Export thread
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship
#1
Rob King
Rob King
Alright, as of today The Santa Claus Apprenticeship is done! I've got a few things sort of coming up in the next few weeks hopefully, but as of right now I don't know any of the details for certain. I'm sure I'll post something once they materialize.
Original post is spoiler-ed
Second Original Post is spoiler-ed
Original post is spoiler-ed
Today I decided I'm going to start a blog for the Christmas season.
I was pondering something I've said to several people in the past before, which is that I'm destined/cursed to play Santa Claus at my future work/church Christmas parties. I am naturally very red, have been told I have kind eyes, have been going grey since the age of 17, and I love kids.
I was also thinking about how my job at the Salvation Army is going to get a lot more hectic in the coming months. Besides the food bank, I'm going to be picking up and dropping off a whole lot of stuff to make Christmas hampers of food possible for families, and toy hampers possible for children. It struck me that this is a very Santa Claus sort of thing to do.
After thinking about it a bit more, I decided that from November to mid-January is going to be my Santa Claus Apprenticeship.
Then it struck me that that might be a cool concept for a blog.
When I got back to the office, I mentioned it to my boss. I had my reservations, but she seemed more excited about it than I am. She mentioned that she just has to run it by the PR department tomorrow, but that there probably wouldn't be any problems, and it would be a fantastic communication opportunity for the Salvation Army regarding what we do and how we do it.
So, a few questions:
Would any of you be interested in this blog? Once I start it up, I'll drop a line in my sig or something, but I'm just curious to find out if this is as good an idea as I think it is.
What do you think of the name? "The Santa Claus Apprenticeship" or "My Santa Claus Apprenticeship" was the genesis of the idea, but I'm not married to it. I've tried variations such as "Saint Nicholas Apprenticeship" and stuff, but haven't found anything brilliant. Any contributions?
How does one go about getting a domain name and hosting a blog? I've only ever used blogspot, but I think I might like to do something wordpress this time. If it isn't too expensive, I'd also like to get a domain name to call my own, but I don't know how to do that either.
Any thoughts or suggestions you can share would be great! I've wanted to do a semi-professional seeming blog for a while now, but just couldn't find a subject I could run with. I feel like this one is perfect because it's something I'm involved with every day, I've got the support of my boss, and it has an expiry date so I'm not committed forever: when January 6th hits and the Salvation Army Christmas Season is over, the blog stops.
I was pondering something I've said to several people in the past before, which is that I'm destined/cursed to play Santa Claus at my future work/church Christmas parties. I am naturally very red, have been told I have kind eyes, have been going grey since the age of 17, and I love kids.
I was also thinking about how my job at the Salvation Army is going to get a lot more hectic in the coming months. Besides the food bank, I'm going to be picking up and dropping off a whole lot of stuff to make Christmas hampers of food possible for families, and toy hampers possible for children. It struck me that this is a very Santa Claus sort of thing to do.
After thinking about it a bit more, I decided that from November to mid-January is going to be my Santa Claus Apprenticeship.
Then it struck me that that might be a cool concept for a blog.
When I got back to the office, I mentioned it to my boss. I had my reservations, but she seemed more excited about it than I am. She mentioned that she just has to run it by the PR department tomorrow, but that there probably wouldn't be any problems, and it would be a fantastic communication opportunity for the Salvation Army regarding what we do and how we do it.
So, a few questions:
Would any of you be interested in this blog? Once I start it up, I'll drop a line in my sig or something, but I'm just curious to find out if this is as good an idea as I think it is.
What do you think of the name? "The Santa Claus Apprenticeship" or "My Santa Claus Apprenticeship" was the genesis of the idea, but I'm not married to it. I've tried variations such as "Saint Nicholas Apprenticeship" and stuff, but haven't found anything brilliant. Any contributions?
How does one go about getting a domain name and hosting a blog? I've only ever used blogspot, but I think I might like to do something wordpress this time. If it isn't too expensive, I'd also like to get a domain name to call my own, but I don't know how to do that either.
Any thoughts or suggestions you can share would be great! I've wanted to do a semi-professional seeming blog for a while now, but just couldn't find a subject I could run with. I feel like this one is perfect because it's something I'm involved with every day, I've got the support of my boss, and it has an expiry date so I'm not committed forever: when January 6th hits and the Salvation Army Christmas Season is over, the blog stops.
Second Original Post is spoiler-ed
I mentioned my blog project a while back in it's genesis, before I even really managed to post any content. So I figured I'd post here again, now that we're in week three, with twelve posts up. I'd encourage everyone to check it out, especially if you're the least bit curious about what the Salvation Army does during Christmas.
In the coming weeks, things will be picking up even more, so be sure to check back as well!
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship
In the coming weeks, things will be picking up even more, so be sure to check back as well!
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship
#2
Dave
Dave
Need Blog Advice
Arvixe sucks for something our size but is great for personal level stuff for $7 a month. I'd give them a call or go to www.arvixe.com.
You will get a domain and can use your cPanel to set up a Wordpress blog pretty easily.
Arvixe sucks for something our size but is great for personal level stuff for $7 a month. I'd give them a call or go to www.arvixe.com.
You will get a domain and can use your cPanel to set up a Wordpress blog pretty easily.
#3
Vytamindi
Vytamindi
Need Blog Advice
I would read about your Santa experiences!!!! Sounds fun!
I would read about your Santa experiences!!!! Sounds fun!
#4
Rob King
Rob King
Need Blog Advice
Alright. Friend told me it might cost between $200-300 for a custom site design. It's more than I expected, but I'm going to be working 50+ hours between two jobs starting next week, and I'm trying to approach this if it were something to add to a portfolio anyways.
My father works with one of the larger telecom companies around, and has informed me that they do web hosting, so I'm relying on him for web hosting advice.
And thanks, Vytamindi. I'll let the forum know once everything starts up.
Alright. Friend told me it might cost between $200-300 for a custom site design. It's more than I expected, but I'm going to be working 50+ hours between two jobs starting next week, and I'm trying to approach this if it were something to add to a portfolio anyways.
My father works with one of the larger telecom companies around, and has informed me that they do web hosting, so I'm relying on him for web hosting advice.
And thanks, Vytamindi. I'll let the forum know once everything starts up.
#5
Shakey
Shakey
Need Blog Advice
There are a ton of free Wordpress themes available. If you aren't looking to get too fancy just use one of them. No need to drop a couple hundred on it.
There are a ton of free Wordpress themes available. If you aren't looking to get too fancy just use one of them. No need to drop a couple hundred on it.
#6
Dave
Dave
Need Blog Advice
http://themeboss.com/christmas-wordpress/
This is one of several I found.
---------- Post added at 03:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 PM ----------
Your only costs should be for registering the domain name and a few months worth of hosting. You spend more than $50 on this and you're spending too much.
http://themeboss.com/christmas-wordpress/
This is one of several I found.
---------- Post added at 03:25 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:24 PM ----------
Your only costs should be for registering the domain name and a few months worth of hosting. You spend more than $50 on this and you're spending too much.
#7
Rob King
Rob King
Need Blog Advice
Alright, so most everything is ready to go. I have a theme ready to go, and my web-friend has sorted out hosting. He's also ready to help me register a domain name, except I'm still waiting to decide on what domain name to register. In order for that to happen, I have to name my blog.
So far the candidates are:
Christmas at the Salvation Army
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship
Life in a Toy Shop
Thoughts on the candidates? Suggestions besides?
Alright, so most everything is ready to go. I have a theme ready to go, and my web-friend has sorted out hosting. He's also ready to help me register a domain name, except I'm still waiting to decide on what domain name to register. In order for that to happen, I have to name my blog.
So far the candidates are:
Christmas at the Salvation Army
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship
Life in a Toy Shop
Thoughts on the candidates? Suggestions besides?
#8
doomdragon6
doomdragon6
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
I dunno, I've always been fond of puns and wordplay, and less for the straightforward stuff like your candidates. I don't know what feel you're going for exactly.
For example, the very first blog title that comes to mind is "Santa's Cookies and Eggblog"
Not a very good title, but you see what I'm going for.
I dunno, I've always been fond of puns and wordplay, and less for the straightforward stuff like your candidates. I don't know what feel you're going for exactly.
For example, the very first blog title that comes to mind is "Santa's Cookies and Eggblog"
Not a very good title, but you see what I'm going for.
#9
Kitty Sinatra
Kitty Sinatra
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship is the best of the 3 you list. But it seems way too lengthy for a web address. apprenticeclaus might work.
How about newfieclaus?
The Santa Claus Apprenticeship is the best of the 3 you list. But it seems way too lengthy for a web address. apprenticeclaus might work.
How about newfieclaus?
#10
Rob King
Rob King
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
Here is the completed blog at a temporary URL. No content yet, but I think that's the title I'm going to go with after all.
Just need a way to url-ize it. I like Gruebeard's 'apprenticeclaus,' but I feel like it's too different from the title. Maybe 'Santasapprentice,' or something.
This is so exciting.
Here is the completed blog at a temporary URL. No content yet, but I think that's the title I'm going to go with after all.
Just need a way to url-ize it. I like Gruebeard's 'apprenticeclaus,' but I feel like it's too different from the title. Maybe 'Santasapprentice,' or something.
This is so exciting.
#11
Kitty Sinatra
Kitty Sinatra
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
I had originally thought to suggest santasapprentice.com, but there was something about the "asa" bit between words that felt ugly to me so I offered up the others instead.
And it turns out I didn't need to suggest it anyway as you thought of it also. :yo:
I had originally thought to suggest santasapprentice.com, but there was something about the "asa" bit between words that felt ugly to me so I offered up the others instead.
And it turns out I didn't need to suggest it anyway as you thought of it also. :yo:
#12
Rubicon
Rubicon
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
From what I've done thus far for my own site, I'd recommend http://www.hostgator.com
They're basic package is $8.95 a month, all your basic features, mysql, php, cpanel, etc
They come highly recommended, I did some research (lotta people over at [H]ardOCP and Slashdot recommend them). Slightly more pricey than Arvixe but then again with Dave's track record with them, they don't sound like an option to go with.
As for a theme, well it depends on preferance. There are thousands of free blog themes out there but they all look alike in a lot of ways. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you can get a "premium" wordpress theme (aka one that costs money), for a decent price. I recommend any theme by Matt Brett. For themes that are $20-40, they look fairly unique, pretty customizable and he's willing to help customize them further if you request it.
From what I've done thus far for my own site, I'd recommend http://www.hostgator.com
They're basic package is $8.95 a month, all your basic features, mysql, php, cpanel, etc
They come highly recommended, I did some research (lotta people over at [H]ardOCP and Slashdot recommend them). Slightly more pricey than Arvixe but then again with Dave's track record with them, they don't sound like an option to go with.
As for a theme, well it depends on preferance. There are thousands of free blog themes out there but they all look alike in a lot of ways. If you want to stand out from the crowd, you can get a "premium" wordpress theme (aka one that costs money), for a decent price. I recommend any theme by Matt Brett. For themes that are $20-40, they look fairly unique, pretty customizable and he's willing to help customize them further if you request it.
#13
Kitty Sinatra
Kitty Sinatra
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
It loads fine for me.
What's weird, though, is it's not giving me horizontal scrollbars so I can't see all the way to the right of the page (I'm on my netbook so I have a really low resolution)
It loads fine for me.
What's weird, though, is it's not giving me horizontal scrollbars so I can't see all the way to the right of the page (I'm on my netbook so I have a really low resolution)
#14
Rob King
Rob King
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
Hmm, grue, that is weird. I will talk to my guy.
Hmm, grue, that is weird. I will talk to my guy.
#15
Rob King
Rob King
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
Cool. I sort of understand why it's doing that, but it shouldn't. I sent him an email notifying him of that, as well as the url to register. Hopefully it should be fixed soon, and perhaps by Wednesday, I'll have the URL running (apparently .ca's take a few days to register)
Cool. I sort of understand why it's doing that, but it shouldn't. I sent him an email notifying him of that, as well as the url to register. Hopefully it should be fixed soon, and perhaps by Wednesday, I'll have the URL running (apparently .ca's take a few days to register)
#16
Kitty Sinatra
Kitty Sinatra
Need Blog Advice ... One Step Left: Needs a Name (Help Inside!)
they all take a bit of time to register.
they all take a bit of time to register.
#17
Rob King
Rob King
Need Blog Advice ... UPDATE: Blog is Live
Thanks for all the help, guys. The blog basically JUST went live at www.santasapprentice.ca
I'm hopeful about it. I've only ever done a personal blog before, but I'd really like to see this work out. I've got butterflies now. It's so weird to be putting myself out there like that. If nothing else, it'll be a learning experience for me.
There are still some things I'm looking to add. Once I get more posts up, I'm going to turn on tags and categories to ease navigation, and I plan to add more 'about' pages ('about the blog,' 'about the salvation army,' 'about st. john's'). Also, I'll be adding some more links to the sidebar as they come up.
Thanks for all the help, guys. The blog basically JUST went live at www.santasapprentice.ca
I'm hopeful about it. I've only ever done a personal blog before, but I'd really like to see this work out. I've got butterflies now. It's so weird to be putting myself out there like that. If nothing else, it'll be a learning experience for me.
There are still some things I'm looking to add. Once I get more posts up, I'm going to turn on tags and categories to ease navigation, and I plan to add more 'about' pages ('about the blog,' 'about the salvation army,' 'about st. john's'). Also, I'll be adding some more links to the sidebar as they come up.
#18
Kitty Sinatra
Kitty Sinatra
Need Blog Advice ... UPDATE: Blog is Live
and best of all, the horizontal scrollbar's there!
and best of all, the horizontal scrollbar's there!
#19
Rob King
Rob King
Updated OP in a wanton act of shameless self-promotion.
#20
kaykordeath
kaykordeath
Missed the question before, but I'll come in:
As a Santaland Elf at Macy's in Herald Square (yes, Miracle on 34th Street and all that), I'm looking forward to keeping up with your blog.
As a Santaland Elf at Macy's in Herald Square (yes, Miracle on 34th Street and all that), I'm looking forward to keeping up with your blog.
#21
Rob King
Rob King
Updated OP to reflect the end of the blog.