In the past, the travel blogs that I have posted were all done using Apple's iWeb travel shell. With the demise of MobileMe, I am looking for an alternative set-up that people have been happy using. I know that Shutterfly is popular with some. I like being able to set it up with daily reports and photos to accompany the reports when relevant.

I would greatly appreciate hearing about LCTers experiences and recommendations so that I can choose one and begin setting it up for Grand Prix.

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Eugene

We use blogger, it's so easy to set up and the photos are a snap to do. Here is our Hong Kong blog. We really did not do much with the blog there, to busy and tired at the end of the day but you can get and idea of the set up we chose.

http://doris-travels.blogspot.com/

Eugene:

I'm in the same boat as you with the demise of MobileMe. During the WC, I used AOL and it worked out just fine and then, wham, gone too. Disheartening. Anyway, here's what my computer guru had to say:


Ray,

I couldn't find any automatic way to convert iWeb into Tumblr or another blog system. I can see two options:

1.) Sign up with a web host (mine is $100/year) and you can still use iWeb and upload your blog to the new host using FTP. Some iWeb features relied on MobileMe though, I don't know what might not work with this method.

2.) Sign up with an online blog service, such as Tumblr, Wordpress or Blogger and re-post your blog content yourself.

Sorry I couldn't be of more help.End quote

I haven't tried any of them yet but would be interested to hear from you if one of the above catches your eye.

Cheers! Ray

Eugene,
I have found Shutterfly easy to use. A daily log can be kept and posting pictures and or video is not hard to do. A link to one of my travel blogs http://rlwebsterroar3.shutterfly.com/pictures

The biggest issue with doing a travel blog is having a good reliable internet connection. and taking the time outside of all the fun to post. something I had a hard time with.

That's the truth Ralph

You can get a basic Wordpress Blog for free with I think 3G of space (upgradable for a fee). Pretty user friendly.

I use Wordpress but mine is on a web host with unlimited storage and I can use FTP to upload large files (can also use drag and drop for smaller files). The web hosting does cost anywhere from $5 to $9/month.

We used Wordpress for the first time on our recent Svalbard expedition on Silver Explorer. Very easy to set up and use. Only problem was lack of Internet way up at 80 north!
Very happy with the set up and ease of use. Will definitely use it again.

Thanks for the advice and suggestions. I did look at Blogger, and I am following one of the LEOPARD participants on Shutterfly. I clearly have more research to do.

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Eugene

Eugene, when I first started blogging, I used Travelblog.org. It's free, but of course nothing is free so you have to put up with display ads. I didn't find them all that intrusive and the setup at travelblog.org is easy without any technical issues to deal with. As someone who blogs professionally at WordPress (first .com and now .org), my advice is to stay simple if all you want to do is create a trip journal.