The Rebirth of Localtype

Mirrored from Localtype.

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It’s high time I raise this blog from the dead. Why? To put it succinctly, it’s about control. There are so many platforms out there right now that will get you up and running quickly without coding so much as a terminating semicolon. There are even services that will let you send an email which will then disseminate the appropriate parts of that email to other services which will create posts based on that content. They’re all highly useful, but each forces you to give up degrees of control for convenience.

My needs have changed. I used to be content posting small images, and having my videos re-encoded to mush. Just being able to post and have people see it was ‘good enough’. With new technologies, I no longer need to settle for ‘good enough’. I can post what I want, and have much better control over the final result within my own domain. I’ve no problem syndicating my content to other services which have stricter rules with regard to content display, as long as it’s possible to see the original work.

I considered writing my own blog software. It’s not terribly difficult to do given that my posting needs are pretty straightforward. In the end, however, I decided to go with what works, and transfer everything over to WordPress. A lot has changed since I first looked at the software over eight years ago. It’s now far easier to manage and customise to my liking. My biggest gripes with WordPress were spam, and vulnerability to cracking/hacking. The first was solved using Akismet, and Disqus as a comment engine. The second is still a problem, but made easier through WordPress’ new update features. With one click, I can upgrade my WP install without having to do a bunch of manual re-coding.

So what to expect? I’m still going to write about new technology, and culture that is of interest to me. Expect more audio and video as well. The design and functionality are still in flux, so expect things to be a bit wonky for awhile.