You might want to check out Posterous. It's blogging that's as simple as email, and it can even import your old blog. (I'm not in any way affiliated with Posterous, however I've been looking for a simple blogging platform and they really seem to nail the simplicity factor)
They don't support skins or style customizations yet, but supposedly it's coming soon. Custom domains & Google Analytics are working now.
I want something different -- an editing window with a Save button. When I finish one post, collapse it, but it's still there in case I need some text or need to make a minor change. Like you I value simplicity. But I also have to be able to add a graphic and link to another page. After that, diminishing returns for every feature added.
Brent Logan
· 5 months ago
After your post, I'm almost (but not quite) afraid to suggest it, but have you considered WordPress using the P2 theme? It's very Twitterish.
Ian Beck
· 5 months ago
Have you looking into Chyrp? Some if its main appeal is that features are almost exclusively loaded in via plugin; the core behavior is very basic (little more than a Tumblr text post). Chyrp 1.0 wasn't easy enough to modify to my mind, but the newly released Chyrp 2 looks very interesting:
Ugh - perhaps this sums up why I hate Twitter with a passion, and similarly IM rarely. I like coherent, developed thoughts - something that does NOT come quickly or necessarily naturally. I don't want someone's unfiltered faucet stream-of-consciousness hybrid-from-BSG style.
I like e-mail, where a typical message will have a subject, point, probably a few paragraphs, etc. You have to think and put some time into e-mail - which I think is a positive thing. Very little of any meaning, usefulness, or import comes from 140 characters - instead you get the banalities of everyday life, and I experience these quite well without telegraphing to the world that yes, I too ate dinner tonight or took the dog on a walk.
Meawhile, blogs (such as this and many others) provide some real insight and discussion. You could probably add further layers up - for instance, journalism and news. But I'll take these more difficult forms of communication and their MUCH higher signal to noise ratio any day.
Ian Beck
· 5 months ago
Heh, you evidently haven't been corresponding with some of the people I have to email regularly. Prior thought need not apply, much less proof-reading or any ability to communicate a cogent message. :-)
I think Brent is less advocating off-the-cuff posting, and more cutting down the overhead that it takes to post to an absolute minimum. I've experienced the same problem that he has; even a minor barrier to updating your blog (like an overly complicated, feature-rich blogging app) can be enough to leave you without posts for months at a time.
Although granted, a really low cost to entry can also result in a constant stream of mindless inanities. Fortunately, I doubt Brent is likely to go down that road.
Joshua Ochs
· 5 months ago
Okay, that makes more sense. I have a dozen blog entries floating in my head that I just haven't gotten the chance to write (of course, that may because I tend to write novels rather than posts). I've always thought that John Gruber really nailed it - LinkedList for quickie observations and tidbits, and full-length essays on more interesting matters.
Adam
· 5 months ago
"And the people did ask that the New Thing add [more stuff]." Your post reminds me of Clayton Christensen's books. The Old Thing is complicated, it has overshot what people can use. Here comes a very lean and disruptive New Thing. It is derided by Old Thing Inc. but manages to capture a portion of the market. Early adopters and new users flock to it cause they don't need all of the functionality of the bloated Old Thing; for these people, the New Thing is more convenient. But the New Thing has to evolve to accommodate the needs of most people, though. Rince and repeat.
All Comments
They don't support skins or style customizations yet, but supposedly it's coming soon. Custom domains & Google Analytics are working now.
http://posterous.com/faq
http://chyrp.net/
I like e-mail, where a typical message will have a subject, point, probably a few paragraphs, etc. You have to think and put some time into e-mail - which I think is a positive thing. Very little of any meaning, usefulness, or import comes from 140 characters - instead you get the banalities of everyday life, and I experience these quite well without telegraphing to the world that yes, I too ate dinner tonight or took the dog on a walk.
Meawhile, blogs (such as this and many others) provide some real insight and discussion. You could probably add further layers up - for instance, journalism and news. But I'll take these more difficult forms of communication and their MUCH higher signal to noise ratio any day.
I think Brent is less advocating off-the-cuff posting, and more cutting down the overhead that it takes to post to an absolute minimum. I've experienced the same problem that he has; even a minor barrier to updating your blog (like an overly complicated, feature-rich blogging app) can be enough to leave you without posts for months at a time.
Although granted, a really low cost to entry can also result in a constant stream of mindless inanities. Fortunately, I doubt Brent is likely to go down that road.