Anyone who has been blogging recently could probably tell you that the world of blogging has been going through some shifts in the recent past. Some say that blogging is dead. Others say that people just aren’t as interested anymore. And I can see that in some of my own habits related to blogging. I used to blog a LOT more. For those of us wanting to have a “web presence” that was the best way to do it. But now with Facebook, Twitter and any number of other online social networking sites – there are many more ways to establish a web presence than by having a blog – and many that are probably more effective.
I certainly don’t plan on shutting down Pomomusings. I love to write longer posts, love the chance to reflect theologically about things and rock the boat with certain issues. I also like the recent income that it has provided now that I’ve moved toward working with specific advertisers on the site.
But what do I do when I want to post a few photos of a more personal nature (but that I still want to share with my readers)? Or that YouTube video that is just hilarious and I know others would enjoy. Back in 2003 when I started Pomomusings, I used to post things like that. But my blog doesn’t really serve as the appropriate space for that anymore. Up until this point, I’ve used Facebook & Twitter for micro-blogging these random finds: including photos, videos, links, etc. Which is great – until I want to find some of that information and have to search back through tweets or Status Updates.
Enter Posterous. I’ve seen a few folks using this over the past year – but I haven’t really taken any time to get to know what it’s really about until now. And it’s amazing.
I think Posterous can explain it better than I can, so you should read their FAQ and help section. I also found Mashable’s “HOW TO: Get the Most Out of Posterous” really helpful. But basically, Posterous can serve as the hub for all of your web presences and social networks. And it’s all super easy and so smart.
Want to setup an account? All you have to do is send a photo, video, link, anything really, to post@posterous.com. It will automagically create your account and post your content. Want to have an image gallery? Just email multiple photos to Posterous and they’ll make a cool slideshow gallery for you. Find a YouTube video that’s hilarious? Email the link to Posterous and they’ll do all the work and the embedded video will be on your Posterous site waiting for you.
I’ve only had my Posterous account for a week or so – but it’s great. If I have a photo I want to share, I email it to Posterous and within moments, it’s on Twitter, Facebook and Flickr. I took a video last week, emailed it, and then the video showed up on Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and my YouTube Channel (I *did* have some issues with the syncing of the audio not matching the video but their support staff got in touch with my very quickly).
I can totally see using this as the archive for all of the photos/video/links and other media that I post through Twitter, Facebook, Flickr. It also saves me time having to post things in multiple locations. The fact that it does it all for me, makes sure that the most amount of people see my stuff as possible and makes it all look good is great!
I have also decided to secure a new domain name for my Posterous site (www.adamwc.me) and will begin to view this more as my “personal blog” where I can share some of the more random stuff that I find, and keep the content at Pomomusings geared more toward longer articles. This makes sense for me and for the hopes that I have for Pomomusings.
It’s not full-on blogging – but it’s definitely more than 140-character micro-blogging. Posterous. Some of you may have heard of Tumblr before – and this is similar. However, I’ll take Mashable’s word for it when they say that Posterous is the better of the two services.
And for you iPhone users out there, Posterous has a really fabulous iPhone App called PicPosterous.
Posterous is an amazing supplement to your current blog and social media needs, but it’s also a really robust service that could work as your primary blog as well. In just the week that I’ve been using Posterous – I’m sold. I think it’s great! I know this sounds like a sponsored post or something (and you can check – these links to Posterous aren’t referral links) but I’m not getting out of this. It’s a free service and one which I think you’ll really love. Check it out here!