We use this blog for announcements, help articles, some news-ish posts, posts on password basics and even a few things which probably would have been best left unsaid.
In other words… it’s a mess [smile].
So we’ve built a new blog! (sneak peek here).
And I’m cleaning things up during the move. Here’s the idea:
- No more support articles. Those go in the knowledge base.
. - The basics, and intro to password articles go in the library (also new) so that (1) we can modify them at will without stomping on basic blog etiquette and (2) your RSS doesn’t get smothered as we publish more.
. - News-ish post. Basically This Week in Privacy and the occasional comment. Strong personal opinions in the personal blogs only. Mine’s here (I rarely post).
What To Do with the Old Blog?
I LOVE throwing things out. So I’m trying very hard to avoid mass historical revisionism.
The posts on wordpress.com will remain as-is, with commenting closed. But I’m concerned about folks who stumble across old help articles, and get outdated information.
There is, I admit, one temptation I couldn’t resist. I changed every PassPack to Passpack on the new blog (the fact that it remains unchanged on the old blog irks me… but I’m resisting further temptation).
Can You Help Me Out?
First, what do you think of that shiny new blog ? (I’m still working on it, so comments, pinging etc. are closed for the moment)
And can I (pretty please) replace the help articles here wordpress.com with a simple link to the Help Center?
Anything other ideas for building a better blog?
The (old) Passpack Blog 
I think the new blog is a really good idea. More streamlined, so people know what to expect there. However I don’t really have a solution for this blog. Probably just leave it as it is and just put a link to the new one.
Thanks Carsten. Yes, I’ll definitely post a giant “this blog has moved” notice on top.
You finally moved the blog, Tara! ;)
Anyway, I’d look into redirecting this WordPress.com blog to the new one. A 301 redirection would be better from an SEO point of view. All of your old articles should point to the new domain and so you’ll have your links and visitors pointed there.
Hey Adam!
Yes, well, it was about time :)
A 301 redirect would be nice, but a quick tour through the wordpress.com support center turned this up:
“You will lose your page rankings and pingbacks and such. There is no way around that. All you can do is to put a “we’ve moved” post up on your blog here and wait it out.”
[sigh]But then I found this…
http://faq.wordpress.com/2007/09/09/can-i-redirect-my-blog/
Let’s see. I’ll look into it. Thanks!
Check out this post (there is a PDF tutorial): http://blog-well.com/2008/01/27/wordpresscom-to-wordpressorg/
It promises to have another solution. Haven’t checked it though.
Good luck!
Thank you Adam. At a first glance, that looks essentially like more detailed instructions for doing what wordpress suggests. I’ve downloaded it though and will play around over the weekend.
Sorry to sound negative – but I hate blogs!
Forums are much better, more facilities, better searching, navigating, easier to maintain, and creates a community spirit.
Remember how the ‘beta’ forum developed? and that was just with a small number of contributers with a narrow focus of debate.
@Rossoreed
:) I think each tool should serve it’s own purpose. It’s a big part of this blog move, and why we pulled the support articles into the Help Center (which has excellent search facilities).
I think the beta forums work well *because* there is a narrow focus, and also for a short period of time. It’s easier to be active under those circumstances.
All that said, it’s really up to what you guys want. We build these tools for our users, not for ourselves :)
Would anyone else like a Passpack user forum? Please speak up!
I think a blog is crucial for a startup’s success. It helps it launch products, collect feedback and attract press.
However, having a forum as well is not a bad thing. The difference is that in a forum, anyone can start the conversation, but in a blog, the author is only who can start it.
Also, a forum is great for users who are looking for help.
Having said that, I wouldn’t remove the blog. I’d just have both of them.