Hey, everyone! I’m very excited to introduce a blog series that I’m going to be posting starting this week titled Blog Yourself (if someone has a better name please let me know :) ). I will show you how to create your own blog from start to finish. I wanted to breakdown the seemingly complicated process of setting your own blog up and make it easy for anyone interested in blogging.

I have noticed some of my wife’s blogging buddies and many others using services such as Blogger and TypePad to run their blog. These services may be an appropriate option for some, but are actually quite limiting to those seeking more control and a more professional image. For bloggers falling into this category, I want to offer insight on migrating their blog to their own web host as well.

Let me give you an overview of what I will be covering and who may be interested in this series:

What I will cover

• Purchasing a domain name
• Finding and purchasing web hosting
• Installing and configuring blogging software (WordPress)
• Free applications used to setup and customize your blog
• Free web services that show you detailed statistics for your blog
• How to customize your blog with themes and plugins
• Tips on best practices and better usability
• Basic SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to give your blog a higher ranking in various search engines such as Google and Yahoo!

Who may be interested in this series

• non-bloggers who would like to start their own blog
• bloggers who use a hosted blogging service such as Blogger or TypePad and who would like more control by hosting it themselves (I will show you how to migrate your posts and comments from your current blog)
• bloggers who want to learn useful tips on customizing and promoting their blogs

Who/what this series is not intended for:

• those looking for WHAT to write about on their blogs (I’m just giving you the tools, not the content)
• people intending to use blogs to spam
• carnies

I am planning to go into as much detail as possible on each subject, even splitting individual topics into multiple posts if they require more attention. I will try to include as many screenshots as well as videos (if requested) of the tutorials. Feel free to post comments asking questions or send me a message on my contact page.

Cleaning out my RSS feeds this morning I came across an article reviewing a web application called ShiftSpace. The application allows collaborative annotating and editing of any web page on the internet by using an overlay. So why am I writing about this? Well, Charles and I had been working on an in-house project that did the same exact thing. Every single feature we dreamed up was in there, it’s as if these guys read our notes! (they didn’t)

This isn’t the first time we’ve been working on a project only to find someone else has released an identical application midway through development, but it doesn’t make it any less frustrating. Developing for the web is a two-edge sword; you can develop an application and release it to the masses in a very short time, much faster than it takes to develop a physical product. The downside is, so can someone else.

To their credit, ShiftSpace did a decent job with it, I’m happy to see an idea executed well. They do have room for improvement however… Requiring the user to install Firefox, install an add-on and then install the script just to be able to use the application? Come on guys, bad form.

For us, we have a few other in-house projects that we are working on at the moment, and we have no shortage of new ideas. We even have an in-house project that we have been working on for almost a year now that is nearing completion, and should be released at the end of October. Score.

So, in an attempt to give you a quick overview of who I am and what this blog is going to be about I shall do my best to not duplicate my ‘About’ page. This is my first real shot at a blog, I really never thought I’d have the interest in doing one but then again I never thought I’d get a twitter account either. After setting my wife up with her own blog and seeing how much she enjoyed interacting with people, I’ve finally decided to follow suit.

Ok, so what’s it about?

There are 5 things that I am interested in at the moment and I will more than likely post something about each of them.

• Family
• Web Development
• General technology
• Mountain biking
• Gaming

Family

I have been married to my wife, Morgan (22), for almost 2 years (in September). We recently found out that we’re having a girl, Madelyn Jo, who is due at the end of November, and the two of us are highly stoked. I come from a large-ish family of 2 parents and 3 younger sisters and a large extended family.

Web Development

I run a web development company called Element Web Media with my business partner, Charles. I have been officially working in this arena for 5 years now, and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I am going to focus much of my writing on this subject (PHP, Javascript (jQuery), CSS, (X)HTML and XML). I will probably talk some about design, however, I’ve never considered it one of my strong points so don’t expect much.

General Technology

I’m very much a geek and proud of it. I love doing things like specing/building computers, reading tech sites like Engadget and Ars Technica, talking about how awesome Android is going to be, etc.

Mountain Biking

MTB’ing is something that I’ve gotten into recently. When I found out that my Dad and Uncle had started and from hearing how much fun it was I jumped in and bought a bike. I have to say it is a total blast, everyone that goes with us for the first time is hooked (we have about 9 people right now). I started with the hopes of losing some weight but have only traded some fat for muscle (fine by me). We frequent the Sky Harbor and Squaw Leap areas.

Gaming

Gaming is what originally got me into computers, and I’ve been into it since the ripe old age of 7. I remember playing Police Quest 1 on my dad’s 286 trying to get to the “driving part”. I generally stick to my Xbox 360 as of late, but I have a fondness for MMO’s. There is someone who does not think highly of this particular hobby, and she, my wife, shall remain nameless.

Well that does it for my “short” intro. Hopefully one of the items peaks your interest enough to hit the subscribe link.