FOS Blogger FAQ

[Edward]

To begin, this post will eventually be edited to become a basic FAQ for new bloggers to Field of Science. It will also be moved (along with your responses to it) to a private forum for Field of Science bloggers and staff. This private forum will serve as a working group, open lab, faq and catchall for administrative and technical issues and general discussions concerning all aspects of blogging at Field of Science and the site in general.

The first hurdle in convincing you to become a Founding Blogger (notice how I'm capitalizing the term in a sly effort to imbue it with the kind of prestige it will one day carry) at Field of Science is simply progressing beyond not knowing me, Edward, from Adam. It might be that all I can expect--assuming you're intrigued--is a decision to lurk until such time as you feel you know me well enough, or lose interest and move on. That's probably what I would do were I curious. Of course, the problem with this is if everyone lurks, no one leaps, and if no one leaps, there's no one's example to observe, analyze, judge for yourself whether Field of Science is for you.

This is an attempt to proactively fill that gap by opening up a group dialogue. You can reply to this post without registering, and even anonymously. The aim is to put absolutely no pressure on you, and to spark the kind of dialogue that will answer your questions and concerns but with the burden of your end of the conversation dispersed among each of you. And perhaps the quality of the dialogue itself will serve as prelude to the kind of analytical community, logical tribe, that is my goal for Field of Science, and that will make membership the kind of thing science bloggers aspire to.

The third hurdle is conveying properly just how simple and simple joining Field of Science really is. The truth is most of us are over committed online already, making a "Thanks but no thanks," the default response when faced with adding yet another online activity to the list. But one of the beauties of Field of Science is you're not required to do anything you're not already doing, or anything you don't want to do, ever. To put as fine a point on it as possible, right now you blog when it suites you and you use Blogger. Joining Field of Science means you blog when it suits you and you use Blogger (same login, same software, same Blogger). I know that not making more work for yourself tops your list of things to do, and so it tops my list as well. Here is the step by step process of joining Field of Science:

Step 1: Log in to your Blogger account.


Step 2: Click on the Settings tab and select "Permissions" from the sub menu. On the Permissions page, click the "ADD AUTHOR" button.


Step 3: Type the email address [e-mail] into the "Invite more people to write to your blog" box. Click the "INVITE" button.


Step 4: Later, after you have receive notice that I have accepted the invitation, return to your Permissions page and click "grant admin privileges" next to my Blogger profile in the Blog Authors list.


Step 5: You're done. You can go back to blogging as usual. I'll handle the rest from here on out.

The second hurdle (yes, they are out of order) is convincing you that not only does blogging at Field of Science involve the same everything (same software, same login, same Blogger), but far from starting over, you're picking right up where you left off thanks to Blogger's custom domain technology which not only forwards your blog to its new address automatically, but your readers, the links to your blog and your pagerank as well. To put it another way, you don't even have to tell your readers you've moved since when they go to your old blogspot.com address they'll be forwarded to your new fieldofscience.com address before they can say, "Field of Sci...?"

The final hurdle really isn't a hurdle so much as it's spelling out what's in it for you. Have a look around Field of Science. Each destination across the top menu is an individual blog. By joining Field of Science you add your blog to that top menu as well as your blog's content aggregated to the footers of all of the other blogs in the network, not to mention the front page, where it may also be featured. Your loyal readers will explore outward using those links but so will the loyal readers from the other blogs which results in a net gain of readership for everyone. Similarly, thanks to all that cross navigation, your blog will gain in authority by an ever increasing factor simply by being plugged into the network. What's more, your blog will stop looking like a cookie cutter blogspot blog and you'll gain authority in your reader's eyes as a consequence. What of new readers? Well, being part of a network on a proper website, you'll soon discover that even if you're an infrequent blogger, you'll have an audience in waiting (because collectively, there's new content every day, making Field of Science a daily destination).

So you're reaping the benefits of the network, but at what cost? What are you giving up? The answer is nothing. Your arrangement with Field of Science is the same as your arrangement with Blogger. It's your blog to do with as you please. If you want to monetize it, go right ahead. If you want to move it back to blogspot at any time, you can (your old blogspot address remains reserved for you). If you want to shut it down, it's your blog. The only thing that's different is you allow me to maintain the parts of your template containing the universal network navigation links (the above the header and the footer). Chances are you're not using your footer for anything and right now, above your header is Blogger's navigation bar.

But back to what's in it for you. A key advantage of being part of Field of Science is you have in me an upgrade of sorts to the software. You've seen blogs with cool features that you'd like to have (label clouds, post summaries, etc.), great graphics (headers, badges) or you've seen bloggers do cool things within posts (large images, polls, etc.) that you'd like to know how to do. Well, if it's a hack to your blog, a new graphic or a skill you'd like learn, you email it to me and I do the work and add the feature to your blog, design the graphic you requested, or simply weed through all the junk in researching what you want to learn, and then teach you how best to accomplish what you're trying to do. I'll be reading every post you make and constantly running rough shot letting you know when a problem exists or helping you out with quick tips that make you a better, more efficient blogger. I'll even be on top of who is saying what about you, and smartly publicizing your most compelling content. Put simply, I love this stuff, which is why I'm doing it. It's not work for me, it's a passion. I genuinely get a kick out of it. And I'll be in your corner.

That's the overview.  The basics of how to get started and the beginnings of what to expect.  But the above only represents laying the groundwork for the seeds of a new science community.  What's missed is the promise of the shared journey, the collaborative future, the founding of a new science tribe.  Beyond simply organizing a bunch of science blogs under one roof, Field of Science is about evolving.

[Edward]

The reason for this email is I'm putting together a science blog network/magazine, FieldofScience.com, and I'd like to invite you to join with your blog.  Below you will find a brief explanation of what Field of Science is about, but an email invitation such as this stands little chance of success for a variety of reasons.  Therefore, I would like to ask you to participate (anonymously if you like) in a public conversation about Field of Science in the forum here: http://n2.nabble.com/FOS-Blogger-FAQ-tp2379034p2379034.html 

--

About:
Field of Science is powered by Blogger.  Because of this, I can use Blogger's custom domain option to redirect your Blogger powered blog to publish at Your Blog .FieldofScience.com.  This means you bring your blog (and your readers/links/pagerank, "Your original Blog*Spot address will automatically forward to your new domain") with you, and you don't have to learn any new software or logins.  Quite literally, the process of posting to your blog at Field of Science is exactly the same as the familiar process of posting to Blogger: same account, same login, same everything.  The only difference is where your blog will publish.  From yourblog.blogspot.com to yourblog.fieldofscience.com.
 
So that's the basic idea, multiplied by however many blogs are in the network, and you begin to see the advantages in shared readership, pagerank, etc.  In addition:
 
1. Your blog will remain your own in every respect (including monetizing), and you will retain the option to move it back to blogspot at any time.
2. Your blog will continue to be hosted by Google.
3. My extensive web development and design expertise and experience will be at your disposal.
4. Other goodies consistent with publishing at a .com, such as an email @fieldofscience.com gmail account if you choose, as well as the increased respect (authority) you gain simply by virtue of the new look and change of address.

At heart, what I'm proposing is a partnership where you are free to focus on what you're good at (science blogging), leaving all the technical and administrative tasks to me (it's what I'm good at).  If that sounds appealing to you, I'd like to explain in more detail and would appreciate the opportunity to address any concerns you might have.

[anonymous]

I'm intrigued but still thinking about joining based on your description below (and your invitation).

A couple of questions: what happens if you decide to drop this activity?  Google (blogspot) is likely to be around for years - can I count on you if I move to FOS?

One other (small) question: blogspot doesn't support trackback.  Do you think FOS will be able to, or are you limited by the features of blogspot?

[Edward]

What happens if you decide to drop this activity?  Google (blogspot) is likely to be around for years - can I count on you if I move to FOS?

The short answer to that question is I won't decide to drop the activity.

The long answer: FOS is the culmination of all my years of experience online.  I really have been doing this for a long time, so I know myself, and I know what I want in a website, and now I have the skill set to make it happen.  It's a bit like building your dream house.  It's what I want to see when I go online--it's my first and last destination.  But I still haven't answered the question.  FOS costs a total $10 a year to host.  That's it.  So the expense is negligible (read: I can afford it forever).  Don't let the humble beginning fool you.  I intend for FOS to grow into a dynamic and invested community.  Meaning, even if I were to fall of the face of the planet, it won't be up to me to decide the fate of FOS, it will be up to the community as whole.  Should all else fail and an unimaginable series of events precipitate the closure of FOS, I will personally move every single blog back to blogspot.  So even though that would never happen (have I stressed that enough?), the fact that it can be done is the ultimate answer to your question.  Your agreement with me IS your agreement with Blogger/Google.

That aside, MM is a longtime friend of mine who has only known me online.  Gladly honoring that friendship alone commits me to this project indefinitely.  That's how I roll, and my commitment to you carries the exact same weight as my commitment to MM.  I simply wouldn't be doing this if there was even the slightest doubt in my mind.

Blogspot doesn't support trackback.  Do you think FOS will be able to, or are you limited by the features of blogspot?

Blogspot does support trackbacks (you just have to make sure they're turned on, and visible).  See.

As for limitations, sure, there are some.  Blogspot does power Field of Science but, for example, the label cloud and expandable posts at LPB are not standard Blogspot issue, nor is the template, or this forum,...  It's perhaps more accurate to think of Blogspot as one of the tools I'm using to build and power FOS.  It's a great tool.  But just one of many.

p.s. Ben has taken the leap.  He sent me an invitation last night.  I moved him from blogspot to FOS this morning.

[plektix]

As the author of PLEKTIX, I can testify that everything has gone well so far.  I hadn't heard of Edward or FOS when I got his email, but I like the idea of belonging to a network.  The transition was smooth, all my posts and comments survived the jump, the url forwards like he said it would, and the blog-writing interface is exactly the same as it was with blogger.  He also helped me out with a new header for my blog, which I'm very proud of.

I do share anonymous's concern, however.  Edward, if for some reason you were unable to continue FOS (personal catastrophe, etc.) would we be able to take our blogs back to blogspot easily?

[Edward]

You don't need me to switch back to blogspot. Once you're publishing to a custom domain (i.e. fieldofscience.com), a link to "Switch to: • blogspot.com (Blogger's free hosting service)" appears under your Blogger Settings tab > Permissions.

[Edward]

All of My Faults are Stress Related has joined Science Blogs.  It is likely Kim was already working out the details with SB when I invited her to join Field of Science.  But still, it raises a good point.  Say you join Field of Science and you then get a better offer(*).  Are you stuck?  Absolutely not.  In fact, creating more opportunities by increasing your exposure is one of the things I'd like Field of Science to do.

(*) I recall reading a few years back that SB pays its bloggers based on the amount of traffic they are able to generate.  That's a good deal assuming you are able to generate traffic.  But SB's model isn't unique.  All the advertising middlemen (adsense, blogads, adbrite, etc.) pay per impression, click throughs and conversions, and I dare say joining SB is a lot more time consuming and involved than signing up for an adsense account and placing a few ads on your blog (and having done the latter, I can tell you it's criminally easy).  With the latter you're also able to control the ads (placement and content), and your primary ad space won't get gobbled up by your parent company's fee advertising (SEED anyone?)...

It's also the case that All of My Faults are Stress Related is giving up all the organic (search engine), referral and direct traffic http://shearsensibility.blogspot.com/ currently enjoys.  Does being plugged into SB make up for that loss?  Probably depends on how often you post, but somehow I doubt it.

I point these two things out because if you want to make money blogging you don't have to wait for an invitation from SB, and the trade off of abandoning your old blog that's required to join SB is not one you have to make if you join Field of Science.  You bring your blog (and your rights to it) and all that organic, referral and direct traffic with you.

And since we're on the topic of SB, I want to make one more observation.  SB has no real competition.  Not really.  There are a couple of ad heavy science blog aggregators out there (and dare I ask what pithy percentage of their revenue [if any] they're sharing in exchange for all that [stolen] content), but they don't really count.  I see Field of Science as providing SB with some long overdue (and friendly) competition.  FOS is to SB what The Daily Beast is to The Huffington Post.  There's nothing zero sum about it.