WordPress vs. Blogger

When a few of my friends found out that I’ve started a new blog, they automatically assumed that it would be found on Blogger, since that’s where my previous ill-fated blogs were found. However, after “shopping around” (if you consider looking around for a free host “shopping”), I’ve decided to migrate to WordPress. While I do appreciate Google for pushing the envelope when it comes to online services (I use Gmail and Picasa), I think that the kind folks behind WordPress (the software) and WordPress (the hosting service) offered a better product at the same price (free), which is not to say that Blogger is an inferior product in every aspect. In the end, the pros of WordPress just outweighed the cons.

As far as design is concerned, while WordPress doesn’t have that annoying bar at the top of the page, Blogger allows more flexibility in terms of changing fonts. Luckily, I found a theme here that works for me so giving up the ability to select fonts wasn’t that big of a deal.

In terms of page flexibility, while Blogger does what it’s supposed to, WordPress is superior because of the capability to publish pages divorced from the main blog, just like my “Links” page on this blog. This opens up a world of possibilities, allowing bloggers to maintain a full-blown website if they so desired.

Stroke of Genius

On my way home this evening I was playing around with a few ideas on what would be an appropriate title for my new blog. In my efforts to find one that would capture the essence of my fascination with fishkeeping and aquaria in general, I finally found what I think is a fairly suitable one. Considering that I primarily keep cichlids, and, according to some of my not-so-supportive friends, I sometimes do stupid things for the sake of my hobby, I’m pretty sure that nothing my limited creative juices could come up with would match Cichlidiot. Luckily, nobody had the subdomain reserved on WordPress, so I guess I have the blessing of the powers that be. That’s one task out of the way. Now to find some suitable content for Cichlidiot.

Taking the Plunge

After several short-lived escapades with blogging over the past three years, I’ve decided to start yet another online journal, on yet another topic altogether — fishkeeping. While I’m sure that this blog will receive its fair share of digressions in the form of Real Life™ rants, among other things, I’ve promised myself to keep such posts to a minimum and concentrate on my complementary hobbies of photography and fishkeeping. Hopefully, this endeavor meets more success than my previous forays into the world of online publishing.