits me I would get a lot more accomplished.

Do any of you use a blog, facebook or other means to post things related to your knife making?

Some of the subject matter I want to have an easy means of publishing are:
About our place. Sort of a photo tour.
How a burl is processed. From collecting, to cutting and drying.
A photo gallery of knives made using Burl Source wood.

Any advice or ideas are welcome.
I am pretty new to this social networking stuff.
 
Ehhhh.... blogs are so 1999!!! :rolleyes:

:foot: :p :D

Just kidding, I don't know anything about blogging Mark. I have come to the point that my facebook account is pretty much just for knife making stuff since I have about 9 actual friends and family on there...but once I started posting knife stuff I suddenly have 8zillion online friends ;) :)
 
Burl Source said:
I am trying to figure out ways to share images and information without having to build more pages on my website. I was thinking if there were ways that I could easily post them when the whim hits me I would get a lot more accomplished.

Do any of you use a blog, facebook or other means to post things related to your knife making?

Some of the subject matter I want to have an easy means of publishing are:
About our place. Sort of a photo tour.
How a burl is processed. From collecting, to cutting and drying.
A photo gallery of knives made using Burl Source wood.

Any advice or ideas are welcome.
I am pretty new to this social networking stuff.
Click to expand...

I agree with Nick, facebook can drive traffic to your website, but keep all your info on your website so people go back there again and again.
Provide a reliable, organized place to find everything.
The more traffic it gets, the higher it ranks in search ratings.


Personally I hate blogs for being hard to navigate and find stuff.

Posting pics at a lower hosting cost, you can use photobucket, but eventually may hit the limits where you pay for the pro account, but it's cheap too.
I suppose facebook will host pics free, but you are beholden to their whims and terms of service.
 
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My website is based on Wordpress which was designed initially as a blogging software. I don't think you could tell my website is based on a blog though and Wordpress is exceedingly simple to use.

www.marrknives.com
 
Mark,

I have several web sites that I manage, and several of them have message board software running. It's SUPER easy to install, absolutely free (apart from the costs of the web site) and VERY easy to manage. Check out http://www.phpbb.com. If you need help, let mw know. If you'd like to see one in operation, check out http://brokenbanknotes.com/bbnmb.
 
I have the photobucket pro account. That is what I use when posting photos here on the forum. It was cheap enough and I didn't ever want one of my posts to show "file not found" like you see with lots of the free account holders.

I have been looking at a lot of blogs and am starting to see how it would be difficult to find things after several posts.

From what you guys and others have said I am thinking that Facebook will be a good way to get people to the website.

Greg, I really like what I see so far with the bulletin board software. Looks like it would be easy to keep things orgnized and do what I want to do.

I am probably not communicating my desires very well because my thoughts are a bit jumbled and I don't really know what is possible these days.
Looking like first priority is to get an understanding of facebook and PHPBB.
 
Facebook is a great start, you can use it to upload photos and socialize with your customers.

I also like Posterous for blogging, it's an easy blogging platform where you can send an email and posterous automatically creates your blog and blog post - you can also attach photos to your post.
 
watercrawl said:
My website is based on Wordpress which was designed initially as a blogging software. I don't think you could tell my website is based on a blog though and Wordpress is exceedingly simple to use.

www.marrknives.com
Click to expand...

Yup, this. Wordpress is super easy to install and handle, and it doesn't have to look like a blog if you don't want it to. Take a look at http://www.patternwelding.info to see what I've done with it.
 
Just jumping in to give another vote to wordpress. Most good web hosting companies will have a easy "one click" type install, then you just choose a theme (how the site looks) and go start editing. Allows for static pages (like an about, or info on the store) as well as a more traditional blog where you can post things all the time. Might want to look at some themes that are heavily photo centric, because you have so many great pics to show.
 
I just started a blog last week. It's mostly so that family and friends can see what I do since none of them are on the same forums I am, and I don't do facebook.
I'm using wordpress.
It's a little clumsy compared to the forums software, but I'm getting better at it. Something I don't like is that the most recent posts are at the top. Seems backwards to me....
 
I will peak up about wordpress also. Both my personal, and studio websites are done in wordpress. Great way to start a good, clean site. Can't beat facebook...Free advertising and photos to help promote yourself. I use both frequently. Nick...I am one of your 8gazillion friends lol...Facebook is a good start but a wordpress account is also as good...Do both :)
 
Hey Mark, I started a wordpress blog a couple weeks ago. It was easy to install. Mine would probably look better if I changed the picture across the top but the stock picture is to cool to throw away.
For my setup though I dont think it would be any easier or harder or more time consuming to post the info on the blog vs my website? One advantage to the blog is people can subscribe to it and when you post something they will get it. The main reason I started mine was to get better search engine results.

Now my current problem... I have become so fascinated looking at all the awesome knives here I want to try it too and I am spending to much time reading trying to learn and not enough time sanding and picture taking
 
I use both Tumblr and Facebook--one good way to get people to check you out on Facebook would be to add a simple "Like" button to your site. Wordpress sites look good, but I haven't taken the time to really try and build a site using it.
 
It looks like I will be using software to create a bulletin board that I will have at burlsource.info when I get it all set up.
Tryppyr is helping me to get everything set up.
What was really appealing to me was that it is very similar to the forums.
I will be able to post threads with the info and photos like I want.
But what I think is a big plus, knifemakers will be able to start threads and post photos of knives they make with burl source wood.
It will also be an easy way to set up a directory of knife maker websites.
At least this is my understanding of how things will work.
I am excited to get things up and running.
 
Why aren't you simply doing this with your personal forum here. That is what it is for. At least that was my plan. I have yet to execute. You can link to it from your website and in your signature here. Just a thought.

Burl Source said:
It looks like I will be using software to create a bulletin board that I will have at burlsource.info when I get it all set up.
Tryppyr is helping me to get everything set up.
What was really appealing to me was that it is very similar to the forums.
I will be able to post threads with the info and photos like I want.
But what I think is a big plus, knifemakers will be able to start threads and post photos of knives they make with burl source wood.
It will also be an easy way to set up a directory of knife maker websites.
At least this is my understanding of how things will work.
I am excited to get things up and running.
Click to expand...
 
One thing I like about this industry is this thread. Here we have a woodseller (Mark) asking for help in his overall marketing plan and we also have a thoughtful response from another woodseller, Spalted, a competitor nonetheless. I love that these folks are not at each others throats fighting for every advantage they can get.

The industry I left was the latter. I like this better.

Heck one guy in my old industry told everyone I left to be a Rabbi! LOL.
 
shotgunner said:
One thing I like about this industry is this thread. Here we have a woodseller (Mark) asking for help in his overall marketing plan and we also have a thoughtful response from another woodseller, Spalted, a competitor nonetheless. I love that these folks are not at each others throats fighting for every advantage they can get.

.
Click to expand...

For the last 20 years I have had a good relationship with my 2 closest competitors locally. I have helped them and they helped me, we have borrowed tools on occasion and I even made room in my shop and let one guy bring his tools and work in my shop for several months while they added on to his shop. To me life is to short for anything else. While me and Mark are thousands of miles apart I hope I get a chance to buy him lunch one day. And by the way this is me just returning the favor... he responded to a question I had just as friendly as can be earlier.

The customer directory is a good idea, I have been telling the people I sell wood to to send me a picture too but fixing it so they could post it like they want and without you having to spend the time is a great idea.
 
Well, I just started a blog today at the insistence of my daughter. I already have my own website and I am on farce-book. What the hey..... A blog might be a way to pass along some info on how I do things without taking up this forum's bandwidth.

I just put a link to it in my signature. I wish someone would make a post there just so I know it works.

If it doesn't work out, then I can always delete everything and start over.

Robert
 
Robert Dark said:
I wish someone would make a post there just so I know it works.
Robert
Click to expand...

Robert,
I just looked at your blog but I can't figure out how to make a post there.
I think this is one of those things where I need to get one of my Grandchildren to show me how.

By the way, Great Looking Slipjoint!
 
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