Blog Status Update

I've been studying a question for some time, and I'm still working out the answer, but I thought I'd give a status update.

The question I've been working on is this: How can I best use this blog and integrate it with other online activity I'm working on.

As alert reader Paul H notes down yonder, I'm doing some blogging over at the National Catholic Register.

HERE'S THE LINK.

But though I am blogging there, I don't want to shut down this blog, for a number of reasons. One of them is that here I can do posts that don't fit the word count or subject matter parameters of the Register gig.

So I've been trying to figure out the best way to let folks know where and when I'm blogging, regardless of the venue.

I've settled for the moment on at least posting here links to what is going on there. So if you come here, you'll find out what's going on on this blog and what's going on on my Register blog. 

If you're into RSSes, you can also just subscribe to the RSSes for the two blogs.

I'm also looking into additional forms of notification.

For example–after several decades of resisting–I have now joined Facebook and Twitter.

HERE'S MY FACEBOOK PAGE, IF I UNDERSTAND THINGS ARIGHT.

(AND HERE'S MY FACEBOOK PROFILE; THANKS FOR THE CORRECTION IN THE COMBOX!)

AND HERE'S MY TWITTER FEED.

I'm taking baby steps at this point with these media, but the goal I'm pursuing is to try to provide more, better, and better-linked online content for folks.

Advice very much appreciated, particularly on how to get these different things to work together.

And others; e.g., I know Google has some social networking doo-dads that have cross-service functionality I'm interested in trying.

Author: Jimmy Akin

Jimmy was born in Texas, grew up nominally Protestant, but at age 20 experienced a profound conversion to Christ. Planning on becoming a Protestant seminary professor, he started an intensive study of the Bible. But the more he immersed himself in Scripture the more he found to support the Catholic faith, and in 1992 he entered the Catholic Church. His conversion story, "A Triumph and a Tragedy," is published in Surprised by Truth. Besides being an author, Jimmy is the Senior Apologist at Catholic Answers, a contributing editor to Catholic Answers Magazine, and a weekly guest on "Catholic Answers Live."

8 thoughts on “Blog Status Update”

  1. That’s your Facebook profile, not page.
    But you could also set up a Facebook page for yourself. Then, if you wanted, you could restrict your friends list to people that you actually know, while the rest of your readers could become fans of your page. That allows you to post public stuff (eg, NCR articles, blog posts, speaking announcements, etc.) on your page, while reserving more personal announcements (say, your current score for Bejeweled Blitz) for your friends list.
    I guess I’m a little hesitant to send friend requests to people whose writing I read, but who I don’t actually know, even though I know that some folks don’t mind.

  2. I’ve set it up now such that blog posts I make automatically route to twitter updates linking to the post, then facebook automatically pulls the tweet and updates my status with the blurb and link. The first link from blog to twitter I did through a WordPress plugin (I think you use typepad but I’m sure there’s something similar), and the link from twitter to facebook I did by adding the twitter app in facebook and setting up the parameters (they walk you through it).
    One feedback about the Register blogs: I’ve read some of them here and there but they do not make it easy to know how to subscribe to them. For instance, can I just subscribe to your blog over there or do I have to subscribe to all of them? Perhaps you could encourage them to offer some easy subscribe links to one and to all the blogs.

  4. I’m setting up for Lent. Many of my RSS feeds in Google Reader are now going to a “Deserted” folder which I plan on not reading (I may have to just unsubscribe and resubscribe to those feeds if that doesn’t work out) and many of my gmails are going to be auto-archived. I can’t completely go into the desert — family emails and transaction confirmation type emails will still come to the inbox. But I’m going to try to shut off the online information flow to a trickle and perhaps finally get to a few of the unread books that have been piling up.

  6. But though I am blogging there, I don’t want to shut down this blog, for a number of reasons. One of them is that here I can do posts that don’t fit the word count or subject matter parameters of the Register gig.
    I appreciate this. I will read the blog posts over at the Register and learn from them. Being the shy sort, however, I don’t think I will be making any comments in such a national forum. I suppose this means that I won’t get to comment on any theologically meaty topics anymore, since I suspect most of those will be funneled over to the other blog (more people can be reached). I enjoy reading other people’s comments and writing comments sometimes helps me to research and think about topics that I would not otherwise do.
    I will see how things progress both on the Register and here and always remain ready to stick my foot in my mouth when the situation arises.
    The Chicken

  7. Chicken:
    Let me offer a couple of consoling thoughts, if I may!
    First,you needn’t despair of commenting on theologically substantive issues for one reason because some will be dealt with here!
    The NRC gig has word count parameters that will direct certain subjects toward JA.O. (In fact, I’ll be dealing with some things here and linking them over there, depending on what is most appropriate in a particular post.)
    Second, discussion isn’t limited to over there.
    You’re perfectly free to start comments here on JA.O. For example, you can comment on my recent “Pet Phrases” post here on JA.O, even if you don’t desire (for whatever reason; it’s up to you) to comment on the parallel post on NCR.
    So . . . you’re a very bright person who makes very insightful comments, and I’m glad to have them wherever you choose to post.
    My idea here is to have both blogs cross-pollinate each other and increase rather than decrease the flow of informed opinion.
    Thanks!
    –Jimmy

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